cutie-writes

[cutie-writes]

DRIFTER'S BALLAD. ⋆·˚ ༘ *

synopsis: in which you come whirling into the wanderer’s life like a tempestous storm, bringing pleasant gales in your wake and an unsuspecting puppet under your thrall. (or, alternatively, you end up worming your way too deeply into the wanderer's life that he doesn't want to let go. uh oh)

warnings: 10k words, strangers to lovers!trope, pining, HUGE SLOWBURN, misunderstandings, angst, the wanderer is bad at feelings (the complete package), reader is a traveler but NOT the game traveler and has a hydro vision. aether is the canon mc. i have no idea if this is ooc, mentions of fontaine, some references to scara's past names n titles not really all that canon compliant so sorry abt that lol

mhie's notes: it took me 1 large cup of coffee and a portion of my soul to write this fic and i think im severely delirious rn. honestly hate the ending but fuck it we ball, don't ask me why i randomly decided to churn out this monstrosity because idk it's the wanderer he does that alot, this is definitely my magnum flopus bc i hate it but also what the fuck did i just write. anyways enjoy?????

Sumeru is, quite literally, a breath of fresh air.

The nation of Dendro is nothing short of lustrous, lush, and teeming with life— various aromas of delicacies you’ve never even set eyes upon before; colorful wares the merchants of Sumeru City proudly flaunt, varieties of daily necessities and souvenirs all on display.

Yes, this would be the perfect place for you to temporarily take up residence in.

Once you got used to it, at least.

But trouble always follows the unprepared, especially for someone yet to be acquainted with such a place so humid like Sumeru, and you certainly don’t expect to find yourself robbed the moment you let down your guard sightseeing.

“Hey, hey! Get back here, you thief! That's my mora!”

Your shamelessness admittedly gets you strange looks by the locals there, but you hardly pay them any mind, too focused on actually getting your valuables back and potentially saving yourself from being in extreme poverty. Adventuring was already costly as it is. You didn't need a run for your money.

Just a little more and you could get to that thief… you were so close…!

…So close until you bump into someone at the worst timing known to Teyvat. Already irritated, it doesn't take long for you to direct such anger to said someone, despite knowing just how foolish that notion was. “Ugh! Hey, do you mind?! I was just about to get that damn no good th-”

“-ief…?”

The first thing you notice about the someone that you bump into is that oh, he's beautiful.

Not handsome, no, beautiful. Ethereal, almost. As if his visage was crafted by the very Gods themselves.

And then you notice that hat.

It was huge, clearly not of Sumerian origin, and now that you look closer, his clothing resembles that of certain Inazuman individuals… Right, what was the word again? Shugenja?

He hardly looked the part though, especially with that face. You've always thought monks would've had a kinder face. This guy's face however, seemed stormy. Melancholic, in a way— you can't deny that he is likely the most attractive person you've ever come across in ages.

“Oh, ah-! I'm sorry for bumping into you!” Archons above, your voice was so weak. What was up with you? Did tumbling into some random guy mess with your brain so bad you seem to see him in rose-tinted lenses now?

And was it just you, or did he seem to look forlorn for a moment? He seemed quite aimless, too… maybe missing someone?

That brief glimpse of sorrow fades from his gaze like a flash of thunder, as if it was never there in the first place, and a sigh escapes the beautiful stranger’s lips, mildly displeased. “It’s fine. Watch where you're going next time.”

A pause, before he looks towards the direction of where the thief last scuttled off to, in a rather sketchy corner of the Grand Bazaar. “If you're done staring, the guy you were chasing went that way, by the way.”

...??

“Oh. Oh, right! Sorry, sorry, I have to go… Thank you for telling me though!”

You don't hear his response as you zip past him.

(Oh. Archons. He looked so beautiful. There's heat travelling to your face and you're not sure if that's the adrenaline from running or just a side effect of that eye-catching stranger.)

Although, a small part of your mind can't help but wonder why such a pretty person seemed to be making such a sad face.

── ➶-͙˚ ༘✶ ──

Thankfully, all was well after that encounter with that stranger. Like the heavens themselves answered your pleas, it was just your luck that a matra had spotted the thief, and by extension, you.

Turns out that the thief was quite well-known, having robbed quite a lot of people to warrant himself a top priority capture in the Matra’s jurisdiction. Apparently, he used to be a researcher that fell from grace at Sumeru’s most well-known academic institution, the Akademiya. Really, scholars were quite the odd bunch, weren't they…

Being severely hungry as a result of the chase, you end up going to a certain Lambad’s Tavern and, in a sick twist of fate, you find the stranger there again, sipping away at a cup of coffee, looking like it's no one's business what he's up to.

This time, it's his hat that you notice, not his face. In the back of your mind, you wonder why he didn't take it off. He was already inside the tavern, so why didn't he remove that big hat of his?

(He suits the hat, though.)

You don't know what drives you to move forward, whether it be liquid courage or just because of the way he seemed to be someone you were oddly drawn to, somehow. Even if you've only met him just earlier.

So, with a smile and determination on your face, you approach him, sitting down from across his seat. He visibly stops, and you can see that he's internally weighing whether to drive you out. “You're the stranger from earlier, right? The one who helped me?”

“...” Not a talkative one, is he?

“Y’know, staying silent forever won't stop me from asking. You mind if I can sit here?”

You can see him exhale out a sigh, as if the very notion of answering tires him to his bones. Okay, how rude. “Do what you want. Just keep your voice down. Don't you know people need their peace?”

You raise your brow. “Well, don't you know it's polite to make small talk?”

“Heh, well, sorry to disappoint you, but I don't know, in fact, since I rarely engage in them. Trivial things like that are no use to me.”

“Wow, what a life you must live then, with that mindset of yours.”

He gives you a condescending look. “Yeah, it's great. Perfectly content with this mindset of mine, thanks.”

You should be fuming right now, really. At the sheer audacity of this blue-garbed stranger, at his extremely candid and no filter words. But you aren't. If anything, it was quite charming. “You have a knack for throwing people off, don't you?”

“Hah, that's their problem. You humans can be annoyingly sensitive sometimes, after all.” another sip of his coffee follows suit.

Humans. Was he a non-human then if he seems to exclude himself from that category? What an interesting stranger.

You ask for his name; he's reluctant, letting another beat of silence pass before he gives it to you. Wanderer. What kind of person names someone Wanderer? Maybe he wasn't human after all.

As if sensing the weird look you give him, he noticeably bristles up. “What? Got a problem with that name?”

“No, it's just…” you pause, before you grin uncontrollably. “Pfft, ahahahahaha! What kind of strange name is that? That sounds so cool! Yet so- Er, sorry, how do I say it? Ah, right. Eccentric! That's quite the eccentric name you got there, Wanderer.”

(He tenses slightly. How strange, being reminded of the past in the company of a stranger.)

“With the way you seem so amused by my name, I’d think you'd put me off as some clown on the streets.” he grumbles, but makes no motion to actually be offended by your words. “Your order’s here. Best you compose yourself or you’d make a mess laughing yourself silly.”

“Oh, you're right..!” and indeed, your delicious order of Sabz Meat Stew comes in right at the perfect time, the smell of the mild lemon and aromantic spices wafting through the air in a harmonious blend. You could almost drool at the sight in front of you.

When you accidentally burn yourself by immediately taking a small sip of the stew, there's a snicker from across you from Wanderer, his expression mildly amused.

“Even sturmbeasts have the patience to wait till it isn't hot. If I didn't know any better, I’d say you’d finish that stew in one go.”

You huff. “Well, I'm hungry, so just spare me the clever quips, will you? Or I just might.”

Unbeknownst to you, a strange feeling of nostalgia wells deep within him when he sees you scarf down the stew, albeit quite gracelessly.

There's awe in your expression for such a simple thing, just a broth made from herbs and meat.

It reminds him a little bit too much of the puppet he was before, that starry-eyed face.

What an interesting stranger.

── ➶-͙˚ ༘✶ ──

“Ah! It's you again, Wanderer!”

He can see you scrambling to get to his side, and frankly, he doesn't even know why he ended up here, focusing on the now muddy path in front of him. The rain rumbles on, getting stronger by the minute.

He'd been getting restless as of late, always dreaming, the ghosts of the past being more of a pain lately. Since Lesser Lord Kusanali did tell him to take it easy… even she couldn't blame him if he couldn't help but want to leave the stuffy air of the Akademiya. She'd understand.

Probably.

So here he was, in some corner of Avidya Rainforest, walking through the heavy rain. This was his life now, being a wanderer. To think that he, a former Fatui, a Harbinger at that, would end up writing research papers about how that recluse’s nation ended up is now letting time pass by aimlessly walking through this inconvenient rain shower… truly, he's fallen far from grace.

“Wha-! Hey, don't ignore me! You're going to get soaked..!”

Though with your appearance, he supposes it wasn't a bad decision. Even if his ears hurt from your volume.

“Shouldn't you be worrying about yourself rather than me?”

Unlike him, you were visibly soaked, rain droplets littering the expanse of your form, the water making your clothes cling to you like a second skin. You wave your hand dismissively at his statement.

“It's no big deal. I'm used to heavy rainfall already, on the road and all… and besides, I gave away my umbrella to a merchant passing by before coming here. But in any case-!”

You grab at his wrist, and he could easily shove you away, tell you to leave him be, but somehow, he doesn't. “What are you doing?”

“Getting shelter, obviously!” and just like that, you take him by the hand, hiding under his hat, whirling past the strong breeze, unwavering, running towards the nearest shade you can find. “The both of us will end up soaked at this rate!”

Your hands are warm in his own.

Soft, gentle. So unlike his own cold, mechanically structured joints. A small part of him loathes the sensation.

Human touch reminded him of what he was, after all. Created, artificial. So different from the warmth of your fingertips, of the heart you housed in your body. It’s a bitter reminder of what he had yearned to be, and what he could never be.

And yet inexplicably, the Wanderer finds that he doesn't hate this particular touch.

(How bothersome.)

The two of you find shelter in the form of a huge tree, big enough to block out the temporary rain, and he watches as you gather your bearings, checking your travel bag for any soaked items. He can see that you're diligent, tirelessly taking out the items that seem to be a lost cause, and leaving the ones that seem salvageable to dry near the shade. You even hum a tune while doing so.

Hah, how carefree.

“So, why did you give it away?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Your umbrella. Humans get sick easily, and only an idiot would give up their umbrella in this downpour, so why bother giving it to someone else? They won't even return it.”

He can see you purse your lips, contemplating how to answer his words. Then, you shrug. “Guess I just wanted to. Doesn't hurt anyone if you just wanted to do something good.”

Are you serious?

“But you'd be the one inconvenienced. It's not worth it.”

“Says who? That merchant looked troubled, and if I could help him even with something small as giving my umbrella, then it's worth it.”

How vexing. This unabashed kindness certainly takes him for surprise; You could've easily ignored that merchant, like all humans do, and go on with your life, perfectly dry and dandy. He would certainly do that, anyway. But then again, he wasn't exactly the giving type, and he wasn't a saint. Who was he to judge?

A few moments of silence pass, and even for him, this awkwardness is stifling.

“...Say, do you think it was a bad decision?” he can't discern anything deep in your tone except for the simple desire to keep up cordial conversation. “Giving my umbrella away, I mean.”

“No.” he answers immediately, despite not really knowing why he answered that way. He doesn't even think it was a good decision to give it away in the first place. “It wasn't.”

“Why?” there's curiosity in your voice, and for a moment he seems out of it, plunged into a bygone memory. Why indeed?

(“It’s only natural for people to want to help someone in need. It's in our nature.”

“I'm not exactly.... 'people' though, Niwa.”

A bygone laugh lost time echoes across the breeze.

“Who says you aren't included? Everyone could use a helping hand. Naturally, it applies to those who aren't human too, Kabukimono. But I already did tell you, right?

You're human just like the rest of us, as far as I'm concerned.”)

The voice of Niwa echoes in his mind, a passing thought.

“Its in human nature to want to help people, and because just a simple thing like that meant there was one person who wanted to reach out to you,” a pause, before he adds something far more personal than his normally guarded self would.

“-and because that meant there was at least someone who wanted to help you, even if for nothing in return. Just wanting to do something good. No strings attached.

…It's not a bad thing, at least.”

(This, he supposes, is one of the things that made him long to be like them in the first place.)

You probably wouldn't know just how much it took for him to say these words, just how much your passing words seemed to impact him. You probably wouldn't know either, how saying these words, forcing them out from his artificed jaw had made some part of him feel infinitely lighter. Snapping an invisible shackle from his body.

Making him feel a little more free, in a way.

“Hm.” You fall back into that silence, and he can see you musing to yourself about his words. “Is that what you think?”

??? “I guess so.”

He doesn't see the smile on your face. “You’re a good person, Wanderer.”

Hah. What a joke. Him? A good person? If only you knew. “You shouldn't just assume things about me just because of my words.”

What part about him was good? Humans truly loved to jump into conclusions easily.

(He's a fire, turning everything he cherishes to ashes, and then blaming it on himself. Hazardous to everyone around him. He's nothing like a good person.)

And yet he elicits a laugh out of you, melodious and clear, the sound strangely pleasant in his ears. What audacity.

“Yeah? Well, I guess it's just a feeling. You're pretty blunt, but you have this strange sincerity to you, you know? I like that. It's good, that honesty. It means you can accept the harsh parts of life people normally turn a blind eye to and move forward. That makes you a good person, that type of mindset.”

(Huh. He's never thought of it that way.)

It was still raining. Wanderer can hear the pitter-patter of the droplets from above the tree, gloomy sky overhead. It's sorry weather and this was one sorry conversation, hitting too close to something he thought he had long buried in the dust.

“You’re strange.” he mutters, and you laugh again, smile playing on your lips.

“Thanks, I get that alot.” you snark playfully, turning away from him, already getting back to fixing your things.

The weather was gloomy and dark, but the glow of your smile seemed to overshadow it all.

Indeed, how strange, this conversation.

For the first time in a long, long time, when he dreams, the Wanderer finds that the restlessness that plagued him isn't as suffocating as before.

── ➶-͙˚ ༘✶ ──

“Woah, you can really see the best view here!”

Had he not heard the crunch of the leaves under your feet, perhaps he would've startled, immediately throwing you off with a simple gale from his anemo powers. But you'd probably end up showering him with that stupid hydro vision of yours, so he doesn't entertain the thought, at least for now.

You plop down next to him on the soft bed of grass, one knee propped up to rest your head on. He follows suit, sitting down at one of the vantage points he's come across.

For some reason or another, you both find yourself in each other's company too many times for Wanderer to count. Whether it be from him passing by you in Sumeru City, or spending time at Avidya Forest and seeing you help around with those Forest Rangers, he certainly has seen quite a lot of you these days.

Whenever you do cross paths, he gets dragged into unsavory situations like helping out the people in Avidya Forest, getting a meal at some tavern you introduce him to, ever spontaneous with the incessant conversations about the mundane that he can't help but indulge in.

It has gotten to the point where he begrudgingly accepts the title you bestow upon him as friends.

Ridiculous, unnecessary. He didn't need a human connection, not now, not ever. Why the hell did he not rebuke you? He's received titles that are far more intricate and complex than you could ever imagine, ever comprehend.

(He won't say that he actually does enjoy it, being someone you consider your friend.)

You talk about your travels, about the nations you've been in, about damn almost everything possible. He's never enjoyed chatty humans, but your presence exudes comfort in some way, one that he can't help but return to, despite all his complaints and grumbles about it. He can bicker with you all he likes, spout insults upon insults from his lips, and you'd still see through him anyway, calling him out on his true intentions.

(“You know, you're kinder than you give yourself credit for.”

“That's ludicrous. Did the daydreaming rot your brain too much?”

“You say that, but if so, why are you so insistent in helping me with these simple things?”

A cart full of Zaytun peaches in his hands and yours. A commission for more mora. Your commission. He could've let you do it yourself. So why?

Both of you know why, but the puppet you've come to be endeared with is far too prideful to admit the true reason.

“That's... It was just in a whim. That's all. It's nothing like what you think it is.”

“Heh, sure, whatever you say, Kuni.”)

Whether you've intended to or not, you've glued yourself by his side to the point where he doesn't even know when there's a day he hasn't heard your enthusiastic voice talking about who knows what, and somehow, he finds that he doesn't tire of it at all.

If anything, your presence by his side is like a refreshing breather from everything in his life.

You've helped him immensely, despite the fact that it likely took you a great many times trying to break through his demanding and standoffish nature. For that, Wanderer truly does feel grateful for the fact that you chose to stay by his side despite how prickly he often lauds himself as. It's beneath him, it should be, it is.

(You've made it clear that he can easily get out of this strange arrangement as he sees fit, but even if it came to, the Wanderer can't find it in him to complain. He never does.)

In the duration of your time together, he finds that being the subject of your attention and companionship is something he takes great pleasure in, amugness and haughtiness aside. And frankly? He's firmly attached to it now, and he's sure as hell he's now unwilling to let such an addictive and warm feeling slip by his grasp.

…Maybe Buer wasn't so foolish about this whole companionship thing after all.

(“We’re friends now, you know! Companions, whatever you wanna call it.”

He can see the mirth on your face, the upturn of your lips. He can hear your laugh, and he can almost see your eyes crinkling around the corners. He didn't answer then, only turning his hat away from you to hide his face which houses a smile he’d rather not show you, given your teasing nature.

“Hmph. What childish whims you make me take part in.”

He'd also rather not show you how red his face was, but that was besides the point.

“Aww, you're shy! Hehe, I knew you weren't all gloomy and sarcastic! Come on, let me see how much you like being called my companion!”

“...Be quiet or I’ll take back my words.”

Laughter peals out of you, and the sound makes his smile just a tad bit bigger.

Your friend. Your companion.

That wasn't so bad.)

Out of all the humans he's come across, he thinks you're the most bearable.

The soft glow of the setting sun paints a picturesque view of Sumeru’s forest, amplified by the soft blend of reds, yellows and orange which makes the sunset look even more wonderful. Your hydro vision glints by the angle of the light hitting it, situated near your heart. Similar to his vision’s own placement, he notes with satisfaction.

The occasional breeze passes through as well, making your hair all messed up.

(Endearing.)

“Guess you were right. It is quite pretty here.” You continue, again, smiling at him with that irritatingly dazzling smile as you turn back to the sunset. Something in him stirs.

“The view is... bearable at best.”

He can see you scrunch your face in feigned irritation. “Jeez, just say you agree!”

Wanderer doesn't respond, content to drink in the comfortable silence between you two.

Indeed, for all his wandering, he'd come across many sights that were quite tolerable, a fact that you would understand most, being of similar standing as a traveler. This view in particular better than the rest, he muses.

You look good with the setting sun in the background, lighting your skin aglow. Not that he'd ever admit it to your face or else he'd probably face even more teasing from you, irksome terribly nosy as you are.

You both stay that way, watching the sun descend below the horizon, melting away like a soft flame, the darkness of the night soon to come.

“Hey, Wanderer?”

“What is it this time?” Masking it with feigned irritation, he hopes the fondness of his expression doesn't reach your eyes.

“Thanks for showing me such a pretty view.”

The Wanderer turns to you, the words he painstakingly garnered after internally warring with himself die on his lips, seeing you watch the blood red sun soon disperse, leaving the flickering embers of reds and orange in its wake.

The view, huh?

Yeah, it wasn't so bad.

---

“Oh! Welcome back. You stayed out quite late. Did you have a good time with [Name]?”

Nahida’s gentle tone greets him when he returns. She knows of you, given how frequently you've visited the Sanctuary of Surasthana to bother the ever so aloof puppet. The Sanctuary is relatively quiet, save for the occasional light noise of Wanderer's geta sandals as he descends down the steps.

Night has long graced Sumeru City, the pitch black darkness encompassing the nation, but the lights down below still find that the City itself is still bustling with life, likely soon to close up as the people get ready to rest after a hard day's work.

“It wasn't anything special.” she looks at him quizzically, intent to seek a reaction from the ever so guarded puppet.

It's only when she gets close enough that she stops, a small, knowing smile creeping up her face.

“It was just to see the sunset for a few minutes.”

There, from a miniscule glimpse from behind his face does she notice it.

The red on his cheeks that's all too similar to the shade around his eyes.

── ➶-͙˚ ༘✶ ──

It's been a while since you and the Wanderer have graciously known each other (his words), and to her most eager surprise, Nahida finds that it seems you've changed the puppet for the better.

He's visibly less prone to snapping at people, more mild-tempered (which is a huge improvement in her book) and can even hold conversations with others more— granted, only if she or you were there.

Of course, he still actively avoids delving into the trivialities of mortals, but is content to stay in your company.

His thesis and research papers have seen the light of day more often too, being given to her days early in advance when he normally would've waited till the deadline to submit them.

(“I see that your productivity has increased with regards to your academic endeavors. That's good news!

If I may, what’s with the change of heart?”

She could see the Wanderer scoff, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms, defensive. Like a cat with its fur on end, she likens.

“That's not your business to be concerned about. Besides, aren't you glad I'm finally putting up with this tiresome activity you've given me to learn more about myself like you wanted?”

“Anyway, just take it already. I just-” he'd sputtered then, so uncharacteristic of his normally apathetic nature, tipping his hat low away from her as he hands her the stack of papers.

She doesn't miss the pink hue splattered across his face. The sight is familiar.

“I'm in a hurry to meet someone, and these boring research papers will end up making them wait for me even longer. Need I say anything else?”)

In fact, by the way he's acting lately— the constant hovering around you under the guise of simply going out of the Akademiya to gather research material, the various times she's caught the both of you asleep, shoulder to shoulder in the corners of the House of Daena, scribbles of shared notes and books around you two, the way the Wanderer seems more keen on interacting with you than others…

The rumors that seem to point to him spending much more time outside the Akademiya, and sightings of him across various parts of Sumeru with a certain someone.

And to hit the final nail in the coffin, the final puzzle piece of the dichotomy of the puppet she's harbored in her tutelage, she even caught him making a certain something with great care that's normally atypical of him, clearly tailored to the taste for a certain someone.

Yes, by the information at hand, she could even say that the Wanderer is….

No. She shouldn't jump to conclusions just yet. Wisdom came with knowledge, and she didn't have sufficient knowledge to prove whether her hypothesis was correct.

The wisdom she's gaining here is still invaluable despite it being an arbitrary decision she had just thought of; She had nothing to lose here, and this would bode well in order for her to understand the workings of the puppet once called the Balladeer.

A creak of the Sanctuary’s doors alerts her to the appearance of someone coming inside.

“Nahida…?”

Ah. Perfect timing. It seems she’ll get the answers to her questions today.

“[Name]! What a nice surprise. What brings you here? Is the Wanderer giving you any trouble?”

The shake of your head is vehement, and you're quick to defend the prickly puppet at once. “No, no way! Well– Not too much trouble, anyway. You know how he can be.”

She smiles at that, slightly relieved at how earnest you answer. As expected, you were truly a sweet one, and she can tell why the puppet is intent on sticking by your side. “I see. Then, a friendly chat? If that's the case, feel free to chat with me. We're all friends here, after all.”

“Well… Yeah, about that.” Your expression is sheepish, a little meek. She keeps a mental note of the small color adorning your cheeks. “I wanted to ask for some advice. You know? For me- I mean! For a friend! Yes, for a friend, haha…”

“A friend?” she can play along with this if it meant she would gain insight to her current predicament. “Well then, ask away! Please tell me what this friend of yours needs advice on.”

A deep breath from you, willing yourself to take out the words lodged in the back of your throat.

“Say, Nahida. What would you do if you realize that someone who you've recently spent a lot of time with makes you feel… well, makes you feel, you know.”

Oh?

The God of Wisdom can almost giggle at the way you're trying to get your words to make sense, stringing them together in an instant. When you've clearly mulled it over enough, Nahida cranes her neck to hear your voice.

“Mm? What was that, [Name]?”

You take a deep breath, and spill everything to her.

By the time you exit the Sanctuary of Surasthana, she's trying hard not to fight but a grin on her face, and ultimately falls short.

There's only one final conclusion she's came to, and the puzzle has already come together.

Now, she wonders, if her conclusion was indeed right, how would it go from here? Once she'd understood the situation at hand, she'd given you just a small hint at the feelings she knows is simmering beneath the normally composed Wanderer, and hopes that you'd do well with such information.

This time, would a puppet such as him accept what was to be offered to him? Or would he turn away from it, as he always used to do with what he truly wished to have?

Truly, there were still many questions in this world that needed answering, and this was no exception.

---

“Are you done speaking with Buer?”

The puppet with the huge hat is by your side the instant you exit the Sanctuary. Instead of the usual exuberant energy, the you he's greeted with seems more quiet.

What did that damn god do? He swears, if she had even offended you in some way, he'd–

“....” Still quiet.

“Hey, have you grown mute or something? Look at me.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. We talked. Just about… something trivial. About my travels, that's all! Don't waste your time thinking about it, Kuni.” you're visibly out of it, but you flash him a smile as you always do, immediately heading back to the City.

He's unconvinced that was just the content of your conversation, given that God's need for constant information. He might as well say it. She's more nosy than she gives herself credit for, so he rather hopes you didn't give in to her (most likely) constant questioning.

“Well, if you say so.” immediately turning on his heel and moving, he misses the look you send him, and the words you utter under your breath.

“Yeah, maybe I should trust Nahida.”

“You've always been good at looking past the surface, [Name]! I'm sure this time is no different.”

“Still, what if I thought wrong? What if he simply sees me as his companion, or like, a confidant, and not-”

“That's unlikely. I'm certain he feels the same. But it's always better to try.”

“Well, you're right about that. Are you really, really sure he'll respond the way you think he will?”

“You'll do great regardless of the outcome, you know. Even if things will change between you two because of your decision, the Wanderer will appreciate you regardless. You've been a huge solace to him. Knowing him, he won't let you slip through his grasp easily.”

It's silent for a moment.

“I sure hope you're right.” an exasperated, fond sigh escapes your lips. “Really, he can be so confusing sometimes. Guess that's part of his charm.”

“Hehe, that I agree. You'll definitely do well, [Name].”

“Thanks, Nahida.”

You're having second doubts about what you're doing, each step nearing the Sanctuary of Surasthana you've no doubt the Wanderer is in right now. He'd never willingly go anywhere else on his own accord unless it was here, after all.

In your hand, the small glint of the present you've prepared for a certain someone gleams, spotless and pristine. A lotus pin. Its petals contain liquid resin and encased in it, a real Nilotpala Lotus, the colors resembling the shade of the Wanderer's eyes the reason why you picked it in the first place.

(You hope he likes it.)

Aside from the pin, there's also the letter containing your heart— rather, the feelings that have threatened to burst ever since the day you've come across that beautiful puppet with the strange, strange name. The one you’ve considered to be the sole captor of your attention, and not long after, your adoration.

Ah, what's the point in lying to yourself? From the moment your eyes met those blue-indigo ones, you knew you stood no chance in the feelings that soon enveloped you.

It took some time to get over once you've realized it, the subtle shift of you and the Wanderer’s dynamic growing to be more and more difficult to ignore as you both spend time together.

Just how deeply have you begun to feel for this puppet, longing to be able to see all the sides of him?

His joy, his melancholy, his anger, his arrogance, his haughtiness…. The sides he condemns and holds in a tight grip, and the softer parts of himself which he desperately tries to hide.

How he always seems to be more patient when dealing with children or the elderly on your encounters in Sumeru City or Avidya Rainforest, how his words betray his true intentions, how he’s far more human than he ever believes himself otherwise, being the most caring person you've ever come across, in his own weird ways.

Every second you spend with him, you see even more parts of himself that he bares before you, trusting you to accept it and stay by his side even then. And you do.

You're completely and utterly enamored with him, it's terrifying.

Sumeru was just supposed to be another next stop for you. Being a traveller, partings and meetings with others were transient, fleeting. You didn't expect to feel the growing attachment to this fragile yet untouchable puppet swell until it consumed you.

(You didn't expect to care for him this much, to fall for him this deeply.)

He calls himself someone beneath such simple feelings, but you can't help but hope that perhaps he has grown to care for you as well, in one small corner of his heart.

He may say that he doesn't have one, a homage to his inhuman origins, but you're not buying it. How could you believe him, when all his actions proved otherwise?

You remember when he first opened up to you, a small sight into what made up his entire being, a glimpse behind those stubbornly unreachable walls he's conjured up to protect himself. The both of you were high up in one of the huge trees that only the rainforests of Sumeru can boast, under the canopy of leaves.

He'd been standing, looking at the stars with that same stormy expression you had first seen on him the day the both of you had first encountered each other.

You'd been in awe of the twinkling stars high up in the sky, to which the Wanderer had responded with his normal apathy, immediate nitpick about your supposed ‘simplemindedness at mere balls of gas in the heavens’. It had escalated, a conversation about the stars slowly turning in the direction of fate, and eventually towards questions about yourselves.

(“So I can call you by that name? Kunikuzushi?”

Even though you tried to hide it, there'd been an unmistakable grin on your face. He'd finally told you at least some part of his past! Perhaps this would lead you two to get closer.

And maybe….

Wanderer– Kunikuzushi, rather, crossed his arms, giving you a deadpan look. “You're so happy about that. It's just a name. Use it if you want to. Calling me Wanderer all the time is way too troublesome.”

“Troublesome? I don't think so, though? And of course I'm happy! Finally, here I thought you'd never tell me anything about yourself. This is cause for celebration, you know.”

“Hardly. Only simpletons like you would find it fit to be celebrated, but the sentiment is admirable.” Adorable, hiding his face beneath his hat. The small peek at the normally straight line that is his lips turning upwards tells you all you need to know.

“Riiight… In any case, Kunikuzushi is too long!” he grimaces at that. If it had been anyone else, he probably would've smited them for the slight insult. You aren't just anyone, though.

“So, can I call you Kuni?”

He takes his time weighing the option whether to be dissatisfied with the nickname or not, but in the end, ultimately decides the latter.

“Do whatever you want.”)

Whatever the case, you've already been persuaded by Nahida to tell him about your feelings.

You weren't going to run away from this. You won’t. You were going to give it to him. You were going to give it. Don't be a coward, [Name], this won't hurt anyone at all, and Kunikuzushi—

“What are you talking about, Buer? It's nothing like that.

....Look, they're not that important as you think, you've thought wrong. [Name] is just....”

The Wanderer's voice echoes loudly, irritated. And he's pissed, judging from his tone. Hiding near the steps to the entrance the Sanctuary of Surasthana, you can't help but listen in. Was he arguing with Nahida? And a mention of your name...?

“Are you sure? Because I thought—”

“Well, you thought wrong. There's no way I'd be attached to someone that's as troublesome as them, who can't even learn to take a hint that I don't want to be bothered.”

Huh?

“But, [Name] is a good person. They've clearly helped you immensely, and if you keep ignoring their impact on you, then…”

“They’ve done nothing. They're just– Look, whatever foolish flight of fantasy you've conjured in your head about me and them, it's nothing. Don't bother trying to refute me, because it really isn't anything.”

You hardly pay attention to Nahida's response, too busy trying to steady the emotions currently rushing through your body.

Normally, you’d immediately question his words, chalking them up as him just wanting others to stop prying into his business.

But the sincerity in his words, the finality of it- Was that what he really thought? You thought he at least appreciated your presence. Not… not this. You feel like your chest is threatening to burst.

Did you really mean nothing to him? Was all that time you've spent together really nothing?

You don't know. In fact, now that this riveting declaration he'd given had come to light, all you know is that you don't want to be here right now. He's talked about betrayal before, something in his past. He didn't divulge too many details, but you knew it wounded him deeply.

Now, though? you can't help but think it was you that had been betrayed.

To think that all this time….

Whatever traces of your earlier enthusiasm has died and snuffed out like a flickering candlelight. If he were to spot you now after you know how he truly feels about you, would you be able to face him?

There's only one answer. You can't.

You needed to get out of here, and fast.

So you did.

── ➶-͙˚ ༘✶ ──

When the Wanderer goes to the spot you two meet up frequently and doesn't find you there, he's mildly displeased.

His pride was far too big to quantify, so normally he would've brushed this off, but it was you. You, the only person he'd even relatively opened himself to.

Ever-present you, who he's grown to care for in more ways that he can admit. You, the person he can't help but be drawn to, the one being who's been on his mind far too many times to count. The one who's shown him that in this damn world, there were things that were worth something.

That he was worth something. Worthy of attention, companionship, and all the good things you've brought to him.

He shouldn't be feeling this way, because he really shouldn't. It was just a day without you, how hard could that even be?

But the sting of slight hurt can't help but surface at you not showing up at your designated meeting spot.

You don't show up the next day.

Or the next.

Or the next day after that. And the next day after that day.

There's a sinking feeling in the void where his heart lies, bitterness that can't compare to the coffee he takes in that stupid Lambad's Tavern.

Without the constant rambling of a certain someone inadvertently making his days lighter, his routine has grown as dull as it always has, now that you've left the picture.

(He despises this feeling.)

Ah. Again, someone else had left. You left. Left him just when he was so close to realizing the fact that maybe, this transient connection between you two should be something he could care for, that he was allowed to foster; Something that the Wanderer could finally hold dear.

What a joke.

Though his mind had long cemented the idea that you had indeed left him in the dust as all mortals he'd cherished had, some idiotic, hopeful part of him thought otherwise.

Would you really leave him without warning?

Without good reason? As much as he would like to say to himself that yes, you would, for fate has never been kind to a puppet such as he, always taking what he cherishes away from his grasp, deep down, he knows you wouldn't do that.

The [Name] he knows isn't like that. You could be mischievous, insufferable, stubborn to a head-ache inducing fault, but you weren’t someone who would leave without a reason.

You upheld your beliefs to a strict standard, too tough on yourself sometimes that he finds it irritating, and always so easy to sway. As much as he'd like to disagree, he knows you too much, so much that he undoubtedly believes you wouldn't leave without a reason.

As for why… There had to be a reason why you suddenly thought it was best if you would spend less time with him. Rather, that you stopped spending time with him.

Was it because of his personality?

Immediately, he chuckles humorlessly. Hah, don't be an idiot. If that was why you'd left then you would've left a long time ago.

Then…. something he’d said to hurt your feelings? He doesn't recall anything of the sort so why—

Oh. Oh.

(“Well, you thought wrong. There's no way I'd be attached to someone that's as troublesome as them, who can't even learn to take a hint that I don't want to be bothered.”)

Curse his traitorous tongue.

Immediately as his hopes had risen, they were crushed by the steady, disgusting realization that because of that one conversation with Lesser Lord Kusanali, you had deemed yourself unfit to stay by his side like he's secretly been wishing.

He didn't mean it.

As realization festers like an ugly weed poisoning his mind, it's fear that spikes him like little pin pricks all over his consciousness, before desperation takes over and worsens his already crumbling thoughts. He didn't mean for you to hear that. That wasn't what he meant.

Again, someone he held dear had been stripped away from him and it was all his fault. Again, he was the fool, the puppet that hoped for too much.

(“Nothing is so broken that it can't be fixed.”

“What kind of useless advice did you pick up on your travels? What a joke.”

“Hey, just so you know, I actually believe in this saying! After all, it's true. And it's a wonderful statement, don't you think?”)

“Nothing is so broken that it can't be fixed.” he murmurs to himself like a mantra, and though he tries to stomp it out, he can feel the rush of adrenaline pumping his mechanical joints, willing him forward.

He had to apologize. At least, clear up what you had heard that day, tell you that no, that wasn't what he meant. It wasn't what he meant at all.

This was selfish of him, truly, and he won't deny that perhaps he doesn’t deserve to face you, but who cares?

He's grown far too deep into this bond with you that even if Celestia itself had threatened to tear it apart, tear you two apart, he'd use every part of himself to resist, to tie back those broken strings, damn pride forgotten in the winds.

If it wasn't salvageable anymore, then he'd make it so that it is. He'd tell you that he didn't think you were a bother, or that you were just a simple passerby in his long life.

He'd tell you that he’s sorry, that you were more than those things, that you've been more than just a simple companion to him for a long time already. That you've been more than that for a long, long time. If you would allow it, he'd tell you that he—

No. He needs to focus on finding you first. That can wait until after he sees even a glimpse of you.

Now that he has a clear goal in mind, the Wanderer works with a brutal efficiency that he once harbored, back when he held the title of the Balladeer.

Though that version of him is long behind him, if it could speed up the process of finding you, then he'd use it.

He'd use any means necessary right now.

So, he heads to your residence, determination filling his body and a simple outcome in his sights.

── ➶-͙˚ ༘✶ ──

“Are you sure about this, [Name]? You said you really, really like Sumeru… Maybe you should really think about it more! You might regret it if you don’t!” 

Paimon’s voice is sympathetic, and clearly because of how haggard you looked. You thank the heavens she and Aether don't question the tear stains on your face. 

“Sorry, Paimon, but I’m sure. I’m not changing my decision.” your voice is a little hoarse from the crying from earlier and probably the day before that, but you put on a brave face to reassure the floating girl. “And right now, I'd think a trip to Fontaine is much better than staying in Sumeru.”

Aether and Paimon look at each other, concerned looks on their faces. It warms your heart, despite the fact that you don't know them all too well and just decided to tag along when they mentioned they were headed off to the Nation of Justice. 

You've only heard about Aether in passing, often talked about by the very reason you had even left the Land of the Dendro Archon. The hero of Mondsdat, the outlander, Sumeru’s savior, the endless titles leave you reeling even still. If it were any other day, perhaps you would be taken with him, someone you admire immensely in the flesh.

Too bad your heart is still stuck on one particular puppet. Really, what luck, falling for the one man (puppet) who was as untouchable as he was prideful.

This wasn’t you coping, no, but now that you think about it, this outcome wasn’t something to be surprised about. The Wanderer had made it clear his view on human relationships. It was you who had simply assumed that perhaps like those cliche light novels you’ve come across, maybe there could’ve been something else born out of the companionship you and the Wanderer shared.

“Just know that you’re always welcome to travel with us.” Aether says simply, giving you a simple smile. Luckily, you find it in you to smile back, just a bit. You’re really grateful for them.

But then your mind wanders, back to your residence, back to the contents of the conversation you’ve heard out of Kuni’s– Wanderer’s– mouth. Fine. If this was what he wanted, you stopping to bother him like he so loudly explained– then he’d get it.

The gift you’d made for him, the letter. Just thinking about it made you want to sink into a hole and just never come out.

(Maybe he’d come looking for you. Maybe he’d miss you, feel the depth of your absence like you do for him. You wish he does. You hope he does, really. You were really a goner.)

Looking at Port Ormos’ docks, watching the boat that’ll take all three of you to Fontaine get closer as you begin to forcefully open a new chapter of your adventures, your heart can’t find it in you to be excited at all, although normally you’d be thrilled at the idea of even visiting a nation you’ve been unfamiliar with. You’d probably be chatting away with Aether and Paimon right now, asking about the food, the best sights, everything.

You should be doing that. It’d give you a reason for your mind not to wander and think about the crippling weight of your decision and the feelings that are still very much stirring up within you, with the cause being a certain man with a large hat.

Ugh, could you even stop thinking about him? For all you know, Kuni might just happen to be around the corner and—

“And just what do you think you’re doing now, hm? Intending to leave after you so carelessly hadn’t informed me? Didn’t you say that we were companions? I get that you tend to be forgetful, but even so, this is too much.”

Oh my god.

You’ve never whipped your head around so fast, turning your body towards the source of that familiar, arrogant tone. Lo and behold, speak of the man and he shall appear. What in the world was he doing here? He looks like he’s about to murder someone right now. You hope that someone isn’t you, but there wasn’t anyone else he was looking at dead in the eye, so that’s all for your hopes.

(And why did you feel so relieved? Get a grip on yourself, you fool! This wasn’t a damn tragedy movie.)

From the corner of your eye, you can see Aether and Paimon giving you two strange looks. You can't blame them. It was weird seeing the normally unbothered Wanderer in the company of someone other than Nahida.

Nonetheless, you face him straight in the eye, eyebrows raised and defiant. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at Sumeru City?”

He tries to answer, but you can see that he falters momentarily, and that seamless face of his morphs into something that– you hope you weren’t imagining it– something that you can only plainly describe as regret, that in which you can’t help but feel an inexplicable pang in your heart.

Then, you notice it.

Pinned above his vision, with the golden feather he seems to carry with him everywhere. The lotus pin. Right, you’d left it at the inn you were staying in, not wanting to see it again after… Wait a moment, he’s wearing it.

You've hardly the time to feel elated when you feel it. A tug of your hand. You try to remove it from your own, but you’d underestimated the strength he harbors in that lithe body of his; he’s pulling you to the side, immediately heading in the opposite direction. For a moment you’re almost swept into the visage that seems straight out of a romance novel, his hand firmly in place in yours. “Wh-! Hey, Wanderer, wait…!”

Only when you’ve both crossed a specific distance from the docks and in a rather sketchy alleyway with no prying eyes to bother you both does he see fit to let go of you, stopping abruptly that you almost bump into him had it not been for his hat.

It's almost ironic. You'd first met him in an alleyway not too dissimilar to this, and now you're both in another alleyway, this time not as strangers, but as two individuals who have wormed their way into each other's lives so deeply that the presence of the other bleeds, so entangled and mixed into the life of the other in a manner that allowed something far more personal to fester like ink bleeding into a blank canvas, unable to be scrubbed away.

“What were you thinking?”

Is he actually asking this now? What’s more, not even sparing a single glance at you. Honestly, you’ve had it with him. If he wanted to play this way, then so be it.

“What am I thinking? What are you thinking?” you hiss, crossing your arms. “I was just heading off to a new destination of mine, like all travelers do. Yet you act like it’s the end of the world or something. If anything, aren’t you glad I’m not here to bother you anymore?”

“'...So you did hear me and Lesser Lord Kusanali’s conversation. I knew it. Tell me, what else did you hear?”

“That’s… none of your business. Now leave me be, the boat’ll be arriving soon and I don’t intend to be late. Unless you’re purposefully trying to stop me?” 

A smirk from him. So he still had the gall to look haughty? “What if I am trying to stop you? What would you do then?”

“Then I’d run away.”

“You know I’m faster than you, right? Or are you forgetting I can use my vision to keep up?”

“So? It can’t hurt to try. Who knows, maybe I’ll use my vision to walk on water to escape you. That'd be a sight to see.” you say, stubbornly sticking to your stand. “Enough bickering, Wanderer, let’s just save the small talk and get to the point. Why are you really here?”

Again, that look of regret flashes across his face. “....”

You wait for him to speak. When he doesn’t, you immediately turn away back to the direction of the boat. Of course that gets him talking.

“I didn’t mean them. The things I said to Buer, it- it wasn’t…. I really didn’t mean it, [Name].” there’s urgency in his voice, a hint of desperation too, one that seemed almost at the edge of tipping over. “Believe me, I didn’t mean them, I swear.”

You aren’t ready for this right now. “Then why say it in the first place? To Nahida, too…! I can’t possibly believe that you didn’t mean them.”

“I’ll keep saying it till you believe it.” the intensity in his voice is firm and determined, surety in it that makes you feel warm from head to toe. Dangerous. He really doesn't know just how much he affects you. Damn him and his stupidly pretty face.

“You’re more than just a companion to me.”

── ➶-͙˚ ༘✶ ──

Please, self-control. Do not be swayed by that face.

But the softness in his tone when he says these words inform you of the sincerity of what the Wanderer is trying to convey, the nature of his words right out in the open, unmasked and raw, bearing itself to you. Genuine regret and guilt fill his expression, and if you decide to look closer, you can see it. The small outline of tears from his eyes.

You can’t look at him. You can’t, or else you know you’re going to be a goner.

“How do I know that’s not a lie?” you challenge, voice small, sneaking a peek at him. There’s a breathless chuckle from him, as if endeared by the thought. The expression he holds right now leaves your mind utterly blank, the fondness in it, the affection seeping from his eyes in waves, a fact that you notice firsthand. You always notice.

“Do you really always have something to say at a time like this?” his words lack bite, amused more than anything. “Then, if you don’t believe me…”

He draws closer to you, close enough that you can push him away if you so desired. You can see him look at you momentarily, a silent question. When you don’t refuse, however, he seems satisfied, and takes it as a signal to proceed.

“I’ll just have to prove it.”

What was happening? Hold on, was he really going to—

His touch is cold, but comforting. Thumb brushing against your jaw, to your lips. So softly, and so lovingly it leaves you in a mess, face burning. You can feel the ghost of his touch on your skin, the spot he’d held with such care still smoldering in its wake. He cradles your face in his hands like it was you that were precious porcelain, but he doesn’t close the distance like you’ve envisioned.

Instead, you find that there’s hesitance in him, a line he desperately tries not to cross, not from repulsion, but fear. Fear that this was all a dream, that it would be taken away from him in a heartbeat. Fear that you would be taken away, whisked into an unfortunate end like so many others he held dear. Fear for what it meant if he embraced the tempest of feelings he’s long harbored for you.

Fear for what it meant if he held you.

It’s this very fear that’s brought upon the teardrops falling down his face. And oh, how beautiful he looked despite his sorrow. How glad you feel, the sole witness to his spirit, the unwavering bundle of mysteries that makes up who he is.

You hadn’t forgiven him for his words back at the Sanctuary that day, but that would be brought up later, and hopefully by the end of this, banished from your mind, a simple misunderstanding.

For now, with equal tenderness as you would handle a treasure, you wipe away the tears that encompass the flawless canvas that is the Wanderer, and the world seems to stop at the way you both stare at each other, wordless. Words were unnecessary, for the eyes have always been the window to the soul.

His gaze overflows with unspoken words and apologies and the hidden nature of his true intentions. You've no doubt yours holds the same weight.

Stay, his eyes seem to scream. Stay with me.

For once there’s no playful banter, bickering, or any other devices that mask the true nature of your feelings. You can hear the faraway call of the boat’s captain for any passengers heading to Fontaine to come and hurry! but you’ve long made up your mind. 

bonus: clear skies after the storm.

“Did you see Hat Guy pull [Name] away like that? Oh, he’s definitely up to no good! Traveler, do you think we need to check on them? He seemed like he wanted something out of them, though… You know how scary he can be if he wants to.”

The chatter of Paimon’s voice flies over his head, with Aether simply dismissing her thoughts.

You didn’t come on the boat after all. But still, he’s not paying heed to Paimon’s words, because it really didn’t seem that way.

In fact, by the way he held your hand, the utter relief he’d seen in the Wanderer’s face when he'd found you, the slight protectiveness he'd displayed over you, and the way your eyes had lit up at the sight of the former Harbinger, Aether could even say that you two were…

Suddenly, it clicks.

“Ah... So it was a lover’s spat.”

“Huh? A lover's spat? What are you talking about now!?”

@ MHIIEEE 2023 : do not copy, repost, or plagiarize my work.

#others writing #genshin impact #genshin x reader

[cutie-writes]

x : LUNCH BREAK :*+ﾟ

in which: you don't visit wriothesley during his lunch break after last night's argument, so he goes to the court of fontaine just to see you.

warnings: approx. 1.9k words, PURE FLUFF, gn!reader x pathetic and soppy and lovesick wriothesley, canon setting, reader works at the court of fontaine, post-argument so very minimal angst, probs not in character LOL

a/n: there's not a lot of content regarding fontaine or wriothesley rn so i apologise if this isn't completely in character. what i do not apologise for, however, is the urge to make him as lovesick as possible.

There is a notable tension in the Fortress of Meropide, and although a prison isn’t a place for rainbows and sunshine, today it feels especially devastating. It seems that the lord of the prison is the one responsible for it.

Brooding at his desk, Wriothesley glances occasionally at the clock on his desk, growing more and more impatient with each document he has to read through. He is waiting for something: a knock on his door. He is waiting for the call of his name, the reason for their interruption, then your name will reach his ears and an unmatched excitement will bloom in his chest. Then you’ll slip through the doors with lunch for two, he’ll pull out a chair for you right beside him, and mask professionalism that betrays the eagerness your presence always brings out. 

Your absence must be because of the argument that happened last night. One that remained unresolved because he went to bed before you, too furious to try to talk it out. Yet, when Wriothesley woke in the morning, a wave of guilt washed over him when you weren’t pressed against him like usual. Instead, you were on the other side of the mattress, further than an arm’s length away whilst turned away from him and Fontaine’s chilly mornings had never felt colder.

If he didn’t need to go to work much earlier than you, he would have waited until you had woken up to leave, but being the lord of the Fortress of Meropide meant that his presence was demanded. So, with a lingering kiss to your cheek and then your temple, he leaves into the dewy mornings of Fontaine, looking forward to his lunch break that the two of you often share together.

Except now, lunch is almost over and there hasn’t been a knock on his door. No one has called his name- not people he cared about, at least. You haven’t slipped through the heavy set of doors. You haven’t come down from the Court of Fontaine to visit him, and Wriothesley’s patience is thinning.

His fingers itch with the need to hold you, to tuck you close to his chest and just keep you there for a few moments as time pass by. Especially after last night, Wriothesley needs you now more than ever. 

By the time there’s only one hour left in the work day, he snaps. Stands up from his seat with an unmatched sense of fervour because of the unnervingly quiet day and snatches his coat from the hanger, leaving documents unread as he makes a beeline for the exit of the prison. The guards listen attentively to Wriothesley’s final commands for the day in his absence and once the information is cemented, the dark-haired is off without another second wasted.

You, on the other hand, sit in your office drowned in piles upon piles of papers. Wriothesley is a passing thought every now and then, the memories of last night’s harsh argument settling like weights in your stomach. You miss Wriothesley, very dearly, and all you want is to settle things with him. However, the image of his furious eyes and clenched jaw terrifies you beyond belief, you’re not even sure if he’ll be calmer by the time you get home, so for the first time ever, you dread the idea of going home. 

What you are completely unaware of, however, is your lover that is storming your way, desperate to receive the medicine that will cure his moodiness and irritation. 

The knock on your door distracts you from the piles of papers on your desk. 

“Who is it?” you call out, voice reverberating around the spaciousness of your office.

“It’s Wriothesley, can I come in?” His tone is sharp and leaves no room for you to reject him, but the mere sound of his voice causes you to stiffen, grip on your pen tightening as the papers before you lay forgotten. 

What is Wriothesley doing here? He normally never comes up to the Court of Fontaine just to see you because leaving the prison would be far too neglectful. There was also half an hour before he was done for the day, so could there be official business that needs to be discussed? Something urgent, perhaps? 

If it was urgent, then why come to you and not Monsieur Neuvillette- or even Lady Furina?

“Yeah- yes, you can come in,” you mutter.

When the door clicks open, Wriothesley practically barges through, door shutting behind him as he marches towards you. Getting up from your chair, you’re frightened with anticipation due to  how intense his stance is. 

“Is something the matter?” You begin, panic seeping into your voice as he pauses before you, determination setting his eyes ablaze as he eyes you down like prey. “Wriothesley, you’re scaring me, did something happen at the prison-”

“Where were you at lunch?” He demands.

You blink. “Excuse me?”

“Why didn’t you come visit?” 

“Is… is why you came up here? To ask why I didn’t visit you during lunch?”

He nods, expression stern as usual save for a small pout.

“I was swamped with work,” you half-lie, gesturing to the desk behind you and although there is clear evidence on your table through the form of stacked folders and paper, a storm of uncertainty brews in his blue eyes. “I couldn’t visit if I wanted to get these done, I apologise.”

The dark-haired frowns. “Is that it?”

“Yes. That’s all.” His eyebrows furrow, creating crease marks in his forehead that you want to kiss away, alleviating his worries, but you hold yourself back from doing so in fear that Wriothesley does not want you touching him. 

However, a switch is flicked when Wriothesley’s stern expression softens, melting into one resembling a kicked dog. “So you’re not upset with me?” 

“Oh, is that also on your mind?”

“Of course, I don’t like it when you’re upset with me,” your lover mutters, looking away bashfully to conceal the reddening of his cheeks. “You aren’t though, right?”

“No, not upset. Scared, maybe, but definitely not upset.” 

His eyes are glossy when he looks back at you. “Scared, why are you scared?” 

“W-we didn’t end on a good note last night,” you rub your wrist nervously. “I didn’t know if you would be happy with seeing me. On top of that, you can be really intimidating sometimes, so admittedly, I was a little scared to come see you just in case that you did not want me there.”

Wriothesley visually deflates with your last statement, shoulders dropping and eyes glistening as he murmurs a small, pathetic, “is that so?”

He wonders what part about him ever made it seem like he never wants you beside him, and the thought that he had frightened you enough to prevent you visiting him is an upsetting one. You must see it in his eyes with the way you frantically begin to explain yourself. 

“Oh no, darling, I didn’t mean it like that-”

He turns his head away again, disappointed in himself. It’s one thing for his prisoners to consider him intimidating but it’s another for you, his own lover, to think so as well, and the thought that he had scared you creates insurmountable shame to swell within him. Yet, his whirlwind of anxieties ceases when your hand goes to cup his cheek, gently prompting him to look at you. Then, a kiss is pressed to the corner of his lips, and his heart skips a beat at the sensation, love blocking his airways when you pull away to smile up at him. 

“As scary as you might be, oh great lord of the Fortress of Meropide, I also know you will never hurt me,” you reassure. “Rather, I feel safest when I’m around you, please never doubt that.”

Wriothesley sighs, hand snaking up to grip your waist and pull you closer to him. “Thank you, my love. But I beg, even if you assume I am upset with you, please keep visiting my office during lunch, it is the part of the day I look forward to most.”

“If that is your request then maybe you just need to be good and listen to me instead of arguing until your head pops off,” you tease, patting his face twice and he huffs before muttering an ‘understood’. Anything to see you. “Is there something else you need from my office?”

“No, just wanted to see you,” he looks at the brown paper bag in his hands. “I brought you lunch, just in case you didn’t eat.” 

“Wriothesley,” you melt, “how thoughtful of you. I’ll make sure to eat it when I finish reading those contracts.”

“You should eat now, though. Don’t drown yourself in work, it’s not healthy.”

“I wish it were that easy, but these piles were dumped on my desk this morning and were assigned to be done by the end of the week.”

The hand that was on your waist comes up to gently hover over your cheek and Wriothesley studies you, icy eyes hardening due to the fatigue present in your expression. You grab his wrist, trying to diverge his attention, but you should know better than assuming that your wellbeing isn’t of utmost importance to him. “Unacceptable, I should have a word with your supervisor-”

“-no, no, Wriothesley! I insist, this is manageable.”

He frowns, deep and serious before surrendering to your pleas. “Fine, but if it doesn’t get better by the end of the week, then I will be interfering.”

“If you do so, my supervisor will be too scared to come in for a month,” you squeeze his wrist and gently guide it away from your face, ignorant to how your neglect for your own health hurts Wriothesley as well. He knows you love your job, but he still thinks that you deserve to live life carefree, that you should get everything you want without ever lifting a finger. “It’s alright, dear, you mustn’t worry about me when your work is a thousand times more stressful.”

“Impossible.” He worries about you every second of the day. Telling Wriothesley to stop fretting over you would be like telling him to stop breathing. “Now eat.” 

You yelp when he pulls you towards your chair, sitting you down. From the paper bag, he takes out a sandwich, one that you recognise is from one of fontaine’s favourite cafés, and he carefully unwraps it before raising it to your mouth.

“Wriothesley… this is a little embarrassing,” you whisper, wrapping your arms around yourself.

He doesn’t say anything, just persistently stares at you, gaze intense enough for you to give in. As you lean in to take the first bite, you are bashfully looking away from your lover, who wears a pleased expression, satisfied with the fact that you’re letting him take care of you. 

The tension from last night’s dispute hasn’t completely melted away, there are still things that need to be discussed calmly, but as you keep trying to push his hand away and battle Wriothesley’s indestructible stubbornness, he knows it will work out in the end. You love him and he loves you, and if you ever forget to visit him during lunch break again, then he’ll have to tear himself away from the prison and come up, just to meet you.

© EARTHTOOZ 2023, do not steal, translate, repost my fics and do not recommend my fics onto any other site.

#a classic #genshin x reader #wriothesley x reader #others writing #others posts #safe read

[cutie-writes]

Genshin Characters as the Weird Shit that Happens at my Work

(I work at a roller rink/ family entertainment)

Got their head stuck in a claw machine because they were out of money but absolutely needed that prize: klee, bennett, ITTO, kirara

On the jungle gym despite being a grown ass man literally on a business call: childe, heizou, wriothesley, venti

Complained about the structure of the building as though I created the shit: KAVEH, dori , ninguang

Asked for a refund when they never paid for anything: zhongli, fischl, furina

Had to be escorted off the rink after collapsing drunk on their ass: beidou, kaveh, VENTI

Loudly complained about his life with the bartender to a point that he hid in the back until they were gone: KAAAVEH, venti, kaeya

brought a knife in and had the audacity to act shocked that the police arrived: CHILDE, rosaria, xiao

Bragged about their VIOLENT charges across the entire state that somehow went unnoticed yet was a manager for several months????: childe, eula, wanderer

Had a break down over the rubber duck machine: furina, razor, diona

Let out the most god awful fart and blamed it on the kid next to him: HEIZOU, venti, ITTO

Dressed up as Jesus and went out on the roller rink: barbara, venti, nilou

Somehow managed to stuff the mini trash cans into the toilets?: xingqiu, klee

Accidentally broke the door off a locker: raiden shogun, itto, bennett

Gave the nicest smile before obliterating the party room: xiangling, zhongli, kaeya, YAE MIKO, ayato, ayaka

Wanted to know when the “rat guy” is coming: qiqi, albedo, lyney & lynette, xiao

Bitched about their mom when she was right behind them: wanderer

STOLE $400 WORTH OF POKÉMON CARDS????: cyno

Skated with a fucking lizard on his shoulder: tighnari, wriosthesley, baizhu, razor

Got in trouble with another mom for laughing when her kid ate shit: yae miko, hu tao, deyha, heizou *The Mom: jean, nahida, candace

Took a nap behind the front counter: LAYLA, lisa, kokomi, sayu

Decided this was a great place to read: xingqiu, kazuha, alhaitham, neuvillette, yanfei

*Pissed that it was too loud to read: Alhaitham (forgot his headphones) xingqiu, yanfei

Went on a sugar high that can only be described as traumatic: chongyun, furina, klee, raiden shogun, shenhe

Took a nap upstairs despite the fact we were literally robbed an hour ago: lisa, sayu, layla, albedo, wriothesley, yelan

Randomly on the roof after closing and noticed our dumpster was on fire?: XIAO, nahida, diluc, rosaria, freminet

Sang the entire high school musical discography while we cleaned the restrooms: BARBARA, amber, yoimiya, noelle, xingyan

Joked about a customer meeting god up close and personal if he slips on the rink: hu tao, rosaria

Asked for spare change while the fire alarm went off and we were evacuating: albedo, mona, alhaitham

*The one who pulled the fire alarm: wanderer, childe, klee

Took one hit of a vape and just about croaked: baizhu, mona, yunjin

Cracked their head open and tried to skate the next day: itto, childe, dehya

Gave all the employees sparkly stickers: yao yao, kokomi, nilou, nahida

#cutie writes #genshin spoilers #genshin imagines #genshin impact #genshin hcs #alhaitham #kaveh #childe #tartaglia #diluc #neuvillette #wriothesley #fontaine #sumeru #my writing #mine

[cutie-writes]

physical affection

includes; dazai, chūya, ranpo, atsushi

tags; these get just slightly suggestive (but its nothing too much).headcanons + some drabbles & shorts. these r longer than it should be - I got so carried away

I just woke up so if u find mistakes pls let me know :) I'm posting this before I come up with an excuse to delete it altogether

-

—DAZAI

handsy - that's really the only descriptor you need.

honestly, everyone knows you're his partner with how he acts around you; hand on your thigh, waist, shoulder. having to kindly smack him on the back of his head when his hands trailed a little too far-

^ only for him to send you a pout and doe like eyes that fade when you indulge him a kiss. he has zero shame (often at the expense of receiving a sneer from kunikida who had the misfortune of witnessing sometimes. even then, he didn't stop kissing you)

favorite spot is the inside of your palms and knuckles - with a lingering yield on your pulse point. if you ever kiss those areas on him, he'll have cartoon hearts around him & everything

holding his face though? call him your pretty boy or literally anything sappy and he thinks he might just die on the spot.

on the flip side he's also… a bit of a bitch.

traces your bottom lip tauntingly with his thumb, the other is cupping your head to keep your gaze on him. he maintains keen eye contact and relishes in the way you crack while he remains steady.

his mouth is so close that when he speaks, you could feel it vibrate against your lips. but he never closes the distance, he makes you do that instead for teasing benefits :/(if you're shorter than him, it's so over)

revoke his kissing rights and he trails like a lost puppy behind you. " just one, bella?" he whines when you maneuver your head away. it's cute seeing him get all pouty - not so much when his patience runs thin and he takes matters into his own hands

-> caging you in his physique and kissing you hard. fingers calloused are rubbing against your jaw or brushing past your ear to interlock, teasing the surface of the skin as he does so. he enjoys the tremors and shivers it elicits, such reactions becoming burned in the back of his head.

you could barely make a sound with the vigor he expresses his cravings in with your bottom lip becoming captured between his canines

contrary to his theatrical displays, however, i also believe he exhibits a softened demeanor when cherishing you proper (soft dazai agenda)

the tempo of his kisses are slow yet not in accordance with his teasing. while the meandering of his hands grows greedy, when he speaks his voice is reduced to a low whisper, mumbling sweet phrases with each kiss.

✿

dazai wants to blame the bottom of sake for his vermillion flushed cheeks. more alarmingly, he wanted to ignore the way his heart squeezed when you reciprocated the kiss.

" darling," he pulls away, studying your expression. your hair was tousled, a swell blooming on your bottom lip from his recurrent nibbling and ministrations. the moment wasn't perfect, but he could bask in it for a lifetime. " are you getting sleepy?"

the pretty brown eyes you met were half-lidded and blinking. his bangs traced along your forehead from where he hovered, and if you squint, perhaps you would have noticed how the pink of his cheeks deepened the tiniest bit when you laughed at the tickling sensation.

you murmur something intelligible, the words swallowed by his mouth; he shivers when the syllables reverbate against him and the hand at your hip falters slightly. when he reels back, he remains close enough for his forehead to brush yours.

" repeat that, love."

" i said," you mumble, kissing the corner of his mouth. " can we to stay like this forever?"

almost instantaneously his body shakes in anticipation, heart lurching at the sincerity; how can you be so honest to a known liar like him? he slowly nods, his body arching until your chests were touching and breath pricked at your cheek. ever greedily, he seeks out another exchange, this one careful with a lingering touch of desperation.

an "okay" became lost as he gingerly grabs your chin, angling it just the tiniest bit to deepen it. in between the withdrawals and recoil, dazai chooses to ignore the way his breath stills in the pinnacle of moment, made potent when he twines his hand with yours. he provides the appendage a firm squeeze in coordination with the stirring in his chest, your inhales and exhales becoming synchronized.

he can't lie, he's been thinking just as much.

✿

dazai also likes your hands. chances are his are bigger than yours and he finds himself comparing hand sizes with you. his eyes crinkle when your fingers are dwarfed by his.

adjoined limbs are swayed back and forth when you walk together. same applies with intertwined legs, but when he's not busy doing that, he's playing footsie beneath the table.

he needs to be with you whenever he can!! the spot across your table remains permanently empty as he makes a home of sitting as close as possible next to you instead

he can't even be embarrassed with overly sappy displays, not when he's loving it twice as much. " good morning, osamu," you once said, palms cupping his face. he doesn't know if something has ever made his heartbeat spiked as hard as that did. " can I have a kiss?"

if he didn't turn to putty from the request alone, then it was the way you circled your thumbs on his cheekbones when he brushes his lips to yours. tentatively, he curls his hands behind your waist, holding you close before you get too far.

" can i have some more?" his eyes are shimmering in mischief as ever but his skin has progressively grown warmer since you've found him.

dazai is cuddly. getting to hold you close and listen to your heartbeat? yeah, he could die happy right now

unsurprisingly, napping with him is among his favorite passing time activities.

the closest you may get to see a vulnerable side to him is if you card your fingers through his hair. admittedly, he finds it troubling how his built-up walls crumble so easily with a couple of strokes. but the only thing he can focus on now is the sensation of fingers devoid of pain carefully tend through his hair and how warm his chest feels

kisses on the forehead when you're in need of comfort ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶

✿

" i'm right here, love." when you glance up at him with red eyes and puffy cheeks he could feel his heart break right into two. even more so when your voice cracks and he tries to hide the way his face drops when it echoes in the somber ambience.

attentively, he cups your cheeks as his lips apply delicate pressure against your forehead. he sighs when he feels your trembling hands subdue and your breathing regulate; its panning against his skin rivaled any other comfort he could ever receive.

" better?" when you nod, he could feel his grin return, just a bit weaker. " today has been hard on you. get some rest."

" can you stay with me?" he already knew the answer in his head but it still makes chest swarm tremendously.

he gives your hand a gentle squeeze, lips brushing your forehead again. " of course."

he wasn't the one needing comfort and yet he still felt a deep-rooted tingle right in his chest when you hugged him closer than usual. he depised the circumstances behind it, but he couldn't deny the way it made his barren chest feel less akin to a husk when you felt so secured against him.

his hands start to comb shrough your hair, watching as the strands bend between his fingers and he ensures to provide your scalp proper attention now and again.

he wasn't sure if he'll be able to sleep, he was more concerned in making sure you did.

he blinks when you move to press your cheek against his chest, right where his heart should be. " thank you," your words were muffled against clothes, sending vibrations along his bones.

" you don't have to thank me." he places a last kiss to your forehead, the longest one of the night. his legs shift to intertwine with yours, listening keenly to the sound of your breath until it slows into an assuaging rhythm.

dazai can't recall the last time he had to take care of someone. it's made apparent as he grapples with uncertainty - almost becoming overwhelming with how powerless he felt in the situation.

though tonight, he was sure to hold you a little tighter.

✿

likewise if you kiss his scars and the skin beneath the bandages, he could feel the breath in his throat still and his heart do cartwheels. it's been so void of human touch for so long and he appreciates the care you exhibit towards something he considers to be ugly.

" all better now!" you punctuated your words with a kiss to the newly coiled cotton on his arms. dazai could do nothing but swallow hard, his "thank you" mumbled under his breath; he didn't like the pain, but it wasn't so awful when you spoiled him like this ♡

neck kisses + scattering the expanse of your throat with baby bruises you can not hide. afterwards, he traces it out with his index finger while he takes in the markings with great interest.

when it starts to fade he gladly renews them

✿

" that tickles," you murmur, voice reduced to a whisper; you couldn't trust yourself, not with dazai scattering kisses along the exposed patches of your neck. the rehearsal of which doesn't falter, even when you tug on his increasingly unruly curls.

" my apologies, 'bella," you wince as he captures a patch of your skin between his teeth. " i think i've found my favorite form of art." he has the gall to feign a tone of sympathy, lips arcuated at the growing disparity.

in addition to the nibbling, his fingers skimmed along your torso, moving in taunting lines he knew ran your sanity thin. dazai knew all the places that made you shiver, it was a piece of information that became abused with the movement of his hands in that moment.

against your rationality, you sunk into his touch, fingers twitching along his roots. it brought a simper you couldn't see but his satisfaction is made apparent when his actions grow sloppy, scattering along the expanse of your throat and meandering along your collarbone.

" you had every chance to leave," he smirks when you don't reply, content with the way your nails briefly printed on him. predictably, he gives another nibble on your skin, tugging back gently. " this might be my favorite spot."

right on the center of your unguarded throat.

" i can't hide those there."

he laughs, breath cascading skin. " that's what i want, darling." he thinks he might lose himself when you bring a particular tug in his hair, a sound akin to a grunt reverberating against your throat.

" you're being mean." dazai makes the mistake of pulling back, gracing him with your disheveled hair, reddened lips and growing streaks of red. already he finds it to be his favorite piece of jewelry.

" don't look so down," he pressed a kiss to one of the blooming blemishes, grinning as it became more pronounced. " you'll get your turn soon."

-

—CHŪYA

he takes his gloves off when he goes to touch your face. he doesn't want the sensation of skin on skin to be hamper by the piece of article.

kisses to your temples & neck are exchanges he shares on the frequent. though depending on the height difference, it may also be a gesture reserved for when you're sitting on his lap or cuddled up into him. head kisses in particular feel appropriate for anything really

as for himself, i'd say he likes to be kiss on the lips(mainly so he can distract from the growing crimson that tickles his forehead)

but it's hard with the handsome face chūya has. his growing pout tells you he's growing impatient when you favor his cheeks, but the hand gripping your sleeves are so counterproductive

" can you do it properly?" he gruffs, brows furrowing that weaken by your persistence. his skin was growing warm from the kisses you spoiled him with but it hardly compares to the proper thing on his lips, aching for the familar sensation almost painfully.

he shivers when you trail to his mouth, just shy of it and his grip tightens. " like this?"

his eyes flutter shut when you close the distance and before he could realize it, his hands began to sift through your hair. " yeah," his exhale was shaky, voice dropping to a low lilt. " don't stop that."

he sleeps with his head buried in your stomach - his nose is brushing against your abdomen with toned arms slithering around you like a form of cocoon

it reaches a peak when you brush your thumb over his scalp, and you can physically note the way the muscles in his body sink. you can't see his face, greeted instead by a cascade of reds; but his lips pull into a grin at the action

it grants you the opportunity to play with his hair. and sometimes, when he wakes up to find the claw clips and cute brooches that push his bangs aside and show off his pretty eyes, he won't be tempted to remove them right away.

✿

he wanted to roll his eyes when he saw you pull out the collection of hair clips, taunting pastels and neons gawking back at him. but he has to admit, he stopped caring the moment you started to play with his strands of hair. the locks weaved through your fingers, silky and soft stirring a form of ease that compels him to remain still. when he did move, it was only in an effort to bring himself closer, almost like snuggling(though he profusely denies it as such and regards you a scoff that doesn't compliment the rest of his actions).

had he not been treading precariously the boundaries of sleep, he may have been able to pick up on the way his heart quickened; a solace riveting up his spine and leaving in the form of a breathy sigh.

he blinks his eyes at you, nose scrunched up when you start mapping out his handsome features with your thumb. " you're getting distracted."

you acknowledge his statement with a coy grin and chūya felt his heart swell even at its simplicity. "i know." you move to press your lips to his forehead; if the smile wasn't enough to dissipate the frown on his face, that was the drug.

a flash of color peeks in the corner of his eye as you draw another clip. " i was just wondering how you would look in pigtails," you joke and chūya could feel his face twist— eye twitching at your jest.

" you're pushing your luck."

" it won't be that bad, chū."

" i could leave right now." his voice was terribly unconvincing when brooches adorned his head.

" you would have left a long time ago." you grin when he doesn't refute you. " just relax."

chūya knows he's defeated when you thumb his scalp again, eyes screwing shut involuntarily. " you're enjoying this too much," he grumbles. he tilts his head to the side, granting you access to his hair, hands falling pilant against your thigh. it bewilders him how much relief washes over him as you start to pry the strands apart again.

you know he's fallen asleep when he stopped replying to your ramblings; his words going from full sentences, to sporadic words and then slurred vowels. when you peek down, he's resting comfortably on your lap, lips slightly parted and allowing light snores to fill the silence.

chūya is far too deep in his subconscious to contemplate anything, but if he could, he thinks he might just get addicted to this.

✿

a clingy drunk. in addition, the alcohol is effective at loosening his tongue, resulting in declarations of his undying love that are muffled when he goes head first into your stomach (≧▽≦)

in lieu of that, he likes to spoon you, with himself being the big spoon. he has his head in the crook of your shoulder, and you feel his inhales and exhales against your skin.

he likes your body heat, it grounds him to earth and coaxes a soft demeanor that he fails at suppressing

thoughtful when it comes to kissing in the public eye. he isn't fond of drawing that form of attention to your relationship, but he isn't opposed to stealing a couple of kisses now and then.

it's fast, it's simple and enough to satiate you and himself. and it's enough to tell onlookers that he's your bf

it that didn't give the memo, its the gloved hand on your waist that spoke to people that you were taken.

though that doesn't stop him from tugging you closer in a spur of his protective tendencies. it's a subconscious act he does when you pass a group of people or when yokohama is notably crowded. it's not merely because he's short and is worried about losing you to the sea of wayfarers(at least thats what he tells you) - rather, it roots from a concern that's only repleted when he knows you're safe

behind close doors, however, his kisses lack patience if the way he's gripping your clothes is anything to go by. and while he demonstrates a growing restlessness, he remains pensive to his own strength and withdraws to give you proper time to catch your breath.

but he knows exactly what to do intensify each one and make your brain go hazy

cupping your cheeks, tilting your head, voice speaking in a meticulous timbre that shakes your skull. you're far too consumed in the kiss to recognize when his free hand has found its way to your back, gliding along the spine before slipping beneath the hem.

his gloves are cold against your skin, mumbling a faint 'sorry' that's nearly swallowed when he brushes his lips to yours for nth time.

the limbs explore along the dips and contours, pinching your sides and smirking into the kiss when you yelp in surprise (inwardly, his heart is beating so fast, he wonders if you could hear it when his chest is pressed against yours.)

without the gloves, his hands are a hint warmer. but even warmer are his cheeks when you press kisses to it. he knits his brows together in an attempt hide how much he likes; ultimately, he betrays himself when he pulls you closer

✿

" what the fuck are you doing," he stammers as you press a kiss to his warm cheeks. despite himself, he makes no effort to move when you brush your lips on the other - even warmer than the neighboring pair.

"kissing you," you hum. "... want me to stop?"

" no." he hates how fast the words left him and he hates how you grin at that. it was just the thing to crumble his resolve - and more specifically, it's just the thing to make him go mellow, subservient to your ministrations with his heart beating erratically - even within the scrutiny of strangers and coworkers.

" give me a warning next time." he wants to frown but the expression dies when you crane your head to make contact wherever you can reach. in reponse, an arm finds purchase on your hip, shuffling you closer until you are nuzzled up to his build.

he wasn't sure what rumors would circulate if people saw him being soft - and frankly, he couldn't bring himself to quite care much about the prospect either; inwardly, he was already missing the rehearsal of your lips on his, a desire not easily quelled and he was far more occupied with fixing that.

you let out a confused hum when he suddenly taps at your cheek indignantly. " well?" a thumb hooks beneath your chin, bringing you just shy of his mouth. "are you going to finish what you started?"

✿

when he's making kissy faces with his partner, it's nobody's business.

if you have dimples, he kisses those, each one before concluding it off with your lips

chūya just likes to be in contact with you in some way really. longing to hold your hand and scribe incoherent phrases on the palm. reflected in the way his feet nudge closer to yours and how he never fails to hold your hand beneath the table. when handing you items, he reveals a form of reluctance when he detaches away.

i really want to say he does that thing where he places his fedora over his chest when he kisses your knuckles. he tries really hard to maintain eye contact, but it falters when you send him a beam that makes his chest ache from beating so fast.

and lastly, he never leaves without getting a goodbye kiss first.

✿

" you're forgetting something." chūya vexed— furrow brows bruising his otherwise neutral expression. he hasn't moved from where he stood, silhouette stilled by the partition with nothing but the perpetual tapping of his foot to remind you of his presence. it took all of your strength to push back your laughter at his childish display.

" i am?" you question with a tilt of your head. the inquiry rewarded you with a huff from the former, lip twisting into a frown. admittedly, he looked cute when grumpy, pretty dark eyes tracking you behind colored bangs.

" my kiss?" an index finger points to his neglected lips, promptly chooses to ignore the red hue that harbored along his cheeks, tickling his forehead tauntingly.

chūya tracks your movements as you stride forward, cupping his cheeks within your palms. he resists the urge to close the distance himself - as alluring as it was - he sought out satisfaction when you comply with a genlte kiss. against his own volition, a breathy and likewise dreamy sigh leaves him, just barely audible by the exchange.

his hands sneak down to rest on your waist, twitching when you press a final peck to his cheek. promptly, you decide not to comment on the way a grin was threatening to crack on his oh so serious face.

" better?"

"very."

-

—RANPO

yk in the movies where the guy picks up the girl and spins her around when they kiss? ranpo wants you to do that with him but he's the girl.

piggyback rides ! except he's the one on your back :/ " to the detective agency, y/n!" he jabs out a lithe finger, his dimple smile steady even when you meet him with a glare over your shoulder. it makes him more eager than anything, face squishing against your cheek as he loops his legs around your waist.

" don't give me that look" he exasperates, a brow quirk at your nonverbal response. " the world's greatest detective can't be in better hands."

" you can get there yourself," you sigh, averting your gaze back in front of you. it was hard to fight against him, his persistence shaping your decision the longer he clinged to you.

" thats the boring alternative. duh," he breathes, nuzzling his cheek against your hair. " you know me better than that. besides, i like it when you hold me."

likes kissing you. he will rope up any excuse to steal a kiss. he finished a piece of paperwork? he deserves a reward. finished eating a cookie? kiss the crumbs off. you have absolutely nothing else to do? well, his lips are right there, give him a smooch <3

his kisses taste sweet, the faint traces of chocolate and jams coating his lips. it won't be too far from him to make you guess the flavor of cake he had that morning, but really you think he's just trying to pull more kisses from you. cause he is

✿

" tastes sweet." ranpo shudders when the words vibrate against his lips, cheeks deepening to a rosy hue but the playful glint in his eye ceases to falter. " banana or strawberry?" you blink, a pensive look comprising your features.

a hand cups the back of your head, bringing you close enough for your lips to hover his, still glossy in faint syrup. " nope~!" his proceeding laugh was cut short as he closed the distance again, the ache to kiss you too profound. and with you seated on his lap, he utilized the given opportunity greedily.

you resist the urge to gasp when his tongue swipes along your lower lip, with it the tinge of a fleeting flavor; you recall watching him eat something sweet and sugary in the morning.

he smiles against your mouth, savoring your reactions and attempting to draw out the kiss. " that's definitely strawberry," you contemplate.

ranpo whines when you withdraw, grip tightening against your hands in a stubborn display - it was perhaps the most desperate response you've gotten from him that evening. " are you lying?" you tease with a knowing look; you don't think you've ever seen him shake his head as vigorously as he did now.

" i think," he brushes the corners of your mouth, fingers settling against your chin. "you'll just have to kiss me until you get it right."

the possibility to ponder a response was stolen from you, swelling lips already chasing your own with renewed zeal. dumbfounded, you were naive to the abandoned slice of shortcake just a couple tables away. but by the time you discover it, your little game would be long forgotten.

✿

his childish demeanor often seeps through into his portrayal of affection, fond of sweeping you off your feet at the displays(and at times quite literally too)

it varies in forms; one day he can slump against you like a koala, grip like a vice. and the next he decides to randomly squish your cheeks and bring a kiss to your puckered lips

" ranpo-?!" you sputter, disoriented from sudden and hasty movement. you recall looking over some documents, the next you were gazing into wide green orbs and a nose bumping yours. a self-satisfied look curls on his face, relishing in the way your face fumes beneath his touch.

" surprise~"

" what was that for?"

" just wanted a kiss." he evades the hand on your cheek in favor of curling your bangs around his finger. " i'll come back for more."

he's shameless, unafraid and bold. perhaps not to a similar depth as dazai, but ranpo yields an unpredictability that easily leaves you mellowing in his ministrations

blows raspberries on your cheeks and palms just to coax a laugh from you. it's a reaction he can't help but mimic too and implores you with a "my turn!" while tapping his cheek expectantly.

has probably nibbled on your cheeks at some point too…. :/

likes to hold your hand, slipping it into space randomly and nonchalantly. he sticky like that; appearing from thin air and finding your hand trapped with his.

even better if you sit on his lap or vice versa

when you sleep, he lays on top of you because he doesn't want you to leave him alone. plus! it provides him the perfect advantage to pepper his lips on your collarbone or other patches of expose skin

goodnight kisses (and nap kisses) are a must and he turns greatly fussy when denied such "necessities" as he puts it

✿

" i'm only going to get a glass of water," you reassure him, sweeping his messy bangs aside to press a kiss to his forehead. the crease between his brows goes slack, but his grip remains fixed; it was late, and the last thing ranpo wanted was for you to leave your spot on the futon. " i promise."

his eyes surveyed your face for an inexplicable answer and the fidgeting of his fingers against your forearms tells you he's hesitant.

a silence shrouds the dorm before he speaks again, voice weakened and resigned - it almost made you want to stay in bed with him, enveloped by the unspoken words and his endless aura of affection. " okay." you trace your finger over his cheek, pallid and smooth beneath the pad - the gesture was persuasive enough for his grip to grow lax. he didn't let you get too far yet however, an outstretched pinky waiting before you. he bestows you a broaden grin when you accept it, pressing a kiss to the tip of the adjoin digits.

he doesn't leave your side even as you fix yourself a glass of water, your shared blanket haphazardly draping his shoulders and trailing behind him. he lingers by your arm even as the facet runs, interrupting his thoughts with tired green blinking in impatience. and he watches you through his bangs as you replenish your thirst, already looping your arm and guiding you back to your futon.

not a second after your head meets the pillow, ranpo wraps himself around you, dawning a smile now that you're back with him. he didn't care if his elbow was probed at an odd angle, he just wanted to be as close to you as possible.

" you can't fall asleep yet!" he whines, pulling on the sleeves of your shirt languidly. " it's only fair if you give me a kiss."

" i gave you one earlier."

his gaze shifted to a mixture of displeasure and yearning, small hands pulling eagerly on the fabrics of your clothes. his pleading green eyes made it hard to resist his demands, obscuring into a candid vulnerability you seemingly wielded over him.

" but," ranpo leans close enough for his nose to brush yours, messy fringe framing his sleepy face. his hands flex around your palms, nails scuff on the contours, voice going so low you almost didn't hear him. " i can't fall asleep without it."

✿

pinches your cheeks when in vie for your attention. in any case, he isn't against stomping his foot and whining as a last resort :<

his pout dissipates when you grant him with a collection of kisses or allow him to sit on your lap, fiddling with the ends of your hair or scribbling random phrases on your thigh that he makes you guess

i wouldn't put it against him to randomly jump into your arms or back. the questioning glances he receives hardly impedes him, instead murmuring an "i miss you," into your shoulder. he quivers in your arms when you comb your fingers through his hair, eyes squeezed shut in an air of bliss.

when it comes to deep embraces, he nestles against you akin to a cat, hands pawing wherever he can reach with greedy intent. and that cloak of his can easily encompass the pair of you, performing as a makeshift den of sorts. it feels like your enclosed own little world with him pressing kisses along your face like a butterfly

ranpo is attentive, all too familiar with your habits including the ones you don't cognitively account for. he notes the way you fidget with your fingers, and increasingly it came to be with his fingers you grew fidgety with. if you have a habit of tugging your sleeve, it's not your sleeve you're tugging on anymore but his instead.

he comes to recognize these patterns and responds in kind either with a squeeze to your clasped hand or tapping against your skin in a form of code.

has love hearts in his eyes when you offer to feed him. if he's feeling kind, he'll reciprocate the gesture, though, often at the expense of getting something he wants.

napkins are overrated, kissing off the crumbs or using his thumb are so much more favorable alternatives to him

" say ah~"

you cocked a brow as sugar became smeared on your lip - hardly helped by the titter coming from him. ranpo's persistence was tenacious and the myriad of his treats proved to be bottomless. you weren't sure how many treats you've been fed at that point but it's evident the former found enjoyment from the coddling as evidence of his dimpled smile.

ranpo offers you another confection, a velvety cookie glazed in congealed frosting. when you indulgently take a bite, the filling melts in your mouth and the taste of vanilla floods your taste buds.

" it's good right?" he gives you a smile as he observes your face, brightening when you react positively. " i got them just for you. i knew they were your favorite."

he suddenly pauses, eyes fixating toward your direction. he pays little heed to the look you send him, not when his gaze centers south; that should have been your first sign to up and leave - you want to blame his bribery of treats for your reason to stay.

" you got crumbs all over your face," he said, eyes squinting. while his tone was gentle with a trace of mirth, the way his eyelashes batted innocently at you alluded otherwise. ranpo always held a resurgent glimmer in his eyes, one that he couldn't blink away easily.

he hastily stops you before you could grab a napkin to dapple it away, residing to instead run his thumb along the corners of your mouth. the deliberate proximity catches you off guard and given how his lips shift into a faint smirk; that was exactly the reaction he was hoping to coax.

" much better," he leans back but not without pressing a peck to your nose first.

he plucks out another cookie - and much to your surprise doesn't eat it down right away. more accurately, he crudely cracks it half, revealing an abundance of sugary filling hidden within the confines. without a hint of hesitation, he dips a finger into the cream frosting and messily swatches it against his mouth.

his dimpled smile doesn't leave him for a second even as he slots in front of you directly. his pink cheeks and light stutter chipped away at his facade but his green eyes and lips pulled into a firm beam remained confident.

you almost detested the way it was infectious otherwise you would have rolled your eyes.

ranpo reached out to cup your cheeks, waiting. " it's only fair you do it back, okay?"

-

—ATSUSHI

he holds a lot of hesitation when it comes to enacting anything physical and it shows.

modest, never performing any actions without your explicit consent. even so he exercises slow movement and allows you the opportunity to withdraw if you so desire.

he follows you around a lot though, seeking comfort from being your presence

it shows in the way he inches himself closer to you when you're in the general vicinity. in the way he glances at you for confirmation before lacing fingers. in the way he scoots his chair to close just so his thigh is just slightly nudging yours.

he questions how you're able to be so composed even with something as minimal as brushing clothed skin because inwardly he's going abrack and he can't focus on anything else

" atsushi are you listening to what i'm saying?" your voice broke him from his stupor, head perking up

in the following moment he could do nothing more than let out a nervous laugh, eyes fluttering in companion of scarlet cheeks. " ye- i… erm.. can you repeat that please?"

actually him -> (〃´𓎟`〃)

his favorite physical attributes about you are your hands, i think! they're so strong, and it fits into his perfectly <3 he can spend an hour just tracing the lines along your palm and appreciating the details

as such he's a hand holder as well. he shyly links his pinky with yours before gradually lacing the rest of the digits. when he looks at the joined limbs, it's like a shot of comfort runs right through him.

✿

you often catch him peering at you in the corner of his eyes, mosaic of yellows and purples squinting in intrigue. presently, his hands go clammy, fidgeting against his pants at a random manner; it was a common gesture of his, one that didn't go by unnoticed by you.

" something wrong?" he eases up a bit at the sound of your sincere tone.

" no, not at all," he gives off a nervous laugh, hand scratching the back of his neck. too far into his nerves, he failed to to recognize how the area became chafed. " i was just wondering," he paused, lips shaped into a bashful smile. " can i… hold your hand?"

atsushi didn’t have a mirror on him but he doesn't doubt that his face can put tomatoes to shame.

fortunately, the stiffened muscles on his back go slack at the giggle you release, a nervous chuckle pouring from himself. the erratic beat of his heart meanwhile, resumed its ricochet against his sternum, blood pounding on the lobe of his ear.

"you don't have to be so hesitant about holding my hand, 'sushi." you accentuated the statement by dipping your palm to take his.

it's evident he takes your words to heart, as next time he wordlessly hooks his index finger with yours before properly weaving the rest of the appendage. it was like a perfect puzzle, he reckoned and he gave his head the faintest tilt to gaze at it.

without realizing it, he rolls his thumb over the knuckles, savoring the exchange and the sensation of your fingertips on his. you haven't even spoken a word and already, his heart fills immensely full.

and if you pay attention, you may even catch him grinning at the presumably courageous gesture he mustered himself to do. his clammy palms tell you he's nervous, but it's hard to resist him when he's genuinely trying so hard.

✿

when he does garner the confidence however, he holds his hand out for everything; helping you out of the car(princess treatment w him tbh!), guiding you to bed when you're really sleepy, or when he just needs to be in some form of contact with you. he may even take it a step and pepper some kisses on the knuckles or rub the joints

moving his hand along your back when you're having a bad day of sorts. he may even resort to drawing shapes or random designs with the back of his nail as he listens to all your troubles

whenever your face scrunches up he kisses the pinched muscle until it goes loose again.

" there's that smile." he pushes aside his diffidence for your sake, cupping your cheeks before pressing kisses along your cheeks.

for himself, he finds a sort of reprieve by lying down on your lap. the moment his head makes contact with your thighs is like instant relaxation for him.

and all he can pay attention to afterwards is the sensation tickling his ribs and the way you mindfully took his roots within your fingers.

he seeks stability in such actions; his deep exhale occupying your dorm and meandering with the dust particles that float around him. he doesn't even realize how he's nuzzling closer into your body, eyes squeezing shut when you favor his scalp for a few seconds.

if he could purr, he would

kissing the tips of your fingers and hugging you from behind ♡

its the best form of affection he could ask for when he comes home groggy and sore from work

✿

" i'm home." exhaustion claws at his voice, movements stiff and sluggish as he strips of his tie and other accessories. his eyes surveyed the area, searching until…

a pop of familiar hues sweep into his vision. it revitalizes just enough energy to sustain a pair of open eyes, belied to the fatigue housed prior.

" welcome home, 'sushi." you greet with a smile he couldn't help but mimic even as the muscles in his body disagreed with it.

your mouth moves to mumble something else, but the words become intelligible to his ears. he was more far more concerned in slumping into the crevice of your shoulder, head falling into familiar position.

" miss you," he murmurs, rubbing his cheek against you, affectionate as ever. his hands wander down to your waist, finding the hemline. perhaps his growing daze subdued his rationality, for his hands slipped beneath, pinky faintly hitting skin.

" let's go." you gently tugged on his arm, intending to guide him to your futon; you only managed a couple steps before his grip went firm. almost uncharacteristically. when you turn your head, your met with a pair of fluttering lashes gazing at you - droopy but in its reflection was an intangible touch of fondness.

" this is fine," he brushes his lips to your cheek. the gesture was sloppy but enough to rekindle a grin on your face. " just want you here."

his finger sprawled against your stomach, heart hastening when you leaned back into him. he took the opportunity to douse himself in your comfort, relishing when you brush your fingers past his ear and scratch along his head.

he feels himself sink more when your nail caught a certain spot, just lateral to his head.

if it weren't for your voice breaking the silence, he would have surely fallen asleep at that moment.

" i'm right here," you murmur. " go ahead and rest." he wasn't sure how those words could weigh heavily on him as it did and also provide him the lull to drift off to sleep. but it didn't matter. the real thing is so much better than he can ever imagine.

✿

when you cuddle together, he prefers to settle with his hand or head where your heart should be. the thumping is so reassuring, especially when his insecurities pipe up. he needs to know you're still there :(

on the days he can't sleep, he finds himself playing with your fingers: gently flexing the joints and counting the knuckles

he's docile at anything routley intimate; fuming a pair of uncomfortably hot cheeks and legs reduced to jelly. his words often come in the form of stutters and slurred syllables, the slightest of touches jolting him.

his actual kisses though are gentle and considerate, favoring areas such as your hands and cheeks.

in contrast, the drawn-out gestures are hesitant at first. when it came to the first kiss, he had to swallow down his nervousness.

" did i do okay?" he inquires, eyeing your countenance. he feels a crash of relief when a grin curves on your lips and in turn he flashes you a dazzling amiable smile.

"good." he nods at that, removing the space again with the intentions of lengthening it and making it better than the last. good was fine, but he wants perfect when it came to you

when atsushi gets a taste of what physical affection can be like; pecks at his face, squeezing your hand and spooning you close - he's hooked. and he wants more, becoming akin to an insatiable pit. and it's profound.

he yearns for more kisses and lingering embraces that set his nerves aflame. he yearns to be closer to you until it was just impossible.

it also spurs a part of him(and in consequence of his ability as well) a yearning to leave some markings along your skin. he tries to be considerate in where he places it, but he himself is awful at hiding his own blemishes.

✿

a shaky expression drops on his face, the faint pink on his cheeks deepening to a cherry blush. he wasn't familiar to having your lips press beneath his chin, outlining the thrum of his throat - you could feel it's cadence whenever he sharply exhales, in pair of his palpitating heart.

even within his daze, atsushi remained cautious to not sink his nails into your shoulders. in comparison, he fails to suppress his shudder when your lips brush against a particular spot, air knocked from his chest.

when you glance up at him, his face contorts into a form of raw desperation, tugging onto your clothes until you were just shy of his mouth. meekly, he tries to not linger his gaze on your lips as you spoke; " is this fine?"

it's like you're teasing him, puffy magenta lips gawking at him and he wants nothing more than to kiss you again.

" it is." from the corner of his eye he could make out the faint reds that probed from his clothes hemline, dotting along his collarbone like swatches of paint. he doesn't think he'll ever grow use to it, filling him with an exhilaration he reasons can't be replicated elsewhere.

" i like it actually." his eyes squeezed shut in an effort to steady the eruption of red on his cheeks but it did little to quell his racing heart when you cupped his face, pressing a kiss to his mouth.

" i'm glad, you look handsome like this."

his smile reaches his eyes. "you look pretty too." his nails dug into his palms in an effort of restraint as he returns the gesture in kind.

-

I was originally hoping to include fyodor but this was so long already. w/ him (& unfinished) it would be 8k words. I rlly want to do version for sigma and akutagawa too. ty boxing fyodor anon 4 enabling my behavior TwT

these have so much room for improvement but I've fiddled around with it sm (๑′°︿°๑). if this doesn't leave the drafts now, it never will. I'll fix mistakes laterrr

taglist; @eynnwwyjth @anqelically @seisitive @iheartpieck @seiiblue @averagebsdwatcher @solandiss @4nthonyyliving @guacamole-roll @sunnyx07

be added or removed here !

#others writing #bsd x reader #bungo stray dogs

[cutie-writes]

physical affection

includes; dazai, chūya, ranpo, atsushi

tags; these get just slightly suggestive (but its nothing too much).headcanons + some drabbles & shorts. these r longer than it should be - I got so carried away

I just woke up so if u find mistakes pls let me know :) I'm posting this before I come up with an excuse to delete it altogether

-

—DAZAI

handsy - that's really the only descriptor you need.

honestly, everyone knows you're his partner with how he acts around you; hand on your thigh, waist, shoulder. having to kindly smack him on the back of his head when his hands trailed a little too far-

^ only for him to send you a pout and doe like eyes that fade when you indulge him a kiss. he has zero shame (often at the expense of receiving a sneer from kunikida who had the misfortune of witnessing sometimes. even then, he didn't stop kissing you)

favorite spot is the inside of your palms and knuckles - with a lingering yield on your pulse point. if you ever kiss those areas on him, he'll have cartoon hearts around him & everything

holding his face though? call him your pretty boy or literally anything sappy and he thinks he might just die on the spot.

on the flip side he's also… a bit of a bitch.

traces your bottom lip tauntingly with his thumb, the other is cupping your head to keep your gaze on him. he maintains keen eye contact and relishes in the way you crack while he remains steady.

his mouth is so close that when he speaks, you could feel it vibrate against your lips. but he never closes the distance, he makes you do that instead for teasing benefits :/(if you're shorter than him, it's so over)

revoke his kissing rights and he trails like a lost puppy behind you. " just one, bella?" he whines when you maneuver your head away. it's cute seeing him get all pouty - not so much when his patience runs thin and he takes matters into his own hands

-> caging you in his physique and kissing you hard. fingers calloused are rubbing against your jaw or brushing past your ear to interlock, teasing the surface of the skin as he does so. he enjoys the tremors and shivers it elicits, such reactions becoming burned in the back of his head.

you could barely make a sound with the vigor he expresses his cravings in with your bottom lip becoming captured between his canines

contrary to his theatrical displays, however, i also believe he exhibits a softened demeanor when cherishing you proper (soft dazai agenda)

the tempo of his kisses are slow yet not in accordance with his teasing. while the meandering of his hands grows greedy, when he speaks his voice is reduced to a low whisper, mumbling sweet phrases with each kiss.

✿

dazai wants to blame the bottom of sake for his vermillion flushed cheeks. more alarmingly, he wanted to ignore the way his heart squeezed when you reciprocated the kiss.

" darling," he pulls away, studying your expression. your hair was tousled, a swell blooming on your bottom lip from his recurrent nibbling and ministrations. the moment wasn't perfect, but he could bask in it for a lifetime. " are you getting sleepy?"

the pretty brown eyes you met were half-lidded and blinking. his bangs traced along your forehead from where he hovered, and if you squint, perhaps you would have noticed how the pink of his cheeks deepened the tiniest bit when you laughed at the tickling sensation.

you murmur something intelligible, the words swallowed by his mouth; he shivers when the syllables reverbate against him and the hand at your hip falters slightly. when he reels back, he remains close enough for his forehead to brush yours.

" repeat that, love."

" i said," you mumble, kissing the corner of his mouth. " can we to stay like this forever?"

almost instantaneously his body shakes in anticipation, heart lurching at the sincerity; how can you be so honest to a known liar like him? he slowly nods, his body arching until your chests were touching and breath pricked at your cheek. ever greedily, he seeks out another exchange, this one careful with a lingering touch of desperation.

an "okay" became lost as he gingerly grabs your chin, angling it just the tiniest bit to deepen it. in between the withdrawals and recoil, dazai chooses to ignore the way his breath stills in the pinnacle of moment, made potent when he twines his hand with yours. he provides the appendage a firm squeeze in coordination with the stirring in his chest, your inhales and exhales becoming synchronized.

he can't lie, he's been thinking just as much.

✿

dazai also likes your hands. chances are his are bigger than yours and he finds himself comparing hand sizes with you. his eyes crinkle when your fingers are dwarfed by his.

adjoined limbs are swayed back and forth when you walk together. same applies with intertwined legs, but when he's not busy doing that, he's playing footsie beneath the table.

he needs to be with you whenever he can!! the spot across your table remains permanently empty as he makes a home of sitting as close as possible next to you instead

he can't even be embarrassed with overly sappy displays, not when he's loving it twice as much. " good morning, osamu," you once said, palms cupping his face. he doesn't know if something has ever made his heartbeat spiked as hard as that did. " can I have a kiss?"

if he didn't turn to putty from the request alone, then it was the way you circled your thumbs on his cheekbones when he brushes his lips to yours. tentatively, he curls his hands behind your waist, holding you close before you get too far.

" can i have some more?" his eyes are shimmering in mischief as ever but his skin has progressively grown warmer since you've found him.

dazai is cuddly. getting to hold you close and listen to your heartbeat? yeah, he could die happy right now

unsurprisingly, napping with him is among his favorite passing time activities.

the closest you may get to see a vulnerable side to him is if you card your fingers through his hair. admittedly, he finds it troubling how his built-up walls crumble so easily with a couple of strokes. but the only thing he can focus on now is the sensation of fingers devoid of pain carefully tend through his hair and how warm his chest feels

kisses on the forehead when you're in need of comfort ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶

✿

" i'm right here, love." when you glance up at him with red eyes and puffy cheeks he could feel his heart break right into two. even more so when your voice cracks and he tries to hide the way his face drops when it echoes in the somber ambience.

attentively, he cups your cheeks as his lips apply delicate pressure against your forehead. he sighs when he feels your trembling hands subdue and your breathing regulate; its panning against his skin rivaled any other comfort he could ever receive.

" better?" when you nod, he could feel his grin return, just a bit weaker. " today has been hard on you. get some rest."

" can you stay with me?" he already knew the answer in his head but it still makes chest swarm tremendously.

he gives your hand a gentle squeeze, lips brushing your forehead again. " of course."

he wasn't the one needing comfort and yet he still felt a deep-rooted tingle right in his chest when you hugged him closer than usual. he depised the circumstances behind it, but he couldn't deny the way it made his barren chest feel less akin to a husk when you felt so secured against him.

his hands start to comb shrough your hair, watching as the strands bend between his fingers and he ensures to provide your scalp proper attention now and again.

he wasn't sure if he'll be able to sleep, he was more concerned in making sure you did.

he blinks when you move to press your cheek against his chest, right where his heart should be. " thank you," your words were muffled against clothes, sending vibrations along his bones.

" you don't have to thank me." he places a last kiss to your forehead, the longest one of the night. his legs shift to intertwine with yours, listening keenly to the sound of your breath until it slows into an assuaging rhythm.

dazai can't recall the last time he had to take care of someone. it's made apparent as he grapples with uncertainty - almost becoming overwhelming with how powerless he felt in the situation.

though tonight, he was sure to hold you a little tighter.

✿

likewise if you kiss his scars and the skin beneath the bandages, he could feel the breath in his throat still and his heart do cartwheels. it's been so void of human touch for so long and he appreciates the care you exhibit towards something he considers to be ugly.

" all better now!" you punctuated your words with a kiss to the newly coiled cotton on his arms. dazai could do nothing but swallow hard, his "thank you" mumbled under his breath; he didn't like the pain, but it wasn't so awful when you spoiled him like this ♡

neck kisses + scattering the expanse of your throat with baby bruises you can not hide. afterwards, he traces it out with his index finger while he takes in the markings with great interest.

when it starts to fade he gladly renews them

✿

" that tickles," you murmur, voice reduced to a whisper; you couldn't trust yourself, not with dazai scattering kisses along the exposed patches of your neck. the rehearsal of which doesn't falter, even when you tug on his increasingly unruly curls.

" my apologies, 'bella," you wince as he captures a patch of your skin between his teeth. " i think i've found my favorite form of art." he has the gall to feign a tone of sympathy, lips arcuated at the growing disparity.

in addition to the nibbling, his fingers skimmed along your torso, moving in taunting lines he knew ran your sanity thin. dazai knew all the places that made you shiver, it was a piece of information that became abused with the movement of his hands in that moment.

against your rationality, you sunk into his touch, fingers twitching along his roots. it brought a simper you couldn't see but his satisfaction is made apparent when his actions grow sloppy, scattering along the expanse of your throat and meandering along your collarbone.

" you had every chance to leave," he smirks when you don't reply, content with the way your nails briefly printed on him. predictably, he gives another nibble on your skin, tugging back gently. " this might be my favorite spot."

right on the center of your unguarded throat.

" i can't hide those there."

he laughs, breath cascading skin. " that's what i want, darling." he thinks he might lose himself when you bring a particular tug in his hair, a sound akin to a grunt reverberating against your throat.

" you're being mean." dazai makes the mistake of pulling back, gracing him with your disheveled hair, reddened lips and growing streaks of red. already he finds it to be his favorite piece of jewelry.

" don't look so down," he pressed a kiss to one of the blooming blemishes, grinning as it became more pronounced. " you'll get your turn soon."

-

—CHŪYA

he takes his gloves off when he goes to touch your face. he doesn't want the sensation of skin on skin to be hamper by the piece of article.

kisses to your temples & neck are exchanges he shares on the frequent. though depending on the height difference, it may also be a gesture reserved for when you're sitting on his lap or cuddled up into him. head kisses in particular feel appropriate for anything really

as for himself, i'd say he likes to be kiss on the lips(mainly so he can distract from the growing crimson that tickles his forehead)

but it's hard with the handsome face chūya has. his growing pout tells you he's growing impatient when you favor his cheeks, but the hand gripping your sleeves are so counterproductive

" can you do it properly?" he gruffs, brows furrowing that weaken by your persistence. his skin was growing warm from the kisses you spoiled him with but it hardly compares to the proper thing on his lips, aching for the familar sensation almost painfully.

he shivers when you trail to his mouth, just shy of it and his grip tightens. " like this?"

his eyes flutter shut when you close the distance and before he could realize it, his hands began to sift through your hair. " yeah," his exhale was shaky, voice dropping to a low lilt. " don't stop that."

he sleeps with his head buried in your stomach - his nose is brushing against your abdomen with toned arms slithering around you like a form of cocoon

it reaches a peak when you brush your thumb over his scalp, and you can physically note the way the muscles in his body sink. you can't see his face, greeted instead by a cascade of reds; but his lips pull into a grin at the action

it grants you the opportunity to play with his hair. and sometimes, when he wakes up to find the claw clips and cute brooches that push his bangs aside and show off his pretty eyes, he won't be tempted to remove them right away.

✿

he wanted to roll his eyes when he saw you pull out the collection of hair clips, taunting pastels and neons gawking back at him. but he has to admit, he stopped caring the moment you started to play with his strands of hair. the locks weaved through your fingers, silky and soft stirring a form of ease that compels him to remain still. when he did move, it was only in an effort to bring himself closer, almost like snuggling(though he profusely denies it as such and regards you a scoff that doesn't compliment the rest of his actions).

had he not been treading precariously the boundaries of sleep, he may have been able to pick up on the way his heart quickened; a solace riveting up his spine and leaving in the form of a breathy sigh.

he blinks his eyes at you, nose scrunched up when you start mapping out his handsome features with your thumb. " you're getting distracted."

you acknowledge his statement with a coy grin and chūya felt his heart swell even at its simplicity. "i know." you move to press your lips to his forehead; if the smile wasn't enough to dissipate the frown on his face, that was the drug.

a flash of color peeks in the corner of his eye as you draw another clip. " i was just wondering how you would look in pigtails," you joke and chūya could feel his face twist— eye twitching at your jest.

" you're pushing your luck."

" it won't be that bad, chū."

" i could leave right now." his voice was terribly unconvincing when brooches adorned his head.

" you would have left a long time ago." you grin when he doesn't refute you. " just relax."

chūya knows he's defeated when you thumb his scalp again, eyes screwing shut involuntarily. " you're enjoying this too much," he grumbles. he tilts his head to the side, granting you access to his hair, hands falling pilant against your thigh. it bewilders him how much relief washes over him as you start to pry the strands apart again.

you know he's fallen asleep when he stopped replying to your ramblings; his words going from full sentences, to sporadic words and then slurred vowels. when you peek down, he's resting comfortably on your lap, lips slightly parted and allowing light snores to fill the silence.

chūya is far too deep in his subconscious to contemplate anything, but if he could, he thinks he might just get addicted to this.

✿

a clingy drunk. in addition, the alcohol is effective at loosening his tongue, resulting in declarations of his undying love that are muffled when he goes head first into your stomach (≧▽≦)

in lieu of that, he likes to spoon you, with himself being the big spoon. he has his head in the crook of your shoulder, and you feel his inhales and exhales against your skin.

he likes your body heat, it grounds him to earth and coaxes a soft demeanor that he fails at suppressing

thoughtful when it comes to kissing in the public eye. he isn't fond of drawing that form of attention to your relationship, but he isn't opposed to stealing a couple of kisses now and then.

it's fast, it's simple and enough to satiate you and himself. and it's enough to tell onlookers that he's your bf

it that didn't give the memo, its the gloved hand on your waist that spoke to people that you were taken.

though that doesn't stop him from tugging you closer in a spur of his protective tendencies. it's a subconscious act he does when you pass a group of people or when yokohama is notably crowded. it's not merely because he's short and is worried about losing you to the sea of wayfarers(at least thats what he tells you) - rather, it roots from a concern that's only repleted when he knows you're safe

behind close doors, however, his kisses lack patience if the way he's gripping your clothes is anything to go by. and while he demonstrates a growing restlessness, he remains pensive to his own strength and withdraws to give you proper time to catch your breath.

but he knows exactly what to do intensify each one and make your brain go hazy

cupping your cheeks, tilting your head, voice speaking in a meticulous timbre that shakes your skull. you're far too consumed in the kiss to recognize when his free hand has found its way to your back, gliding along the spine before slipping beneath the hem.

his gloves are cold against your skin, mumbling a faint 'sorry' that's nearly swallowed when he brushes his lips to yours for nth time.

the limbs explore along the dips and contours, pinching your sides and smirking into the kiss when you yelp in surprise (inwardly, his heart is beating so fast, he wonders if you could hear it when his chest is pressed against yours.)

without the gloves, his hands are a hint warmer. but even warmer are his cheeks when you press kisses to it. he knits his brows together in an attempt hide how much he likes; ultimately, he betrays himself when he pulls you closer

✿

" what the fuck are you doing," he stammers as you press a kiss to his warm cheeks. despite himself, he makes no effort to move when you brush your lips on the other - even warmer than the neighboring pair.

"kissing you," you hum. "... want me to stop?"

" no." he hates how fast the words left him and he hates how you grin at that. it was just the thing to crumble his resolve - and more specifically, it's just the thing to make him go mellow, subservient to your ministrations with his heart beating erratically - even within the scrutiny of strangers and coworkers.

" give me a warning next time." he wants to frown but the expression dies when you crane your head to make contact wherever you can reach. in reponse, an arm finds purchase on your hip, shuffling you closer until you are nuzzled up to his build.

he wasn't sure what rumors would circulate if people saw him being soft - and frankly, he couldn't bring himself to quite care much about the prospect either; inwardly, he was already missing the rehearsal of your lips on his, a desire not easily quelled and he was far more occupied with fixing that.

you let out a confused hum when he suddenly taps at your cheek indignantly. " well?" a thumb hooks beneath your chin, bringing you just shy of his mouth. "are you going to finish what you started?"

✿

when he's making kissy faces with his partner, it's nobody's business.

if you have dimples, he kisses those, each one before concluding it off with your lips

chūya just likes to be in contact with you in some way really. longing to hold your hand and scribe incoherent phrases on the palm. reflected in the way his feet nudge closer to yours and how he never fails to hold your hand beneath the table. when handing you items, he reveals a form of reluctance when he detaches away.

i really want to say he does that thing where he places his fedora over his chest when he kisses your knuckles. he tries really hard to maintain eye contact, but it falters when you send him a beam that makes his chest ache from beating so fast.

and lastly, he never leaves without getting a goodbye kiss first.

✿

" you're forgetting something." chūya vexed— furrow brows bruising his otherwise neutral expression. he hasn't moved from where he stood, silhouette stilled by the partition with nothing but the perpetual tapping of his foot to remind you of his presence. it took all of your strength to push back your laughter at his childish display.

" i am?" you question with a tilt of your head. the inquiry rewarded you with a huff from the former, lip twisting into a frown. admittedly, he looked cute when grumpy, pretty dark eyes tracking you behind colored bangs.

" my kiss?" an index finger points to his neglected lips, promptly chooses to ignore the red hue that harbored along his cheeks, tickling his forehead tauntingly.

chūya tracks your movements as you stride forward, cupping his cheeks within your palms. he resists the urge to close the distance himself - as alluring as it was - he sought out satisfaction when you comply with a genlte kiss. against his own volition, a breathy and likewise dreamy sigh leaves him, just barely audible by the exchange.

his hands sneak down to rest on your waist, twitching when you press a final peck to his cheek. promptly, you decide not to comment on the way a grin was threatening to crack on his oh so serious face.

" better?"

"very."

-

—RANPO

yk in the movies where the guy picks up the girl and spins her around when they kiss? ranpo wants you to do that with him but he's the girl.

piggyback rides ! except he's the one on your back :/ " to the detective agency, y/n!" he jabs out a lithe finger, his dimple smile steady even when you meet him with a glare over your shoulder. it makes him more eager than anything, face squishing against your cheek as he loops his legs around your waist.

" don't give me that look" he exasperates, a brow quirk at your nonverbal response. " the world's greatest detective can't be in better hands."

" you can get there yourself," you sigh, averting your gaze back in front of you. it was hard to fight against him, his persistence shaping your decision the longer he clinged to you.

" thats the boring alternative. duh," he breathes, nuzzling his cheek against your hair. " you know me better than that. besides, i like it when you hold me."

likes kissing you. he will rope up any excuse to steal a kiss. he finished a piece of paperwork? he deserves a reward. finished eating a cookie? kiss the crumbs off. you have absolutely nothing else to do? well, his lips are right there, give him a smooch <3

his kisses taste sweet, the faint traces of chocolate and jams coating his lips. it won't be too far from him to make you guess the flavor of cake he had that morning, but really you think he's just trying to pull more kisses from you. cause he is

✿

" tastes sweet." ranpo shudders when the words vibrate against his lips, cheeks deepening to a rosy hue but the playful glint in his eye ceases to falter. " banana or strawberry?" you blink, a pensive look comprising your features.

a hand cups the back of your head, bringing you close enough for your lips to hover his, still glossy in faint syrup. " nope~!" his proceeding laugh was cut short as he closed the distance again, the ache to kiss you too profound. and with you seated on his lap, he utilized the given opportunity greedily.

you resist the urge to gasp when his tongue swipes along your lower lip, with it the tinge of a fleeting flavor; you recall watching him eat something sweet and sugary in the morning.

he smiles against your mouth, savoring your reactions and attempting to draw out the kiss. " that's definitely strawberry," you contemplate.

ranpo whines when you withdraw, grip tightening against your hands in a stubborn display - it was perhaps the most desperate response you've gotten from him that evening. " are you lying?" you tease with a knowing look; you don't think you've ever seen him shake his head as vigorously as he did now.

" i think," he brushes the corners of your mouth, fingers settling against your chin. "you'll just have to kiss me until you get it right."

the possibility to ponder a response was stolen from you, swelling lips already chasing your own with renewed zeal. dumbfounded, you were naive to the abandoned slice of shortcake just a couple tables away. but by the time you discover it, your little game would be long forgotten.

✿

his childish demeanor often seeps through into his portrayal of affection, fond of sweeping you off your feet at the displays(and at times quite literally too)

it varies in forms; one day he can slump against you like a koala, grip like a vice. and the next he decides to randomly squish your cheeks and bring a kiss to your puckered lips

" ranpo-?!" you sputter, disoriented from sudden and hasty movement. you recall looking over some documents, the next you were gazing into wide green orbs and a nose bumping yours. a self-satisfied look curls on his face, relishing in the way your face fumes beneath his touch.

" surprise~"

" what was that for?"

" just wanted a kiss." he evades the hand on your cheek in favor of curling your bangs around his finger. " i'll come back for more."

he's shameless, unafraid and bold. perhaps not to a similar depth as dazai, but ranpo yields an unpredictability that easily leaves you mellowing in his ministrations

blows raspberries on your cheeks and palms just to coax a laugh from you. it's a reaction he can't help but mimic too and implores you with a "my turn!" while tapping his cheek expectantly.

has probably nibbled on your cheeks at some point too…. :/

likes to hold your hand, slipping it into space randomly and nonchalantly. he sticky like that; appearing from thin air and finding your hand trapped with his.

even better if you sit on his lap or vice versa

when you sleep, he lays on top of you because he doesn't want you to leave him alone. plus! it provides him the perfect advantage to pepper his lips on your collarbone or other patches of expose skin

goodnight kisses (and nap kisses) are a must and he turns greatly fussy when denied such "necessities" as he puts it

✿

" i'm only going to get a glass of water," you reassure him, sweeping his messy bangs aside to press a kiss to his forehead. the crease between his brows goes slack, but his grip remains fixed; it was late, and the last thing ranpo wanted was for you to leave your spot on the futon. " i promise."

his eyes surveyed your face for an inexplicable answer and the fidgeting of his fingers against your forearms tells you he's hesitant.

a silence shrouds the dorm before he speaks again, voice weakened and resigned - it almost made you want to stay in bed with him, enveloped by the unspoken words and his endless aura of affection. " okay." you trace your finger over his cheek, pallid and smooth beneath the pad - the gesture was persuasive enough for his grip to grow lax. he didn't let you get too far yet however, an outstretched pinky waiting before you. he bestows you a broaden grin when you accept it, pressing a kiss to the tip of the adjoin digits.

he doesn't leave your side even as you fix yourself a glass of water, your shared blanket haphazardly draping his shoulders and trailing behind him. he lingers by your arm even as the facet runs, interrupting his thoughts with tired green blinking in impatience. and he watches you through his bangs as you replenish your thirst, already looping your arm and guiding you back to your futon.

not a second after your head meets the pillow, ranpo wraps himself around you, dawning a smile now that you're back with him. he didn't care if his elbow was probed at an odd angle, he just wanted to be as close to you as possible.

" you can't fall asleep yet!" he whines, pulling on the sleeves of your shirt languidly. " it's only fair if you give me a kiss."

" i gave you one earlier."

his gaze shifted to a mixture of displeasure and yearning, small hands pulling eagerly on the fabrics of your clothes. his pleading green eyes made it hard to resist his demands, obscuring into a candid vulnerability you seemingly wielded over him.

" but," ranpo leans close enough for his nose to brush yours, messy fringe framing his sleepy face. his hands flex around your palms, nails scuff on the contours, voice going so low you almost didn't hear him. " i can't fall asleep without it."

✿

pinches your cheeks when in vie for your attention. in any case, he isn't against stomping his foot and whining as a last resort :<

his pout dissipates when you grant him with a collection of kisses or allow him to sit on your lap, fiddling with the ends of your hair or scribbling random phrases on your thigh that he makes you guess

i wouldn't put it against him to randomly jump into your arms or back. the questioning glances he receives hardly impedes him, instead murmuring an "i miss you," into your shoulder. he quivers in your arms when you comb your fingers through his hair, eyes squeezed shut in an air of bliss.

when it comes to deep embraces, he nestles against you akin to a cat, hands pawing wherever he can reach with greedy intent. and that cloak of his can easily encompass the pair of you, performing as a makeshift den of sorts. it feels like your enclosed own little world with him pressing kisses along your face like a butterfly

ranpo is attentive, all too familiar with your habits including the ones you don't cognitively account for. he notes the way you fidget with your fingers, and increasingly it came to be with his fingers you grew fidgety with. if you have a habit of tugging your sleeve, it's not your sleeve you're tugging on anymore but his instead.

he comes to recognize these patterns and responds in kind either with a squeeze to your clasped hand or tapping against your skin in a form of code.

has love hearts in his eyes when you offer to feed him. if he's feeling kind, he'll reciprocate the gesture, though, often at the expense of getting something he wants.

napkins are overrated, kissing off the crumbs or using his thumb are so much more favorable alternatives to him

" say ah~"

you cocked a brow as sugar became smeared on your lip - hardly helped by the titter coming from him. ranpo's persistence was tenacious and the myriad of his treats proved to be bottomless. you weren't sure how many treats you've been fed at that point but it's evident the former found enjoyment from the coddling as evidence of his dimpled smile.

ranpo offers you another confection, a velvety cookie glazed in congealed frosting. when you indulgently take a bite, the filling melts in your mouth and the taste of vanilla floods your taste buds.

" it's good right?" he gives you a smile as he observes your face, brightening when you react positively. " i got them just for you. i knew they were your favorite."

he suddenly pauses, eyes fixating toward your direction. he pays little heed to the look you send him, not when his gaze centers south; that should have been your first sign to up and leave - you want to blame his bribery of treats for your reason to stay.

" you got crumbs all over your face," he said, eyes squinting. while his tone was gentle with a trace of mirth, the way his eyelashes batted innocently at you alluded otherwise. ranpo always held a resurgent glimmer in his eyes, one that he couldn't blink away easily.

he hastily stops you before you could grab a napkin to dapple it away, residing to instead run his thumb along the corners of your mouth. the deliberate proximity catches you off guard and given how his lips shift into a faint smirk; that was exactly the reaction he was hoping to coax.

" much better," he leans back but not without pressing a peck to your nose first.

he plucks out another cookie - and much to your surprise doesn't eat it down right away. more accurately, he crudely cracks it half, revealing an abundance of sugary filling hidden within the confines. without a hint of hesitation, he dips a finger into the cream frosting and messily swatches it against his mouth.

his dimpled smile doesn't leave him for a second even as he slots in front of you directly. his pink cheeks and light stutter chipped away at his facade but his green eyes and lips pulled into a firm beam remained confident.

you almost detested the way it was infectious otherwise you would have rolled your eyes.

ranpo reached out to cup your cheeks, waiting. " it's only fair you do it back, okay?"

-

—ATSUSHI

he holds a lot of hesitation when it comes to enacting anything physical and it shows.

modest, never performing any actions without your explicit consent. even so he exercises slow movement and allows you the opportunity to withdraw if you so desire.

he follows you around a lot though, seeking comfort from being your presence

it shows in the way he inches himself closer to you when you're in the general vicinity. in the way he glances at you for confirmation before lacing fingers. in the way he scoots his chair to close just so his thigh is just slightly nudging yours.

he questions how you're able to be so composed even with something as minimal as brushing clothed skin because inwardly he's going abrack and he can't focus on anything else

" atsushi are you listening to what i'm saying?" your voice broke him from his stupor, head perking up

in the following moment he could do nothing more than let out a nervous laugh, eyes fluttering in companion of scarlet cheeks. " ye- i… erm.. can you repeat that please?"

actually him -> (〃´𓎟`〃)

his favorite physical attributes about you are your hands, i think! they're so strong, and it fits into his perfectly <3 he can spend an hour just tracing the lines along your palm and appreciating the details

as such he's a hand holder as well. he shyly links his pinky with yours before gradually lacing the rest of the digits. when he looks at the joined limbs, it's like a shot of comfort runs right through him.

✿

you often catch him peering at you in the corner of his eyes, mosaic of yellows and purples squinting in intrigue. presently, his hands go clammy, fidgeting against his pants at a random manner; it was a common gesture of his, one that didn't go by unnoticed by you.

" something wrong?" he eases up a bit at the sound of your sincere tone.

" no, not at all," he gives off a nervous laugh, hand scratching the back of his neck. too far into his nerves, he failed to to recognize how the area became chafed. " i was just wondering," he paused, lips shaped into a bashful smile. " can i… hold your hand?"

atsushi didn’t have a mirror on him but he doesn't doubt that his face can put tomatoes to shame.

fortunately, the stiffened muscles on his back go slack at the giggle you release, a nervous chuckle pouring from himself. the erratic beat of his heart meanwhile, resumed its ricochet against his sternum, blood pounding on the lobe of his ear.

"you don't have to be so hesitant about holding my hand, 'sushi." you accentuated the statement by dipping your palm to take his.

it's evident he takes your words to heart, as next time he wordlessly hooks his index finger with yours before properly weaving the rest of the appendage. it was like a perfect puzzle, he reckoned and he gave his head the faintest tilt to gaze at it.

without realizing it, he rolls his thumb over the knuckles, savoring the exchange and the sensation of your fingertips on his. you haven't even spoken a word and already, his heart fills immensely full.

and if you pay attention, you may even catch him grinning at the presumably courageous gesture he mustered himself to do. his clammy palms tell you he's nervous, but it's hard to resist him when he's genuinely trying so hard.

✿

when he does garner the confidence however, he holds his hand out for everything; helping you out of the car(princess treatment w him tbh!), guiding you to bed when you're really sleepy, or when he just needs to be in some form of contact with you. he may even take it a step and pepper some kisses on the knuckles or rub the joints

moving his hand along your back when you're having a bad day of sorts. he may even resort to drawing shapes or random designs with the back of his nail as he listens to all your troubles

whenever your face scrunches up he kisses the pinched muscle until it goes loose again.

" there's that smile." he pushes aside his diffidence for your sake, cupping your cheeks before pressing kisses along your cheeks.

for himself, he finds a sort of reprieve by lying down on your lap. the moment his head makes contact with your thighs is like instant relaxation for him.

and all he can pay attention to afterwards is the sensation tickling his ribs and the way you mindfully took his roots within your fingers.

he seeks stability in such actions; his deep exhale occupying your dorm and meandering with the dust particles that float around him. he doesn't even realize how he's nuzzling closer into your body, eyes squeezing shut when you favor his scalp for a few seconds.

if he could purr, he would

kissing the tips of your fingers and hugging you from behind ♡

its the best form of affection he could ask for when he comes home groggy and sore from work

✿

" i'm home." exhaustion claws at his voice, movements stiff and sluggish as he strips of his tie and other accessories. his eyes surveyed the area, searching until…

a pop of familiar hues sweep into his vision. it revitalizes just enough energy to sustain a pair of open eyes, belied to the fatigue housed prior.

" welcome home, 'sushi." you greet with a smile he couldn't help but mimic even as the muscles in his body disagreed with it.

your mouth moves to mumble something else, but the words become intelligible to his ears. he was more far more concerned in slumping into the crevice of your shoulder, head falling into familiar position.

" miss you," he murmurs, rubbing his cheek against you, affectionate as ever. his hands wander down to your waist, finding the hemline. perhaps his growing daze subdued his rationality, for his hands slipped beneath, pinky faintly hitting skin.

" let's go." you gently tugged on his arm, intending to guide him to your futon; you only managed a couple steps before his grip went firm. almost uncharacteristically. when you turn your head, your met with a pair of fluttering lashes gazing at you - droopy but in its reflection was an intangible touch of fondness.

" this is fine," he brushes his lips to your cheek. the gesture was sloppy but enough to rekindle a grin on your face. " just want you here."

his finger sprawled against your stomach, heart hastening when you leaned back into him. he took the opportunity to douse himself in your comfort, relishing when you brush your fingers past his ear and scratch along his head.

he feels himself sink more when your nail caught a certain spot, just lateral to his head.

if it weren't for your voice breaking the silence, he would have surely fallen asleep at that moment.

" i'm right here," you murmur. " go ahead and rest." he wasn't sure how those words could weigh heavily on him as it did and also provide him the lull to drift off to sleep. but it didn't matter. the real thing is so much better than he can ever imagine.

✿

when you cuddle together, he prefers to settle with his hand or head where your heart should be. the thumping is so reassuring, especially when his insecurities pipe up. he needs to know you're still there :(

on the days he can't sleep, he finds himself playing with your fingers: gently flexing the joints and counting the knuckles

he's docile at anything routley intimate; fuming a pair of uncomfortably hot cheeks and legs reduced to jelly. his words often come in the form of stutters and slurred syllables, the slightest of touches jolting him.

his actual kisses though are gentle and considerate, favoring areas such as your hands and cheeks.

in contrast, the drawn-out gestures are hesitant at first. when it came to the first kiss, he had to swallow down his nervousness.

" did i do okay?" he inquires, eyeing your countenance. he feels a crash of relief when a grin curves on your lips and in turn he flashes you a dazzling amiable smile.

"good." he nods at that, removing the space again with the intentions of lengthening it and making it better than the last. good was fine, but he wants perfect when it came to you

when atsushi gets a taste of what physical affection can be like; pecks at his face, squeezing your hand and spooning you close - he's hooked. and he wants more, becoming akin to an insatiable pit. and it's profound.

he yearns for more kisses and lingering embraces that set his nerves aflame. he yearns to be closer to you until it was just impossible.

it also spurs a part of him(and in consequence of his ability as well) a yearning to leave some markings along your skin. he tries to be considerate in where he places it, but he himself is awful at hiding his own blemishes.

✿

a shaky expression drops on his face, the faint pink on his cheeks deepening to a cherry blush. he wasn't familiar to having your lips press beneath his chin, outlining the thrum of his throat - you could feel it's cadence whenever he sharply exhales, in pair of his palpitating heart.

even within his daze, atsushi remained cautious to not sink his nails into your shoulders. in comparison, he fails to suppress his shudder when your lips brush against a particular spot, air knocked from his chest.

when you glance up at him, his face contorts into a form of raw desperation, tugging onto your clothes until you were just shy of his mouth. meekly, he tries to not linger his gaze on your lips as you spoke; " is this fine?"

it's like you're teasing him, puffy magenta lips gawking at him and he wants nothing more than to kiss you again.

" it is." from the corner of his eye he could make out the faint reds that probed from his clothes hemline, dotting along his collarbone like swatches of paint. he doesn't think he'll ever grow use to it, filling him with an exhilaration he reasons can't be replicated elsewhere.

" i like it actually." his eyes squeezed shut in an effort to steady the eruption of red on his cheeks but it did little to quell his racing heart when you cupped his face, pressing a kiss to his mouth.

" i'm glad, you look handsome like this."

his smile reaches his eyes. "you look pretty too." his nails dug into his palms in an effort of restraint as he returns the gesture in kind.

-

I was originally hoping to include fyodor but this was so long already. w/ him (& unfinished) it would be 8k words. I rlly want to do version for sigma and akutagawa too. ty boxing fyodor anon 4 enabling my behavior TwT

these have so much room for improvement but I've fiddled around with it sm (๑′°︿°๑). if this doesn't leave the drafts now, it never will. I'll fix mistakes laterrr

taglist; @eynnwwyjth @anqelically @seisitive @iheartpieck @seiiblue @averagebsdwatcher @solandiss @4nthonyyliving @guacamole-roll @sunnyx07

be added or removed here !

#others writing #bsd x reader

[cutie-writes]

A Firsthand Secondhand Guide to Teyvat: An Unwilling Traveler’s Adventure

A Genshin Impact Fanfiction

At the start of his journey in finding his missing sister, Aether stumbles upon and old yet interesting journal in the favonius library. Torn to shreds over the years, he decides to use the remaining blank pages to fill out his own guide.

He didn’t know that the author was the one person he’d been searching for.

ao3 link

#cutie writes #safe read #genshin impact #hoyoverse #genshin fanfic #genshin fic #fanfiction #fan fiction #ongoing fic #Aether #lumine #Paimon #khaenri'ah #khaenriah #Teyvat #mondstadt #liyue #inazuma #sumeru

[cutie-writes]

i just ride, just ride.

summary: you take a car ride after a fight with xiao.

warnings: gender neutral reader, slightly out of character, angst, fluff.

notes: inspired by ride by lana del rey. this literally took me forever to write. this is also the song i put on first for late night car rides.

it was not like you and xiao fought often. but when you did, the fights got loud and mean, and quick. 

you stood in front of him, your hands fisted at your sides, frustrated tears threatening to fall from your eyes. the fight had been going on for so long you barely even remembered what you were even aruging about. all you knew was that xiao was refusing to listen to you and you could not take it a second longer. 

“[name],” xiao said, his tone all condescending. “haven’t you had enough?”

you took a deep breath, resisting the urge to spew one more insult at him. he was right, in a twisted and ironic way. you did have enough. enough of him, enough of the fighting, enough of the headache inducing yelling. 

you had to get out of the house, before you did something you would really regret. so without another word, you gave him one last contemptuous glare and snatched your keys from the table. xiao narrowed his eyes at that. “really, [name]?”

“yeah,” you retorted, angrily stuffing your feet into some slip-on shoes. “really.”

“and where are you going at midnight?” xiao asked. 

“i don’t know where. anywhere,” you muttered. “as long as it isn’t here.” you grabbed your coat and flung open the front door. and without looking back, you headed straight to your car, throwing that door open, too. 

“whatever, [name],” you heard xiao call from behind you. “just don’t crash the car.” it was his way of telling you that he still cared, even if you two were fighting. you knew that. but it was not enough to make you stop as you slowly drove onto the road. 

you made the familiar turns to leave your small town. out in the suburbs, there were long stretches of road that wound into the woods and past smaller neighborhoods and the occasional farm. you drove on them now, allowing the peacefulness and stillness of the night to calm the war in your mind.

you were going to drive until you saw stars in your eyes. maybe then you would head back home, fall asleep on the couch and then you and xiao could pick up all the broken pieces. it seemed like a much better solution than fighting until exhaustion. 

your thoughts were rudely interrupted when the car let out a loud splutter. you slowed.

another gutteral sound. it sounded like it came from the engine—

the car began to slow on its own. you pulled over to the side of the road and put on your hazard lights. they, and your highbeams, were the only sources of light around you, except for the moon and stars above. you had not passed another car in several minutes. streetlights were few and far between, especially on these backroads.

you were alone at midnight. 

you glanced in your rearview mirror. nothing seemed to be smoking. nothing looked wrong. but when you gave the gas petal an experimental pump, the car refused to move.

you slumped and rested your head on the steering wheel. seriously, did this have to happen tonight?

you gave your phone a pitiful glance. although you were a somewhat skilled driver, you had no idea how the mechanics of a car worked. you could not fix this problem on your own, and you knew that you should call your boyfriend. but, and the question sent a sharp chill down your spine, would he even pick up? and when he did, would he even come to help you?

with a shake of your head, you began to dial xiao. you two might have been fighting, but you had been in love with him long enough to know that he wouldn't do that to you. all irrational fears aside, that was something you held to be the honest truth.

he picked up on the third ring. "[name]? what is it? what's wrong?" concern replaced the earlier venom in his voice.

you paused, slightly shy now. before you could respond, xiao asked, "you didn't actually get into an accident, right?"

"no!" you replied quickly. "i didn't crash it, but. well. i don't really know what happened. the car just kind of made a couple weird noises and then i had to pull over and—"

"where are you?" xiao cut you off. in the background, you could already hear him walking to the door. you gave him your approximate location, and he replied, "i'll be there in ten minutes."

before he could hang up, and before you could think about what you were saying, you asked, "please don't hang up."

"i wasn't going to," xiao replied without pause. you heard the engine of his car start in the background.

you said nothing as xiao hit the gas and got onto the road. there was still an awkward tension between you two. it made you tongue tied, unsure if you should try and patch things up now or when he got to you or when you two arrived back home. you were also unsure of how to fix things, when there was so much to fix.

but it was him who spoke first. "i'm sorry, [name]. i shouldn't have said all that shit to you. and you were right. i wasn't listening to you towards the end." regret laced each word, vulnerability giving way to the truth.

"i'm sorry too," you confessed. "i should have tried to better listen to you, too... and i shouldn't have left."

"no, [name]. you did what you had to," xiao reassured you. "i shouldn't have made you feel like you needed to leave, especially not our own home."

you brushed away twin tears that fell without your permission. you didn't even really know why you were crying, but you were glad it was not out of frustration like earlier. using your coat like a tissue, you dabbed at your eyes with the sleeve. but when you looked back up, you caught a blur of a car speeding past you.

not quite comprehending what just happened, you could only watch as your second household car faded into the distance.

"please don't cry," xiao pleaded. "i promise that next time—

"we can talk more at home," you interrupted. "but... xiao... i think you just passed me."

xiao had been so focused on the conversation that he had not even noticed you nor your car on the side of the road. he could hear your surprised and somewhat astonished laughter on the other side of the line as he looked for somewhere to make a u-turn.

yeah, xiao thought. we'll be alright.

[cutie-writes]

when it's lonely

diluc ragnvindr x reader ft kaeya | 11.1k+ words - i am a little sorry this got away from me

warnings: angst/comfort, arguing, unhealthy coping, alcohol consumption, kaeya being a little shit (in the best way), mentions of cheating, lots of crying

what is it with me diluc & the rain?

with aching bones and sore muscles you make your way back to the winery, slowly trudging through the dirt path until you see your home and push past the large mahogany doors. all you want after this incredibly long day of tough commissions is to curl up in the arms of your beloved, breathe in the sweet scent of wine with a hint of smoke that clings to his clothes and tell him about your never ending day. but dilucs responsibilities have pulled him into the city long before your last commission was over and will continue to keep him from you well into the night.

you thought by now you’d be used to this; waking up and often times going to bed alone, coming home to what felt like an empty house despite the staff that passes by you each time you walk through the doors, having dinner without the man you love by your sides even though you’ve prepared him a plate. having plenty of time to yourself was part of loving diluc ragnvindr, you knew that before you married but as of late it’s been worse, so much lonelier than ever before.

you don’t quite remember when or why your standing dinner dates stopped or when the last time was that you were able to convince him to take an afternoon off to have lunch and take a walk around the property with you or to come to bed with you after a hard day when you both needed the rest. at some point you stopped asking. his apologies were always sincere and from the heart but that didn’t stop how much it stung when he was unable to step away or be persuaded. but truthfully you wanted to stop yourself from being upset at him more so than stop hearing the rejections.

these days the most you saw of diluc was in passing, you heading out of the city towards a commission as he heads towards the tavern, a quick kiss on the forehead in the stairway of the winery as you head in one direction and him the other. the closest and longest you’ve been around him is in your sleep, in the morning the only evidence he was there at all is the ruffled sheets next to you and the lingering warmth his arms bring when he finally finds his way home to you.

it sucks, to say the least but you do everything you can to distract yourself from the loneliness and smile through the aching in your chest because you know what is taking diluc away from you is important and much bigger than yourself. how can one compare the lives of those that fill that city of mondstadt and all of the responsibility that comes with being the owner of the dawn winery to a lonely housewife who likes to play adventurer? you don’t feel as though you can, so instead you take what you can; those little moments when he smiles at you in passing, the warm hand that always seems to find the small of your back when you’re within arms reach, the strong arms that hold you tight in the short time under the setting moon that diluc calls ‘sleep’. and when you’re not soaking up every drop of diluc you can get, you’re distracting yourself.

it started with taking on work around the winery. at first it was nice seeing him more but you soon found out just how hard it is to have your lover so close and yet so far away, within view but never close enough to touch. so instead you’ve chosen to fill your time with commissions and that has worked too, for a while but you can feel it wearing you down. both in mind and body you're exhausted, on the verge of breaking down and each night you still return to a bed without diluc.

tonight was no different and as much as you don’t want to admit it, it hurts. for once you want to be selfish and take him away from the world to a place where it’s only you two, even if it’s only for a little while. but you can’t and you aren’t sure it’s wise to ask, not when a part of you is worried it will be another ‘no’. in reality it sounds so much gentler coming from his lips than it does your thoughts.

you just want one little night, one meal together, a walk through the grape fields, anything. just a little of diluc's presence and the love that you yearn for. but what happens when you want more, when you need more? one request will turn into two.. then three and who knows when it will end and how much trouble it will bring diluc.

were you nothing but trouble and dead weight for him?

you don’t realize you’ve started to cry until you feel the wet spot pooling on your pillow as you try to sleep. you're drained from so much work, your eyes are heavy and your aching body screams for rest but as you lay there, tears falling endlessly, sleep doesn’t come.

how could it when you can’t keep your mind from running wild with thoughts of diluc? the images of him only make you miss him more and the echo of your own voice reminding you it's selfish to take him away from his duty makes it impossible to sleep.

he won't, he can’t love you if you can’t support his responsibilities.

you’re only a bother to him. his duties are much more important than you, they always have been.

it’s your fault if you tear him away from his work and something goes wrong.. or if people get hurt.. he could be there to help them if not for you..

the words and the heartbreak they bring never seem to cease.

it’s fine, you tell yourself during the quiet walks between commissions or on your way back to town when your mind has a will of its own and can’t find anything else to give your full attention to. i’m fine. it's a lie and you know it but telling yourself over and over again until you believe it’s true is sure to work, isn’t it? everything will be -

“well if it isn’t our little busy adventure bee, finally taking a break,” the familiar teasing voice interrupts you from your thoughts as kaeya makes his way over to where you stand next to the adventurers guild kiosk. “though you look rather gloomy. what, someone come steal all your honey?”

gloomy was not quite how you'd describe how you feel and you were letting it get the better of you while you took a rest between commissions until kaeya showed up. his joke may have been terrible but his presence is a comfort.

“i’m not gloomy, just tired.” you bring your attention back to the map you were supposed to be looking over before.

you can feel his eye on you as he studies you like he doesn’t believe you. it’s eerily similar to the way diluc stares at you when you’re lying or withholding information. were you a bad liar? or did this have something to do with skills picked up between brothers?

“why don’t you stop busying then, little bee?”

you know you could use a break, maybe even a few days off but there’s nothing else to distract you and you desperately didn’t want to feel the truth of your loneliness when there was nothing left for you to do but wait for diluc to return to you. stopping wasn’t an option until you could give your mind something else just as demanding as working to focus on.

“can’t and don’t want to. it’s nothing i can’t handle anyways. why don’t you get busy? i know you’ve got work to do,” you retort. you hope it’s enough to change the conversation away from you.

“haha. lovely sister, since we’re both not busy let's go get a drink. what do you say?”

now who's changing the conversation?

it didn’t sound like a bad idea though. kaeya may be your brother by marriage but more than that he is a dear friend and potentially someone that could keep your mind from wandering to the aching in your chest. due to your ever busy schedule you haven’t seen him in a while either, it would be nice to catch up.

“alright, fine. let's go to the cat's tail, yeah?”

a few more commissions and a few drinks had you stumbling into bed that night. your heart felt lighter on the walk home after spending many hours with kaeya but as soon as you opened the door to the manor, the loneliness came flooding back and no one was there to help when the damn of your emotions cracked yet again. another night of crying yourself to sleep. how much longer could you go on like this?

the burning afternoon sun in your eyes coming from the small crack in the curtains is what wakes you up and you half debate trying to go back to sleep so you don’t have to face the day but somehow that seems worse, like you’ll actually have to face the loneliness all while watching diluc from afar. so you get up and not thirty minutes later you're dressed and getting ready to head to see katherine about more commissions despite your sore body and slightly hungover mind. just as you’re getting ready to leave you run into your beloved as he heads from the cellar back to his office. you can feel your chest burning by just looking at him. how badly you want to sink your fingers into his thick vermillion hair while you sit in his lap and kiss him until it hurts to breathe.

“morning ‘luc,” you say, your voice still tired and weary. you hope he doesn’t notice.

“good morning darling,” he greets you with a soft smile that could melt your heart. it almost has you forgetting about how tired and upset you feel, almost gives you the courage to ask him to take the rest of the day off to be with you but you bite your tongue. “are you feeling alright?”

the question has your heart racing. such a simple question but you aren’t sure you want to share the truthful answer, not when you know it will make diluc question why you aren’t feeling okay and then you’ll have to admit to missing him as much as you do, though you could probably get away with not telling you you cried yourself to sleep the past 2 nights.

selfish, the word echoes in your mind.

his hand touches your cheek, pulling you from your thoughts as to how to answer his question. gently, he brings your face up so your eyes meet, his ruby orbs staring deeply into your own.

“what’s wrong?” he asks, his brows knitting as he studies your face. he doesn’t even try to hide the worry behind his eyes.

“n- nothing.. i’m a bit tired, that’s all,” you give a reassuring smile that's half sincere.

your stomach flips, nausea creeping up on you quickly under his piercing gaze that tells you he’s questioning the truth of your words. maybe you really were a bad liar. “you did seem rather restless last night,” his expression softens and tenderly he rubs his thumb along your cheek, the leather of his gloves warming up your skin. “why don’t you rest more? i’m sure the guild can survive without you for one day. i can have adelinde prepare you some tea to help.”

his touch melts away some of the worry, makes you feel lighter, like things might be okay. it gives you the little push you need to ask a request that you worried was asking too much a few nights before but now, under his warmth, your heart tells you maybe it’ll be okay, it’s okay to be selfish. “thank you but i’m alright..” you grab onto his hand that rests on your cheek and hold it in both yours, squeezing his fingers in hopes to stop the shaking slowly creeping on your own. “i actually wanted to ask-”

the door to the cellar opens abruptly and loudly and not a moment later you're cut off by connor. he apologizes profusely for interrupting before promptly informing diluc of an issue that needs his immediate attention. as quickly as he came, he hurries back down the cellar to wait for the young master's help.

your heart sinks and doubt starts to cloud your mind. was this the universe telling you it’s better not to ask?

to your surprise, diluc doesn’t leave your side. instead he squeezes your hand and looks at you expectedly.

“you should probably get going before the whole place is in shambles,” you say with a half smile, slowly pulling your hand from his.

“it can wait a moment,” he says, reaching for your hand again before it falls to your side, his fingers rubbing up and down the back of your hand. “what did you want to ask me?”

your cheeks burn as red as the hair on dilucs head under his undivided attention, you haven’t had it in so long. you have to tear your eyes away from him. you hate that you’re so nervous to ask your own husband to have dinner with you.

his hand squeezes yours again, an encouragement to continue to ask whatever you need of him. he’s always told you, if it’s within his power he’d give you whatever you asked for.

“i.. i was hoping we could maybe have dinner together soon?” the words come out in a hesitant whisper. you want to run away, take it back, go back to pretending you’re alright.

biting the inside of your lip, you look up and meet his tender, loving gaze. the small smile on his lips makes you weak in the knees, and grateful that you asked.

“of course, i’ll move some things around. how about the day after tomorrow?”

the warm sun kisses your exposed skin and the sweet smell of the wine grown at your very own home invades your senses. it’s far too early in the afternoon for such a drink but kaeya is the last person to pay mind to those kinds of formalities; sharing lunch with a loved one was always a good enough reason to celebrate with a drink- his words, not yours. your own drink of choice for this occasion is something much lighter, simple lavender tea steeped to perfection thanks to diona.

“have you invited me out again because perhaps you’ve finally come to your senses and realized how badly you want me? hmm?” kaeya asks before taking a sip of his wine.

you roll your eyes, it’s the only reasonable response to his stupid and pointless flirting. “after not getting to see you for so long, i thought i’d catch up on lost time. is that so wrong?”

kaeya can hear by the hesitance in your tone that there’s more to this story than you’re letting on to, just like he had for the past few days. he doesn’t mind if you’re spending time with him and have another secret agenda for doing so but he can accurately assume what has brought you to him. “and so you could talk to me about something going on with my brother?”

you shake your hands in denial and a failed attempt to hide your reddening cheeks. “no, no. it’s nothing like that. things between diluc and i.. they’re good.”

he raises an eyebrow questioningly. did you even believe the words coming out of your mouth? you’ve always been a little hesitant to share your troubles with others and even more so sharing the private troubles between you and your beloved with his teasing, trouble making brother of all people but nonetheless, kaeya was your friend and one of your closest friends at that. it’s only natural to share worries that weigh down your heart with those close to you so they can help you, if you accept and want it.

kaeya wasn’t oblivious to your hesitation to share the private affairs between you and diluc and he understands why but as your friend and someone who cares for his brother very much, even if they both have an odd way of showing it, he can serious-up and try to remain neutral if it meant he could help you two. after all, he wanted to see you and his brother make it. he knows how much you both love each other, how much diluc needs you but also how stubborn love- and his brother- can be.

your eyes shift from his, instead looking at the wooden table and the swirling tea inside your cup, your leg bouncing up and down lightly.

“he.. hasn’t been around much lately,” - the words you’ve been trying so hard to tell kaeya since he first started to try to get you to open up. he could sweet talk almost anyone into anything but being in love with his brother made that tactic not so easy to use on you. it’s a breath of fresh air to let out your troubles, even if only a little. “i couldn’t tell you the last time i saw him for more than five minutes,” a defeated smile falls on your lips and there’s no hiding the sadness behind it.

“ah.. so you have come to confess after all and tell me you wish to spend time with me instead? what an honor.”

that gets your head perking up and your smile looking less sorrowful. you shake your head and continue to open up.

so his sweet words do work on you after all, just in a different way than most.

“i miss him deeply but it’s okay.. i know how important his duties are to him,” but it never stops the aching in your chest when you find yourself missing him or feeling like you burden him. you smile, trying not to let on to just how badly you’re feeling, how you’re torn between your own desires and the duty your husband places on himself for reasons you are all too understandable of. “besides, we’re having dinner together tonight, i’m sure i’ll feel a lot better after that.” you couldn’t be more ready to melt into his embrace for the evening after a delicious dinner, having all your worries vaporize under his burning touch.

“i’m sure you will too.”

your mood seems to lift quite a bit throughout your meal and another few glasses before kaeya has to return to work and you hurry off to buy ingredients for what is sure to be a yummy dinner.

on his way back to the knights headquarters kaeya recalls how little he’s seen his brother as of late as well. it wasn’t a secret the man nearly worked himself to the brink of death, sometimes almost literally when playing the role of the dark knight hero- though that was still a secret to most. even when going to the angels share and diluc was bartending, it was busy enough that kaeya didn’t get much of a chance to tease or poke any kind of fun at this brother.

kaeya hasn’t seen you a lot either until he stopped you that day at the kiosk. all you seem to be doing nowadays is taking commission after commission with the guild, no doubt a tactic to ease the loneliness of having your significant other at arm's reach but never being able to touch them or have a moment alone with them. he’s all too familiar with the ways one uses to distract from pain.

people may not notice the subtle changes in your choices to take on more work or the way your smile seems a little more strained but after spending some time with you over lunch, kaeya sees how apparent it is now. had his brother taken the few moments needed to see how much his absence was affecting you?

kaeya takes it upon himself to personally do a little extra patrolling tonight. with the dark knight hero having a night off he can show diluc how safe the city is under the care of the knights of favonius.

it’s a quiet night with the moon and stars shining brightly upon the city of freedom, the citizens within sleeping soundly under the watchful eyes of the knights. the only thing that could make the shimmering silver light better would be a glass of wine in his hand, or maybe the whole bottle, as he strolls through the quiet streets. of course that doesn’t befit a knight on duty but that won't stop him from rewarding himself when he gets home.

his chipper grin falls when he rounds a corner near the edge of the city and sees a mop of bright red hair emerging from the alleyway. was kaeya going to personally have to force diluc to notice what he’s doing to his relationship, the best thing that’s happened to his brother in his personal belief, by overworking himself?

“well, well, if it isn’t our very own vigilante taking it upon himself to do a knight's work,” there's a hint of charm in his voice but coldness behind it can be felt in the air that lingers between the two men.

“come to finally turn me in?” diluc sneers, keeping his familiar stoic look on his face.

“not at all dear brother,” he takes a step closer to diluc, narrowing his icy gaze even further. “but, i am here to scold you if you being in the city right now means you missed dinner with y/n tonight.”

dilucs jaw noticeably tenses but other than that, there’s no hint of guilt or regret on his face. kaeya hopes that means diluc kept his word to you.

“what business of that is yours?” diluc doesn’t waver under kaeyas intense, bone chilling stare.

“maybe it’s none of my business,” he admits but truthfully kaeya doesn’t care if he’s over stepping. he could handle the burning flames that are his brother if it meant he made diluc see the error of his ways, see what he was doing to his wife and marriage and likely his own happiness. no one was blind to the way diluc lit up when you were around and kaeya wonders when the last time anyone saw that light. if it’s as bad as you refuse to admit out loud, it’s been a while, probably too long. “but i’ll happily make it my business if you aren’t doing your duty as a husband and someone who loves y/n. if you don’t shape up i may have to come steal her away.”

diluc closes what little distance is left between them, letting his shoulder brush against kaeyas as he passes by. he knows kaeya is only trying to egg him on, trying to get a reaction out of him but diluc won't let him win that easily, not when it comes to you. “don’t say such things about my wife.”

“we’ll see how much longer she stays your wife when you’ve put so many other things before her.”

now he’s just being petty, pouring alcohol on the fire just to see how big he can make it. they both know it but no apology leaves kaeya lips as diluc walks off, heat radiating off of him like a forest engulfed in flames.

diluc can’t calm the sinking pit that is his stomach as he makes his way to the entrance of the city at what feels like a snail's pace. if not for kaeya the moment he was reminded of your dinner plans tonight he would have ran full speed to the winery, quickly making his way to your shared bed and into your arms to apologize profusely, for the depths of his heart, for forgetting. his pace quickens as soon as he's out of the city walls, only getting faster and faster the closer he comes to home.

he recalls the uncertainty in your voice and eyes when you had asked him to have dinner with you. how long had it been since you asked that simple request of him? how could he have forgotten the promise he made to you? truthfully, all of the recent days have become a blur of nothing but paperwork, orders and maintenance repairs, on top of his regular shifts at the bar and his nightly duty to protect the city. he somehow stumbles into bed after repeating this busy routine day after day and gets up just to do it all over again. but where had you fit into all of this?

a kiss on the cheek in passing, holding you in his arms for the few hours of rest he can get is enough to hold him over, but how long could either of you really last like that? had he spent so much time wrapped up in work that he unknowingly pushed you to the brink of no return and into kaeyas arms? he had noticed you taking up more work with the guild and earlier today adelinde made a comment about how you’ve been returning later than usual to the manner recently. was that your work or his brothers doing?

kaeyas words burn in the back of his mind.

his whole body feels tight when he enters into the dark stillness of the manor. he checks the kitchen first, even though he knows it’s far too late for you to be waiting there for him. you’ve left a plate of what smells like one amazing meal but he doesn’t have a single bit of an appetite. how could he? he’s still half worried you may not be in your shared bed.

quietly he makes his way up the stairs and towards the master bedroom. the tightness in his chest only worsens when he sees flickering candle light seeping through the bottom of the closed door. he’s always had a love hate relationship with you staying up in wait until he comes home. on one hand, he wishes you’d take care of yourself and have a normal sleep schedule but he loved seeing your smile when he walked through the door and the ‘welcome home’ that comes from your lips sounds so angelic that it wraps around his entire being with cashmere and brings him a warmth no flames could ever compare to.

there’s no loving smile or sweet ‘welcome home’ for diluc tonight and regretfully he admits to himself he can’t remember the last time he heard those words though missing them tonight doesn’t look like it’s from a lack of trying. he enters quietly and immediately his eyes find you. your fingers loosely hold onto the book you fell asleep reading as you lay on top of the duvet dressed in your silk pajamas, your head resting against your pillow. it might bring him some solace had he found you resting peacefully but the furrow of your brows and the frown on your lips tells him you’re having far from peaceful dreams. he can’t help but blame himself for that as well.

he’s far too lost in his emotions and his guilt to care about showering or preparing for bed properly. he changes into his night clothes within minutes, ruby eyes unable to leave your sleeping form as he moves quietly across the room and into bed. the moment you awaken he wants to apologize, promise you that tomorrow you’ll have him all to yourself and keep good on that promise, tell you how much he loves you and apologize some more. but for now he’ll have to settle with tucking you under the covers and holding you against his chest, whispering his confessions of love and his apologies to your unconscious self, hoping that even through sleep you can feel his love and sincerity.

the quietness of the winery in the early morning before any maids or other staff show up is uneasy, though maybe it was just the lingering sadness in your heart from your missed dinner with diluc that adds the layer of glum over the misty, gray morning.

you waited eagerly, for what you realize now was far too long, hoping that any moment he’d walk through the heavy doors and you’d finally be in his arms but as the sun set and the food became cold, your hopes died and your heart throbbed. words no longer describe how much you missed him.

you’ve always known that keeping the city and it’s people safe was his priority, how much he felt like he alone had to shoulder the burden on top of his regular responsibilities. how could you ask a man with such a strong resolve to stop for little you? surely easing your loneliness wasn’t as important as the lives of the citizens diluc fought so hard to keep safe. it was best that you give him space, allow him to work and love him from a distance as you have been, even if it hurts.

it’s odd for you to be up before him, you wondered if you should wake him along with you but the dark bags under his sleeping eyes told you he needed the rest. so you silently slipped from his arms and tiptoed around the room for your things before heading to the guest bathroom to get ready for another day of commissions to keep you busy, maybe stop by the knights headquarters to spend time with kaeya. you know it’s just a distraction but it was enough for now and until you could work through accepting that most of diluc doesn’t belong to you and be okay with the little of himself he could give to you.

you’re lacing up your boots near the front door when you hear the master bedroom door open and the patter of dilucs bare feet on the cold hardwood. he calls your name, his voice low, still laced with sleep.

“down here,” you call back, meeting him at the bottom of the stairs once your shoes are on.

he looks as exhausted as you feel, dark bags under his eyes, untamed red locks cascading down his exposed chest which rises and falls with his quick breaths.

the air between you is stiff; neither of you know what to say or if it’s okay to touch the other even though you both desperately want to.

waking up without you had him out of bed in seconds looking for you, an unsettling worry weighing down his chest that him arriving home to you last night was a dream and kaeya was right. having you stand in front of him, dressed to leave even though it’s still early in the morning with your eyes full of such anguish has him worried this is only a delayed goodbye.

he opens his mouth to speak, to say anything at all, hopefully something to get you to stay but no words come out and you speak first instead.

“i have a lot to do at the guild so i should get going. there's breakfast ready in the kitchen, be sure you eat, okay?” you give the best smile you can muster but everything behind your eyes betrays any smile you could give him.

he hadn’t meant to forget about your dinner, his already weary mind too clouded with thoughts of work, of duty, to remember much else. he hasn’t meant to be neglectful of you all this time while work and other responsibilities took his time. it’s no excuse, he knows it’s not and he wishes you would yell at him, scream that he’s hurt you, tell him it’s over if that’s what you wish. your half hearted smile and broken, unsparkling eyes are so much worse than any words you could yell at him for disappointing you. “y/n, i-”

“i should really get going,” the words leave your mouth before you can stop them but you decide quickly it’s for the best. you aren’t sure you could get through a conversation without breaking down and crying over how much you miss him but you don’t want to burden him, not before he has to go through a full day of work. his stoic expression is nowhere to be found, only worry draws the pretty lines that create the man you love. it’s not hard to tell he’s remembered the dinner he’d forgotten but you don’t want to talk about it. he had other things to worry about.

“y/n, don’t-”

“you don’t have to worry about me diluc, i’m fine, everythings fine.”

who you’re trying to convince with those words you aren’t entirely sure.

your broken smile tears dilucs heart in two. how could he not worry about you, especially now after he’s hurt you? he’s worried now more than ever and he hates himself for only seeing the pain he’s caused you thanks to the words of his brother. is it too late to make amends or had his darkness already consumed you?

he wants to reach out for you, call for you to stay when you head towards the door without as much as a hug goodbye but he’s frozen in place, no words leave him as he watches you walk out the door and into the rising morning. move, go after her, what are you doing standing here?

you’re on the front of his mind the whole day. papers got signed, orders got approved all under his watch but he hardly read the words on the parchment. all he could see was the face of the person he loved most in the world trying so hard to hide the sadness that lay behind her eyes and the reply in his mind how he only watched as she walked away.

how had he not noticed your pain sonner? why didn’t he chase after you this morning or any morning you left the manor with that same look in your eyes?

he thought the bustle of the tavern would distract him enough until you stopped taking commissions and he could talk to you. he’s had enough time to think about what he wants to say, how he’s going to try to make this up to you as long as you’re willing to give him the chance to do so but he couldn’t have been more wrong.

as the night creeps on and the customers drink until their lips are loose, little secrets and rumors escape easily when they think no one is listening. it’s almost always bullshit or nothing of significance but every once in a while it’s good intel and even fewer times than that, it’s rumors of the ragnvindr household itself.

in most of those instances it’s rumors of the ever elusive young master or some of the older gentleman who frequent the tavern speaking of his late father but tonight it’s of something, someone, diluc thought people wouldn’t have the guts to speak ill about on his own property, you.

“did you see captain kaeya with that h/c woman earlier? i’ve been seeing them alot together recently, has he finally decided to settle down?”

“are you blind or just stupid?! that’s master dilucs wife yer talkin’ about.”

a third person chimes in. “they looked pretty chummy to me and i’ve never seen her with master diluc.”

“keep your voices down!”

as if that could really help them, diluc scoffs, the glass in his hand threatening to break under his intense grip. he knows he should walk away or even more so get them to shut up about you but his mind is running a million miles an hour. had you really been spending so much time with kaeya that people actually think you’re with him? he knows you’re not a cheater, he doesn’t doubt it for a second but his brother's intentions are a different story altogether. kaeyas flirted with you too many times to count and he already told diluc once before he’d come to steal you away, maybe he wasn’t joking as he thought and even worse, perhaps diluc deserved it.

the gnawing feeling in his chest only worsens when the loud patrons leave and he’s left with silent snores of the passed out drunks and the scrub of the wet rag in his hand against the bartop; the perfect opportunity for his insecurities and worries to toture him with thoughts of losing you, beating himself up for being a terrible spouse and lover. you deserved so much better, he always thought that and yet, he dragged you into the darkness anyways.

he’s worked out a particularly hard stain in his frustrations, only looking up from the wooden surface when he hears commotion outside the back door. his heart rate picks up when he hears your voice clearly.

“kaeya! stop! i can take myself home!” it's obvious you’re drunk as your words slightly slur and you're far louder than you need to be.

“no, you can’t. you’ll pass out drunk on the side of the road and become treasure hoarder bait in no time,” kaeya tries to reason with you, diluc knows from experience that it’s a foolish attempt while you’re in this state. his voice becomes muffled as he begins to whisper.

you’ve finally decided to lower your voice too and diluc can’t make out your muffled words through the door but it doesn’t matter, it’s his duty to ensure you get home safely. he’s been so focused on his work he’d let his duties as a husband fall but not this, never his duty to keep you safe. even when you’re upset at him, even if you decide you want to leave him, he’ll always protect you.

it’s another minute before kaeya enters the tavern with you in tow, heading straight for the bar. diluc seethes at the sight of kaeyas hands on you.

“a glass of wine for me and a cup of water for this one,” kaeya orders as he helps you sit up right in the stool right across from diluc and then takes the seat next to you.

diluc pours your drinks in silence, watching you intently as you avoid his eyes and instead draw circles with the tip of your finger against the top of the bar. he places the glass of water in front of you and almost jumps over the bar to get kaeya as far away from you as possible when the tan hand of the calvary captain comes to rest on your shoulder.

“this is the special drink i was telling you about,” he teases and pushes the glass closer to you with his other hand. “i know you’ll love it.”

you swat kaaeyas hand away from your shoulder. “no water or.. any drinks. i’m goin’ home,” you declare, pushing the glass away from you and start to get up from your seat with wobbly legs.

“that sounds like a perfect job for a knight such as myself,” kaeya says with a devious smile. “shall we go then lovely lady ragnvindr?”

diluc stares flaming daggers in his brothers direction as he rounds the bar to come stop you. you’re moving slow and it only takes him a few strides to be standing in front of you. you collide with his chest when you try to take a step towards the door and would have toppled backwards had it not been for dilucs hands on your shoulders holding you upright.

“’m fine,” you argue, not meeting his eyes. “let me go,” but your movements betray your words. you don’t try to get out of his grasp, if anything he’d say you’re leaning into it.

diluc knows how to play this game, your stubborn drunkenness hasn’t gotten the better of him yet and it wasn’t going to start now. “i’ll let you go, you can even go home but you’ve got to have a glass of water first, got it?”

you finally look at him with narrowed eyes but they don’t hold any anger behind them. he lets go of you but stays close enough to catch you in case you’re too drunk to stand straight for long. at this distance he can smell the hard liquor on you mixed with your normal, sweet scent. you’ve never been one to drink away your sorrows like so many others he’s seen but he fears he’s driven you to under the current circumstances.

“fine. one glass of water.”

it’s quiet between the three of you, an overwhelming feeling of an intense unspoken battle between fire and ice seeping into every corner of the tavern. it feels like it might catch the whole bar on fire, or freeze it over completely, when kaeya keeps his hands on you when you start to sway or when he tries to coax you into drinking more water using honied words and a tone that is too flirtatious for your husbands liking.

“i’m closing up,” diluc looks at kaeya with unamused eyes after a while. “leave.” diluc can’t help but notice how oddly quiet kaeya is before he departs, how he avoids dilucs gaze but seemed to be observing the both of you intently. diluc doesn’t like it, not one bit. kaeya has no business sticking his nose into your marriage or whatever other plan he may be brewing in his mind and, even though diluc knows it’s his jealousy, his possessiveness speaking, he doesn’t feel as though it’s kaeyas business to be spending this much time with you or being this close to you. you being friends with him or not, it was too much for someone as untrustworthy as his brother.

in silence diluc finishes cleaning up, observing you as you rest your head on your arms that lay across the counter. he talks you into taking one more sip of water before he locks up the tavern and you both head home. he supports your weight as you walk side by side to the gate and over the bridge to the path leading towards the winery, his strong arm wrapped around your middle to keep you steady.

you're quiet, unusual for your drunk self but he understands your pain didn’t go away simply because you had one too many to drink. in this case- as in most cases- it’s likely only making it worse. the night air outside the walls of mond is warm, almost refreshing and welcoming but it does little to help the strained silence between you. you both know there’s no point in talking while one of you is drunk, no matter how badly you both want to spill your hearts out.

“’m sorry for troubling you ‘luc,” you say quietly after a while, trying to take your weight off of him and walk on your own.

his chest burns uncomfortably at the sadness in your voice, the spot where you leaned on his side slowly turning cold. he instantly misses your touch. despite the uncomfortableness within him, his tone remains as it always is. “escorting you home is never a trouble for me. all that matters is that you get home safe.”

you get a few steps ahead of him, legs still a little uneasy but he keeps a close eye on you.

“.. could have made it on my own.. or kaeya could have taken me.”

his jaw clenches at the mention of his brothers name. he knows the other night when kaeya made the comment about coming to steal you away he was only pushing dilucs buttons, only trying to make him feel bad but hearing kaeyas words repeat in his mind and you sounding as if you’d prefer his brother's company over his own stings more than he wishes it would.

not a minute after saying that you’d make it home on your own, you lose your footing on some loose ground and begin to topple forward but your body never meets the cold ground.

your e/c orbs, glossy and sparkling against the moonlight, stare wide in surprise at diluc hovering above you. his bright red hair cascades down one shoulder, the tips of his luscious locks tickling your chin. you stay like that for a moment longer than you should, lost in each other's gaze while his arms hold you just a few inches above the ground, your delicate fingers grip onto him for more stability even though you know he’d never drop you.

“come again about making it home on your own?” he asks as he lifts you into his arm bridal style and continues down the path as if nothing happened, as if his heart isn’t about to pound right out his chest.

he half expected you to fight it and wiggle out of his arms but relief washes over him when you do the opposite and snuggle into his embrace instead. it’s quickly replaced with anxious panic when he looks down to check on you and sees a tear rolling down your cheek.

“i’m sorry..” you whisper, burying your face into his chest.

“what is it you’re sorry for?” diluc doesn’t understand. he should be the one apologizing, not you.

you only shake your head, repeating your apology as your fingers come up to grab onto his coat and you pull yourself further into his embrace.

a few hours earlier

as the day turns to night, kaeya has every plan to turn from calvary captain into, well a drunk cavalry captain. what he hadn’t expected though was for you to be knocking on his door just as he gets ready to quench his thirst, with a bottle of wine and hard liquor in each hand, your lightless eyes contradicting the smile on your lips.

he was never one to say no to free drinks, especially when shared with a loved one but it doesn’t take him long, not even half a glass of wine on his part, for you to spill the beans about diluc missing your special dinner and how you’re here to get drunk and forget about it. he does not like the way you’re choosing to cope with your predicament but truthfully he doesn’t like the way diluc is dealing with it either.

two fools, he thinks to himself but chooses to drink with you anyways. was he going to have to fix this himself? he can’t help but chuckle at the idea, oh how badly it could go in the all right ways.

he isn’t sure how many drinks you’ve poured yourself by the time you make it to the cats tail and down a few more. you aren’t shitfaced but you’re sure going to feel this in the morning, kaeyas even willing to bet you throw up before the night's end. should he stop you? probably. he knows better than anyone in this city, better than even diluc, that drinking away your pain doesn’t fix a damn thing. he’s spent plenty of time trying. is he going to stop you though? only when it really is too much but until then, he’ll watch and wait until you’re ready to go see the one person you’ve been avoiding- not that you’d call it avoiding but at this point, kaeya certainly would.

you’re too busy tracing the stars in the sky, making yourself a little a dizzy in the process, to notice kaeyas arm around you as you walk through the middle of mond and to the angels share. he promised you a special drink so you let him guide you where he pleases without a second thought. it’s only when he comes to a stop at the back door of the tavern do you register where you are.

“why did you bring me here?” you ask but you’re too annoyed and too drunk to wait for an answer.

you start to walk off, kicking a chair that’s out of place in the process. kaeya grabs ahold of your arm, partly so you don’t fall and partly because there was no way in hell he’s letting you leave the city in this state. diluc would have his head and while kaeya did plan on getting under dilucs skin tonight, being a little bit of a bad brother for the sake of love, he did not mean like this.

“kaeya! stop!” you yell and try to pull yourself away from him, almost falling down again in the process. “i can take myself home!”

“no you can’t,” that much he is certain of. “you’ll pass out drunk on the side of the road and become treasure hoarder bait in no time,” he can see you trying to reason with yourself behind your cloudy eyes, now he’s just got you to take the bait before you convince yourself you can still do it. “diluc can take you home, don’t you want that?”

you stop fighting kaeyas grasp at the mention of your beloved. you did want that, you really really did but not even being drunk was enough to make you forget why you had been distancing yourself from diluc.

stubbornly you hold in your tears, your voice nothing more than a whisper. “i’m not trying to bother him.”

“is that what you think you’ll be doing?”

you don’t answer, not with your words at least but your eyes tell him all he needs to know.

“come on. there is an extra special drink in there waiting for you so let's get moving.”

every day you try to keep in mind that a new day brings the chance of change, of something good and new but today, as everyday of late, it only brings familiar, gut wrenching heartbreak.

“where are you going?” diluc asks sternly when you try to slip from the bedroom without a word, dressed to leave yet again. he understands you’re upset with him, you have every right to be as much as he wishes you weren’t but the avoidance is too much, like you don’t wish to resolve the turmoil that bubbles between your hearts. why are you avoiding him so?

he couldn’t and wouldn’t let this go on any further. his heart couldn’t take it and he knows yours can’t either.

“i’m heading to mond,” you answer shakily, your hand lingering on the doorknob. your heart races as diluc steps closer to you, his arm folded, face stoic and hard to read, that is until you mention a certain someone. “i promised kaeya-”

“do we not have more important things to discuss than kaeya?” he interrupts, his expression turning harsh as his hand comes up to push the door closed. your heart feels like it’s going to explode under his gaze and you let go of the doorknob when you meet ruby eyes that swirl with flickers of flames you don’t know the intentions of.

“i don’t know diluc.. do we?” you hate the way your voice sounds as it comes out, it’s so different from your normal soft tone with him. you swallow your nerves, try to be calm, but more words you don’t like the sound of come out. “what’s got you so upset at just the mention of his name?”

“it’s not his name that bothers me as much as it is how close you’ve grown with him.” the air in the room begins to feel almost too hot to breathe.

“you’re upset at me for spending time with my friend?” you glare up at diluc, dropping your bag on the floor. your arms come to rest at your side, hands clenching into fist. after everything that’s been putting you through, does he really have the right to be upset about this?

“you know he’s not trustworthy,” he states as a cold, hard fact.

“i know that’s what you believe,” you reply back just as coldly. “but he’s still my friend and lately he seems like the only person i can lean on.” your eyes widen when you hear them.. that isn’t true. in your heart you know you could have avoided this all if you’d chosen to lean on diluc.

“is that so?” he takes a step closer to you. “perhaps there’s more going on between you then meets the eyes then?” he doesn’t mean it but the vile words came out before he could stop them and as the thought of kaeya taking you away from him, anyone taking you from him- including his own stubbornness- he can’t stop any words from spilling past his lips, no matter how much he knows they’re a lie. “you and kaeya-“

“what the hell are you trying to say?” your eyes burn with a fury he’s never seen from you before.

“you know full well-”

“no- i don’t know diluc!” you hear the scattering footsteps of the maids just arriving to work outside the door as you raise your voice to a volume that hardly ever echos off the walls of the manor. “are you really standing here telling me that i’m cheating on you and with kaeya of all people? what the- i-” you can’t stop the words from leaving you either “i- i can’t fucking believe you,” he takes a step closer, you take a step back. “you can’t bother to give me the time of day or even keep a simple promise to have dinner with me and then you come and accuse me of cheating on you? that's fucking rich.”

the eerie calm in his voice, how it doesn’t raise even a little makes your bones shiver. “why is it that the first person you find solace in during my absence is him? does that not say anything at all?”

“no diluc it doesn’t,” your voice shakes, from fear or anger or any mix of the two you don’t know but you wish it would stop. you wish all of this would stop but you can’t will your mouth to cease moving. “kaeya is my friend, the only person that i’ve felt gives a shit about me these days-”

“that's not true. you know-“

“no i don’t!”

“have you even tried to talk to me about what's troubling you? why rely on kaeya when i’m right here?”

“because you aren’t there diluc! you couldn’t even be there when all i asked for was one dinner!”

you don’t know how long you stand there spewing venom at each other, words that you don’t mean but that falls like an avalanche, unstoppable and drowning everything in its path in bitter cold. any hope of logic has been thrown out the window and left to rot in the grounds of the vineyard.

your tears can’t be stopped, the bile in your throat rising with every word until it threatens to come out. you’re shaking, red in the face and when diluc begins to raise his voice too, you can barely stand it. time moves by so slowly, every painful second and hurtful word- even when they’re your own- are a slap to the face.

you can’t keep doing this and at some point your fits unclench, your eyes drop to the ground and with a heart full of lead and ice, you admit defeat. “i can’t do this,” your throat hurts after yelling for so long and your tears don’t help. your turn on the balls of your feet, not grabbing your bag or anything before opening the door. you try to take a step but dilucs firm grip on your wrist stops you.

“we aren’t done,” his chest is heaving, you can feel how hot his breath is from this distance but you don’t dare look him in the eyes.

“yes, we are. at least for right now.” now it’s your calm voice that suffocates the entire room. you don’t look back as you pull your hand away from his grip, walk down the stairs and out the front doors. theres not a single worker of the winery in sight and no heavy footsteps following behind you. biting your bottom lip, you try to hold your head up high but it’s incredibly hard to do when all you want is to curl into a ball and sob until you have no tears left. you do your best and when the click of the door closing behind you comes, you let your head fall, curling your arms into your chest. letting your feet carry you to an unknown destination as tears leave a trail in wake, each one a sign of your broken heart and your wishes that soon, when your mind is more clear, you can make up and be in his arms again.

dilucs not sure how many stages of grief he goes through as he paces the length of your shared bedroom for what feels like hours before he listens to his heart over his mind. each minute with you gone more painful than the last. listening to his heart, following and expressing his feelings, he is not very good at doing it but it was what he knew he needed to do for you. he would do anything for you.

could you find it in your heart to forgive him for turning the tables at what the real issue was? you're so kind and you’ve shown him time and time again that your love for him was unwavering, you’re likely to forgive him but diluc isn’t certain he deserves it and even if you did, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself. he’ll remember for a long while the pain in your eyes and the tears that fell down the cheeks he only ever wanted to pepper kisses to, all this pain caused because of his actions and words.

when the worst starts to creep up on him, thoughts that you might not return at all, he takes a seat on the edge of the bed. resting his head in his hands, silent tears stain the fabric of his dark pants.

he’s been a fool to let his duty to you as a husband, as the person who loves you more than anything else in all of teyvat and celestia, fall between the cracks. it’s his most important job, nothing in this world meant more to him than you did. and as more time passes with you not returning home, his determination to do something to prove the love he had for you and how sorry he was brought him back to his feet and out the door, just in time to get caught in the pouring rain.

he dislikes the rain and the way it taunts him. was it so determined to sweep you even further away from him? could he find you, wherever you are, through the thick veil of rain that soaks the ground beneath his feet and would you accept him once he did? he’ll spend as long as it takes trying. wherever you are, he would find you and make this right. that much he knows for certain.

walking from place to place in search of you felt like traveling for miles, like the path to you was one that spread so far into the distance there wasn't any end in sight. the rain doesn’t stop as he searches for you. all of the usual places you spend your time around reading or working don’t have any evidence that you’ve been there at all but his feet keep moving. he had to find you and fix this.

it’s when he’s heading back to the winery to see if you’d return home that he hears sniffles. it’s so quiet, almost completely drowned out by the rain but somehow he hears it and let’s it guide him in hopes it will lead him to you.

his heart sinks at the sight of your figure hiding from the rain under a travelers tent; knees curled into your chest, head resting between you legs, you're soaked to the bone and your back rising with every hiccup caused by your sobs.

quickly he makes his way to your side, reaching out for you but his hands never find you. what if his touch only made it worse? “y/n..”

your head shoots up, your tear filled eyes finding his as he shrugs off his coat and rests it on your shoulders. the warmth of his coat isn’t nearly enough to stop your tears but it helps more than he knows.

“diluc!” your crying grows louder but it’s not for the reason he fears. messily you rise to your knees and fling your arms around his neck, with all your strength pull him as close to you as possible. your legs straddle his as he sinks his knees into the ground, one hand on the small of your back, the other tangling in your hair. you can feel his racing heart beating against your own.

he returns the gesture tenfold, his arms wrap around you so tightly it steals the air from your lungs but you don’t care. you would happily suffocate in his arms.

“i’m so sorry.” you say at the same time.

the rain around you rages on but the only thing you two can hear is the sound of each other. he has so much to say but for now, he’ll let you speak.

“diluc.. i- i would never cheat on you-“

“i know.”

“- but i was still in the wrong. i.. i didn’t want to bother you but.. i’ve been so.. lonely,” it hurts to say out loud but after your time wandering alone with your thoughts you know it all needs to be said if things were going to be made right. you held back your feelings for so long but it didn’t help and all you wanted now was to confide in him so you let your heart do the talking. “i was spending time with kaeya to try to help my loneliness.. so i wasn’t causing trouble for you- but really.. i only caused more trouble by doing that and i didn’t mean to.. i’m sorry.. i.. i miss you so much it hurts and- and i just couldn’t get the words out before. you have so much more important things-“

“you are the most important thing to me,” he didn’t want to interrupt after he had waited so long for you to tell him how you’re feeling but the words couldn’t be stopped and this time he’s grateful for it. he pulls away from you but doesn’t go far, his arms remain around you and he brings his forehead to rest on yours. “you are never a bother, telling me how you feel could never cause trouble for me. i wish for you to tell me everything that goes on in the heart i love, even if you think it’s not worth telling. your worries are my worries.. i know i’m stubborn and can be absent more than i’d like to be but please y/n,” his hand tangles more into your hair as his nose touches yours. his breath warms your cheeks and his words warm your heart. “don’t feel as though you have to bear anything alone. nothing in this whole world is more important to me than you are and i can’t apologize enough for failing you.”

“you haven’t failed me.”

“please.. allow me the chance to make it up to you, to prove my undying love for you..” his words flow as freely as the tears down his cheeks. “y/n.. i love you so much. words don’t begin to desc-”

your lips meeting his own cuts him off but no more words need to be said. his hand grips onto your wet shirt under his coat, growing tighter with each kiss you share. it’s been so long since you shared such an intimate display of your affections. the way you both refuse to pull away, even when you need the air, shows just how determined you both are to make up for every lost moment, how no matter what stood in your way you would always, always have each, love each other and that neither of you would let something like this happen again.

under soaking wet clothes and the touch of your beloved, you begin to shiver.

“let's get you out of the cold darling.” strong hands travel down to thighs and effortlessly he stands up with you in his arms. he knows you can walk but he wasn’t ready to be that far away from you. your legs wrap around him, your face buried in the crook of his neck as he makes his way back to the winery. everything diluc wanted to say before his whispers into your ears with each step he takes towards your home. every word he spoke filled your heart with the flame that has been missing for so long and reminded you just how brightly his own heart burned for you.

several days later

as kaeya's work day draws to an end he makes one lap around the city before heading to the angels share. the bar is loud, music playing from inside can be heard out the door and the chatter of patrons joins the noise. when he enters the tavern, the bards music matches the brightness that brings the bar to life. nothing has changed from how it normally looks, there aren’t even more patrons than usual but it feels more lively than it has for a while. when he sees the bartender, a normally unseen smile on his face as he pours drinks and listens to his pretty wife laugh and talk about her day, kaeya understands what's brought the glowing atmosphere.

he can’t help but have a glass of wine to congratulate himself for helping you two find your way. though he was expecting to have to flirt with you more to get it to this point. all but pin you up against the bar and pretend to go into a kiss for diluc to shape up is how far he happily would have gone but he’s glad to see one night of getting on his brothers nerves finally got you to talk.

towards the end of the night when you’re helping clean up and most of the other patrons have left the bar, kaeyas glass gets a refill he wasn’t expecting. he looks at diluc questioningly but diluc isn’t looking back at him, instead his ruby eyes remain on your figure across the room.

“this ones on the house.. ahem.. for keeping y/n company in my absence.. but your services are no longer needed.”

“hehe, what a pity.”

genshin impact masterlist | main masterlist

#ooooooh this was goooood #genshin impact #diluc ragnvindr x reader #genshin x reader #diluc ragnvindr #others writing

[cutie-writes]

REVOKED PRIVILEGES

summary. taking away their cuddling privileges for a month after a fight had happened

cw. having to reject their cuddle sessions, usage of call signs

[୨୧] — feat. childe, diluc, albedo, scaramouche, kazuha

[୨୧] — tags. gn! reader, grammatical mistakes may occur

[୨୧] — part one / part two

CHILDE.

will be whiny and won’t leave you alone 

the fight had grew big, to the point where the both of you are on each other’s nerves. it started as a simple competition, but as he tells you that he won and you lose, that’s when all hell breaks loose and the both of you came insulting each other back and forth

the moment you told him that you’re revoking his cuddling privileges for a whole month, he felt as if his whole reason for coming home was gone. you swore that his shoulders dropped and the eyes that hold such fierceness when you were fighting was now replaced by eyes that looks like a child when their ipad has been confiscated by their parents

you know those kids do when they want a toy? where they will whine their parent’s name about how they want this toy? yeah, he will do that no matter how much you ignore him. be it inside or outside, he has no shame whining your name about how he just at least wants a single hug from you

he tried multiple times cuddling or even touching you, to the point where you have to slap his hands away. he even comes back home every day with gifts in his hands as he expects he will get a hug, a peck on the cheek or even at least a pat on the head, but no that didn’t happen at all

every now and then, if he can’t get his cuddles then he’ll just stay in the same room as you, ignoring your complains. you aren’t giving him any cuddles now, do you expect him to stay away from you?

when you look across the room, his eyes are already on you and he’s trying his best to give you those eyes that a single kiss or hug won’t hurt your pride. nevertheless you still ended up ignoring him

once the whole month’s over, expect that you when you wake up in the morning he’s already hugging you like you’re a teddy bear. when you’re planning to leave the bed, he will grab your arm and trapped you again in his arms, as he whines that you aren’t allowed to leave the bed for a whole day, whining how you need to make up for the lost cuddles he didn’t get

he will still follow you around, and even became very clingy to the point that he had been glued to your side for the rest of month. at the same time he’s also very cautious now since, he doesn’t want it to happen ever again. but you can’t complain though, after all he was not the only one who missed the daily cuddling sessions

“Huh? Where are you going? Let’s stay here a little longer, pleaseee”

Keep reading

[cutie-writes]

Do I Meet Your Qualifications Now?

Summary: A promise made long ago resurfaces during a night of drinks with colleagues. 

Word Count: 8.2k (now this is the longest fic I’ve ever written)

Tags: Alhaitham x Fem!Reader, Smut, NSFW, Modern AU, Childhood Friends AU, Office au? kinda, Mutual Pinning, Fluff, slight dubcon, slight angst, mentions of office sexual harassment, creepy boss, mentions of marriage, slight yandere!alhaitham, slight mentions of breeding maybe? Jealously, possessive!alhaitham, you enjoy drinks at a tavern with the sumeru boys.  

Authors note: This is my first smut in a long long time, I just thought about how alhaitham’s bottled up emotions will one day bubble over, inspired by a small ramble of mine lol. Enjoy. 

Keep reading

#this was soooo good #others writing #others posts #when life gives ya lemons #genshin x reader

[cutie-writes]

Chainsaw Man Pokemon Teams II.

(except I won’t elaborate on them at all)

Himeno- mismagius, gothitelle, sableye, dusknoir, trevenant, shuppet

Kobeni- bonsly, togedamaru, magikarp, sobble, teddiursa, whismur

Kishibe- mabosstiff, fearow, arcanine, sneasel, camerupt, blaziken

Angel- staraptor, swanna, altaria, clefable, pidgeot, slakoth

Pt. I

#anime #cutie writes #anime headcanons #chainsaw man #chainsaw man headcanons #csm #csm au #csm headcanons #csm hcs #pokemon #pokémon #kobeni #chainsaw man kishibe #angel devil #himeno #safe read

[cutie-writes]

Chainsaw Man Pokemon Teams I.

(except I won’t elaborate on them at all)

Denji- growlithe, snorlax, garchomp, gengar, lycanroc (night form), raichu

Power- tinkaton, crobat, mimikyu, munchlax, skitty, furret

Aki- alolan ninetales, umbreon, luxray, zororak, honchkrow, houndoom

Makima- espeon, mightyena, noctowl, ninetales, xatu, hatterene

Pt. II

#anime #pokémon #pokemon #chainsaw devil #chainsaw man #Denji #power #power csm #aki hayawaka #aki csm #makima #Makima csm #csm au #growlithe #espeon #umbreon #ninetales #tinkaton #csm headcanons #cutie writes #chainsaw man headcanons #safe read

[cutie-writes]

Where You Willed the Moon - Pt. 2

(deviates from canon starting at Scara's boss fight)

Previous Part Next Part AO3 Link

Scaramouche/f!Reader (reader is the traveler, but not lumine) 4,717 Words - NSFW Chapter Tags: Paimon, No Smut Current Story Tags: Unhealthy Codependence, Enemies to Lovers, P in V, f!Receiving Oral, Thigh Riding, Mentions of m!Losing Virginity, Pining, Bullshit Sereniteapot Magic, sub-ish Scara when it counts :^)

Spoilers for the Sumeru story, and spoilers for 3.2 based off leaks.

---

The weather here is what you wish it to be. 

Usually it’s mild - a soft sun that lingers in the sky most often, cradled by clouds that would never be able to carry its weight under normal circumstances. The temperature is comfortable. Not too warm, not too cool, just enough that you can stretch out along the waving stalks of grass just as you are now. 

The cloud’s don’t need to move, but they do so anyway, allowing you to let your eyes trail along their edges and supply shapes that may not make sense to someone else looking at the same view. Wind breezes across for a moment, shifting the grass that surrounds your form and reaches toward the sky on all sides. 

It cocoons you, rounding toward you at the tops in a way that’s so very reminiscent of a sight you vaguely can put your finger on. Metal looming, keeping you safe and secure while laying next to a god.

A god… when one has the power to save a god, what does that make them? If he were here to explain, you’re certain the only word he’d just to describe you is a fool. It would be with an expression of derision, yet there’d be no tension in his shoulders as he mocked you for simply coming to care for him against your best interests. 

But perhaps he is your best interest, as unwise as it may be. Kunikuzushi surrounds you now - mentally and physically as your eyes crack open and the sun is gone. The grass has sloughed away with the last wisps of your dreaming, leaving you with the sound of rain and a slight chill in the air that has you turning in your blankets toward the other presence with you. 

He’s awake. Eyes like the flowers that grow outside in your garden, soft and lavender and painfully fragile, watch you with masked emotion as you come to your senses. It’s impossible to know how long he’s lain here, arm folded beneath his head, the cushion of his cheek pushed as he rests on it. 

For all observers, Kunikuzushi would be the picture of effortless relaxation. But you know better, and there’s the slightest line between his brows that you know only results from his thinking. With a quiet sigh preceding your question, you ask, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. And the simple truth that there’s nothing wrong feels wrong.”

So he’s happy. At least, you hope he is. Your thoughts feel as muddled as the first time he woke you this evening by crawling in your bed and whispering in your ear that he’d all but follow you to the ends of Teyvat, so long as you’d let him. But you have no intention of leaving this bed just yet, and that thought is your excuse to shuffle closer until you’re sharing his wrist as a pillow just the same, your nose brushing his just-so.

“So there’s something wrong? Or nothing wrong?”

“Everything feels right. That feels wrong. I don’t know what you’re not getting.”

“All of it, apparently.”

His mouth opens to argue, then shuts as he chews on his cheek, then opens once more with more indignance than the first time. “Pleading for something only means you don’t deserve it. If you have to beg, is it really given freely?”

“Maybe the one you’re pleading to has been offering it all this time, and you’re just now recognizing it?”

His irises flicker as they bounce between your own, reading the meaning of your words and digesting them down to the very letter. The wheels in his mind are visibly turning, and even as he divulges his next thought, they still continue to work. “Offering something still doesn’t mean it’s deserved.”

Scaramouche rolls away from you, leaving his arm beneath your head but sprawling on his back as he stares at the rafters above. There’s a tick in his jaw as it works, the only movement beyond the quick and shallow rise and fall of his chest as he breathes. “I can’t stop thinking about it. Why is it after all my failures, all the things I’ve done, that I’m given this chance.”

“Well,” you start, abandoning your position on his arm to instead push yourself up on an elbow, looking down at him just in time for a flash of lightning outside to alight on his face. You hadn’t done that. For a split second in time, it sends the planes of him in stark relief. The blankets were abandoned in his attempt to separate himself from you, leaving you to view him unobstructed. 

There isn’t heat behind your gaze. Only a subtle admiration at the way he makes something as undignified as haphazardly rolling on a bed seem almost graceful in a way. Even down to the positioning on his fingers, his opposite arm thrown across his stomach so they can curl into his own ribs in a poor mimicry of what you’d done mere hours before. 

The unaffected expression has begun to morph into one of frustration, his lips downturning as he points it at the ceiling rather than at you. With your unoccupied hand, you reach to the ones he’s beginning to dig between his ribs and allow him to instead grip your fingers tightly, his palm pressed against your own. It’s a quiet show of his acquiescence to you, his acceptance at what you’re offering now. 

“Tell me something. And then I’ll let you lay here in the dark and be upset while I roll away and go back to sleep.”

The twitch of his brows is not one of amusement, but he doesn’t outright stop you, even if his grip grows tighter. The arm still stretched under you curls around your back as if to combat your suggestion of putting any further distance between you. Kunikuzushi lays before you all over again, suddenly petulant at your threats of parting. 

“When you came to realize you were attached to me to what you claim is an unhealthy amount, did you stop to consider that it goes both ways?”

He stills. Not even his chest shifts with his inhalations as he deciphers your meaning. It’s a lot less confusing than what he presented about things being so right it’s wrong. As if something like this could be wrong - being with him here, soul all but bared as you feel the very threads of yourself beginning to tangle with his own. 

You wonder how you’ll have changed when you leave here. There isn’t too much time left that you can afford. Paimon will grow worried and look for you herself if you spend very much longer here with him, pretending the world you arrived from no longer exists as of when you left it. Certainly, something has changed - or perhaps nothing at all. 

But he’s changed, you can see it in the way his head turns to look up at you and his lower lip pulls between his teeth as if to hide the way the edges curl upward just-so. “If you feel toward me the same way I feel toward you, I’m unsure how the world will continue to exist if we were to be pulled from one another.”

“I won’t let that happen.” You say it firmly enough that even you believe it, despite the odds being stacked against the two of you. He’s wronged so many in his pursuit of divinity, and all that’s been left in his wake is destruction, suffering, and the shell of who he is that he’s still trying to figure out how to complete. 

With a quiet breath, not quite a sigh, you shift closer and nestle yourself against his chest, tucked beneath his arm. Your linked hands rest on his stomach where you can see them easily. The tendons at his wrist are pulled taut at the effort he’s putting into holding you so tightly. 

“Do you trust me?”

You don’t expect an answer, but you get one nonetheless with how his breath tickles the top of your head before he presses a kiss there. Whether it’s for your comfort or his own, it’s not quite clear. Instead of pulling away immediately, he speaks against you. “I do.”

“Then I’ll make a promise with you.”

It’s a terrible idea. Locking yourself to him in this way is certainly begging for trouble, yet you can’t help the welling urge in your chest that rises higher and higher, up your lungs and your windpipe and bubbling at the back of your throat until it bursts free with your intentions to never let him go. 

“There won’t be a fourth betrayal. Until eternity draws to a close, you and I will be side by side.”

“How can you promise that?”

It’s said as barely a whisper, thin and watery as if he can barely grasp at it before it leaves him. Disbelief is evident, stronger than anything he’s shown you before - even his rage in that fleeting moment he’d turned it on you in a moment of nearsighted jealousy. Even as he’d once loomed above you with threats on his lips and a promise of destruction, nothing had felt as absolute as how much he doubts what you’ve said. 

And you don’t blame him. After everything, how could he do so? The world has been cruel, and there’s no true way to stop it in the end. His body curls into you, nearly crushing you against him as he slips his hand from your grasp to hold you into himself as he reels with a sudden onset of desperation. 

The way he holds you - indelicately, with a force that would be sure to break you if he couldn’t hold himself under control - it’s with an air of someone desperately trying to keep sand from running between their fingers. Unable to move, you simply lean into him and breathe out against his neck where he’s tucked your face. 

“I’ll have you to protect me, of course.”

“That hasn’t mattered before.”

You’re certain it has, but you’d have to sit down and sift through mountains of memories to pinpoint the exact times his presence had been a boon rather than a curse. His skin grows humid under your exhale as you let out the smallest laugh. “I’ve made it this far, haven’t I? Not even a god could keep us apart - you tried, remember?”

Of course he remembers. You can feel it in the way his body stiffens, an air of immediate regret settling over the two of you. You for bringing it up, and him for an unknown reason that you hope is in sincere apology that you’ve come to decide isn’t necessary. Whether it is or not, he doesn’t offer that even now. 

“I was no god. I was… a pawn. Just like I’ve always been. To my mother, to the Tsaritsa, to Il Dottore, to the Sages. Always a means to an end that needed to be deluded into doing exactly what they needed.”

“Are you feeling deluded now? Do you think I am?”

Without missing a single beat, he answers, “I’m bad for you. What I’ve done… I have no right to be taking anything from you.”

Instead of allowing you to dispute him and claim that he’s not just taking, but you’re giving as well, his fingers wrap around the side of your neck, thumb pushing into your jaw so you can look at him fully. His brows are furrowed, his eyes wide, his jaw tensed to hide its trembling until he opens it to speak with a voice that shakes not with worry but conviction. “But I’ve said it before. I’ll always be selfish. For you, only. Everything you have, I want to claim every part of you until I’ve left my mark on the last bit of stardust that’s gathered together to make you.”

You may very well have already done so, it’s a struggle not to voice your thoughts. Worming a hand free, you reach to mirror his hand on your jaw and press your fingertips into the soft skin beneath his ear. He shivers beneath your touch, but doesn’t draw away as you lean closer. There’s ample time for him to do so, even as you pause close enough that your lips delicately brush against his own as you do your best to settle his mind. 

“Whatever you want, Kunikuzushi.”

The breath in his lungs leaves in one go, mixed with a single bark of disbelieving laughter before he takes the reins you’re offering and leans in the miniscule distance remaining to kiss you. Just as before, it’s a bit sloppy and unpracticed, but he chooses a rhythm that you can easily follow. His thumb digs into your jaw, likely without him realizing it, and you relish the feeling of being held so tightly that he’s afraid to let you go. 

There’s no sense of urgency. Just a steady give and take like the changing of the wind or the steady current of the slow stream that winds its way infinitely through your domain. With a bit of boldness, his tongue slides alongside your own, searching blindly for every inch you’re willing to let him explore. 

“I need you,” he gasps against your mouth, searing and desperate as he grips you tight enough to bruise, “without you, I’m nothing. Don’t push me away. Don’t make me go.”

Never, you want to tell him, yet he encapsulates you with his hands and his mouth and the myriad of too-large feelings that batter against your bones until they shake at the pressure. With a deathly grip, the two of you hold each other with wisps of eternity plucking at the edges of your sanity.

—

Time creeps, even as you desperately wish the two of you could remain in this domain where the world ceases to exist when it’s out of vision. But despite a need to covet this piece of paradise, the end comes faster than you want it to. 

As you redress in the trappings that are better suited for adventure rather than leisure, he sits cross-legged at a low table on the opposite side of your dressing screen. The sun comes through the window behind him, casting his silhouette on the paper screen and showing you clearly how he brings the small teacup to his lip and sips it silently. It must have gone cold. 

In the beginning, when the two of you entered this dance and were learning each others’ steps, you’d felt whiplash at the sudden switch of his feelings. Now, it’s as familiar as breathing that he’d awoken after a night of clutching you to instead keep his distance. 

And then, when he’d slipped into the room holding a tray of tea and what looked to be some sort of covered bowls, you knew that everything was alright. Perhaps he needed a moment alone - you would never fault him for that, even if the strange feeling of emptiness began to creep in when he gravitated too far from your reach. 

As you work at the tie behind your neck, his voice cuts across the room with a carefully feign casual air that you remember from your first meeting - so long ago, when he’d given a smile that you hadn’t realized was fake until Mona had revealed his true nature. Knowing what his joy looks like now, you wonder how you ever fell for it in the first place. 

“I need to ask something from you.”

“Anything you want.” You announce like clockwork, fully intending to make good on any promise he’d request of you. Perhaps someday that will get you in trouble, and the way his breathy laugh drifts over the screen seems to agree with your unspoken thought.

“Kunikuzushi… it’s not my name.” It is, you know it is, he chose that himself so very long ago. But you don’t interrupt as he clarifies further, “And neither is Scaramouche. The Balladeer… all three names are for a different person.”

“So you feel like you’ve changed?” Your head pokes from behind the screen, suddenly far more interested in what he’s got to say. His lips still sit against the rim of his cup, almost as if he’s thinking about what he’s about to ask from you. It doesn’t take very long at all. 

“Just… Wanderer. That will work for now.”

“The Traveler and the Wanderer. What are you wandering for, then? You can’t have a name like that and be entirely purposeless.”

And his lips curl at the edges as he pulls his cup away and sets it down with a steady sound of ceramic on lacquered wood. “You’re traveling to search for your brother. I’m wandering in search of who I could be. I want to ask if you’ll let me find it at your side.”

Ducking back behind the screen, you take a moment to hurriedly finish dressing before facing him full on with no small air of elation. “You want to travel with me?”

“...Did you think I would just stay here? Alone?”

There’s an undeniable undertone of panic in his words - as if he thought you were about to enforce the idea that you part ways once your time here is finished. His hands rest on the table, but they aren’t loose - they’re curled into fists so tight that they made the fabric covering his palms groan under the strain. Noting your mistake, you cross the room in three long steps before dropping to your knees at his side. 

It stings with the force, but you pay it no mind as you work to right your misstep. “I didn’t want to pressure you into leaving if you weren’t ready, if you didn’t-... If you don't want to follow me around all the time.”

And he laughs. Bitter and breathy and so reminiscent of when he’d towered over you in a metal shell that your mind goes blank at the memory of one hundred and sixty-eight defeats. 

“Do you honestly think that I’m anything without y-”

“TRAVELER! Are you here!?”

Everything in the teapot screeches to a halt. You, Wanderer, the sun in the sky, the breeze. Even the waves lapping at the painted beaches are brought to an eerie stillness as the sound of Paimon’s voice filters through the open window. Your first instinct is to shut it, if only to give yourself a little more time to hide him, yet by the time you get to your feet, it’s too late.

“Traveler, Paimon is-” and she cuts herself off with a scream as she sees you attempting in vain to hide him behind your back, the white of your clothing clashing horribly against the teals and blues of his own at your back. 

Paimon on her own can’t do anything except point in horror, and you give her a moment to catch her breath before cutting off her next scream with, “Let me explain before you go nuclear again-”

“Nuclear? First of all, what does that even mean? And second! Why is he here? Are you in danger? Are we in danger? Have you been trapped here this whole time while Paimon has been eating Sweet Madames and Rice Buns-”

“No! Ugh, listen to me,” with both hands, you reach out and snatch her from the air as one would a flying bag of potatoes. Holding her under her arms, you give her a quick shake to stop her madness, “The short of it is that I brought him here because I… we connected somehow. Okay? You don’t have anything to be freaking out about. He’s changed.”

Looking over your shoulder, you give Scara-... Kuniku-... Wanderer a wide-eyed and pointed stare. “Isn’t that right?”

“I think that’s up for debate-”

“See? Nothing to worry about. Take a deep breath, think about this for a second.”

And to her credit, Paimon hangs limply in your hold and pinches at her chin, mulling over your words, the scene she’d witnessed when she flew through the window, the absolute nonchalance - the clothes around the room that indicate that perhaps the two of you might be closer than you initially let on. And in only a few short seconds, she comes to a conclusion. 

“Are you crazy?” She asks in a whisper that is not-at-all subtle. “You know what he’s done, what he tried to do to Nahida. Do you remember Inazuma? Liyue? What Childe told us? Did you hit your head so hard during your fight with him that you’ve forgotten what a rotten-”

“If you’ll give us a moment.”

And he nods sagely as you hurry from the room, holding Paimon at arm’s length like she’s a bundle of wet towels. She doesn’t fight you, only stares with wide eyes and a bone-pale complexion as you hurry down the stairs and out into the walled courtyard. Then, thinking better of it, you go even further to the farthest edge of this island, well out of earshot if he tried to eavesdrop. 

“I’m not crazy, Paimon.” It’s only now that she wiggles from your grip, floating just out of reach with crossed arms and a look of complete disbelief. Knowing it’s inevitable, you find it prudent to simply tell her the truth. “Do you remember in Pardis Dhyai when Haypasia helped me connect with… his consciousness?”

“...Yes?”

“And I saw his memories? It wasn’t just… it wasn’t just a few, Paimon. I saw everything.”

For once, Paimon is blissfully silent. She simply watches with wide eyes, sinking slowly as she starts to piece together what you’re trying to lay out. Rather than let her come to a conclusion that may still be wrong, you go one step further. “After all that… Paimon, I couldn’t just leave him.”

Because in that moment, when the gnosis was no longer in his possession and he lay defeated on the floor, Scaramouche laid before you with everything he’d been striving for laying in scattered pieces around him. No amount of repair could piece them together, and the kinship you’d felt with him after connecting your consciousness wasn’t something you could ignore. 

Whether he’d liked it at first or not, you knew without a doubt that-

“He needed me, Paimon.”

At your quiet admission, your voice weak and cracked after laying yourself bare in only a few words, Paimon’s resistance crumples and she flies a little closer to peer at the tears beginning to gather at the corners of your eyes. Stubbornly, you wipe them away with the backs of your hands before letting out a humorless laugh. 

“Was I supposed to just leave him there? I took everything from him, Paimon. How would that have been right?”

“Paimon doesn’t think it’s your responsibility to take care of him when none of the stuff that’s happened to him is your fault.” A small finger reaches out to poke you in the collarbone, just above your heart. “Sometimes you take on these things to help people out because you think it’s your job or something. You have a good heart but I think sometimes you mean a little too well.”

“Not this time.” 

Paimon’s palm hits her forehead with a soft slap and she sighs. You’ll fight her to the end on this one, because even now as he’s learning to be someone new and coming into his own, he needs you more than ever. With everything changed, it wouldn’t be right for him to not have at least one constant. 

Why couldn’t it be you? Why shouldn’t it be?

“Paimon just hopes you know what you’re doing. For both our sakes. Don’t get caught up in whatever this is and forget about your brother, okay? That’s what we’ve been doing all this for.”

“I won’t. He’s coming with us.”

“WHAT?”

—

Paimon is, understandably, upset. 

It’s been the two of you always - since the very beginning of this journey. Others have come and gone - Kaeya, Sucrose, Xiangling, Kazuha, Tartaglia, an entire cavalcade of companions joining on temporarily to get a taste of adventure before inevitably going their own way. But this is the first time she’s faced with the concept of someone joining your duo permanently.

And she hates him. As the two of you prepare to leave the teapot, she glares. As you let her cling to one arm while the other links hands with him, she fumes. When the way out swirls around the three of you, pulling you through space and time, Paimon doesn’t even scream, as is her norm. 

Instead, the world spins into existence in utter silence. It hangs for but a moment before the sound of Liyue Harbor comes rushing in - waves in the distance, the dull hum of thousands of people all talking at once, footsteps across the bridges and stairways that wind through the upper levels. Paimon has tucked the teapot behind Wanmin Restaurant, out of sight for her venture inside. 

Certainly she expected to return as two, not as three. 

“Paimon is going to tell Xiangling we’re back. Don’t do anything bad!”

It’s obvious she isn’t talking to you. As she drifts too-quickly around the corner, Wanderer’s eyes follow her with something akin to exasperation - and you can’t blame him. When she’s out of earshot, he turns to you with a quickness you’ve yet to see, barricading you against the back wall of the building with both arms caging you in. 

Like the crack of the whip, there’s a look in his eyes that’s akin to fury, and you’re suddenly reminded of what had transpired before Paimon interrupted.

“Do you honestly think that I’m anything without you?” Wood protests under his nails digging in, his arms shaking with the effort. “That I’d want to be anything?”

“I told you I didn’t want to assume-”

“Well start making some assumptions.” A short exhale, strong enough to blow against your cheek, leaves goosebumps across your skin in its wake. “I’ll make it more obvious. You’re all I have, Traveler. If you left me alone, it’d be my death sentence.”

It hits you harder than anything before. Tartaglia’s whale, Raiden Shogun’s Musou no Hitotachi, Shouki no Kami’s fist bearing down on you harder and harder until the floor breaks beneath your feet and you’re tumbling into a dream for the one hundred and sixty-eighth time. Despite telling Paimon only hours ago that you’d taken everything from him, you could barely wrap your mind around the fact that you’d slipped yourself neatly into the space you’d made. 

And with that vague realization comes the knowledge that there is no fear present like there should be. In fact, it’s almost relief. Because just as surely as he can’t go on without you in his presence, you’re beginning to realize that it’s beginning to go both ways. The thought of leaving him where you’d found him defeated leaves a foul sensation of nausea in your gut. 

Your Wanderer isn’t the only one that needs reassurance, now.

“I won’t leave you.” His skin is cool as you cup his jaw with both hands, thumbs smoothing along his cheeks to warm them, even if he doesn’t need it. “I’d tear down Celestia myself if it meant getting back to you if we’re ever separated. You have nothing to worry about. Do you understand?”

“Do you mean that?” 

His intensity is gone. In its place is a lone ember, heated but inert as his entire posture seems to drain of energy. The weight supported by your hands increases as he leans into it, allowing you to hold him with the security he’s so desperately yearning for. Feeling your own anxiety melt away, you brush one thumb across his lower lip and marvel at how he chases the action to press a kiss to the pad of your finger.

“Not sure if I’ve ever been so serious about something in my life. It’s you and me, together.”

“Yeah… together. Okay,” he breathes it out, letting go of the wall in favor of winding his arms around your waist, leaning against you with little care to how you’re squeezed between him and the wall. His voice is devastatingly quiet next to your ear, quivering as he concedes, “you and me.”

As if there could be anything else. 

#hell yeS #others posts #others writing #genshin impact #genshin x reader #when life gives ya lemons #not safe fw

[cutie-writes]

You would catch denji doing the most random shit one minute he would be having a conversation with you. When you look back he standing up looking at a wall. He is the GTA npc energy.

[cutie-writes]

       𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐭         

starring ⭒ kishibe ⭒ fem reader

tags ⭒ fluff ⭒ age gap ⭒ suggestive scenes ⭒ pet names (for kishibe: old man, dear) ⭒ size difference (reader is smaller than kishibe) ⭒ 1.7k words

note ⭒ started making the banner, had a breakdown, bon appétit 🫠 ⭒ big thank you to the dears @akicore and @blueparadis for beta reading!

𝟏 ︱ THE CONFESSION

“I like you.”

You’re seated next to him in the quiet of a meeting room when you blurt it out. He’s slouching over the wide table, tapping the surface with his fingers, a hair’s breadth of patience left. When he hears you, his fingers stop. Then he turns to you. “Why?”

He retains his lax expression. He’s noticed through your gestures—your habit of lacing your arm around his as you walk, your common act of sitting too close to him (like you are at present). Always him and no one else.

“I’m just an old man. You’re a charming young lady.” He adds.

“Give yourself some credit, old man,” you say, eyeing him casually, resting your cheek on your palm. “Sure, you’re rough around the edges, but I like that about you.”

He always thought your affection was platonic, a young devil hunter doting on her eldest senior. It didn’t necessarily help—if there was anyone who knew best what happened to the good ones, it was him.

He’s certain he won’t ask you to stop anytime soon, though.

“What do you say?” you ask.

“I say you’re crazy,” he responds.

“Is that a no?”

He deliberates as he gazes at you. “No. I like crazy.”

Intrigued by his answer, you reach for his scar, grazing it with the pads of your fingers. His thin beard scratches your palm. His fixed stare tells you he’s waiting for a motion.

The space between you recedes until your lips touch.

You know the taste of whisky and menthol cigarettes, but not when they came from his mouth. Not when he was written all over them.

They taste better like this.

When Makima walks in, you’re settled comfortably on his lap, and your lipstick smears the edges of his mouth. You both turn to her with alarm, the faces of two people caught.

“What’s this?” she smirks, then she turns to you. “I’m surprised. You never struck me as the antique type.”

𝟐 ︱ THE LIFE

When Kishibe was alone, he would come home late at night to inebriate or ​sleep his inebriation away. His apartment was empty whether he was in it or not; every space seemed cold and hollow, void of anything worthwhile. He refused to stick around for long periods of time.

Now it’s a dresser crowded with makeup products, a closet with nude-colored bras and panties, and a bathroom drain clogged with hair.

It’s also button-ups of contrasting sizes in the washer, big and small dress shoes in the genkan, and the empty side of the bed pleasantly filled.

He’s never felt warmer in his home.

“Eat your fruit, old man,” you lean over the armchair he sits in with a plate of sliced apples in your hand. You offer him a genial smile along with it.

His eyes reflect the motions of what’s on TV as he accepts the plate. “I don’t think you should keep calling me ‘old man,’”

You sit on one of the chair’s armrests. “How’s ‘baby’ sound?”

“Anything but that,” he says plainly, feeding the first piece of apple he picks up to you.

You chew loudly, uttering in between, “Master?”

“You’re not my student anymore,”

“Kishibe?”

“That’s just my name.”

“Hmm,” your tongue protrudes from your cheek. Then you tip your head toward him, “Dear?”

You see it in his pause: the slight curve of his lips, indicating you’ve hit the jackpot.

“I like that.”

𝟑 ︱ THE INTIMACY

“Oh dear,”

Your bare skin rubs against dark sheets as you shift sideways, your head throbbing, a soreness between your thighs. The air you’ve woken up to reeks of liquor and sin.

When you open your eyes, you’re greeted by the old scars on Kishibe’s broad back. He turns to face the ceiling with his eyes still closed, his gray hair sticking out at the sides. “What?” he asks groggily, another layer of gruffness to his voice; it was like that in the morning.

“Did we . . . ?”

His eyes flutter open. He looks down, raises your shared blanket to peek under it, then puts it back. “Looks like it.”

You groan and roll to the other side, facing away from him. “I can’t remember a thing,” you rub your face with your palms.

“I can remember some things,” he faces your side and shifts closer, wrapping his arm around your bare waist, pressing his front to your back. His chin rests on the crown of your head.

“Like what?” you put your hand over his as his fingers caress your stomach.

“Your pretty face,” he murmurs lowly. “Your pretty sounds.”

A breathy chuckle escapes your nose. “Was I good?”

His palm flattens on your stomach. Then it glides downward, to the middle of your thighs, leaving a streak of warmth in its wake. Your lungs feel compressed in your rib cage.

He lingers there, and your mind falls into a one-track state, absorbed in the bliss of his motions.

“So good,” he indulges in your mewls, presses himself to you further, and you squirm.

𝟒 ︱ THE FEAR

For the majority of his life, Kishibe had only seen people die, die, and die.

With you working in the same field, the thought of you joining those people inevitably crept into his mind. It’s another reason to drink, another reason to lie awake at night with a head full of troubles that drown out the sound of your light snoring.

You’re never out of his sight when you’re working together, and you’re never at peace when you’re not. Your cellphone has never received so many calls in one day.

One night, as he undresses on the edge of the bed after a day at work, you straddle his lap. You drape your arms around his shoulders, over his half-undone button-up, and regard him with a tender smile.

He shouldn’t be bothered when you’re a heavenly sight, but the thought creeps into his mind again. He could lose this smile through your line of work. He could lose this existence if you weren’t careful.

For once, he wears his heart on his sleeve. “I think you should resign.”

Your smile falls. There’s no returning from this.

He continues, “Don’t worry about supporting your family. I’ll take care of it.”

Your eyes cast down to his loose necktie. You take it between your fingers and rub the silk. You deliberate for several moments, and the longer he waits, the louder the thumping in his chest resounds.

You meet his eyes with resolve, smiling again. “No.”

He opens his mouth to argue, but you continue, “Look, I know I’m not as strong as you are. Nobody is. But I can take care of myse—”

“I know,” he interrupts. “I’m not saying you can’t. I just want you to—”

“Be safe?” you cup his cheeks, leaning closer until your noses brush. “I know, dear.”

He breathes you in. He notes the growth of your pupils before pressing a kiss to your lips. “I can’t lose ya.”

“You won’t,” you kiss him, too, and linger on his lips. “In fact, I’ll stick around for so long that you’ll get sick of me.”

His heart settles. In a wave of relief, he takes you into his arms and stands. He kneels on the bed, sets your head down on the pillow, and swallows you with his frame. “You’ll get sick of me first,”

𝟓 ︱ THE RESOLVE

“Do you wanna get married?”

Your eyes grow, then shift from the ceiling to set on him. You lie together in bed; sweat sheens his forehead, and his bare chest rises and falls rapidly, like yours. But he sounded calm when he asked, and he looks calm as you observe him.

He turns his head to you. “If I die, everything I own will be yours. I don’t have much, but I’d like you to have all of it.”

In your pensive silence, your breathing eases. You shift your body and face his side, propping your head up on one elbow. “You make it sound like you have to convince me to marry you.”

He replies with a semblance of hope, “Is that a yes?”

You hum in brief thought. “Do you have a ring?”

He pauses, then says, “Not at the moment.”

“Then no,” you switch sides curtly, facing your back to him. He saw it coming.

You meant it lightly. But the following night, as you drink with your colleagues, your several calls to him go unanswered.

Your beer glass sweats in your hand. You wonder if it has to do with your rejection, or worse: What if something’s happened?

Your anxiety branches out, multiplying thought after thought: Should I have accepted his proposal the first time? Was that his last chance to ask me? My last chance to say yes? Are his possessions ever going to be mine like he hoped?

Your colleagues watch you closely, wanting and attempting to assure you that he’s fine. But they know as well as you do that you can never tell.

Then gray hair sticks out of the curtains, a head lowered to fit into the doorframe, and the first pair of eyes he meets is yours.

You’re on the verge of tears with your phone pressed to your ear. You put it down abruptly. “Where the hell were you?”

He trudges toward you, to the end of the low table where you sit alone, and kneels at your side. “Are you drunk? Why are you crying?”

“You weren’t answering my calls,” you sob, wiping your eyes with the back of your hand, looking down abashedly.

“I was getting you something,” his hand disappears under his coat. “It was hard to pick.”

He holds a small velvet box out to you and opens it, prompting a collective gasp from your colleagues. “Will you say yes this time?”

The ring matches his silver hair; its tiny stones adorning the sides of the center stone resemble the long scar on his cheek. Your glossy eyes reflect its luster, blurring with the spill of more tears. You nod at him.

Cheers rip through the silence of the room and disrupt the peace of the establishment. He slides the ring into your finger, presses a kiss to your hand, then your lips. “I’ll never leave your side.”

You sniff and smile against the brush of his thumbs under your wet eyes, the tender kiss he lays on your forehead. “I’ll take your word for it.”

network ⭒ @tokyometronetwork

#cuuuuute #csm x reader #kishibe x reader #others posts #others writing

[cutie-writes]

KITCHEN MISHAPS

Warnings/content: none, just the Hayakawa family

around 400 words , slice of life (?)

*this is a preview for an upcoming Chainsaw Man fic*

It’s around 7AM when Aki struggles to open his eyes as he hears the sound of an alarm. He grunts and turns on his side, slamming a pillow over his ears. It doesn’t work. The sound only seems to get louder and he groans. Just one more minute.

Except..

it wasn’t his phone ringing, he realizes.

His alarm won’t go off until a couple hours from now.

It was the smoke alarm in his apartment.

God dammit!

He sprints out to the kitchen to see his two roommates panic over a flaming stove, all pets fleeing to the back room. The blond boy, Denji, apparently decided to strip himself of his sweaty t-shirt to try and fan out the flames, unknowingly making it worse. The girl, Power, looks as though she is trying to summon the might of a higher power as she attempts to blow out the fire. In reality, she’s just spitting all over it.

“Stupid, you’re making it worse!” Denji yells.

“No, it’s going down! I swear!” Power screeches.

It’s time for Aki to step in.

He grabbed the fire extinguisher he kept in their pantry and sprayed it all over the oven, purposely not missing the two in the process.

After a couple minutes of coughing and hacking, Aki opens his mouth.

“You were the one actually making it worse, Denji,” he points at the smaller man. Denji scoffs in embarrassment, eyes darting to the floor.

He turns to make his own comment at Power but stops when he sees her trying to stick some of the foam in her mouth. He slaps her arm and she grunts.

Aki can feel his face is heated, no doubt flushed a vicious red. The apartment is quiet save for the loud screeching of the fire alarm.

Another 5 seconds and that seems to be Denji’s breaking point as he rips the appliance off the wall and slams it onto the hardened floor. He yells and violently starts to stomp on it. Power soon joins in, screaming.

Aki expects someone will file another noise complaint by the end of the day.

He grabs a dustpan and broom and starts sweeping up the shattered remains of the smoke alarm before throwing it out in the trash.

He comes back into the living room to see his two pathetic friends sit on the couch looking somewhat guilty.

He sighs.

“What were you even trying to make?”

“Pancakes”

[cutie-writes]

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This is my very first writing account , I’m pretty new to all of this in regards to making content. Feel free to send ideas and hcs to me! I write for demon slayer, spy x family, jujutsu kaisen and bungo stray dogs (ada & pm only)

There will be no _____ on this blog:

- incest

- huge age gap romances

- triggering content

𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐬, 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐬!

𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐑

Miscommunication | Rengoku x Reader R18

❤︎ 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐏𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐓 (x)

The “Elephant” in the Room Pt.1

The “Elephant” in the Room Pt.2: Prison Break

The Annual Bake Sale

Driver’s Ed

- Separate Chats - none yet

❤︎ 𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐏𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐓 (x)

Driver’s Ed

Tone-deaf

Leonardo da Rodent

- Separate Chats-

Unfair & Upset (btween Muichiro & Nezuko)

❤︎ 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑’𝐒 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 (x)

Intro

The Not Prom

Enter the Delinquent Siblings: The Shabanas

The Last-Minute Dropout

Asking a Friend

𝐒𝐏𝐘 𝐗 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘

Game Night | General Headcanons

Short Smart Phone Headcanons

A Dangerous Threat | Anya and Becky text fic

Shattered Fantasy | Twiyor fanfic

Twiyor Wedding Headcanons | request

𝐁𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐎 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐘 𝐃𝐎𝐆𝐒

Marigold pt. 1/3 | Dazai x Reader

Marigold pt. 2/3 | Dazai x Reader

Marigold pt. 3/3 | Dazai x Reader

𝐉𝐔𝐉𝐔𝐓𝐒𝐔 𝐊𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐍 (none yet)

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐀𝐖 𝐌𝐀𝐍

Kitchen Mishaps | preview csm fic

𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐎𝐔𝐒

one