#jing yuang x reader | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

tottentz · 7 months ago

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𓂃 ¡ #YOU BEGUN TO FEEL LIKE HOME ── honkai star rail ?! 🗯️‹3 𓂃 ˒ ʿʿ ❛ you taste like nectar and salt and apples ❜ 🗝 ﹢を ˒ㅤ

ֶָ֢⊹𐙚 WARNINGS ! gender neutral reader, reader is shy-ish, just tooth-rutting fluff drabbles, with a sprinkle of angst ( if you squint ), and ( mutual ) comfort, very to little mention of injuries on aventurine's, boothill's and blade's part, mention of sleep deprived reader, i don't specified any mental issues, but i do describe readers struggles which could be identified as anxiety. ♡ˎˊ˗

jing yuan .ᐟ

"please, you can keep it."

jing yuan couldn't help but wonder what it was in particular that overwhelmed you... but then, he understands. couldn't stand being cooped up inside for everyone to gawk at.

"are you sure you won't miss in it at all? that's not to say i mind—i'd be happy to keep it."

a soft – ' ' uh - huh ' ' follows the gentle flutter of your ears , quiet gesture of reassurance that you are still listening very intently so. you are thoughful for a moment, nose scrunching as you pour your energy into trying to remember something.

but once your attention returns, it's with a solemn shake of your head. "general, i trust you would take care of it. it's okay".

his mouth open part to speak at least once, but he once more loses his thought before it catches on his tongue. how odd, for he is never had any problem finding a thousand things to say, even if none if it particularly made any sense.

"it's a music box," you tapped the box in jing yuan's hand, "i wanted to give you something"

eyes that glow a honey hue remain transfixed on you, investigating every detail of how you present yourself, "how so?"

watching jing yuan's shoulder go slack with the next chug he took, you hummed, "it sort of remains me of you"

it's the most lively you are appeared since he knew you, pacing back and forth, speaking through the previous sorrow to find something that fires you up. and maybe it's an easy way to get you off the topic of yourself, something you still finds no comfort in sharing.

jing yuan stared down at the box, then you. looking / longing / slipping like sand through his fingers. not anymore. not anymore.

jing yuan lunges── lunges for the familiar hand, heart freezing somewhere between his chest and his throat because— it was unintentional?

the feeling was familiar, one that he had organically all the time when thinking of you. it was the one that he shoved down over and over again around you, yet craved more than anything. and here you were, unknowingly returning it to him. you hadn't intended it to be shared and you had no idea you even did.

what could he say to that? when he's been in rhythm with you for so long── he can see the telltale cracks in your smile, now forcing his hands to twitch around the box. the consuming sensation was all of that goodness and more, it was hot, fiery as it ripped through him, completely unignorable. filled with relief and joy and love, the warmth of your embrace enveloping and safe. / — oh

it was you.

the moment he realized it, that all of that sensation was you feeling, something began to broil in the apex of his chest, rolling and all-consuming. the feeling washed over him again, equally as wonderfully crushing.

" it's surprisingly easy to tell you are different, after all. i mean── " a halfhearted wave at the walls warping around them, laughter present in his voice," not everyone can do this." a pause, a deliberate deliberation, before the master of masters continues." i think you're special."

oh, but he'd never be satisfied with that answer. maybe he's blown it already, so jing yuan continues, switching the subject / shifting his attention away, if only for a moment.

he reaches out to hold your hand, gently tugs you close and leans forward the phantom touch of warm skin beneath his fingers. and for a moment, he wonders how many hearts, indeed, were connected to you.

( where those connections might lead him── how vast that web could be── jing yuan reigns himself in as he'd learned, as he'd been taught. not yet. not yet.)

"come, dance with me. i have gone too long without dancing, and it is no fun doing it alone." such a delighted giggle to mirror yours, eyes glowing in an excitable manner.

"oh, i would adore nothing more than to dance with you." there is always grace in your movements, more so now as he squeezes your hand and bounces from one foot to the other in anticipation. "only if you promise not to make fun of me when i do not know all the moves–"

aventurine .ᐟ

"i think you're kinder than you think you are,"

you say, and it's an unsettling statement but — but what else does you have to give him? he seems to wake up, a bit more. "i'm less lonely, since you came. that's kind."

aventurine turns away from you and your untouching hands, as if the honesty was too brutal to bear. perhaps there is some emotion left in him after all── the thought unsettles him. the thought disgusts him, but he says nothing of it.

"don't trip over yerself romancin' me like this, you are gonna make me blush. " still, playful on the surface though it may be, there's a decisive undercurrent of seriousness to his question – he's picked up in the months past that the subtle mimic is their way of acting coy. he expels a breath (making like he's sooo scandalized ), only to offer up a knowing smirk of his own in return, pitching forward in silent invitation. "if you really must know, i was hoping you'd make the first move."

"oh." it's a surprised sound. you turn towards aventurine, eyebrows scrunched like you don't know what to say / you don't know how to phrase it.

his hand twitches in your hold, but aventurine does not pull away, lets you examine his hand. "did you make the first move on this, too?. " the story of which, he doesn't know if he'll ever be able to tell. isn't it easier to shy away── switch the narrative? he's good at that. aventurine has always been disgustingly good at that.

" if i wanted something casual, i would run it by you a little sooner. didn't think this, " he flicks his hand– or rather, the distinct cut across his palm. another debt, another mission, it doesn��t matter, you never asked anyways. " needed clarification. i thought i was being obvious. " but he has to remind himself you hadn't actually seen how aventurine acts around others – nor witnessed how easily his boundaries are set. he continues, amending: " not playing around, officially. maybe i wanted you to crush me "

your breath stills, feeling the coolness of his hand brush alongside your skin... you dared to steal a glance, even if just for a second.

"crush you, huh...? " you take his hand in yours, soaking in every little nick and crack there was. his hands were rough, but never with you. you absently rubs you thumb over his knuckles, wondering where this confession came from. "i think having a crush on you is just enough."

the gesture of affection catches him by surprise / very little succeeds in taking him off guard, and he's startled out of his deep reflection with a jolt.

there's── such rage, in his chest, in every bit of his body. aventurine is angry, so angry, he feels like he'll burst. but you offered, smiling up at him with an expression that wiped any variation of the word "no" from his dictionary.

you gently trace over the back of his hand, half-lidded eyes unable to meet his gaze. it's the age old ache, too scared to share your stories... something you know all too well. you close his palm. "you can always tell me if it's too much. don't push yourself, 'kay?"

a chirping something, dulcet and winking; allows the endearment 'gainst back of hand with the way of firt times. there's a noticeable shift in the air, the entire mood of the atmosphere changes as a wave of warmth rolls over. quiet, stillness, all but for boothill who caused it.

aventurine watches── his hand relaxes into your hold minutely, but does not comment. unlike the burnt and healed flesh on your lower back, this, still, retains some sort of sensation. " alright, " he says, but there's the faintest glow on his hues. " as long as you don't push yourself either. "

dr. ratio .ᐟ

veritas has a soft spot for you. implicit, but it's there.

veritas knows you need it as much as he need to know you're doing okay, because his obligation is to save you from the cause of your torment; yourself.

he's always subtle, silent; lets his hands communicate for him. veritas languidly reaches to brush the tips of his fingers behind your ear, momentarily tucking a lock of hair that would continuously unfold as if to spite him.

drool sheens the parted corner of your mouth, and your hair is akin to the mane of a lion's. you had told him you hate when he keeps staring while you are sleep, but he has to admit, the way he's seeing you right now is one of his favorites. his gape is pillared; fixated and immovable from your visage. veritas ratio finds himself enthralled with a work of art.

his fingers rouse through your knotted locks, thumb prodding into your temple and stroking soothing lengths into the dimpled flesh as you're muttering incoherent speech, and veritas finds himself amused again.

your slumped shoulders no longer quivered a while ago, but the needful grasp of your hands remained adamant as to maintaining a tight clench around his torso. he had sheltered you in his arms, devoid of warmth, his caress is cold. his wintry touch induces an outbreak of goosebumps, but the sensation eases the itch to your body, and the comforting chill is akin to balm.

you have yet to awaken, limbs wildly splayed as your temple nestles snuggly into his neck. veritas rests a heavy palm onto your crown, soothingly stroking his palm over your head as you sigh against his soft skin in bliss, already lost to a slumber he coaxed you.

his thumb trails along your side, and he doesn't hesitate his assault even when you grumble protests from your sleep.

"stop," you mumble, cheeks hollowed and lips ajar "five more minutes." you hardly discern his figure through your lidded gaze, but your skin singes where you maintain contact

hushed snores, faint and distinct, softly rumble beneath the tower of blankets where you sleep. you're snuggled impossibly close, temple pillared atop his chest.

right from the start, you knew veritas wasn't one to be overly physically affectionate. it's not that he hates it or is cold, he simply isn't used to it.

occasionally, however, he feels the need to be near you. loves the way you immediately step closer into his personal space and squeeze his hand back, not saying anything about this rare display of affection.

he's not easy to love, but he's worth the effort.

he loves so endlessly, with unfiltered promises of something that lasts beyond forever. he pays attention to every last detail, reads in between the finest of prints, his mind is always filled with you, from the bottom to the top, up to the very brim. his eyes miss nothing, and his intuition has honed itself to map you out in every way.

"don't be daft. some of us can't afford to slack off and forgo our regular daily structure." he says instead and watch, in amazement, your hazy, small smile. the defensive undertone in his voice almost makes you laugh again. is the same tone that people use when talking to four-year-olds. and a very familiar tone that means he's humoring you.

"but i can, see?" you whisper, with a cheeky grin in your face that tells him you are not sorry at all, before vertias stabs you in the liver with one of his unreasonably pointy fingers without even looking.

you wheeze before you could stop it. frown on your face, you clutch at your side. you are pretty sure this is what being shot by an arrow feels like. you try to you punch his shoulder as lightly as possible as you go, but veritas dodges you without blinking because he's actually an robot. you huff in complaint.

"do that again and i'm not coming near you for the next week" you croak before you manage to sit up ungracefully, forced to bend your legs in a way you're sure no human was meant to attempt.

"don't be so spoiled." he hums in appreciation, because he knows you are lying, so he extends his arms in your direction, and soon you were wrapped in his arms again, leaning into his chest.

the fleeting reaction bridged your skin as if wildfire. you have things to do soon, but neither of you made a move to pull away from where veritas protectively caged you. unconsciously pressing his hand on your back were your steadily beating heart is.

veritas has the incredible ability to squeeze into any space, as long as you are there.

his actions aren't fast, his hugs not the kind to be quickly dismissed. many of the times he lets you sink into his chest as he holds your waist with his free arm, pulling you as close as he possibly can. he makes sure that when he pulls away; he gets to see that dopey grin on your lips.

he has you, he affirms, right here. veritas has no desire to abandon his home in your arms.

boothill .ᐟ

boothill tends to break.

a matter of fact. your mind had stored a quite lengthy recording of your own voice yelling afterwards. ("what do you mean boothill lost an arm!?"). the series would repeat until heavy exhales began to breeze past the split of your parted lips.

other times him successfully erecting a melodious laugh to befall your lips despite there's half of his body missing and you are borderline in tears, but all common human sense has gone out the window and died a sad death on the street below before a semi ran over it at full speed and that metaphor got gruesome quick, which means you have been spending too much time around boothill and his drama.

what else is new, though? other than boothill being romantic and, hell, boothill being romantic, without even meaning to be.

he carries your work stuff as insignificant as it could be, wrap an arm around your shoulder when you're cold, hovers you over his shoulder any time you are feeling tired (theres no need to), let's you cling to his arm (and feels so proud when you do), keeps an eye on you to prevent hostile glances, holds your hands from behind when you're trying to play with his gun, he is oh so careful whenever he wants to initiate a kiss and enfolds a hand around your neck and gentle pull in his direction before he lets your lips collide with his cheek.

you know he is romantic even when he thinks he's being so slick— so smooth doing that. he wants to think he doesn't look like it much, therefore he's very much in love with your physical affection. you had fixed boothill up with efficient, gentle hands. you'd done it all with a frown and no shortage of eye-rolling, but you'd done it.

but boothill is romantic where it counts, too. are the gifts pretty? yeah. do you look good in his clothes? you look good in everything. he's romantic, and it's because he thinks about you all the time. because you run around his mind, looking at him with both eyebrows raised everytime boothill abruptly discovers he's staring blankly at you with his mouth partially open and pressing a kiss to his jaw for good luck before a mission like he means something. he's romantic because he knows it takes work to keep you almost as much as you know the way he breaks.

even in the non-literal manner.

"somethin' happen" you whispered into the quiet room, silence present and actively eating away at your spoken acclamation "be gentle with yourself, you deserve better."

it could be accurate, considering the place was pitch black. you hadn't even changed your attire clothes, you couldn't even recall how long you laid on the couch of your house before losing consciousness and after feeling boothill heavy body looming over yours, nestled between your legs with his face in your chest and close to your heart.

boothill is huge, menacing and colossal, he could easily reduce you into a timid clump of cowardice that writhes beneath his hold, but you like it too, the weight of him over you is comforting. he is careful about crushing you, anyways. most of the time.

he growls, your heavy lids fought against the descending motion the soft rumbling that his chest made against your skin. occasionally, you would crack open an eye to peek at the time and perk an ear to listen for any indication he is having a malfunction. just in case. (what do you mean boothill lost an arm!?). your gaze travels from high to low, optics seeking a source to distract yourself from the weight of his awaiting stare.

"what do ya think i deserve, sweetheart?" his voice is slightly muffled againts yor skin. it makes him sound much more worn out, you guess. and somewhat mocking, in any case.

boothill never has efficiently voiced whatever nonsense clutters that tireless cranium of his, but he acknowledges your pain as his own. your lips drawn south, boothill drums his hand past your uniform and into the flesh of your waist, shrugging under the cold metal fingers with a gasp. he requires reassurance no more than you.

"c'mon, let me-" you tried to push yourself up using your elbows, but his palms are slide down to snug at your hips with an immovable weight, heavy and pillared, to prevent your escape, as if you though of leaving him.

"you're a little nuisance, aren't ya?" he rambled. spilling whatever random scene were to display beneath his eyelids. you had a sneaking suspicion that he was just about running on autopilot.

hitting your head in the cushions again, your hands meekly settled upon the length of his shoulders, eyes scarcely searching for vibrant grayish tones, split from his stare whenever he smugly simpered at your expression of coy.

you try to get up again, but he takes advantage of the opportunity and nestles his face into the delicate skin of the crook of your neck. it almost makes you giggle. one of his arms wraps around your waist a little tighter while the other skirts around your shoulders to cradle the back of your head. you smell of fresh cotton, vanilla, and mint, and boothill can feel his circuits go foggy.

your gazes don't meet- he doesn't want to be seen. he doesn't want you to see him. not right now.

yet you understand why, he doesn't have to tell you, either; because he feels so heavy like this that you can't bring yourself to care, so you keep your lips thinned and sealed, and instead you caress his back and hold him, patronizingly brushing his scalp.

the idea of it was hard to swallow, that you really and truly cared so much about him. but god, if he didn't crave it. if he didn't yearn for it with every bit now that he finally surrendered to it. it was easier to sink than swim, and you was a pleasant ocean to drown in.

sunday .ᐟ

he knows how this works, half of the time.

you always greet him with a smile an sunday thinks it's his favorite way to start the night after a long day of work. regardless of how tired he feels, the moment you step into the room he starts looking for you. usually, he finds you lying in bed, just about to fall asleep.

sunday stands there for a moment, smile stretching his lips as he admires your beauty, before finally approaching you. takes your hand in his with such tenderness it brings a mirroring smile to your face. bows solemnly before you so he can press his warm lips to your knuckles, and stays like that for a moment. wordlessly. basking in the sheer devotion he feels for you.

"i missed you today," he mumbles as sits down next to you and leaves a peck on your cheek.

and like any other day, you bring his hand to your lips, pressing a kiss into the palm of his hand that lingers even when he moves his hand away, chuckling with fondness.

"i can tell," you whisper, and he involuntarily fumed each time you hold his face in your hands, palm resting on his cheek as your thumb traces little circles there. face flared scarlet and encased with a ring of heat, sunday's flustered disposition was hard to pass. his heart pattered at an unbelievable rate, and he was sure he had been painted crimson from the tips of his toes to the curvature of his round ears.

he could spend hours like that, just looking at you, committing your everything to memory so that when the night falls and you're not by his side, he can vividly reminiscent your hours together. sunday gulped away his nervousness, optics dancing around the room to locate a suitable distraction. he guaranteed he would lose composure in a matter of dwindling seconds.

"you look tired." your voice tickled his ears like the blown tune of wind chimes. when you wrap your arms around his neck and drag him to lie down next to you.

he was aware of how this worked. he has known you for years now, of course he knows what he's doing, but he can't help but play dumb when you wrap your arms around his neck and drag him to lie down next to you. his hand on your thigh. yor mouth had been moving, but no sound encountered sunday's auditory sense.

he jittered anxiously, bounding his knee from his wide-legged seat.

he was aware of how this worked, in the morning, in the morning he would get up early, only to have to say goodbye to your sleeping figure before facing reality, but success possessed scant significance to the enamored man. he since convinced himself that he has already won. content with the belief he had already acquired millions with you who lovably curled into his arms, his lids framing pools of fondness garnered by himself. defeat unquestionably withheld hardly any importance. sunday had achieved the trophy at the end of his own race; you amounted to no earthly claim.

and maybe it is scary / too scary to ever go through / too scary to ever allow to happen again. he doesn’t think you are fragile – moreso, he knows you aren't. can’t be, at least not in the ways humans are, and he also knows that this inhuman fragility that isn’t fragility at all is what drew him to you in the first place. it’s the closeness of you that undos him, ultimately.

he buries a his face into the skin of your neck, muffles the throatiness of it with an inhale as his hands seek purchase in the hook of your waist, palms coming to rest on your lower back, mapping out the jut of bone. you aren't fragile by any means, by any human means, so sunday is gentle with you in the ways humans can’t be, because while you aren't fragile – aren't , you deserve to know you are precious nonetheless.

your name is a spoken whisper followed by a controlled exhale—“welcome home. ”

blade .ᐟ

blade likes to believe that, after all these years, he's grown immune to your charms and beauty.

he likes to pretend that his heart doesn't race when he sees your smile or hears your laugh, just the way it did all those years ago, when your love was just starting to bloom and everything felt brand new. that he doesn't feel like bursting into song whenever you say his name in that same tone that's always awoke the butterflies in his stomach and brought pure and warm devotion to his eyes.

it's become second nature to him.

still, there's only so much his poor heart can resist when you're looking so beautiful. he always fails, anyways.

the pitter patter of the rain does little to drown out the rapid beating of blade's heart, hammering against his ribcage and threatening to carve its way through his chest. there's nothing it can do to put out the flames you've lit in his soul as they continue to burn it all in their wake, until everything outside this moment, standing with you in the rain, his heart bared for you to hold, is reduced to nothing but ashes, a barren soil from which you emerge, a flower that blooms against all odds.

"you are staring." the way your laugh quietens down as you gaze at him, soft smile persisting in your lips, is breathtaking.

your eyes seem to shine in a way that has his breathing faltering; and when you lean in closer, he swears his heart is ready to burst out of his chest and into your hands

yeah, he is staring.

blade gives an audible hum, his eyes flashing with confusion and something akin to embarrassment. his mouth opens just a little. probably he wasn't specting you to come along. you suppress both a sigh and a smirk as blade looks the other way

at that, you raise an eyebrow. "your hand. do you not require assistance, blade?" your voice is nothing short of regal, and blade gapes for a second before he huffs.

"i can do this for my own," he says. his tone is reverent and wondering, and you has to physically clench your teeth to keep from sighing, again.

"it's more easy this way" you say as you hold out your own hand as an invitation, pulling an embroidered silk handkerchief from the sleeve of your outfit, blade glances furtively over at you.

he still radiates tireless energy, yet somehow, even so, you can feel that he is not mad or angry, is not truly irritated. he is mad, but only with himself. in his moment of thought, your fingertips wander and accidentally brush against blade's hand.

cool.

you almost jumps at the contact, but you are so well trained in the art of masking emotions that you do not so much as flinch. you carried on steadily cleaning the blood. blade, however, is an entirely different case.

he jerks, lips parting in question. "what are you playing?" he seems to choke, blinking a few times.

"is there a problem, bladie?" you asks- quietly, though. you cannot bring yourself to be firm right now, not when you are breathing the same air as blade and your fingers still remember the coolness of blade's hand.

red eyes bite into you, questions and bewilderment plain in them, but then he just shakes his head and growl.

"no, just finish already" the signs might not be all that visible to most people, but to you, they're instantly noticeable.

on his lips were words lost to time as his tongue sat heavy in his mouth, motionless and frozen as he couldn't grasp a retort that were sure to reduce you to a state similar of his own. you nod and thinks to yourself that blade really is like a lake, his emotions crystal clear on the surface in a way that belies a complicated, tangled personality. yet just one tiny pebble, one little act of kindness, can send ripples through him.

you hope you are the only person throwing pebbles into the lake.

there's a certain familiar tightness to blade's hand, the slightest tilt of vast irritation to his eyes. you can read him, all his little burning mannerisms, and you know at your core, blade is a raging, smoldering star, sweltering underneath the masks he's been taught are natural.

"can i kiss you?" you whisper, almost too low for hear. there's fire there, fire that's almost been smothered, but can be encouraged back to life when occasion calls for it.

it's there, it's real, and you knows it, although he doubts anyone else truly does.

gape descending towards the glossed mounds of your nude colored lips, blade anxiously swiped his tongue across his bottom lip, eyes flickering towards the fixed stare pinned onto his expression of desperation. your stoop depicted what desire you hoped to transpire.

blade breaths a heavy snort through his nose, shaking his head as if you should have known to take initiative. "if you don't, i'll do it myself." the sly grin that tugged the crinkled corners of his lips split into a smile, his healthy hand danced along the supple skin beneath the side of your jaw.

drawn in as if pulled by the magnetism of earth's gravitational pull, the couple tenderly press against the other, lips interchanging a delicate lip-lock as stars blinked at their action, the flittering of their various light raining upon them as if a smile from the aeons.

the glide of their lips persevered until they broke for breath. their chests heaved with exhaustion, but a contrasting expression of triumph remained in the shape of your smile, though something falters, sly smile slipping from your cocked smirk of feigned aplomb as your chest palpitated; skipped more than a couple of rhythmic beats.

"what-" it's at that moment, when you are thinking of a blade clad in injuries and spiritual pressure, that blade's hand brushes lightly against your spine.

warm.

you jump, startled beyond measure, and make a choking sound, as if you didn't seem to have noticed his trailing fingers.

"what?" speechless; at a loss, you suck your bottom lip between your teeths as you clumsily fumbles with your wringing hands.

blade gawps before he lets a low chuckle before he makes you sink into his chest, near to leaving you breathless. you had gasped as if stumbling upon treasure before you clumsily grips at his shoulders with a child's enthusiasm.

"this wasn't the point" you stutter inelegantly, and blade blinks with blank stare of melting ice and thawing snow. you can feel flames beginning to rise in your cheeks, and you swears internally."cheeky." you say, but didn't dare to move, snaking an arm around his body and presses even closer.

he is okay, this gentle and soft thing, the featherlight feeling of being able to share your pain with someone who's a familiarity, someone who cares.

argenti .ᐟ

argenti loves you.

in a tender (and embarrasing) way you couldn't hate; from the dopey grin, the biggest, happiest wave whenever he sees you from across the room, argenti is evidently smitten.

you already knew, sort of. he wasn't the subtle one, anyways. but you weren't the qui vive type either.

maybe it was easy, you supposed, to pick up on your mood as easy as it was to notice argenti's green eyes are much more brighter when the light bounces off him. he'll smile at you, soft voice greeting you. maybe he was just overly friendly, with the way he held your hand as though you're the center of the universe-and he's just some random dude caught up in your gravitational orbit. maybe you were a little too hooked up in his fondness that it hurts.

how he loves you, did everything he could to hear the sweet bells of your laughter and see your smile. how he hug you every single day, he emanated a sort of warmth that didn't feel artificial despite the armor, almost like an embrace that was only second best in comparison to one of the bear's actualhugs. the soft, constant ticking of his voice like a soft lull soothing you into a relaxed, sleepy state.

argenti never let you go home upset, and he always take the time you needed to be comfortable with speaking your thoughts. he knows the way you like your food, the music you prefer so he can hum them when you are feeling particulary nasty, the rose that you love and that he never forgets to bring you on each of his journeys. he knows everything, doesn't he?

"are you alright? you seem a little off. shall i escort you to a first-aid station?"

the voice echoes somewhere near inside your skull, and you snap. all hope for sweet words is thrown out the window entirely, blood thrumming through your veins like electricity.

you whip your head up so fast you could feel something cracked uncomfortably to see none other than argenti's soft, green eyes staring at you with something akin to worry. you hum quietly, slowly dragging your gaze to argenti's cheek.

"just peachy" you can hardly settle your nerves. you uneasily inhale and seek resolve, exhaling the timid emotion with a shaken sigh "you are ready to go. that scratch should not take long to heal"

you back off, the corners of your lips tremble, quiver and quake, as he lifts up. argenti has the ability to look so grateful even if you have only disinfected a scratch in a way you were lowkey successfully diverted every single time.

"i am... truly sorry. it appears it's it's time for my departure, but i would hate to leave you by yourself..." argenti's sad voice always makes you feel in a way that suggests you enjoy throwing puppies into traffic, and argenti was a particularly kicked one.

how a person could sound so apologetic is going to be your biggest question, (was it your fault?), but you don't feel out of place; you wonder if you're supposed too. you wonder it again and again.

"i'm feeling ansty, argenti. i'm not going to die or somethin', s'okay" you suck in a sharp breath when argenti's face went through ten shades of griefs in five seconds at the solely thought of you getting hurt.

"still, i fear for your well being. i can stay with you as long as you need to." kind, glowing green eyes almost looked apologetic, only cementing the gnawing anxiety in your stomach. you chew the insides of your cheeks until it aches.

"would you?" you ask, trying to ignore the continual light shaking of your hands. you choke up as if displayed before a monstrous live audience, mouth dry and throat bobbing.

of course. obviously. you are his exception, to every rule he'd had made for, for every boundary that was so necessary to never cross. he is argenti, who calls you his rose in such a genuine, proud way that made you feel important, because he always mean it. argenti, who asks about your day but that's neither here nor there when he's looking at you like the moon. argenti, no matter how big and renowned and revered he becomes, he cares for you in every shape and form.

charmed and ensnarled, you made a motion for the man to lean over, which he obliged, and you hold argenti's face with warm hands, palms burning; hot and clammy as your racing pulse pumps wildly, resting on his cheek as your thumb traces little circles. he sighed of bliss, fluttering his lids as if his current placement had been an alleviation to any source of his conflicts.

his expression warmed your heart until overwhelmed. rhythmic pattering of his breath soothed the ache of your head, your eyes almost closed when he started raking his fingers along your own hands. you bring your face closer to targenti's until his forehead collided with your own. it's a kind of comfort, a subtle one, for both.

"it's okay. i need to get back to work and you spread beauty across the cosmos!" your mind run a mile a minute, but the smile hung from your lips didn't falter. argenti looks a little less torn, still holding concern in his eyes.

"i'll always be worrying about you, dear, no matter what..." argenti nuzzles his nose into your crown. "but i do trust you. let us meet up as soon as we are able to."

with a fluttering heart drumming within the swell of your chest, you tossed your hands into the air, throwing your head with a breathy laugh.

"sure!"

the man returned his smile as much as he was physically able to, then he made eye contact with you in front of him one last time.

"please promise me you'll be safe." his expression visibly softens at the contact, smile mirroring yours

"i will, i will."

with one last fond look, the man turns around, his soft, clanking walk following him as he went. emotions were fickle things, and only made a person unstable, irrational.

"uh-huh, and by the way, argenti!" you gulp when you find yourself center of his focus once his head turn around, but your gaze harbors riotous determination. maybe you just want to be irrational for once "i love you"

and he absolutely lights up. his smile is so bright it's nearly blinding, the vibrations of his own laugh almost feel like an earthquake shaking up your heart. and he opens his arms for you to jump in and tugs you closer so he can feel like you are the only one in the world, his whole universe.

"i love you too!."

you already know. and you feel so lucky for it

gepard .ᐟ

you always look like hell. half of the time.

it is certain, considering that you have to try and survive after every day with four hours of sleep and a can of bitterly caffeinated jet fuel masquerading as coffee in one hand. sometimes, it's not always enough for your internal clock.

but that is okay, really. gepard is the coffee you need every night.

especially since the woman working alongside gepard had turned out to be someone your social relations skills could only describe as unpleasant.

especially since you tried to make her understand her advances were useless, the soldiers don't like her, anyway. first with a few exchanged sentences (she ended up spilling coffee to your face and leaving you dripping in the middle of the precinct). then with rather crude gestures of disfavor (which led her to the erroneous assumption that you were somehow envious of her).

it took a long while until you finally snapped and began sabotaging her actively. at some point, it even became more of an amusing pastime that kept your systems sharp and accurate, just like that one candy that keeps annoying bronya to no end because you become a hyperactive-mess.

yes, you exchange her perfume and filling the vial with aftershave, programmed her social media to change every single self-portrait into a prerecorded file of sampo's choice ("pick rick astley!"), messing up the files of smaller files since she hardly ever occupied herself with them, and was prone to making mistakes subsequently.

yes, they were childish pranks yes, you almost got suspended for a month and yes, "you had to pay compensation for the emotional trauma she went through", but selfishly, you were lowkey proud.

somehow, it was the perfect excuse to spend more time near gepard.

there's no one who can brings the light; hangs the stars and moons as if he were not an object of celeste himself other than him. he barely smile, but when he dies, his toothy grin is cheshire, widening and stretching his cheeks as if his elation were uncontainable; contagious.

gepard gives warm hugs and sways back and forth to make you feel better. every time, without asking. ( apparently he developed a sixth sense when it comes to you. captain thing. )

its the sort of problem he hates the most because its not one he can solve with his hands.

so he won't bring what upsets you and even avert his gaze from you, but he'll place his hand on yours, softly rubbing his thumb against your knuckles, and that's when you know it will get better.

he always makes sure, in any case. he hardly sees you during the day, so when he wraps his arms around you and rocks you side-to-side, it can last seconds, long seconds, until you are giggling and shy, and then he lets you go on with your day as if nothing. other times, at home, he likes to tap to whatever song you're listening to on your body while cleaning, or at least he tries to. the beat is always a little off, too fast or not enough; still, it never fails to bring a soft smile to your lips, especially if he's humming along to it too. sometimes you would brag him to dance along with you.

it's silly, most of the time you two bump into each other, but it never fails to cheer you up.

looking at your bright smile as you laughed at one of your own stupid jokes, gepard can't help but feel grateful that you're in his life.

the kids love you as well, even when you say you are not fond of children, as he sees it right now, you're still kneeling down to talk to them because gepard cannot come to a better response when they ask him how to become a captain. you let the kids put stickers in your face and doodle with markers into your arms. you're still laughling when you carry around a little girl like a princess even if you will have a backache afterwards.

a burst of fondness and adoration explodes in his chest, and when the kids leave, gepard is leaning down to press a kiss to your crown. is somewhat tender, the purest expression of his love he can muster. your eyes instantaneously descending towards your shoes as you could no longer hold his gape of admiration as he pulls away, and it turns into an embarrassed chuckle when you meet his face with sleepy eyes and smile.

"you are still here" he says, which it is a shame, as you can only see him between breaks and because you had to keep an eye over the helper.

"i am" you nod, holding out a lunch with one hand. "here, you forgot it."gepard can hardly keep himself from blushing, ocean irises soft and heart swooning as you laugh; seemingly initiating a commencing rise of the sun."did you do it on purpose?"

"i couldn't imagine it."he is suave and he is charming under this moment of vulnerability, under the split second he bares his heart to you, letting you feel his joy with him as his hand finds its way to your waist, holding you as if you were about to shatter.

and you let him, as always. you decided that this is where you'll stayー in gepard's hold, where the heat from his body completely enveloping yours is enough to hush your grief, in which you know you are going to be okay.

in the tiny space you've made for yourself, where you crouched to weep in silence alone, someone has intruded your circle, but it is someone who cares deeply. gepard knows of your pain, and somehow for now, that is enough.

#honkai star rail x reader #jing yuang x reader #dr ratio x reader #hsr x reader #aventurine x reader #boothill x reader #blade x reader #argenti x reader #gepard x reader

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