#I USED TO WRITE SO GOOD FOR MHYK AND NOW ALL I DO IS GO SKJGFHDHJFSHJKFSGHJDGHJSDFHJGDHKDFJHKGHFJD WHENEVER RUSTICA BREATHES

[mcdonaldsnumberone]

eau de parfum

“seep into my body deeply.”

rustica x reader

gender neutral reader

synopsis: it doesn’t take much for rustica to win your heart, and his intensely bewitching scent does nothing to calm your heart. you ask him to reveal his secret with you, only to end up revealing your deepest emotions instead...

placed under cut for length!

The allure of one human being to another rested somewhere deep inside the heart, enough to draw souls of all walks of life together under the mysterious masquerade known as love, and this fundamental axiom of life was the very notion that many wizards were drawn to. Loving to love was a way of conquering the mind and the soul in it of itself, and you learned that lesson very quickly during your stay at the quaint manor with the Sage’s Wizards.

Some made their fondness for the world more apparent than others. Be it Shylock’s quiet monologues about the low roll of clouds or even Arthur’s animated adoration towards his foster father, their own appreciation for their lives made you love the world and your own life even harder. Of course, some were more hesitant on bearing their hearts to the world, but you could tell: Owen’s puffed out cheeks whenever he wolfed down a freshly prepared fruit tart, Mithra watching over the Flores brothers, or Faust entertaining a pair of stray kittens.

But the thing that entranced your heart the most was something else entirely.

It was a common, almost everyday thing for you at this point. It wasn’t anything new to you, it wasn’t anything that particularly exceptional to anyone else, and it certainly wasn’t anything magical in nature.

Rustica’s cologne.

The aroma drove you wild. You smelled it often, given that you would exchange a few words with him on an almost daily basis, and each and every time, it felt like the charming gentleman had cast a calming spell on you that made your mind go both blank and into overdrive at the same time.

He smelled so good. He smelled like love personified (there was no better way to personify him than to describe him like that). Like pine trees swaying amongst themselves in a beautiful waltz, like the soft pastel flicks of color on an old master’s canvas, like coffee shared between a couple on an autumn afternoon, like the light whiffs of a cream puff stuck onto someone’s bottom lip.

In essence, you had fallen hard for Rustica, and his cologne wasn’t helping you one bit. You wanted to earn some peace of mind for your racing heart, which was why you were also quick to corner Rustica the moment you had made up your mind.

“Master Sage, it’s good to see you. May I help you with something?” The carefree man asked, the corners of his lips turning upwards into a graceful grin at the sight of you. You felt your breath hitch in your throat, and you pinched the inside of your wrist.

The telltale scent of his cologne washed over your nose and coated the roof of your mouth. Akin to that of a delicate dance, it felt like you were being lured in by a siren’s song.

Be still, my beating heart!

You bit back the scream bubbling up in the back of your throat and forced what you hoped was a natural smile to your face. “Yes, actually. I hope I’m not bothering you. Are you busy?”

Rustica shook his head. “Not at all. What can I help you with? If I can be of any assistance to you, it would bring me great joy.”

“I just… uh… wanted to know more about your cologne,” you breathed out, your heartbeat pounding like wild in your ears. “You smell so nice, and I thought I might ask about it.”

Rustica fell quiet, and you immediately wondered if you had gotten a bit too personal too quick. Swallowing rapidly, you glanced up at the mage, laughing awkwardly. “W-Well, you’re not obligated to tell me about it if you don’t want to! I know things like personal care routines can be sort of a private topic for some-”

“Oh, worry not about it, Master Sage. If it was for you, I would spill all of the world’s secrets without hesitation,” he chuckled, stepping closer to you. “Come along with me to my room then. I would be more than happy to share with you some of my cologne.”

You wanted to pinch yourself again to make sure you weren’t dreaming. Rustica placed his hand on the small of your back, carefully urging you forward, and you took that sensation to anchor yourself back to reality. You prayed that any signs of your obvious infatuation weren’t surfacing, and you blindly followed the charming wizard into the warm confines of his room.

Every part of his room perfectly embodied him, and even the atmosphere clung heavily with his scent. You let your mind wander a little, wondering what it would be like to live every waking moment of your life with his delightful presence all of you.

Gods. You were starting to sound as creepy as the previous sage.

“Forgive me if my room is a tad bit unruly,” he laughed airily. “I’m afraid that Chloe has always been the more organized one between the two of us. Take a seat wherever you’d like, and I’ll grab you some of my dear cologne.”

“Oh! Don’t mind me then,” you replied. You stayed close to the walls, slinking like a shadow to a nearby loveseat and descending upon it like a stiff shrimp. Rustica paid your clunkiness no mind, humming a soft tune to himself as he hastily rearranged his room. He deftly opened up a window with his long fingers (“For fresh air. It wouldn’t do if you were to get a headache from all the stimuli, Master Sage.”) before stepping over to his dresser.

“The best time to apply cologne would ideally be right after washing up. Cologne sticks best to bare skin,” he observed, selecting a small bottle. Rustica cast you a teasing glance, a smile dancing on his lips. “Of course, I won’t ask you to do such a thing at this moment. Consider this a piece of advice for the future, Master Sage.”

You swallowed nervously, laughing weakly. “I-I’ll keep that in mind!”

Rustica responded to your hazy laughter with another well-timed chuckle of his own. He closed the dresser’s drawer before heading over to where you were, seating himself right next to you. You froze instinctively, your heartbeat speeding up at how close he was all of the sudden.

He uncapped the cologne. “The best places to apply cologne are to pulse points. But like art and magic and love, recommendations are not the absolute way, so if you’d like to apply the scent elsewhere on your body, you are free to do so.”

“I’ll take your advice,” you mumbled out, shyly gazing up at him. Rustica’s face was calm and poised, the demure smile on his face making your stomach do backflips. You exhaled deeply, trying to keep yourself together. “Um… Where exactly are the pulse points?”

“Would you like me to demonstrate?” 

You blinked absentmindedly. “Sure…?”

“One is the neck.”

Rustica pointed to his throat. The upper part of his midnight black crest peeked out from above his red sweater, a reminder of his loyalty and bond to you.

“Another is the chest.”

He pointed at his heart, his fingertips resting right next to his golden pendant. 

“The shoulders.”

Your eyes followed his hands, admiring the gorgeous curve of his body. 

“Inner elbows.”

Rustica turned his arms to reveal the area, or at least, as much as you could see with his white coat covering his skin.

“And finally, the wrists.”

He playfully held his wrists up, tapping the veins appearing on his pale skin as if to make sure you understood perfectly. You nodded in response.

Bare skin in warm areas… The wry thought of Rustica fresh out of a shower and spraying cologne on his damp skin entered your head as if to taunt you, and you pinched yourself again to keep your focus.

“Is this your first time working with scents like these?” Rustica innocently asked, oblivious to your inner plight. You sprang back to life at his words, and you nodded once more.

“Stuff like this exists in my world too, but I’m far from being an expert on them like you are,” you meekly squeaked out. “I’ve ventured into perfume shops before, but it’s not like I put cologne or perfume on everyday.”

He raised his eyebrows in surprise, before he melted into another warm laugh. “No need to fret then. You flatter me, calling me an expert on cologne. I’m simply someone who appreciates the finer things in life.”

“Still. You know more than I do.”

“If you insist then, Master Sage. Since you have deemed me the ‘expert’ in this field, would you like me to help apply the cologne?” He offered sweetly. You froze once more, your mind racing.

Rustica. Rustica helping you. Apply cologne.

You momentarily forgot that you were even the one who approached him first.

“I promise it won’t hurt,” he added on, as if he noticed your hesitation.

“Oh! Sorry-,” you gasped out, mentally slapping yourself. “I just spaced out a little. It’s not everyday that I have someone as dashing as you offer to help.”

“You consider me dashing?”

There went another mental slap.

Before you could respond, Rustica’s hands slipped under your chin and rested below your ears, cupping your jaw tenderly. He expertly balanced the cologne bottle in between his fingertips, tilting your face up to meet his eyes. His gloves felt cool yet present against your skin, and your eyes shook at the realization that he was touching you.

“Stay still, Master Sage. Normally, you’d only apply cologne to one or two pulse spots to make sure the scent doesn’t get too overwhelming,” he continued, almost like the conversation merely seconds ago didn’t occur. “You wouldn’t mind if I applied my scent to the same places as I do?”

Gods. If lightning struck you this instant, you would have died the happiest Sage in the world.

“Go ahead,” you rasped out, unable to muster the courage to shake your head when he was holding you so tenderly. One hand slid out away from you, but the other kept you still. You wondered if he could feel your panicked pulse through his gloves, but he made no sign of acknowledging it if he did. 

Something cold kissed the underside of your throat, right where Rustica’s crest would have been on his own neck, and you tensed up at the foreign sensation. A strong wave of Rustica’s dreamy cologne washed over you instantaneously. 

You felt like a little sparrow caught within his grasp, your wings stilled by his honeyed voice and his charm, your heart resting inside of his birdcage and within his gentlemanly touches.

“There we go,” he whispered, tilting your face from side to side to approve of his own work. “Your wrists next, Master Sage.”

You blinked emptily when he completely drew his hands away from you. You held up your hands obediently, like a dog following commands. Rustica chuckled once more, a hand grasping one of your wrists tightly while the other prepared the cologne bottle once more.

“You’re being awfully quiet,” he observed. “Are you enjoying the experience?”

You almost flinched. “Er- Yeah, I guess you can say that. It feels wrong to be so chatty during something so intimate.”

“I know how you feel. If you wish to soak up the moment, then I humbly invite you to be the audience to the symphony of scents,” he lightly responded. His thumb rubbed over your wrist before he sprayed your bare skin once more. You sighed lovingly, your heart singing like the angels.

He took your other hand, repeating the same action of rubbing your skin before spraying a moderate helping of his own cologne. Satisfied, he let go of you altogether, capping the perfume bottle before giving you an expectant gaze. 

“Well? Was I of any help to you, Master Sage?”

You nodded, still a bit dumbfounded. You were on cloud nine, trying to process everything happening all at once. From the welcoming nature of Rustica’s room to all of his sweet, slightly capricious touches, you couldn’t blame yourself for falling for him. No one could dream of resisting someone as romantic in nature as him.

“Yes, you helped me a lot,” you breathed, smiling brightly. “Thank you, Rustica. I’ll cherish this scent for as long as it lasts.”

“Think nothing of it,” he replied, the serene smile on his face setting your heart aflutter once more. “And if you need any more to keep yourself company…”

You stared at him, as he leaned in, ducking his head down to take a careful whiff of his own scent lingering on your neck. Heat rushed to your cheeks at the sudden brazenness of his actions, and you sucked in a nervous breath.

Rustica chuckled, the contrast between his gentle nature and his closeness to you making your head spin.

“I’m all yours.”

[lilikags]

OMG THAT. the nazusmau... its still in my drafts. the chapters are so funny.

im not done yet. i havent workedon it in forever... but someday,,

<- has to finish the kasa series i started,,, it might be 20k words in total its taking a while

i'm going for a minimum 1.5k words per chapter,, ch 1 ended up being 2k so idk !!!! idk how its gonna go NGL HAHHA

aofjdsf yeah i look sm like a genshin blog even tho multifandom?? probably because i have some genshin moots and been only writing genshin lately (i end up creating new blogs for everything else,,)

ehe id never heard of enstars before my friend dragged me into this hellhole props to him

AOFDJOSFJDFSFS understandable the fandom has had lots of really bad times luckily its calmer here than the bird app

CHILDE,, childe. actually i should not be too surprised. yeah. makes sense. OAJFOSDJ I NEVER KNOW HOW TO WRITE AJAX (somehow i call this guy ajax as if im close to him) i just go with it... i hear a lot from my childe stan friends

OUAHHH THANKIE 1k was a lot to me when i was a smol blog but now like. damn its that i have some friends now and i forget about what the 1k people see

oh my gosh that reminds me i have writing blogs for: [main], enstars, tot, epic 7, honkai star rail, twst, mysmes, hq (new, nothing posted), mhyk..... and then i have manhwanello and ebullienxe for editing and a bunch of other misc blogs,,, this makes me realize that this is so much

AOFJAOFJSSDIF okay im huge on the aesthetics cuz then i'll get bored of it really fast if i dont give it my all and make myself proud of it, im more happy with how long my ayato theme lasted than how good it was HAHA as for my tags ive changed them a lot,,, oops,, i got lazy with my new blogs and they all follow the same format, but for this one i based it off of epic 7 (orbis is the world it takes place in, cidonia is a continent, heirs are what the players are called, celestine is an artifact,, using names and things haha) i love doing blog setup so i put a lot of thought into it but later i get lazy with it i remember like . not that many of my tags

ehehe,, im honored hehehe i was lonely so i started looking for friends,, im so glad i found everyone! nazupyon's wife eehehe makes so much happy,, i kiss him 😳

JOASJDFIAFJSDFS OMG YOU REMEMBER <333 new years resolutions its coming back to me, a little, iz , familiar aojofsfsfsdf

yah i have, so many blogs,,, like with this one reblog with another, or this one, idk,,

:0 TO ME YOU'RE THE COOL MUTUAL HELLO i thought your blog was super pretty and organized and everything and the content so good,,

HELP i still feel like smol blog somehow even tho im gonna reach 1k ?? whenever i do?? i dont post much genshin anymore its like a monthly thing now so my notes are. not high anymore HAHA i actually used to write for hq and epic 7 and then genshin at one point all 3 it was a mess you have a right to fear me for that i weather through all 3 of these insane fandoms

:000000000000 PLEASE I adore you and your blog like im going up for a hug rn its so snuggly and cozy

AHAH EVERYONE'S FIRST IMPRESSION OF ME IS THAT IM SERIOUS AND PROFESSIONAL its a little funny because im trying to be less serious and professional and nowadays i fear that i look like a robot uee

yes i remember me asking about what everyone had planned as their new years resolutions and you mentioned nazuna smau or something like that? it caught my attention dfgdfg i was also surprised that a "genshin blog" (omg it sounds so bad but you know what i mean) would be interested in enstars because as far as i knew it was. pretty niche. luckily i was wrong <33

i think i said this over at nyaitsu before but!! i almost ended up being a genshin blog. but i'm too traumatized and scared of the fandom to try so what i do think about, i keep it in my mind ehehe i do remember reading some of your stuff (surely childe. yes. i always read about the scrimblo) and thinking "wow. they're so cool and so pro and" yeah you get where this is going dfgdfg but omg 1k.... that is. that is a lot. like that's 1000 people that's a lot of people congrats!!

i get you on the fandom jumping part a bit too. i thought about genshin. i also thought about hypmic back when i was super into hypmic and i was looking for very specific content of my favs. mrmmm. tears of themis too.... at least 2 or 3 different otome games..... yes i think a lot but i never do a thing </3

and you ARE very professional. i think that seeing someone with a pretty theme and an aesthetic layout, who tags their stuff in a cool way and talks with a lot of people and does a lot of things-- somehow makes you think that that someone must be serious so they can deal with all of that at the same time? even when it's not the case www

now you're nazupyon's wife. rabbits protector. an actual sweetie that keeps everyone in enstarsblr (and everywhere she goes) happy and motivated and super excited. enstarsblr wouldn't be what it is now without you <3