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stellati0n · 1 year ago

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dan heng being bad at feelings, the sequel.

started writing this pre-1.3, so i am once again emphasizing that i am making shit up. (well, 1.3 dropped while still working on this and the TB mission was rather lacklustre, so i'm gonna half ignore it).

sorry for any typos/mistakes/whatever, most of this was written at dubious hours of the night.

contains. mild-moderate canon divergence, dubious jing yuan shenanigans, dh being somewhat down bad. i dropped a bit too much spice in, so it is no longer “mild”. take that as you will.

7.5K words. THIS IS SO FUCKING EMBARRASSING.

here's the first part in case you haven't read it. you're still not the trailblazer.

tags: @akhiran @cypunk-0 @fiona782 @seelelovesbronya @bleakqblake @xiaos-poems

this place is not a place of honour. no highly esteemed deed is commemorated here…nothing valued is here. Below 15, DNI. Go away.

the next day, you awoke to a feeling of emptiness at your side. any part of the bed that your limbs weren’t splayed upon was long cold with dan heng’s absence. you were alone, still left in the nest of sheets and pillows he arranged himself. it couldn’t have all been some kind of fever-dream, could it?

no, any such possibility was dashed when you looked at the messages on your phone. one unread, left two hours ago.

with the ellipsis and all. oh, the self-inflicted misery. (does he really consider every single person his enemy?) you sighed, swinging your feet off the side of the bed to get up. if you knew him well enough, then you already knew the next little while was going to be tricky, to say the least. it was obvious what his plan was from the beginning, with him abandoning your side at the sun’s first rays: avoidance.

and avoid you, he did. in the denouement after phantylia’s attack, he still had to be around you, but the stiltedness he carried with him was palpable. he made a point to stand as socially acceptably far from you. it was almost like he was acting like a ghost solely to you. elusive, non-communicative, only seen out of the corner of your eye. perhaps leaving you with the lingering feeling of being watched, and ultimately gone before you could even call his name. in fact, he quite literally ghosted you. he wouldn’t even respond to your messages.

once the day after the final events rolled around, you thought that maybe he would have had enough time to finally be able to face you again, but no. apparently he elected to confine himself to the archives the moment he returned aboard the express. however, this didn’t deter you from going knocking on his door.

"dan heng?" you tapped on the sealed door. your ear was right up against the frame, listening intently.

whatever shuffling was coming from within fell still at your voice.

"dan heng, i know you’re in there. i just heard you stop moving."

there was more silence, then followed by a sigh. "did pom-pom not relay my one request?"

"no, they did. told me that i’m not allowed near the archives."

"yet you’re still here…" his voice was strained, and distant from the door. he must have been sitting either at his desk or on his thin, messy futon. beyond that, it was hard to imagine what he was doing in there, or even what he looked like. it was surprising. you thought he struggled to control his form, but it seemed no problem when he wasn’t with you. so was he the regular old dan heng sitting in there? or the vidyadhara that laid next to you that night?

"you really think i’m gonna listen? i never do." you squared yourself further towards the door. "now, c’mon. we’re already talking, so can’t you just—"

"n-no, i can’t," he cut you off. "i… i’m sorry, but not here, and not like this."

"can you at least tell me why you say you can’t be around m—?" almost as if on cue, in came an angry pom-pom inbound like a squishy freight train.

"hey! what did pom-pom just say?!" they cried. "can’t you follow one simple rule for the time being?"

as pom-pom ushered you away from the archives with weak thumps to the back of your legs, you grunted to yourself. you were tempted to chuck them in the opposite direction, but alas, such a thing was not in the cards for you. after all, it would be wise to not tempt fate with the conductor. things seemed like they were going to be more difficult than you anticipated.

░░░░░░░

early the next morning, long before either march or stelle would rise, you shuffled your way into the parlor car in search of food. if it was going to be anything like yesterday, you were anticipating being the only one in the parlor car. however, to your surprise, there was another person present when you silently closed the door behind you—dan heng. he was in his regular appearance of shorter, fluffy hair and his regular attire. you sighed as quietly as you could, staring at the back of his head that leant on his wrist, propped up on the table. seeing him staring dejectedly at the food was a sorry sight.

the unspoken tradition you had with him was that when the whole express wasn’t eating together, it’d always be you two sharing your meals together. it began when you first joined the express—after dan heng himself, but before march. left adrift as a vagrant amidst the stars, you were all too familiar with the feeling of loneliness. it was always at its worst when you managed to gather together enough scraps to resemble the meals you used to eat in your old home. to you, when possible, meals were something that should be shared in the company of others. so when you first saw dan heng sat alone on your first proper morning aboard, you saw part of yourself in him. a part that you wanted gone, now that you had a new home. so you sat yourself down next to him, your own food in hand. you were met with some minor (albeit polite) resistance, but you being the stubborn ass you were, would not have it. you knew your persistence was risky, but it paid off. not long after that, he would wait until you were sitting with him.

so to see that sight left you saddened, but also vehemently annoyed. normalcy was out the window thanks to this baffling, self-imposed restriction he had against you. as quietly as you could, you stalked up behind him. moving as lightly as possible felt like it was the only way possible to get closer to him. it wasn’t like he developed a sudden allergy to your presence or something, was it?

you were successful in thwarting his pre-occupied senses as you reached the velvet couch. but maybe you were too successful, because he almost leapt out of his skin when you planted yourself down next to him. you leaned against the table and spoke. "how about us talking if it’s over breakfast?"

he did manage to calm down, but not by a lot, and not enough to give you a reply. his expression was still frazzled as he struggled to keep himself in place.

"can you please tell me if i’ve done something wrong? i don’t understand why we’re suddenly like strangers again," you said, reaching out to put your hand atop his one that was clenched at his side. but he snatched it away before you could feel the warmth of it.

"it’s my fault. you’ve done nothing," he said. "but please, i need some time before i can talk to you properly."

he turned to get up and leave, but you caught him by the sleeve. "w-wait, by why?" you trailed off, voiced far weaker than intended.

the look he gave you was weird. it was a jumble of confused emotions, but the most you could make out was nervousness. you had no idea what that light flush could have meant for you. his mouth parted to make some sort of reply, and you could have sworn you the glimpse of sharpened canines. "since when have you had fangs in this appearance?" you blurted out after doing a double take.

his eyes flared wide open and a hand flew over his mouth. "s-since never." with that, he slipped from your grasp. "please excuse me."

you watched incredulously as he walked out of the parlour car and back towards the archives as if he had wooden knees. you had no idea what just happened. rejection, you supposed. but considering how he was that night, it made no sense. nothing about this made any sense.

whatever it was, it was slowly eroding your patience, leaving you biting the inside of your lips in irritation. it’s true you were doing some type of avoidance when his alternate form was finally revealed, but it was nothing of this calibre. it was almost impossible for it to be the case with dan heng, but if this really was some kind of petty revenge, he may as well have whipped out a steel chair after you knocked shoulders with him.

░░░░░░░

your shameful failure of an interaction left you in need of recuperation. you hadn’t felt that irked and downright baffled since one of herta’s curios fell on your head. so now, you were blathering a ranting tirade at stelle and march over some snacks, all in the parlour car. "i swear to whatever aeon’s listening, he’s turned emo or something." you folded your arms across your chest, sinking down in your plush chair.

"like he wasn’t before?" stelle mumbled, not looking up from whatever gacha game she was playing on her phone.

"eh, not really. he does have his moments, though." march shrugged, grabbing a single chip. "but yeah, i’ve never seen anything like this. it’s so weird, he almost never avoids you like this!"

"hence why i’m so confused."

"things seemed to get pretty tense between the two of you after he had his magical girl transformation," stelle added while shovelling a handful of chips into her mouth, still not looking up. "then maybe… the day after phantylia, he got even weirder."

"yeah, like, he won’t go near you for some reason, but he keeps staring at you so longingly and sighing like you’re the last cookie in the jar and he’s been told he can’t have any more!" march said with the melodramatic flourish of a swoon.

"that one sounds like it’s based on real experiences." stelle cast her a sideways glance, to which march let out a sniff and wiped away a dry tear.

"just how much has he been doing that?" you muttered, unable to comprehend.

"a fair amount from what i’ve seen. he’s looked like a kicked puppy every single time," march said. "well, as much as dan heng can look like a kicked puppy."

"not that he’s particularly talkative, but i’ve tried asking him about it. was only met with howling winds of jarilo-vi’s everwinter storm." stelle placed her phone down on the table and sat back with her arms crossed. "but now, he’s just being straight up weird. (y/n), what’d you do to him?"

"yeah, i mean, he won’t even eat in the mornings if you’re there!" march cried.

your nails dug into your knees as you looked at your lap. you could feel a heat creeping onto your face as you recalled him so close to you. his words still rung in your head. if they were true, then what the fuck was he doing now? "i—i don’t really want to say, since it’s between him and i," you said. "but some pretty… significant things happened, i guess."

march suddenly drew in a comically loud gasp. "DID HE FINALLY CONFE—" she began, but you clapped your hand over her mouth before she could finish.

"must’ve," stelle said, leaning forward with her hands on the table loosely clasped in front of her.

"it wasn’t… exactly like that." your voice was low. your attempts to protect your dignity were feeble at best. it’s true, he never explicitly told you he has feelings for you in the classic format of ‘i like you’, but… who were kidding, it was a confession in all forms except literalness. you grabbed at your face, hiding the creeping heat behind your hands with a groan.

"no, it was totally a love confession. he’s been head over heels for you for a while now! even when i first met you two, it was so obvious he had a big ol’ crush on you. how’d you not notice it?!"

"cuz they’re denser than dan heng." stelle deadpanned, staring right at you.

"if you’re going to be making indirect insults about me, at least do it to my face," a familiar voice muttered from somewhere a distance behind you. in walked dan heng, eyes closed and pinching the bridge of his nose. he was once again in his normal appearance. stelle immediately squashed you down beneath the square table, leaving you only to look at everyone’s legs.

"oh, so the elusive dan heng finally graces us with his presence, huh?" you couldn’t see march’s face, but you knew she was making a half-lidded, unimpressed frown at him—the certified march classic.

"i’ve had a lot of information to collate and put into the archives, so i’ve been busy—" his words stopped short. from around the bend of the chair’s edge, you could see him inch closer to the table.

"been busy what? you just stopped talking." march sounded confused.

"is that… (y/n)’s scent?" his tone was far sharper, but his wording sounded unsure.

"are you calling them stinky? that’s kinda rude, isn’t it?" march frowned.

"huh? no, of course not!" he sputtered. "it’s just v-vidyadhara senses. they’re quite acute." there was the shuffling of some fabric. he must have crossed his arms.

"well i say it’s cuz you’re going heehee-silly-delulu with your big fat crush on them." march chimed in. your eyes widened as you frowned. why were they both baiting the literal dragon?

the only sound that came out of dan heng was something like an indignant cry that was cut-off at its head. "i… i do not—"

"you don’t like them? alright, keep telling yourself that," stelle said.

"…what hand does (y/n) have in this? they were just here, weren’t they?" he took a few steps towards the table. you imagined him with a strained look on his face, fighting to keep his composure like he yesterday. as he was stood right in front of you, you felt yourself shrinking back. it was maybe only seconds until ground zero—until everything hit the fan. "because that’s their scent nearby…" he changed his footing just a touch, and the second you saw the tips of his fluffy hair peak down past the table, you launched headlong into him. not by your own volition, but because a heeled boot slammed into your lower back, jetting you forward. your face collided with some part of his legs (of which was not very soft), sending you both in the same direction with simultaneous cries. there was a significant thud when dan heng hit the floor, and your head knocked into something bony.

your eyes cracked open, rubbing your forehead with a groan, but all sounds fell silent when you realized you were hovering between his knees. you stared up at him with wide eyes and a stifled breath, where he met your owlish gaze with his own. in other words, you were almost right between his legs. both of your faces lit like infernos, but neither of you moved. a grand total of two seconds passed before the vidyadhara features came out. it was quick—his horns rose from his head, and his hair spilt over his shoulders. his tail appeared behind him, laying still. even his clothes suddenly swapped out on him. his chest rose and fell as his breath seemed to quicken.

"s-sorry," you swallowed thickly. in almost an instant, he dug one of his clawed hands into his arm. he clambered to his feet, unable to look you in the eye.

"wh-what the hell was that?" his voice cracked.

"fuck, that was my bad." stelle said from behind you.

"ngh, you… please excuse me," he quickly turned and strode back towards the archives, still holding onto his arm. you hadn’t moved from the floor when you watched the passenger cabin’s door close behind him.

"what the heck, stelle?!" march cried, startling you.

"holy fuck, i’m so sorry. i did not think it’d go like that," stelle said. when you looked back over, she was leaning back and had raked her bangs back, hand still on her forehead.

"how did you think it’d go?" you groaned, unsteadily raising to your feet once again.

"i dunno, but not like that."

"why’d he suddenly change like that, i wonder?" march tapped her finger to her chin, looking off to the side.

"cuz he’s down bad." stelle looked very confident in her answer.

you almost choked on your spit.

"he’s down bad, but then he keeps running off 'cuz refuses to let himself be so."

"what kind of a theory is that?!" march huffed.

"a simple observation. mr. yang says i’m perceptive, so i have final authority on all judgements ever made." stelle crossed her arms over her chest, face seldom making any expressions. "and i say exactly what i said."

you stood with your head hanging in your hands, burning with embarrassment. things couldn’t keep going on like this. if this was the new dynamic, then how were any of you supposed to function while you’re out trailblazing? how were any of you supposed to function even just normally? that was it. you raised your head until your eyes lifted from behind your hands, a new resolve filling your blood. maybe jing yuan might know something.

░░░░░░░

managing to secure a time to speak to jing yuan was unbelievably easy. then again, you should gave guessed it’d be. over messages, he told you that since he’s been doing nothing but resting, he’s incredibly bored—someone to see or speak to is more than welcome. and so, it quickly was organized that you could stop by a planned location in aurum alley to see him.

the time soon rolled around, as long as it took. during the day, as expected, there was no sign of dan heng having any interest in interacting with you normally, much to your growing irritation and mild chagrin. even march and stelle were shaking their heads and clicking their tongues in disapproval.

it didn’t take long for you to get there. you agreed to meet him in a small, secluded area, just out of the way of eyes that might seek to pry into the general’s private business. it was a bit into the early evening. it wasn’t too hard to find him sitting at his table since he wasn't exactly the most conspicuous person out there. the golden artificial sunlight poured in from an oblique angle overhead, coating the tucked-away courtyard in a honeyed light. once he saw you approaching, jing yuan cast you one of his usual sleepy, cattish smiles.

"um, hello," you spoke, pulling out a seat next to him.

"and to what do i owe the pleasure?" there was almost a purr in his voice. "tell me, what is it you wished to speak about?" he leaned forward, resting his head on his wrist propped up on the table. "or did you simply come here to chat with me because you felt like it?" he made a closed-eyed smile laced with mischief.

"ah, i’m sorry to disappoint, but it’s because i’m having a bit of a dilemma." you scratched the back of your head with an awkward laugh. "please hear me out on this one, but it’s about dan heng."

"oh, dan heng? what about him?" jing yuan tilted his head. "as it stands, i’m afraid you might know him better than i do, unfortunately. so i don’t know if i would be able to provide the best of help for you." there was a faint, bittersweet smile on his lips, making you bite your own.

"it’s, ah, a little more about him as a vidyadhara, i suppose. i’m not sure if he has anything in common with his previous incarnation, but i thought there must be something there."

"well, i can say his obstinance seems to have certainly survived reincarnation."

"it’s thriving," you huffed, at which jing yuan lightly laughed.

"so is that the root of your problem? him being too stubborn on something?"

"that’s about it, yeah." you pressed your lips into a line. "he’s been avoiding me for… reasons i won’t divulge… and i don’t what i can do to get him to talk to me again."

"you don’t need to put it like that. i can tell he really likes you," he said, the trace of a smug grin on his face. after you coughed loudly, he continued. "he’s rather obvious if you know what you’re looking for. but anyway, what happened between you two? if i’m allowed to know, that is."

you swallowed nervously. should you really be revealing everything like this? you did it anyway. "one night, we said a few things of… i guess questionably romantic nature to each other, and he reacted in a way that i think was influenced by some sort of… vidyadhara shenanigans."

jing yuan looked at you with raised eyebrows and wide eyes. "go on."

"he hauled me off to his bed and then got uncharacteristically affectionate. he had a back-and-forth with self-doubt once he realized i was really confused by it all, but i told him it’s fine. i mean, i even pet his horns out of my own volition and stuff." it was all coming out at this point. "then he eventually drifted off and then pretty much declared his feelings in his half-sleep. but even though i told him i’m fine with him doing whatever he was doing, he still decided to run off the next morning. i’ve tried to talk to him repeatedly, but he won’t reply to my messages and he almost freaks out every time i’m in his vicinity. i don’t get it!"

"mm, that’s quite the situation on your hands there," jing yuan hummed. there was a mischievous spark in his eye, and you weren’t sure if you liked the look of it. "now, i couldn’t tell you the specifics, but if you say he got ’uncharacteristically affectionate’, then that’s definitely some old vidyadhara response. they can get very protective over the things they love."

your gaze dropped somewhere in front of your as your face prickled with heat at his words.

"but now, i’d wager he’s stuck in some sort of self-imposed battle of will against himself."

"and how would you suggest i get him out of it?"

"i suppose there is technically the option of waiting this out," he glanced at your face. you looked embittered at such an inane suggestion, making him laugh. "or you could simply make him lose the battle, since it sounds like he’s set on taking it ad infinitum, if needed."

"small issue… i’m now allowed near the archives," you sighed, leaning yourself back. "it’s hard to simply go there with both the conductor banning me as well as dan heng refusing to open his door."

"hmm…" jing yuan shifted his hand beneath his chin. "might i do something a bit uncouth?"

"uhh, okay."

"come here for a moment." he slid himself next to you, turning to face you a little more. with a slight frown, you turned towards him as well. "now, i can’t guarantee his reaction to this, but—" he suddenly pulled you closer toward him and placed his head in the crook of your neck—the same side dan heng had his. one hand snuck its way around your neck and held the base of your neck ever so gently, while the other looped around your back. you had to fight a shudder when you could feel jing yuan’s lips ghost over your neck and shoulder. "if i do this, it may be enough to knock him from this cycle of his."

"wh-what?" you strained out.

"he’ll be able to tell i’ve been with you. and by the places i’ve been in contact with you…" he said, voice low. his faint breaths were cool on your shoulder. you couldn’t suppress a slight shiver. "…it should be enough to grant you access to… the archives, was it?"

"y-yeah." you blinked a few times. your brain had been reduced to a single cell bouncing around inside your brain like a shitty maraca.

jing yuan finally pulled back, assuming his original pose. "please forgive me for that… but you’ll likely see why i did it." he still couldn’t help but wear his usual small grin for the second part. "i’d now recommend that you find him again, and try to keep his attention long enough for him to notice you were with me. vidyadhara’s senses of smell are perceptive, so it shouldn’t be long. well now, you’d best get back then." his stupid grin was even wider and even smugger. his gaze wasn’t condescending, but read more as if he were thinking just wait and see.

"i… guess i’ll be going then. th-thank you, general." you made an awkward bow as you hustled back the way you came, hyperaware of the air brushing against your shoulder. it all felt incredibly foreboding… but that was to be expected when you were about to enter the dragon’s den.

░░░░░░░

your plan was flawless:

1. jing yuan does his shit

2. go back to the express.

3. bait with bubble tea to get the door open.

4. "talk" to dan heng long enough until he notices jing yuan was up to something

5. ???

6. profit.

just as detailed, to further your chances of getting that door cracked open, you decided to buy a bubble tea. a classic milk should have sufficed, since he tended to favour the more simple things. the chances of him actually opening the door to take it were already slim, but desperate times called for desperate measures. knowing him, he’d simply make you leave it at the door, which was a problem. so there you were, stuck on an express couch, plotting. (or, perhaps more aptly, chewing your nails in nerves). as you sat there, in waddled pom-pom, looking mighty chuffed for some unknown reason.

"hm-hm-hm! dinner of pom-pom’s own creation will be ready in just over 20 minutes!" they declared, puffing their stuffed chest. they waited for any reaction, but no one looked up at them, making them deflate with a scowl. "stelle, (y/n) you go tell everyone," they grumbled, shuffling back into the passenger cart and beyond.

"wait, what?" you looked up—you hadn’t even noticed them.

"we’re on messenger duty," stelle said from her seat. she was placed upside down on the couch, hair grazing the ground while she played her usual gacha games.

"can i try and deal with dan heng?"

"i mean, sure." she looked over at you. "but what’re you plotting?"

"my entry into the archives. i come baring gifts." you motioned towards the untouched bubble tea sitting in front of you.

"i’ll leave you to it. i’ll go tell march and the others then." she chucked her phone elsewhere on the couch and got up, wandering towards the passenger car. you followed shortly behind, offering in hand.

it was a short walk. you knew you were being dramatic, but you couldn’t help but grow more and more nervous the closer you drew to the archives. you had already weathered so many rejections, so it’s not like this was going to somehow have a worse result. perhaps it was because you put too much on this. you’ve gone to a rather large effort just to have a slim chance of getting him to open the door—speaking of, you were already there.

you raised your hand to knock on it, but before you could even lay your hand on it, dan heng spoke from inside. "what is it, (y/n)?" he was once again somewhere further off in the room, speaking with undecipherable emotions.

"um." your voice cracked, making you cringe. "pom-pom said dinner’s ready in 20."

"ah. thank you," he said plainly. it still kinda stung, being back at what felt like the stage where you were only acquaintances.

"i also got you something." you tried to cast another line.

"you can leave it at the door."

you flopped your head against the door. of course he said it. "i’d rather give it to you now. it’s some bubble tea. the ice is melting." there was no response. you couldn’t tell what he was doing. "c’mon, it’s not like you’re sick or something."

"hah, more like lovesick," stelle called as she walked past behind you.

"stelle!" dan heng cried indignantly. he sounded closer to the door. "i am not—"

"if you’re not, then open the door." she simply kept walking.

you were stood with wide, unblinking eyes and an open mouth, watching her jacket pass through the cabin door until you were left alone in the hall. the door suddenly slid open a little. you jumped, turning to stare up at him. as usual, there was a strained look on his face that he was trying to suppress. "see, i’m not—" he looked out and around for stelle, but she was nowhere to be seen. instead, he simply sighed.

you tried to swallow your heart beating in your throat, but it still hammered away. "hi."

he closed his eyes, leaning his head on the inner door frame. "hello," his voice sounded tired. tired with himself. "please forgive me for how i’ve been acting. i know it’s not fair to you. it’s just…"

"i know, you need more time. you like to say it," you muttered with a slight, strained grin. "by the way, here’s your tea. it’s just your usual order." you held it out it to him, and he looked down at it with softened eyes. as he went to grab it, his fingertips brushed over yours. he seemed more startled than you, but after a moment’s hesitation, he placed his hand back over top of yours.

"i haven’t been completely honest with you," he said. (that was certainly one way of putting it).

you held your breath, as if making a single noise could suddenly startle him back into the archives.

"i… since that night, i haven’t known what to do with mysel—" he suddenly paused, frowning the tiniest bit. he leaned forward, seeming to concentrate on something with closed eyes. once they opened again, his pupils had constricted into slits, and he was staring intently at you. uh oh.

"wh-what is it?"

"where were you before this?" he took the tea from you and placed it somewhere next to the door frame inside the archives.

your stomach flipped. was this really going where you thought it was? "um. i was wandering around aurum alley." it wasn't a lie. "why?"

"that’s not all. what else?" he took you by the arm and drew you into the archives. it was an uncharacteristic mess in there. low-lit, and with clothes, books and items were strewn all over the place, perhaps as a reflection of his state. you watched the door close behind you, and when you looked back, there stood dan heng with his full vidyadhara look on display, right in front of you. uh oh.

he stepped closer to you until you could feel the warmth of his body radiating off of him, then grabbing hold of your shoulders. it was a tight grip, but not enough to hurt yet. he dipped his head into the crook of your neck and drew in a long but quiet inhale. "what were you doing with jing yuan?" his voice was low, almost with a slight growl. as he spoke, his arms had wound around shoulders, so he was holding the back of your head, just like jing yuan was. only far harsher than the other’s ghost-like touch.

yes, this was going the direction you thought it was. "we—we only met to talk about something," you sputtered out, your heart in your throat again.

"then why do i smell him on you, as if you were doing something more than just talking?" with a free hand, he took your jaw and turned your face towards him. he was only inches away from you, gazing at you with narrowed, dimly-glowing eyes. "why go to him when you have me?"

you frowned, eyes wide. "huh? what do you mean i have you? you’ve refused to speak to me normally ever since the morning after you hauled me to your bed. besides, i-it’s not what you think."

but your words were lost on him. "no, this won’t do." his voice was barely a murmur. he seemed to be living in his own version of the world. dragon-brain was back, evidently a fuller force than ever. you weren’t sure what you were expecting, but it wasn’t him drawing you even closer, placing his head in the crook of your neck and nuzzling. your face lit like an inferno as some kind of noise escaped your lips. it was really back to the nuzzling. only with surprising fervour, this time. he nestled his face into your neck, exhaling small sighs against you. his nose and lips brushing against your skin was almost ticklish, but you weren’t laughing when his tail snaked itself around your hips, twining itself down one of your legs.

"d-dan heng?!" you cried when he suddenly lifted you with his hands clasped beneath the backs of your thighs, assisted by the tail. he had his mouth placed right over top of your collar bone, watching where he was going from over your shoulder. "dan heng, put me down!" you had to hold onto his back and shoulders for stability.

he gave you no reply, only taking you back to his mussed futon. similar to his bed at the inn, the blanket was strewn in a way akin to the base of a nest. stray pieces of clothing made up the rest of lack-lustre structure—you could have sworn one of your own old shirts you’d forgotten somewhere was poking out from beneath a different article. dan heng sat himself down in the centre of the futon and brought you into lap. your position was a bit awkward as you sat perpendicular across from him. both your legs went one direction while your torso was turned to face him. he sunk his head into the crook of your neck again, drawing in more, shorter inhales.

"seriously, wh—what are you doing?"

"he’s still on you." he said against your shoulder, warmth breath making you shiver. there was a slight growl in his throat again.

"even after that?" as you spoke, he tilted your head away, exposing more of your neck. "hey, w-wai—ah!" you made a cry of pain when a pair of fangs suddenly bit down into your shoulder. it wasn’t hard enough to draw much blood, but more than enough to hurt. you shuddered with some ungodly, almost harrowed noise when his tongue glided over what would blossom into a bruise. his arms and tail wound tighter around you, as if you might slip away at any second. he moved on, this time toward your jaw, peppering it with desperate kisses. you tried to say his name as he trailed down in between his own rapid-growing breaths. he was panting once he reached your shoulder, his kisses sloppy. in some work of miraculous dexterity, he had readjusted your seat on him until his waist was slotted between your legs. all the while, one hand was in your hair angling your head for his best reach, the other around your back. you had to hide your face in his hair when he had began making small vocalizations, something like tiny whines.

you said his name again, this time louder when he trailed his fangs back up your shoulder. right after he left a hot kiss on your shoulder, he bit down again. you seethed in pain, trying to push his head off, but you were only met with purrs. even though he didn’t seem fully aware of what was going on, those purrs had to be weaponized against you. he shifted to another part of your shoulder, mouthing another kiss on it, but before he could bite, you grabbed his horn.

"dan heng!" you yanked his head back, surprising him. but instead of some sort of pained cry, he let out a heady moan. to your surprise, that noise slipping from his mouth seemed to restore his lucidity in an instant. his dilated eyes shot wide open and his hands flew to cover his mouth, almost sending himself backwards in the process. his face burned with embarrassment, colouring his cheeks and pointed ears in a bright crimson. you huffed, but didn’t remove yourself from your position. in fact, you anchored yourself down by locking your ankles behind his back if he were to try and push you off.

"(y/n) to dan heng, can you hear me?" you said, almost tempted to knock on his forehead.

"i-it happened again," his voice was quiet in horror.

"hey, i need you to listen to me before you clam up on me again." you brought one hand to the side of his face, gently making him look up at you. he jumped at the contact, sending his hands further up his face until they were covering his eyes.

"please forgive me," he rushed out.

"look at me," you said softly, placing one hand on top of his to move it to the side—one of his faintly glowing eyes glanced at you. "i’m more happy to make out with you, but we need to talk first."

he made a strangled groan of embarrassment in answer, moving his hand back in place again.

"are you listening?"

he nodded.

"alright, the whole thing with jing yuan was me asking about you," you said. "i thought he might know a bit about you as a vidyadhara and your behaviour, so i went to ask what i could do to get you to let me into the archives. his idea was a less than tactful, but i guess it worked. that’s why ‘his scent was on me’, as you say. he only stuck his head on my shoulder for a bit because you’d be able to tell and then demand an explanation or something."

his fingers had parted to show his eyes again, and they were staring in bewilderment.

"so, i’m sorry for doing all that to you." your voice was soft. "i just wanted to see you."

"no, i should be apologizing. i have no control of myself and i haven’t been fair to you." he lowered his hands to hovering somewhere over his chest. "i was saying before… since that night, i have been an embarrassment. all i’ve wanted to do is steal you away and… smother you in affection until you returned it. the feeling was so intense that i didn’t trust myself around you, so i hid. i thought if i waited, it’d calm down, but it really only made it worse."

your heart swooned then and there, lighting a fire in your cheeks. "o-oh… so if i did return it, then you wouldn’t act like a lovesick ghost anymore?"

"hey." he frowned, but his face soon fell back into the same flustered expression from before. "but to answer you, maybe after a while. i could also just get worse… but i really don’t want to subject you anything you don’t want." while he couldn’t meet your gaze, he still leaned his head into the palm of your hand. with a sigh, you held his jaw and angled his face to look at you again.

"how many times do i have to say i don’t mind? you can’t seem to fit that one through that thick vidyadhara skull of yours." you did actually knock on his head this time, making him wince.

"i—i don’t know, i just get embarrassed." he hid face his face against your chest, face a shade redder and his ears drooping. "you also always look so shocked. i don’t want to do that to you."

"that’s only because you tend to forget any kind of warning," you said with a light laugh. "truly, i like it—when you give me warning, that is—because i really like you too, stupid."

his breath audibly hitched, and he raised his head back up. "t-too? but i’ve never said—"

"are you kidding? you don’t need to say it when the aeons and their grandmas know. even march says it’s obvious. you’re seriously worried about that after you’ve made out with my shoulder sloppy style? by the way, what was with the bites?"

"ngh, don’t word it like that." his tail that was still tangled around you thumped against your back indignantly. "…and the bites are a weird territorial thing. i’m sorry if they hurt." he leaned his head against you, running his thumb over one of the marks.

"dragons…" you sighed with a smile. "you’re lucky you’re so cute." you pet his hair, and he leaned into your touch.

he moved his chin so it was on your collarbone, looking up at you with softened eyes. there were almost stars of reverence in them when he gazed at you. "i love you."

"wait, wha—" you began, but he swallowed the rest of your words when his lips were upon yours. he pressed himself up against you, his hands gently holding the sides of your face. as he kissed you, there was a faint rumbling and vibration coming from his chest—he was purring.

he pulled back again, leaving you a little short of breath and a lot dazed. you’d always thought it’d be you that had to kiss him first, not the other way around. he began to leave another trail of kisses starting from your lips to your jaw, this time leading toward the other side he had already been. your hands fell from their place on him and inched onto his back while his lips were on your neck. one hand slipped into his back window, and he suddenly gasped. his back arched into you, almost knocking you over. he panicked, and his tail constricted behind you like another set of arms to catch you.

"what was that?" you laughed, trying to re-steady yourself.

"your hand was cold. i don’t know, i guess i have a sensitive back," he huffed. his ears were angled down and a flush was heavy on his face. you couldn’t really articulate what it was about him, but you were suddenly overcome with cuteness aggression. you leaned your weight onto him, sending him backwards onto the futon and—perhaps somewhat out of revenge—hovered yourself over top of his hips. he stared up at you with widened eyes and a held breath, frozen and waiting for your next move.

"you said i need to return your affection, didn’t you?"

he swallowed and nodded the tiniest bit.

"so let me have some fun too, my beloved." you placed a hand on his cheek.

"wait, you heard—i actually said that?" it almost looked like steam would start rising from the top of his head at any point.

"heard it loud and clear." you smiled to yourself, leaning down and managing to get your fingertips into his chest window—only for the door to slam wide open.

"hey, it’s dinner! what’re you two even doi—!" march called, leaning her hand on the doorway. you and dan heng leapt off each other, landing on the opposite sides of his futon. march stared in silence for a long while before lolling her head back. "jeez, finally! anyway, can you two wait until after dinner? pom-pom’s ‘bouta blow a gasket waiting for you two."

"w-we’ll be there in a minute," you said, trying to readjust your collar to try and hide dan heng’s bite marks.

"don’t be long!" march said as she strode back off down the hallway. a couple beats passed and you looked over at dan heng. by some miracle, he’d managed to swap himself back to his human look, but he still looked disheveled as he went to stand back up.

he held a hand out to you and pulled you up, pausing for a moment. he glanced at the bite marks on your shoulder that still peaked out, made some sort of strained sound and then removed his coat. "they don’t need to see that," he said as he strung it around your shoulders, fixing the collar so it hid the marks from sight.

"i’m wearing your coat. march saw us before. if she learns something, it’s guaranteed to be said," you deadpanned. "they’ll know."

instead of giving you a direct response, he took your hand in his and lead you out of the archives, looking at you with what was probably meant to be a neutral expression. his light flush and knitted eyebrows betrayed him though. "can we at least pretend we have dignity?"

"i mean, sure, but it’s not gonna do anything, looking the way we do. now c’mon, don’t wanna keep the conductor waiting." you walked off with him in tow.

he only made a small groan in response again.

#sorry for the random jerma joke at the beginning #it's a moral obligation for me #hsr x reader #hsr #honkai star rail #honkai star rail x reader #dan heng #dan heng x reader #imbibitor lunae #imbibitor lunae x reader

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marlynnofmany · 21 days ago

Text

Partially Fragile

The box stuck in the tree was a lovely sight, really. Visually striking. The vivid blue of whatever variety of alien cardboard this was contrasted nicely with the metallic golden leaves, which fluttered in the breeze like a chicken settling happily into a dust bath.

Just way the heck up there in the tree.

Zhee hissed in irritation behind me, busy holding down the rest of the shipment in case another freak gust blew past. I didn’t think the other boxes were as light as that one, since the delivery had specified only one set of decals among the cans of paint and whatnot, but none of us wanted to take chances right now.

With a sigh like a deflating basketball, Mur asked, “Think you can reach that?”

I started to answer, but he was looking at Zhee, with one tentacle pointed upward and the rest around a box of pigment that had tumbled to the ground.

“No,” Zhee said tersely. He didn’t move from his position, forelegs up on the hoversled and long mantis pinchers holding the boxes close. If he stood on his hind legs, he could reach pretty far, but I believed him that the box was too high up.

“I’ll get it,” I said, before Mur could ask. There were enough branches that it looked like an easy climb.

“Great,” Mur said, hefting the pigments back onto the sled. “I could do it if I have to, but you actually like that kind of thing, so go for it.”

“I’ll be quick,” I said with a smile. I trotted over, eyeing the tree for promising handholds.

Zhee grumbled, “Be prepared for more wind.”

“Right.” I got a solid grasp on a low branch and hoisted myself up, taking care to place my feet close to the trunk and to test each branch before trusting my weight to it. A couple of the branches were dry and creaky, so I avoided those. The rest were fine, and I was up among the golden leaves in no time. It really was pretty up there. The box waited like a square blue egg in a nest made of precious metals. I grabbed it with one arm hooked around a branch for safety, checked it for dents (none, whew), then started back down.

The rustle of leaves gave me a split second of warning before the second wind gust hit. I clamped my free hand onto a branch and huddled against the trunk, box clutched tight, while the leaves flailed like the pom-pom of a cheerleader who was late for work. My legs were free of the foliage, but I closed my eyes and ducked my head to keep my face from getting lashed.

Then the branch beneath me

broke

and I was falling with no other branches below.

I forgot about the box, eyes wide and limbs scrambling. The oncoming ground was smooth. The broken branch had stayed behind. I was thankfully falling feet first.

I hit the ground and rolled, going on reflex and practice that I hadn’t needed for years. I was just hoping to get out of this without any broken bones, but I somehow pulled it off well enough that I jumped to my feet at the end of the roll. “Whew!” I exclaimed, all adrenaline. “That was exciting!” I shook my arms out and dusted myself off, wondering what bruises would show up as my nerves settled.

“Good save!” Mur called, sounding more than a little relieved. “I thought you were about to break every one of those bones of yours.”

“Thankfully no!” I said, looking around for the box. Various aches were starting to filter in, but nothing serious.

“I am amazed,” Zhee declared, “That a species so long and narrow responds to falling by curling up in a ball. And that it actually helps.”

“Well, you know what they say,” I said with a laugh that was still a little shaky. “If it looks stupid but it works, it’s not stupid. Oh, there it is!” The box had rolled in a different direction, now a square blue egg on the bare plains with more golden trees in the distance and only a few scattered rocks for decoration. “I’ll get it.”

I only made it a few steps before a smaller gust slapped me sideways and sent the box rolling merrily away. I gritted my teeth and kept my balance until the wind passed, then I sprinted after the thing. It was bound to be in less-than-perfect shape by now. Hopefully the client wouldn’t register a complaint about our delivery service. Though to be fair, the wind hazard wasn’t listed on the description for this drop-off spot.

I’d almost caught up to the box when I stepped on a rock that betrayed me by tipping my foot at a bad angle. I was falling again, and this time I went down hard. Skid, tumble, stare at the sky and wonder how I’d ended up on my back. Lots of places hurt now.

“Are you okay?” asked Mur’s voice from surprisingly close.

I looked up, worried that I’d passed out and missed a section of time, but no: he and Zhee had just ridden the hoversled over here. Zhee was kicking with his back feet while Mur did his best impression of a cargo net on top of the boxes.

“Yeah. Ow. Mostly.” I sat up painfully and took stock — palms not quite bleeding, many bruises and scrapes, but oh that ankle was going to be a problem. At least I’d landed near the box. I leaned over and swatted it toward the sled, then regretted that when a lance of pain from my ankle made me hiss like Zhee.

He scooped up the box and gave me a look. “Did you just survive a fall from shuttle height without any injuries, only to hurt yourself by tripping on flat ground?”

I sighed. “There was a rock—”

Mur asked, “You fell down because you stepped on a rock?”

“I only have two legs!” I exclaimed, gesturing at them. “This may be a surprise to you guys, but when one stops working, the other can’t do much on its own. Especially at speed. Ow.”

“Inefficient species design,” Zhee said. “And no exoskeleton; look at those abrasions!”

He scolded, but he rotated the hoversled so he was near enough to stick out a leg and help me up. He and Mur were still holding tight to the boxes. I appreciated both of those things. With a little awkwardness and a few bumps on my fresh bruises, I made it onto the sled next to the pile. There was just enough space.

“I can help hold things,” I said as I got comfortable-ish. “Ow.”

“You sure?” Mur asked.

“Yeah. I should be able to sit like this — ouch. Or not. Man, I’d love to take my shoe off, but that’s just one more thing that I don’t want to lose to the wind.”

“Yes, then you’d have to touch the ground with bare skin,” Mur said drily. “How terrible.” He freed a tentacle to wave sarcastically.

“Don’t start,” I said.

Zhee pushed the sled forward. “Woe is you,” he told me. “Soft and squishy despite the impressive ability to roll on impact. Sometimes.”

Mur scooted over and left me two boxes to hold. “We’ll call ahead to the ship after we make the delivery,” he said. “Eggskin can have the medbay ready for you.”

I sighed and leaned over to hug the boxes. “Just tell them I fell out of a tree.”

~~~

These are the ongoing backstory adventures of the main character from this book.

Shared early on Patreon! There’s even a free tier to get them on the same day as the rest of the world.

The sequel novel is in progress (and will include characters from these stories. I hadn’t thought all of them up when I wrote the first book, but they’re too much fun to leave out of the second).

#my writing #The Token Human #humans are weird #haso #hfy #eiad #humans are space orcs #who else has been here?#I sure have #not literally cuz this is on an alien planet but you know what I mean

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midnight-mourning · 2 months ago

Text

(Unexpected) Season's Greetings

❄️❄️Midnight's DCA December Day 7❄️❄️

guhhh it's HERE, this got long, it's now going to be ch. 1 of a multi chap fic, I'm going feral over this, pom what have you done-

ahem, anywho, so this is a little something of an au of Confused Spirit (an au of an au if you will) called Holiday Spirit!

Set in a holiday village instead of the plex, reader works as an animatronic technician/blacksmith and encounters a pair of guard bots that are in the village for sceurity purposes (guess who lmao) won't explain the whole plot as this story covers most of it but something to keep in mind is this; the characters here ARE CS characters, but the story is different than CS. As in, the characterizations are the same in how they act, but certain plot points differ as well as the origins for character motivations and such. That is to say, take anything here and in the story that follows with a grain of salt in regards to Confused Spirit. Okay? Okay. Enjoy!

Prompt: I have pondered the orb for a very-super specific scenario, and I THINK!! I have cooked one up that's hopefully fun to tackle... :3c A tree lighting ceremony in a historical town, decorated to the nines as a Holiday village! Its dark, its cold, the world is blanketed in snow-- but there's hot chocolate, a crowd, and beautiful light displays. (Atmosphere, ✓) The DCA is one of the robots/animatronics stationed to interact with guests/assist security. Part of whatever company is in charge of all the lighting/special effects etc that the Town hired. (DCA, ✓) Find a lost kid, or a lost kid stumbles upon them--get them to safety. I keep thinking about hot cocoa & melting peppermint sticks in, so maybe they get the kid a cup to warm up? :3 Whether the kid is the reader's kid, sibling, etc-- they find them, frazzled. (Reader, ✓) Tree lighting, together! Fireworks, together! Could interrupt their conversation, play it all out wherever whimsy takes you (This could be an AU of confused spirit -- AU within an AU, I enjoy the inception x3 Take whatcha want outta the word salad here, dont worry about adding it all in!!)

Word Count: 2846

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

"I just don't know about this Abs." You say, huddling further into your coat as the wind blows by.

Your friend nudges your shoulder. "What? Afraid of a little light show? Come on, it's the holidays! Or holiday time, anyway. What's the harm that can come from that?"

You shake your head, dodging past another bunch of people eagerly walking through the displays. "I'm just not a fan of so many capital people in town I guess..."

Your cozy little village was on the map for one reason and one reason only, the grand evergreen tree that sat in the middle of the square, assumed to be hundreds of years old, which was always decorated extravagantly for the holidays. Tonight was the lighting ceremony that would officially kick off the holiday season.

You were, not exactly enthused about it, for the reasons you've already shared. People from everywhere came to gather in your village—which, mind you could hardly accommodate so many extra bodies—to watch the lighting ceremony and partake in the festivities.

If you were younger and more carefree, you'd have enjoyed the commotion, you used to love people watching from the roof of your house, watching the fireworks display and cuddling up against the chill of the night air with—

You stop, the memory's gone, faded. Grown over with a bitterness and a grief you're more familiar with nowadays. Still, it does irk you that a memory from so long before the accident is so foggy. But, you let it pass you by like all the rest. It was better that way.

The only reason you were out here now was for your siblings, and really just the older of the two. Gabe was just a baby, he wouldn't remember this. Lisa on the other hand would probably be upset if you didn't uphold the family tradition of watching the ceremony and visiting the night market and lights displays.

"Oh, I think it's good for you to get out of that shop of yours every so often. Think the smoke fumes would get to your head otherwise." Abby slings her arm over your shoulder and flicks your forehead.

You rub the spot, frowning. "Gee, thanks."

"I'm just saying, you gotta a live a little more." The slightly sad smile on her face doesn't miss your gaze. "If not for yourself then for them, yeah?"

You nod, sighing, and relent, offering a small smile in return. "Yeah, you're right."

"Speaking of, where's Lisa and Jack?"

You turn forward again. "They should be over by the—oh no."

Sure enough, neither your sister nor Abby's brother are where they should be. Immediately, you panic. You start looking around for the pair, calling their names as you weave through the crowd, which thickens as you move closer to the town square. When you arrive near the tree, still waiting on the lights to be finished prepping, and the king to show up, you and Abby decide to split to cover more ground.

While she heads to the side of town towards the lake, you head in the direction of the remaining market you'd yet to explore.

Meanwhile you try to keep calm. While Lisa had a penchant of running off—especially when around a certain friend of hers by the name of Gregory—you were particularly worried because of the amount of people. Not to mention, there was always the concern of something worse happening.

Everybody was aware of the disappearances happening all across the capital. Whispers of children vanishing without a trace sent ripples throughout your quiet town, and with the king himself in your village, there were concerns that he'd bring with him whatever it was that was causing these missing cases, not unlike those that happened so many years before.

But, thinking like that wouldn't find your sister, and so you have to bury those thoughts and focus. Think logically. If you were an eight year old girl with her friend who'd follow her anywhere, where would you go?

At that moment, you hear Gabe's stomach rumble and it clicks. Somewhere with food it is then.

Along the way, you take note of the additional security that's present this year. Seems the threats that'd been directed towards the monarchy as of late weren't being taken lightly. It also didn't slip past your mind that the majority, if not all, this additional protection consisted of machines.

Many looked exactly alike, large wide eyes and blank faces, though there was the occasional difference. For example, a bear and a rabbit animatronic stationed together, the bear standing tall and resolute, while the rabbit lounged casually beside him. If you remember correctly, you recall both a wolf and a gator roaming around the square with the tree, as well.

You were half tempted to ask them if they'd seen your sister or Jack, but decided against it in the end. While you worked on animatronics and machines in general every day, you preferred not to talk with your clientele outside of work. It was better that way. Better to not mix business and pleasure. You'd learned that the hard way—

A rogue scream interrupts your train of thought. One that sounds far too familiar to not investigate. No one else seemed to hear above the chattering crowd, but when it happens again, coming from a nearby alleyway, you know it's Lisa.

You force yourself through the crowd, stumbling into the alley, and head towards where you heard the sound. But by the time you get near the end, you see no sign of your sister.

You sigh, defeated, and near the edge of tears. You run a hand through your hair, stressed. This is all your fault again, why can't you just do anything right—

There's a loud creak above you, followed by the sound of mechanical clicking. You look up in time for something to land on the ground in front of you, something else dropping down onto the railing of the fire escape just above that.

The figure on the ground rises, slow, calculated, while the one on the railing stares down at you, red eyes narrowed and head tilted.

They're wearing the same outfit as the other guards from before, red coats and blue pants, with gold and white detailing spread throughout. The one standing has shimmers of gold near the bottom edge of his coat, not unsimilar to the sky near dusk, from what you can see of the other's there's bits of purply-blue, reminiscent of twilight.

You take brief note of the hats adorning them both, but it's their faces that catch you off guard. Not because they're animatronics like all the rest, either.

Celestial bots, the two of them. The one perching has features of the moon, a bluish-white crescent for the right side of his face, and deep blue for the other. His counterpart, the one standing in-front of you, has the features of the sun, with that same crescent combination, only yellow and a softer shade of blue, instead.

None of you say anything for a moment. Simply watching, waiting. You glance briefly to the end of the alley, knowing you'd unlikely be able to make it should this turn sour. Though, you really hope not.

"Can we help you, friend?" The sunny one asks, head clicking to the side, white eyes narrowing.

You're too surprised to speak for a moment. But you're not entirely sure as to why. Finally, you shake your head, coming out of your daze. "I, maybe. I'm, looking for someone. Well, someones. Two kids, boy and a girl. Have they come through here by any chance?"

"And we should tell you because...?"

His tone catches you off guard, but you're hopeful. "I, the girl's my sister. She ran off with her friend, my friend's brother and we've been looking everywhere for them. Please, if you've seen them, I, I need to know."

You take note of the way the sun bot is examining his hands, paying special attention to the way he taps the gold, claw-tipped finger on his left hand. You swallow, you're not stupid, you know a threat when you see one. You want to instinctively reach back for Gabe, but resist.

After a moment, the yellow animatronic laughs. Looking back over to you. He takes a quick stride, looming over you suddenly. "Sounds like a bit too coincidental of a story, don't you think, friend?"

The one on the railing tsks. "Careful."

The sun relents, stepping back with a grumble, smile faltering.

Your shoulders relax for a moment, though only for a moment.

The moon rests his chin in his hand. Red eyes narrowed cheekily. "But not too careful."

They turn to each other then, speaking in hushed tones. You strain to make out what they're saying.

"—They do look similar, though only slightly. But what—"

"I think you're being paranoid. Not to mention a bit..."

"I believe cautious is the word you're searching for." A pause. "And I'm not..."

"It's not. But I certainly—what else could that twitch in your eye mean?"

Once the whispering becomes harsher and harder to discern is when you realize they're just bickering now. But before you can interrupt, a sneeze emits from the bundle strapped to your back, followed by the sound of giggling.

Both bots cease their fighting and whip to face you. You see your opportunity.

You turn around, pointing both thumbs down at your brother. "Look, she looks a lot more like him than me. If that's not enough I don't know what is."

Before you can face the two again, you find yourself being picked up by your shoulders and spun around.

You understand what's happening when you hear the yellow bot speak, in a much lighter tone than before. "Well hello there little friend! Aren't you just the cutest little bundle of joy I've ever seen? Are you warm enough? Should I get you another hat, another scarf maybe?"

You continue to be spun around, Gabe giggling and squealing with delight. Finally you have to say something as your world grows dizzy.

"Hey! I'm also here you know!"

As if on cue, you're set down again. Nearly stumbling before a hand rests on your shoulder.

Glancing up, you see the sun animatronic cough into his gloved hand. "Well then, I suppose that will do." He turns and nods to his partner. "Go get them."

"A please would be nice."

He tilts his head, grin as wide as ever. "It would, wouldn't it?"

A moment's pause, the moon's eyes narrowing. Then, with a snicker, he rises, balancing on the railing before leaping up, disappearing over the edge of the roof. Leaving you alone.

It takes you a moment to notice his counterpart is back to fawning over your brother. Cooing at him while Gabe delights in the attention.

"And what's your name, little friend?" He asks.

You answer. "Gabriel. And yours?"

Quiet for a moment. A long moment. Then—

"Take a guess."

You tsk, but figured as much. "Not going to ask mine then?"

"No need. I've heard all about you already."

You twist slightly. "What's that supposed to—"

You're stopped by the sound of that same shriek from earlier, but now you realize that it wasn't one of fear, but of pure unhindered joy.

The moon bot—or Moon, you suppose—lands on the ground not far from you. In his arms is your sister and Jack.

"Lisa! Jack! Thank god." You rush over to them both, scooping them up in your own arms once they've been set down. "What in the world were you two thinking running off like that?"

You release them again, and they both mutter apologies.

Your sister kicks her foot against the ground. "We just wanted to get a better look at the tree..."

"But then we got lost." Jack continues.

You sigh, ruffling the hair on both their heads. "Next time, wait for me and Abby, yeah? If you wanted to get a closer look we could've walked faster."

"Sorry..." Lisa shakes her head, "But it's okay! Mr. Sun, and Mr. Moon took good care of us in the meantime!"

"Yeah! We got hot chocolate, and Mr. Moon took us for a ride!"

You smile. "Well if that's the case, what do we say then?"

Both kids turn to the bots. "Thank you!"

"Of course!"

"Our pleasure."

You stand up again, nodding once. "We better get going, or we're going to miss the ceremony." You glance between the two animatronics. "Thank you both again. I, don't know what I would've done if you hadn't found them." You lower your voice to speak more to yourself. "Probably sock someone... to be honest."

You start to usher the kids out of the alley, but don't miss the gaze exchanged between the guards. Just as you've turned around, you're startled to find Sun has slipped his arm to intertwine with yours.

"We'll accompany you back to the square. It's the least we can do after such a scare!" He nods to the kids, already starting to get ahead again. "Moon will watch the children. Won't you?"

There's a sound, similar to grinding gears, behind you. Then a chuckle. "Of course."

He walks ahead, and plucks the two off the ground, raising them to ride on his shoulders.

"Oh, I couldn't ask that of you—"

Sun's claw-tipped finger taps against your arm, head tilting as he looks down to you. "I insist." Then, cheery again. "We'd really be more than happy to!"

"I, okay."

The three of you make your way back to the square, Moon slightly ahead of you with the kids.

"So, friend, are you excited?"

You chuckle. "For what part?"

"Any of it, I suppose. It's quite the spectacle!" Sun says, looking around.

You can't deny it, it is lovely tonight. The chattering villagers and capital citizens, everyone in nothing but high spirits. The warm lights of the street lamps and string bulbs put up especially for the event. Children run and play amongst the crowed, going stall to stall. A small bit of snow falls from the sky, not quite coating or adding to the current piles that litter the streets.

Your smile is small, soft. "Yeah. It is. Can I be honest with you though?"

Sun nods.

"I just, I guess it just, hasn't done much for me in quite a few years." You shake your head. "Used to, don't get me wrong. Used to love all of it. But now it's just, well, I'm here for them more than me, you know?"

You notice that you've made it just in time for the tree lighting. The king's already begun his spiel. You wouldn't be paying attention anyway. Hell, you don't even think his kids are.

Additionally, Abby must've spotted you, rushing over to where Moon stands with your siblings, looking relieved.

"Is there any particular reason for that?" His face snaps down to yours. "Do you think?"

The tone shift catches you off guard. "I, um—" You pause, noticing something. Particularly, Sun's rays. They're patterned in a way you wouldn't expect for a guard animatronic. And the baubles at the points of each remind you of bells. Kind of like—"Were you always programmed to be guard bot?"

The tables turn. His eyes widen, wide grin faltering. Instinctively, your hand reaches up to inspect further. "These remind me of something."

"I—"

Suddenly, the crowd erupts into a cheer. Immediately the two of you break apart, and you turn just in time to watch the tree burst with lights. Starting from the bottom and rapidly climbing the tree in a spiral that ends with a flash of light from the star at the top. Seconds after, fireworks start to burst in the sky.

Despite the lack of joy the festival has given you the past several years, in that moment you can't help the smile that slips across your face.

A soft chuckle from beside you. "Pretty as ever, isn't it?"

"Yeah. It is."

A hand rests on your shoulder. Glancing up you see it's Moon. "Lovely meeting you, Star. But we should get back to our posts. Right, Sun?"

A pause. Then. "Of course! Our job here is done." Sun releases your arm, turning to face you. "Until next time, friend."

Sun bows, and Moon does the same, but takes your hand, pressing the back of it to his face plate. It makes you laugh, the edges of your ears burning, and not just from the cold.

Before you can say anything more, Sun takes Moon by his padded shoulders and marches him back in the direction they came.

You don't get to think on the encounter further, as your preoccupied once more with wrangling your sister and—trying—to enjoy the evening with your friend. Though, given this was only the beginning of the month's celebrations, you expected you'd be seeing them again potentially.

And if they had anything to say about it, you would.

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

Thank you @divinit3a for this request, I am gripping you by the shoulders and spinning you around like sun did to reader bc GRAHHHH THIS WAS GENIUS-i did a little bit of a spin from the original idea but I think it turned out alright >_<

Anywho, expect to see more of these three when i catch up on requests and spend some time on my Secret Santa :) Additionally, you can find the outfit designs for these guys over in Pom's post here. I suggest you check it out, had me SWOONING I'll probably make a post for this au in more detail sometime in the next few days but that's all for now, thanks for reading!

Masterpost link

Tag list (if you would like added, see this post for more info):

@scarletcowboy @beemyhuneybee @fishm0ther @deviouscrackers @elsajoyagent8

@luckyyyduckyyy @zenkaiankoku @jogimote @local-shrub @amarynthian-chronicles

@robinette-green @everlightreader @sinister-sincerely @starredeclipse @dangerva

@juukai @crystalmagpie447 @mothgutz236 @lizyxml

#literally going insane #LIKE YOU DONT UNDERSTAND #i literally can write about the CS folks in such a fun/unique way #ashkfhskjf #dca fandom #fnaf dca #fnaf daycare attendant #fnaf sun #fnaf moon #sundrop #moondrop #dca fic #x reader #confused spirit #HS! au #<< tagging it like that so it doesn't end up somewhere it shouldn't lmaooo #MM dca december #writing requests

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skulkingfox · 1 year ago

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#kupocon #pom squared #kupocon london #zack fair #heartless

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cosmichorrorsarestillnicerthanme · 5 months ago

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A Friendly Sparring Match-Seele X Reader

Full disclosure, this was just an excuse to write a fight scene

I think I'm going to try and clear out my Blazblue asks next

“Don’t worry, you three will be fine! It's just a friendly sparring match after all. I’m sure they won’t be too mean about it.” Seele muttered as she waved her hand and pushed you into the group’s field of view.

“Now, with that out of the way, I have an appointment to get to!” Seele lied as naturally as she breathed.

All this chaos with the Stellaron and the reconnection of Belobog, it was too much to keep up with.

If Natasha hadn’t reminded her about the date she would have completely forgotten something she had drilled into her head for the last 364 days.

The first year anniversary of you and her dating.

Sure, she may be tossing them into the fire, but they could fight off a giant robot, surely they’ll be able to stay on even ground with you for a while.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“I can’t find a way in!” Stelle exclaimed to herself in her head as she was pushed onto the back foot, holding up her lance to stop your fist from knocking her head clean off.

However, it did not stop her from being sent flying back and into a wall, creating a crater.

Before you could advance further on the trailblazer, a spear attempted to impale you from behind.

However, you sidestepped the strike and then, while Dan Heng was still in the process of regretting every decision he had ever made, sent the mother of all left hooks right into the side of his face, sending him flying away like a ragdoll and turning your back on Stelle in the process.

Doing her best to capitalize on Dan Heng’s misfortune, Stelle rushed forward, her lance ready to run you through.

However, the trailblazer underestimated what a fighter like you could do.

At the last possible second, you slipped past the attack, and stepped deep inside the range of the Trailblazer.

Your left foot was forward, your right was pulled back, your left hand closest to Stelle and your right hand held at your eye’s level.

In the blink of an eye, four lightning fast jabs shot out, all for landing on her chin and causing her entire body to go limp.

Unfortunately for Stelle, you were not done with this particular attack as you pulled your right hand back and to your waist.

Then, as Stelle fell, you launched the viscous uppercut.

It landed squarely on her chin, the force of it forcing her onto her feet as you jumped back and then rushed back in, sending another uppercut straight into her gut.

Needless to say, she was sent flying away.

However, to pick up her friend's slack, the arrows of March 7th began to rain down upon you.

You had two options at this moment.

Advance or Retreat.

Obviously, you chose to advance.

The ground shattered under your feet as you rushed forward, your fists held in front of you as you slipped and dodged and bobbed in between each arrow.

In an instant you were infront of March, your fist pulled back and ready to send her into next week.

Without hesitation, you threw your attack.

However, at the last second, Dan Heng’s spear knocked your strike out of the way, saving March from seeing the future.

Though, it did not save her from Dan Heng kicking her out of the way as he blocked the storm of bone shaking jabs with the haft of his spear.

Dan Heng’s hands grew number and number with every blow to his spear.

He needed to find a point to counterattack soon, otherwise he won’t be able to hold on to his weapon.

Ten more blows forced him to change his plan to simply getting away.

Three more forced his spear to fly away.

A single left stunned him.

A pair of heavy right hooks knocked his lights out.

And with that, only March was still standing.

“I… uh… couldn’t interest you in a seminar about our expert conductor and mascot Pom Pom could I?” March asked.

She was answered by waking up in Natasha’s clinic with the mother of all stomach aches.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“Wah! Why does everything hurt!?” March sobbed as she laid on the carpet, a cup or juice next to her.

“Hey, at least you only got a gut punch, I nearly got my jaw broken.” Stelle groaned as she laid next to March on her back.

A series of muffled and irritated grunts came from the wheelchair bound mummy that was known as Dan Heng.

As the group began to argue amongst themselves, the door was opened.

In the doorway, stood the architect of their suffering.

Seele.

Dan Heng attempted to stand up but was promptly reminded of why he was in the wheelchair.

Stelle, shot up, the pain that was shooting through her entire body nearly forcing her to collapse back onto the floor.

March merely continued to sob on the floor.

“Wow, you three look like you got caught in a cave in.” Seele declared as she crossed her arms.

“Screw you Seele.” Stelle Groaned as she leaned on the end of one of the beds.

Dan Heng let out a string of completely indecipherable words that could’ve only been profanity.

“What’s with all the hostility!?” Seele exclaimed in concern.

“A FRIENDLY SPARRING MATCH!!!” the trio exclaimed in pain.

#hsr x reader #seele x reader #seele hsr #hsr seele #hsr seele x reader #hsr #honkai star rail

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ask-pomni-things · 2 months ago

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>Bucket does not like the butterfly anon. Bucket does not like Pom-mom being hurt. Bucket does not want MORE people hurt. A butterfly can be handled much easier than an abstraction! And Bucket is NOT happy with the butterfly.

>Bucket boutta square up.

maybe- maybe breathe, please, calm down a little-? I'm okay, promise-!

#tadc #the amazing digital circus #tadc pomni #the amazing digital circus pomni #pomni digital circus #ask pomni #pomni #ic post #tadc ask blog

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ablondehoe · 2 years ago

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A Fight to Remember- Sampo x reader x Dan Heng

A/N: okay so this is my first smut. I got impatient waiting for someone else to write one. I’ve never written smut before so let me know how you guys like it and maybe I’ll write another in the future

Content warning: threesome, oral(fem receiving), double penetration, p in v, anal, cream pie,

_______________________________________________________________________

You are in a position you never thought you’d be in, sandwiched between Dan Heng and Sampo, with both of their cocks in your holes. Each thrust from them left you gasping for air, each thrust hitting spots you didn’t even know you had. But let's start off at the beginning. The beginning of the night that is.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You were a well-known fighter in the Fight Club, but you don’t discuss it because of the rules. You liked to challenge yourself, fighting two or three people at a time, pushing yourself to be the strongest fighter you can be.

You had just finished a fight against a rookie who thought you were an easy fight because as he said “girls can’t fight”. You’ve spent years honing your ability with the fire element. You rarely used your ultimate in a fight but this rookie really managed to push all your buttons. You screamed, unleashing your ultimate, and punched the rookie square in the face with your fist engulfed in a flame. The force of your punch sent the poor rookie flying, and the referee counted down from three, declaring you the winner as the rookie limped out of the ring in shame.

Unknown to you, two men were watching you. “See that girl up there? That’s Y/N, one of the club’s best fighters,” Sampo said, nudging Dan Heng. “She’s our first opponent. Now, I’ve never fought her as she refuses to fight one-on-one. Now that I have you with me, she’ll have to fight us!”

Dan Heng rolled his eyes at the blue-haired man’s words. “I’m not going to fight a woman, Sampo. I have something called self-respect.” An exaggerated gasp left Sampo’s lips. “Don’t let her hear you say that. Or she’ll turn you into that rookie she just beat up. Besides, you have nothing better to do until your friends wake up.”

“You mean the Trailblazer and March 7th. They have names, I suggest you learn them if you are going to be hanging around with us. Let’s get this fight over with,” Dan Heng sighed, wanting to get the fight over with.

“Hey Y/N! Are you gonna let me fight you now? I’ve got a friend so now you HAVE to fight us!” Sampo yelled, acting as giddy as Hook does when she finds someone to play hide and seek with.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a long and grueling fight, the referee called a tie, on the grounds that the fight was going on too long and because he felt the fight would only end if one of you three were in a body bag.

You were very impressed by Dan Heng’s speed and attacks and surprised that he was able to keep up with your fighting with such a scrawny body. Though you thought he was scrawny, he did have a nice face and a voice that made you melt. And Sampo, where to start with Sampo. He tries to fight you every time he sees you but you weren’t complaining as you got to look at him and those abs that he sneakily shows off. You complimented them on their fighting skills and Sampo used that as an opportunity to flirt with you. Dan Heng ignored Sampo’s attempts to flirt with you and praised your techniques during the fight. You decided to invite Dan Heng and Sampo to get some drinks at a bar in the Underworld.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It didn’t take long for Sampo to get you and Dan Heng to match him shot for shot and play other drinking games with him.

“And that’s how I accidentally broke March 7th’s camera. It took a lot of convincing from Pom-Pom to get her to forgive me.” Dan Heng had loosened up quite a bit after getting a few drinks in him.

As the three of you continued to drink, so did the flirting. You eventually have them come spend the night at your apartment. The walk back was short and as soon as you close the door, you’re pinned against it by Sampo’s hands. Sampo wastes no time in kissing you, you gasp as his lips are pressed to yours. Dan Heng begins to nip and suck at your neck, leaving hickeys in his wake. You moan at the feeling of Dan’s lips on your neck. Sampo briefly breaks the kiss to remove your shirt.

“Why don’t we take this to the bedroom?” Sampo says, picking you up bridal style and carrying you to your room, Dan Heng follows closely.

As soon as you’re on the bed Sampo begins to kiss your neck and work his way down your body while Dan Heng picks up where Sampo left off, slipping his tongue in your mouth. Sampo pauses to pull your pants off. “Ooh, lace panties, someone was looking to get lucky tonight, weren’t they?” Sampo teases with a shit-eating grin on his face. Dan Heng grunts in annoyance at Sampo’s attempt at a joke.

Sampo slides off your panties and pushes your legs apart, revealing your soaking pussy. He wastes no time and starts lapping up your juices, licking your folds. You knew he had a way with words, but didn’t know he had a way with his tongue as well. You moan into Dan Heng’s kiss. Dan begins to finger you, quickly picking the pace and bringing you to your first orgasm. Sampo sits up, your juices dripping down his chin, and pulls Dan Heng into an unexpected and heated kiss. You laugh at Dan’s surprised face.

“Oh, you think that’s funny? Looks like she needs to be punished~” Your eyes widen at Dan Heng’s tone. Dan and Sampo take off their pants and your jaw drops. You didn’t expect their cocks to be so big. ‘There’s no way those are going to fit inside me,’ you thought. Dan Heng’s cock was skinny but long. Sampo’s, while slightly smaller, was thicker than Dan’s. Dan lays down on your bed and you position yourself over his dick. As soon as you feel his dick inside you, Sampo lines his cock up to your asshole and pushes himself in you. The two men start thrusting hard and fast.

After a while, you feel yourself coming to your second orgasm. Dan Heng and Sampo’s thrusts begin to get more sloppy as they reach their limits. You’re the first to cum, with Sampo then Dan Heng following after. They pull out, their semen leaking out of both your holes.

“That was… the best sex I’ve had in a while. Sampo, if every fight with you ends like this, I’ll gladly fight you again. Will you join in again Dan Heng?” you say, pulling the two men closer to you before drifting off to sleep.

#honkai star rail #honkai star rail smut #honkai star rail x reader #Sampo #sampo smut #sampo koski #dan heng #dan heng x reader #dan heng smut #smut #hsr smut #star rail #smut with plot

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dianadeadwing · 10 months ago

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Snow day Tina ❄️

[ID:

Digital fan art of Tina from Bob’s Burgers wearing her winter outfit (purple coat, blue hat with white pom-pom, blue scarf with tassels, and purple mittens) on a pink square on a white back ground.

/end ID]

#bob's burgers #bobs burgers #tina belcher #my art tag #fanart #artists on tumblr #digital art #illustration #give the girl some tights #fashion over freezing

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glimmerstimmer · 2 years ago

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🌟How to make a neon pom pom sensory bottle!🌟

• Square Sand Bottle - SKU 1417054 Hobby Lobby

• Sequin Variety Pack - SKU 2265551 Hobby Lobby

• Neon Pom Poms 7mm - SKU 387282 Hobby Lobby

• Elmer’s Clear Glue

• Bottled Water

#stim #stimblr #sensory #sensory bottles #sensory bottle #tutorial #how it’s made #how to #neon stim #rainbow stim #visual stim #pom pom stim #confetti stim #shaker stim #also please please please don’t hate me because I shop at hobby lobby I know it’s a bad company :/

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tanhands · 1 day ago

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everyone you wanna be

for the klaine valentine's challenge. no content notes yet. 1

two: down without devotion

Blaine, as it turns out, is very very good at acting smitten.

He has a tendency to either over-hype himself or be humble to the point of performativity, rarely anything in-between, but with his promise to make a display of wooing Kurt he's right on the mark. Being stuck inside a slowly-deteriorating high school that's intended to test their cooperative survival skills doesn't provide much opportunity for the usual romantic gestures, flowers or candy or movie dates, but after three days of making eyes at Kurt and starting to spend more time with him, Blaine takes him on a picnic.

In the choir room, of course, because the piano's there, of course. The fact that it's one of the favoured and most highly-filmed locations is no nevermind, Kurt thinks wryly as Blaine unblindfolds him and slides from behind to in front of him, careful not to block Kurt's view of the blanket spread on the floor. "I know it's not much," Blaine says, and he reaches for Kurt's hands. "But I rounded up whatever I could to make it special, and what wasn't available, I made myself."

"You used pom-poms for bouquets," Kurt points out, knowing immediately that this is going to become a new trend for cheap and cheerful decor, out there in the real world. When he'd made a pendant out of a chalk holder he'd found in one of the classrooms, that had become a hit with the merchandising team; Quinn had made a similar one out of a lipstick and claimed that she'd been independently inspired, but they all knew the truth. Kurt's still salty about that.

"And crackers and cream cheese and dried apricots," Blaine announces. His hands move against Kurt's, and he's still holding the blindfold, the soft cloth catching momentarily here and there, distractingly, and Kurt tunes back in to hear Blaine telling on himself: "--nobody really wants to eat dried apricots. But they're good with the cheese and crackers."

"I happen to love them," Kurt says. He doesn't, at all, and in fact has a faint sulphite allergy that's a crapshoot with dried fruit, but why spoil the fantasy they're giving the viewers? So far as they're concerned, Kurt would be happy to dine exclusively on a jewel box of dried apricots and cherries and kumquats all the livelong day, as if he's some storybook elf. Blaine takes his hand and leads him to the blanket (it has an enormous picture of Edward Cullen on it, which would make it awkward to know where to sit except that Blaine's thoughtfully placed the backpack of food squarely over his face), and after he settles Kurt down on one of the cushions he extracts a bottle of pineapple Fanta from the bag and holds it like it's wine, presenting it to be viewed.

"Does Monsieur approve of the vintage?" he asks, and Kurt shimmies his shoulders and clasps one knee, matching Blaine's hoity tone when he declares, "Yes, yes I think so, a marvellous year for pineapple. Heavy on the apple, less on the pine." Blaine scrunches one side of his face in a snicker and pours for them both, into yellow Solo cups, and they toast before sipping. The shock of sugar and follow-up of faint pineapple is better than Kurt might have expected it to be, and he takes a deeper swallow, even swishing it a little around his mouth, and--

--and when he lowers his cup, Blaine's lips are tasting his. There's no other way to describe it; Blaine isn't hurried, but he's up so close that Kurt can get a slight whiff of the apple-scented gel he guards like a dragon for his own use, and one of his hands cups Kurt's bare elbow. This is fast, but they'd agreed on it as one of their ground rules for this game they're playing, that either of them was welcome to initiate the first kiss at a time that seemed tonally appropriate, a first kiss that would have the audience filming a plague of reaction videos in record time.

So Kurt kisses back.

He lets his mouth open in a quiet exclamation and gets an answering hum from Blaine, who nudges in closer, whose lips are unexpectedly soft as his hand travels up on Kurt's arm to clasp him tighter. Kurt reaches for that spot on the crown of Blaine's head where he misses his curls with the gel and he curls his fingers into it, a thrill going through his back teeth at both the texture and the way that Blaine suddenly pants against his mouth in surprise, a matching throaty sound accompanying it. That's another note in Kurt's mental file, and he sweeps his tongue against Blaine's and forward, past those slightly prominent front teeth and deep, deeper, Blaine's other hand lifting to span against Kurt's side.

When Kurt pulls back, Blaine's rosy along the crests of his cheeks and looking like he's had his Twilight blanket pulled out from under him, and Kurt finds he likes it. Both Blaine tipped a little off his usual sure-footedness, and the hot prickle of control winding through Kurt's own chest as he presses a thumb to Blaine's chin. "I managed to taste some of that pine, there," he says, and Blaine swallows and is leaning in again before Kurt has a chance to say anything else.

All of this could be a very clever act, banking on the audience being drawn in by the tables turning when it comes to who's the pursuer and the pursued in their dynamic, but Kurt believes in his own ability to tell otherwise. And the way that Blaine's making small peppered noises as he pushes closer and closer, it's too unstudied for his usual polished performances. So Kurt responds by going more languid, closing off bit by bit, and by the time Artie and Rory and Tina come in, a clattering whirlwind of noise and interruption, Kurt pulls back entirely and wipes the bottom corner of his lip with the ball of his thumb.

"Cream cheese?" Tina says, pouncing like a hawk on the picnic fare, whipping her glare between them like she's discovered them hatching a plan to sell organs on the black market. "I had to eat a bagel yesterday with Velveeta! There's been cream cheese this whole time? You denied me a shmear?" She shakes the tub of Philly at first Kurt, then Blaine, then announces, "I'm confiscating half of this, it's only fair," and Rory's busy crouched nearby collecting up dried apricots like they're gold coins, and Kurt decides he won't reach for the obvious comparison there since he's happy to see the apricots depart anyhow.

"We weren't going to eat all of it, of course," Blaine lies smoothly, finally having shaken himself back into his usual apple-pie order. Artie snorts, accepting the fluted paper cup from the cafeteria that Tina hands him as she scoops a blob of cream cheese into it. "Uh-huh sure you weren't, y'all just brought it here by yourselves to what, have a couple licks and then return it to the communal fridge? Where we could ALL be licking it?"

"Licking, what--" Kurt begins, wondering how the hell the Abrams household consumes cream cheese, but Tina's already sealing the tub of it back up and she plucks the paper cup from Artie's cupped hands, depositing it on the blanket among the faintly stale Triscuits and stunning lack of dried apricots. "There. Lick away, lover boys, we're taking the rest of this back to where the decent bagel-eating public can access it."

"That is way less than half," Blaine observes, pointing at their allotted cream cheese as the three other depart as noisily as they'd arrived, and Kurt blows out an exasperated breath. "Oh, who cares, they can have it. I've got the really important element of the picnic right here."

"But all the apricots are disappeared--" Blaine looks up from searching the blanket, half- and then fully-smiling as Kurt fixes him with a lifted eyebrow. "Oh. Ah. I see."

He moves forward, eagerly pressing his mouth to Kurt's again, this time coming in hot and open and with more urgency than the tender exploration of before, and the faintly tropical sweet lingering in the crevices and pockets of their tongues and cheeks gives up its sugar, Kurt finding his way to the back of Blaine's collar this time instead of his hair. Now that Kurt's made that discovery, he's keeping it in his back pocket, a little something for sweeps week. The handsome charming prep undone with one clench of his dark curls.

The others don't find out until the next day, because as much as the show is live, there's a short delay while the production team does their slap-chop ersatz edits before sending it out into the world wide web. They're doing laundry together in their working shower room (it works best if they all do it together, that way everyone is forced to wash their clothes and there's not another situation like Puck's thieving of other people's underwear) and Mercedes, scrubbing away in a sink, says, "Aside from the usual bullshit reactions to me wearing my hair natural now--" she reaches up with a soapy hand to run her fingertips along one of her braids, "--there was just one other topic of discussion in the forums, huh?"

Brittany looks up from the tub where she's stomping her own clothes clean, swiveling at the waist in a washing machine motion though the water barely reaches her mid-calf. "Shh, Mercedes, we agreed we won't discuss the cult that worships Mike and names their babies different spellings of his name," she says, eyes wide, and Mercedes says, "Not that, I mean the newest smush pairing name."

"I still think Klaine doesn't sound as good as Twinkercest," Sugar says with the air of somebody who's tired of having this argument, slapping her blouse against one of the shower walls as Finn counters, "They're not related. You can't say 'cest' if nobody's related," and Rachel nods while Blaine protests, "I really don't think twink is that useful a term here, is it?"

"The what that worships me?" Mike asks, alarmed. The question's lost in the ensuing shouting match, and nobody's laundry gets done.

#klaine #klaine fanfiction #klainevalentines2025 #magglee

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