#see you tomorrow guys i’ll take a break lol

[noahschnappinfs]

Noah and Charlie with fans at the Upside Down Epic Con

19/10/2024

[brunchable]

POV: You're sucked into your fanfic - Part One

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x Fanfic Writer Reader.

Themes: Comedy - Chaotic Reader. Action scenes.

Summary: Waking up in a forest straight out of her own fanfic was not on Y/N's to-do list, especially not when she’s suddenly the villain about to fight Bucky Barnes. Decked out in an impractical gothic outfit, complete with a corset she can barely breathe in, Y/N realizes she’s written herself into a showdown she’s destined to lose. But instead of following the plot, she’s fangirling while getting her butt kicked by her fictional crush—and making things even worse with every sarcastic comment. Bucky thinks she’s insane. Y/N thinks she’s in heaven. What could possibly go wrong?

A/N: Isn't this anyone's dream? LOL to live your favorite fanfic LMAO.

You yawn as you type away on your laptop, the dim light of your screen the only illumination in the room. It’s late—way too late—and your bed calls to you, but you’re deep in the middle of a new scene for your latest Bucky Barnes fanfic. This one is different. This one is more intense, more dramatic. You smirk at the screen as you write your villainess character, who’s about to have a showdown with none other than Bucky.

“I’ll finish this tomorrow,” you tell yourself, half-heartedly knowing that you won’t. You glance at the clock and wince at the time. Ugh, work in the morning... okay, just five more minutes.

But even as you type that last line, exhaustion takes over, and your eyelids droop heavily. Before you know it, your fingers still on the keyboard, your head hits the pillow, and the world fades to black.

× × × ×

You wake up with a start, a cold breeze biting at your skin. Sitting up abruptly, you blink against the sudden brightness of your surroundings. Trees? The smell of wet earth? Slowly, you stand, your heart racing as you take in the unfamiliar scene around you.

Wait... This looks familiar. Too familiar.

The clearing. The night. The ominous, misty forest that surrounds you. No way...

The scene clicks in your head. This is the exact setting of your fanfic. The one where your villainess has her big moment—where she’s supposed to face Bucky in an epic, final showdown.

“Okay... maybe I’m dreaming. Maybe I’m still asleep,” you mumble to yourself, rubbing your eyes. But the cold wind is sharp, the sounds of the forest too real. You frown and glance down at yourself.

Your stomach drops.

You’re not wearing your usual pajamas. Instead, you’re decked out in a gothic nightmare of an outfit. Long black cloak, intricately laced corset, and leather boots that look cool in theory but are so tight you can barely walk. You tug at the uncomfortable collar of your dress, feeling more like a cosplayer gone wrong than a terrifying villain.

“Oh no. No, no, no...” You spin around, trying to figure out what’s happening. “This can’t be happening. I did not just wake up in my own fanfic!”

But before you can even begin to comprehend your situation, a voice cuts through the trees. A voice you know all too well.

“Give it up, villain. You’re not going to win.”

Your breath hitches, and you freeze. Slowly, you turn around to see none other than Bucky Barnes, in all his intimidating glory, walking out from the shadows, his metal arm gleaming under the moonlight.

Holy crap, he’s real. He’s actually real.

But there’s one problem. He’s looking at you like you’re his enemy.

“Well?” Bucky’s deep voice breaks through your panicked thoughts. “Aren’t you going to say something?”

Your mind goes blank. All those hours spent imagining this very moment, and now that it’s happening, all you can do is stand there, gawking like an idiot.

“I, uh... look, Bucky—” you start, but then it hits you. You’re the villain in this story. The bad guy. He has no idea you’re just a fanfic writer who’s been plopped into this nightmare.

You quickly glance around for an escape route. But there’s nothing except more trees, mist, and darkness. No way out. And then you remember what comes next in the story. The fight scene. A scene you wrote yourself... with the villain—you—losing.

Oh god. I am so screwed.

Trying to think fast, you wave your hands in surrender. “Wait, wait, wait! We don’t have to do this. Can we just, like, talk about this?”

Bucky’s eyes narrow, suspicion clear on his face. He takes a step closer, hand twitching toward his gun. “Nice try. I know your tricks.”

You cringe. Of course he wouldn’t believe you—you wrote him to be suspicious of every word the villain said!

“I’m serious!” you squeak, trying to keep the panic out of your voice. “You don’t want to fight me. I, uh... I surrender! Yeah, I totally surrender.”

But Bucky doesn’t back down. In fact, he steps even closer, and now you can see the lethal determination in his eyes. “Surrender, huh? Sounds like a trap.”

You mentally slap yourself for writing him to be this distrustful. Why did I make him so paranoid?!

“Okay, okay, I get it,” you ramble, desperately searching for a way out. “You’re probably thinking I’m trying to pull a fast one on you, but I swear, I’m not evil. Not really. It’s... complicated.”

Bucky doesn’t look convinced, and honestly, you wouldn’t be either if you were him. He raises his metal arm threateningly, ready to fight, and you know you’re out of time.

In one last-ditch effort, you blurt out, “Wait! I love you!”

That stops him in his tracks. His brow furrows in confusion. “What?”

You slap a hand over your mouth, mortified. Did I just say that out loud?

“Yes! I mean—no! I mean...” You fumble for words, feeling your face flush. “What I meant was, you’re amazing. You’re... everything. I’ve, um, admired you for so long, and I really don’t want to fight you. I’m just... a huge fan?”

Bucky stares at you like you’ve lost your mind. “A fan?”

You nod furiously, praying this works. “Yes! A huge fan. Of your work. Uh, your missions? And, you know, your... metal arm? It’s so shiny and, uh... powerful.”

He stares at you for a long moment, clearly baffled by your bizarre behavior. “This is a trick, isn’t it?”

You groan internally. Of course he’d think that. You wrote him to be impossible to convince!

Meanwhile, Bucky’s stance shifts, preparing for a fight. You realize with growing dread that if you don’t come up with something fast, you’re going to get your butt kicked by your fictional crush.

And it’s all your fault.

× × × × 

Without warning, Bucky lunges forward, and you yelp, instinctively trying to duck, but the heavy corset makes it hard to move.

“Wait! I’m serious! We can talk this out—oof!” You squeak as Bucky’s metal arm knocks you flat on your back.

“Oh my God,” you wheeze, lying on the ground, staring up at the stars. I’m getting my butt kicked by Bucky Barnes. This is the best and worst day of my life.

Before you can even get your bearings, Bucky grabs you by the arm and flips you up like you weigh nothing. You manage to stand, but just barely, wobbling in your ridiculous boots.

“Oh my God, he’s strong,” you whisper in awe, dazed. “This is like, the hottest thing ever—wait, no, focus!”

Bucky, looking at you with complete disbelief, narrows his eyes. “What is wrong with you?”

You try to explain, but then he sweeps your legs out from under you, and down you go again. This time you land face-first in the dirt.

“Hnggh... I deserved that,” you mumble into the ground. “I wrote this. I brought this on myself.”

You roll over, still fangirling, despite the pain. “Wow, even in pain, you’re gorgeous.”

Bucky looms over you, looking more confused than ever. “Are you hitting on me while I’m kicking your ass?”

“Yes,” you wheeze, still on the ground, clutching your ribs. “I regret nothing.”

Bucky sighs heavily, and for a split second, you think you catch a flash of amusement in his eyes. “You’re insane.”

You grin up at him, despite the dirt smeared across your face and the throbbing ache in your back. “I’ve been told that before.”

He shakes his head, clearly still trying to make sense of the situation, but you can tell he’s holding back laughter now. You’ve confused him, at least. That’s something.

“So... are you gonna help me up?” you ask hopefully, extending a hand.

Bucky stares down at you for a long moment, then mutters, “You’re not even a good villain.”

“Don’t remind me.” You groan dramatically. “It’s harder than it looks.”

With a roll of his eyes, he finally relents and pulls you to your feet again—though not without a little extra force that nearly sends you stumbling again.

You clutch your chest, still a bit winded, but can’t help the goofy smile on your face. I just got beat up by Bucky Barnes. And it was glorious.

× × × ×

You’re still catching your breath from being unceremoniously flipped, kicked, and restrained when Bucky wraps his metal arm around your waist and hauls you up against him, keeping a firm grip on you. He pulls out a pair of cuffs—the same cuffs you wrote about, of course—and slaps them onto your wrists.

“W-What are you doing?” you sputter, still in awe at how close you are to him now. You stare at his arm holding you in place, feeling your heart race like a schoolgirl with a crush. “Oh my god, am I being arrested? By Bucky Barnes? This is... this is a dream come true.”

Bucky looks at you, eyebrows furrowed. “Stop talking.”

“No, seriously. Where are you taking me?” you ask, wiggling in his grip but mostly just to make yourself more comfortable because—holy hell, his muscles are everywhere. You’re about to pass out from sheer fangirl euphoria. “Is it to a secret Hydra base? Are you throwing me in the trunk of a car? Wait, is there gonna be an interrogation? Do you have a secret lair? Because if there’s a lair, I’d love a tour.”

He tightens his grip, hoisting you up with one hand as if you’re nothing more than a grocery bag. You flail your legs a bit but quickly stop, realizing how cool this actually is.

“I’m not telling you anything,” Bucky says gruffly, dragging you through the trees.

“Oh! Is this like one of those slow-burn captor-captive situations?” you say, eyes wide with excitement. “Are we going to have a moment of shared vulnerability? Will we bond over our tragic backstories? Because, listen, I wrote an entire chapter about this, and let me tell you, it’s steamy.”

Bucky stops dead in his tracks, clearly regretting every life decision that brought him here. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

You grin, too giddy to care about the situation. “Oh, you’re gonna find out. I’m a lot.”

He lets out a long, frustrated sigh and continues dragging you through the forest like you’re a troublesome cat being hauled to the vet. You stumble along behind him, your boots still making it difficult to walk, but you’re too caught up in your own fantasies to care.

“Wait, wait, wait,” you gasp, pretending to be serious for a second. “Are you taking me to the Avengers? Am I about to meet Steve Rogers? Oh my god, if this is a prison transfer situation, I’ll take it. Honestly, throw me in a cell, just tell me Captain America’s on the other side of the bars.”

Bucky groans audibly, muttering under his breath. “You’re literally the worst villain I’ve ever met.”

“Oh, thank you!” You beam, still being pulled along like a rag doll. “I tried to make my villain complex, you know? With layers. You’ll see. There’s more to me than just an evil laugh and a cool outfit. I have depth! Trauma! A tragic backstory, even!”

Bucky finally stops and spins you around, looking you dead in the eyes. “Shut. Up.”

You blink up at him, biting your lip to suppress a fangirl squeal. “Wow, even when you’re angry, you’re hot.”

For a second, you think Bucky might actually lose his patience with you, but instead, he just rolls his eyes and resumes dragging you through the forest.

“You’re taking me to the Avengers, aren’t you? You can tell me! I won’t spoil it for anyone,” you whisper conspiratorially. “I mean, you know, since I’m totally going to escape and wreak havoc... right after I meet everyone and maybe take a group photo.”

Bucky doesn’t dignify that with a response. Instead, he hoists you up over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and starts walking faster. Your head bounces a little with each step, but you can’t help but notice how strong he is.

“Is this the part where I pretend to hate being manhandled, or...?”

Another groan from Bucky. He’s definitely considering just leaving you tied to a tree at this point.

You sigh dramatically as you dangle over his shoulder. “You know, I could help you with your characterization. Maybe throw in some emotional depth, give you some really meaningful dialogue in your next big scene. Maybe a nice brooding monologue... You’re into those, right?”

“Where I’m taking you,” Bucky says, his tone clipped, “there won’t be any brooding. Or talking.”

You perk up. “Oh! Silent treatment? Broody captor vibes? I love it.”

You can practically feel the exhaustion radiating off him as he mutters, “I need a vacation.”

With a smirk, you reply, “I’m free this weekend.”

[louloulemons-posts]

Secret Kisses

Steve Harrington X Fem!Henderson!Reader

Summary : You and Steve are secretly dating, here are 3 times you were almost caught and the 1 time you were.

Word Count : 1.2k

Warnings : Not proofread, 3am writing, swears, pet names, FLUFFY, kisses, suggestive at parts, fem reader, no use of Y/N, Steve and reader just want to make out lol.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

- First time : Driving you home and nobody’s in

You’d been hanging out at Eddies trailer, watching some horror movies and smoking a bit with your friends.

Giving the metal head a hug and waving goodbye Steve drove you and Robin home.

“See you guy’s tomorrow,” she said, kissing your cheek from the backseat and climbing out.

“Let’s get you home,” Steve smiled, taking your hand in his. “Thank you for driving me.”

“Couldn’t leave my girl stranded could I? Or worse, Eddie could’ve drove you home in his death trap!”

“Eddie can drive,” you laughed.

“Sure, doesn’t mean the vans safe.”

“You worry too much,” you sighed, leaning over and kissing his cheek.

“Just want you to be safe.” The drive was quick and quiet, one of your favourite tapes of Steve’s playing. Steve pulled up to your house, no lights on inside.

“Tonight was fun,” you spoke, smiling.

“It was, we do need a proper date night though. Maybe the movies?” he asked.

“That sounds good, I’ll trust your taste in movies.” He leaned over the console to kiss you, leaning in softly.

You lips almost touched when you heard a foggy voice, “Are you coming in or not?” Dustin.

Pulling away from Steve you sighed, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Y-yeah, goodnight.”

“Night,” you smiled, climbing out the car and headed over to your brother.

“Have you been smoking?!” he exclaimed.

“Shut up!” you slammed your hand over his mouth, shoving him in the house. “Why are you sitting in the dark?” Waving at Steve before heading in yourself.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

- Second time : Movie dates, sat in the dark, perfect right?

Sat in the movie theatre side by side, fingers linked, waiting for the lights to dim. You’d decided to see The Breakfast Club, after Nancy had said it was really good.

“You’re going to run out of popcorn and the movie hasn’t even started yet,” you chuckled at Steve. “It’s good!” he defended.

“Lies, but either way you’ll be grumpy 15 minutes in because you have nothing to snack on.”

“That’s why I got you snacks my love.”

“What so you can steal them?”

“Exactly that.”

“And what if I said no?”

“Well I’m sure I could persuade you..”

“Oh yeah?” He leaned closer to you, lips touching, “Yeah.” He softly pressed his lips to yours when familiar voices came.

“Okay so G6 and G7 El,” Max Mayfield spoke. “Shit,” Steve whined. The seats right in front of you. “Shit,” you repeated.

Walking down to their seats El spotted you, smiling, “Hi guys!”

“Hey,” you smiled back, nudging Steve.

“Hi,” he let out a pained grin.

“Just you two?” Max asked.

“Oh yeah, had to drag Steve with me. Nobody else would come with,” you shrugged.

“Hm, seems like Robins type of film. Eddie thought … not so much,” the redhead hummed. “Yeah exactly.”

“Should have come with us,” El said softly.

“If I’d have know you wanted to see it I would’ve, could’ve made a girls night out of it,” you smiled at her. Always having had a special place in your heart for that girl.

The lights dimmed, “Well we’ll see you after the movie,” Steve said. The pair sat down facing forward. “Guess we can’t make out now,” he sighed.

“You’re literally a horny teen.”

“Well I’m a teen and you’re hot so … I’m always horny.”

“Shush,” you laughed, punching him lightly.

“Maybe you can stay at my place?”

“Hm, if you’re lucky.”

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

- Third time : Lunch breaks aren’t easy either.

It was Steve’s lunch break, just him on today as it was a slow Monday. He shut the door and turned the sign to close, smiling at you who’d brought him food.

Pushing you into the back room, hands on your waist, your own tangling in his hair. Lipgloss transferring onto his own lips, “Stevie,” you giggled into his mouth.

“Missed you … so much,” he spoke between kisses. “Saw me yesterday.”

“Not enough!” Pulling you as close as he could, your legs wrapped around his waist and he lifted you into a filing cabinet.

“So. Fucking. Perfect,” he kissed and kissed and kissed. His hands played with the bottom of your skirt, pulling away. Lips swollen and hair messy.

“We’ve got 20 minutes Stevie.”

“That’s plenty of time to do what I need to do to you,” he smirked, lowering himself.

The bell on the door jingled, “Steve!”

“I’m gonna kill your brother.”

“Oh I’ll help.” Tidying himself up he left the back room, you jumping down from the cabinet.

“Henderson, thought you were smart enough to know what the word closed means.”

“Ha you’re real funny. I was just wondering if you’ve seen my sister?”

Steve’s heart went to his throat and you panicked trying to keep your breathing quiet. “Nope, why?”

“Well I saw her car outside and I thought maybe we could head home together,” he explained, “She might be getting some groceries though.”

“Mhm, maybe. If she stops by I’ll tell her you’re looking for her.”

“Great, thanks man.” You heard the bell ring again, signalling his exit.

Walking out of the back room you sighed. “Your brothers looking for you,” he teased.

“Oh you don’t say?” Kissing the boys cheek, “I should probably go.”

He whined, “Steve if he catches us-“

“I know I know. Okay go, but next time something like that happens I’m not stopping.”

“I’ll take your word for that.” Pecking his mouth you headed out the door to find you shit head of a brother.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

- The time you’re found out

You heard soft knock on your window. Not wanting to turn the light on in fear your headache would get worse, you walked over.

Pulling back the curtains, you saw a familiar face. You pulled up the window and stepped back, “What are you doing here?” you asked.

Steve climbed in (fell in) to your room, “Robin told me you weren’t very well, couldn’t really call cause you know,” he motioned to the door.

“Thought I’d come check on my girl, brought you some gatorade and snacks.”

“You, Steve Harrington, are the sweetest boy I’ve ever met.” Pecking his nose, you walked back to your bed.

“What’s wrong?”

“Migraine.”

“Oh baby I’m sorry. Have you taken anything?”

“Took some more tablets not too long ago, they should kick in soon.”

He sat down next to you, stoking hair gently. “Do you want me to go, leave you in peace?”

“Could you stay?”

“Course. No place I’d rather be.”

Taking off his shoes, jacket and jeans he climbed in beside you. “Come lay on me baby,” he whispered. Resting your head on his chest, you hummed, his warmth was so nice.

Running his fingers up and down your back you were quickly lulled to sleep.

Stirring awake to a knocking sound, “Yeah?” you said voice croaking, thick with sleep. Steve also woke up, giving you a sleepy smile.

“Mom said do you want breakfast, she’s made waffles,” Dustin spoke.

“Oh yeah sure, I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Does Steve want any?” He asked through the door.

You looked at the boy, both of you wide eyed. “Hello? Does he want any?” your brother repeated.

“Oh um sure if she’s got any spare,” Steve said. Hearing you brother grumble as he walked away, you put your head back on his chest.

“Well he knows.”

“Yeah.”

“I can do this now then,” Steve smirked, kissing you square on the mouth.

“Hm, yes Mr Harrington you can.”

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

A/N : I wanted to do some fics with other characters soon, they don’t have to just be Stranger Things characters, I’m part of many many fandoms. So if there’s any other characters you’d like to see, let me know! 🤍

Thank you so much for reading! Please leave any requests 🤍

[sturnsmia]

𝑭𝑶𝑹𝑬𝑽𝑬𝑹 𝑴𝑰𝑵𝑬 | 𝑴𝑨𝑻𝑻 𝑺𝑻𝑼𝑹𝑵𝑰𝑶𝑳𝑶

𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉… when matt sees his best friend constantly suffering under her boyfriend’s mistreatment, he takes matters into his own hands.

𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔: toxic and slightly abusive boyfriend, murder (in detail), knives, blood, if u don’t feel comfortable do not read!!

𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆: hi hi! i wanted to post something a little more spooky for halloween but i didn’t finish in time lol, sorry. i hope you guys like it! also send me requests for things to write or just to chat. i lovee responding to anons (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

it was late at night when you were at the triplets house with your friend madison. you guys had spent the night watching movies and catching up with each other after enduring a long week of work. unfortunately you had a whole lot to talk about considering your boyfriend, noah was starting to piss you off.

“i don’t even know what his problem is! one second he’s saying im the love of his life and then two minutes later he’s screaming at me for spending i didn’t do!” you explained to your friends while flailing your hands around in awkward gestures to express your frustration. “and that’s not even the worst part! he had the fucking nerve to grab my wrist when i tried to walk away from him! and it wasn’t a gentle touch it was like this.” you reached to your right and grabbed matt’s wrist before gripping it harshly, causing him to pull away. you whispered a little sorry and shot him a quick smile.

“what the hell! that’s not okay, why the fuck would he do that?” chris questioned with a mouth full of popcorn.

“ugh i have no idea its so stupid the way he’s acting.” you groaned, leaning your head back on the couch.

matt clenched his jaw at the thought of your boyfriend laying his hands on you. he never liked noah from the start, not that noah enjoyed his presence either. noah constantly complained that matt had feelings for you and that it was obvious to everyone. whenever he brought it up you defended your best friend, explaining that you and matt have known each other since the two of you were kids, and you’ve always hung around the triplets. regardless of your constant reassurances, noah never attempted to make amends with matt.

“honestly y/n, that’s so fucked for him to do, and you need to stand up for yourself and set boundaries! don’t let him push you around.” madison spoke from the other side of the couch beside nick, who nodded in agreement to her statement.

you sighed, thinking about the possibilities that could happen if you talked back to noah. he definitely would not take it lightly.

“maybe you should just break up with him.” matt spoke with nonchalance. your head snapped to look at the boy who just spoke utter nonsense. “you’re funny matthew.”

“i mean this isn’t the first time he’s done something shitty to you. it’s clearly hurting you physically and mentally, so why not just let him go?” matt shrugged turning towards you.

“because i love him, matt. just because he does a couple things i don’t like doesn’t mean we have to break up.” you spoke with slight annoyance in your tone. nick, chris, and madison exchanged awkward glances, avoiding getting involved.

matt sighed, connecting your hands together and rubbing it softly with his thumb. “i know, i didn’t mean it like that, i’m sorry. we all just want you to be happy.” chris nodded his head before shoving another piece of popcorn in his mouth.

nick stretches his arms dramatically before yawning. “okay it’s pretty late, we should get to bed. y/n i know you’re staying the night, madison do you wanna stay too?”

“i would but i have to get up early for a meeting tomorrow so i have to head home now.” madison said while collecting her purse from the ground. “i’ll miss you.” you frowned, pulling her in for a hug.

“y/n we’ll see each other again in like two days.” madison laughed as she hugged you, rubbing your back softly. “bye boys, i’ll see you guys later! love you!” she smiled, walking down the stairs and out the front door.

as you heard the front door slam shut, you and nick stood up from the couch and started walking towards the stairs before matt gently pulled your wrist back. nick continued walking up the stairs as you stopped.

you turn around, staring at his icy blue eyes. “yeah?” you asked softly. matt brushed a piece of hair out of your face and tucked it behind your ear. “make sure that little idiot boyfriend of yours doesn’t touch you like that again or i’ll have to go pay him a visit, alright?”

you giggle softly at his statement considering he always jokes about putting noah in his place. “alright mr tough guy don’t go around hurting people now.” you murmured, pushing your finger to his chest. “goodnight matt” you said gently, a warm smile spreading across your face as he shooed you away to nick’s room.

“good night angel” matt replied back as you made your way up the stairs.

˖ . ݁𝜗𝜚. ݁₊

the next day you woke up around 11am and ate breakfast with the triplets before returning to your own apartment. you twisted the doorknob to your front door open and quickly dumped your purse lazily on the floor before flopping down face first onto the couch. you laid there until you heard a notification chime and looked up to see your phone.

it was a text from noah telling you he was coming over because you had abandoned him last night for matt. you roll your eyes at his snide remark before tapping your fingers on your phone to reply a quick “okay”.

you got up from the couch and walked over to the bathroom to clean yourself up a bit. you brushed out the small tangles in your hair and open the drawer to take out a tube of mascara and an eyelash curler. leaning over the counter towards the mirror, you brushed the mascara wand over your lashes. you swapped out the mascara for your space camp cherry flavored lip balm and swiped it across your lips. after putting everything back in the bathroom drawers you left the bathroom and went to your room searching for a comfortable outfit. you settled on navy blue sweatpants and a lacy white tank top.

as you finished changing you heard a loud knocks coming from the front door, alerting you that your boyfriend had arrived. you quickly walked to the front door and opened it to reveal noah looking slightly irritated when he saw you.

“hi baby!” you smile warmly at him and pull him in for a hug. noah wraps one arm around your shoulder and pats your back softly. you pull away after noticing he’s not acting normal. “is everything alright?”

“yeah i’m fine.” he responds dryly. your eyebrows furrow showing your confusion, noah notices and realizes your not satisfied with his answer. “you couldn’t have maybe put yourself together and looked a little nicer for me before i got here?”

the smile from your face drops immediately, turning into an fustrated and slightly embarrassed look. noah shut the door behind him and sat down at the table in your kitchen, waiting for you to move from the front door.

“are you being serious?” you murmured, keeping your eyes on the door and avoiding eye contact. “what?” noah’s face twisted in slight annoyance at your sudden attitude. “you’re telling me that you’re in this “mood” all of a sudden that causes you not to give your girlfriend a hug or kiss when you see her? all because i don’t look pretty enough?” you say sternly, attempting to hide the hurt in your heart.

noah quickly stood up from his seated position, the wooden chair he once sat on tumbling to the floor with a loud bang. your eyes finally turned to him and see his jaw clenched and his eyes burning with fury. “now i don’t know what those sturniolo boys got into your head, but i’m sure not liking this bitchy attitude you got goin’ on.” noah sneered, shaking his head in disapproval.

you scoff at him, he always found a way to blame this on them. “this has nothing to do with them. you can’t say some bullshit to me and expect me not to say something back!” your tone starting to raise. “woah there! don’t mess with the tough girl here, all high and mighty!” noah said sarcastically, raising his arms up for dramatics.

“you’re so fucking immature!” you yell at him with tears starting to well in your eyes. the look in his eyes immediately made you regret your sudden outburst, your heart sunk to your stomach. noah slowly walked towards you. “what the hell did you just say to me?”. you swallowed hard and fidgeted with your fingers, out of instinct you turned to the front door and grabbed the handle. before you could open it, noah put his hand on your shoulder and harshly turned you around, pushing your back to the door.

“i asked you a goddamn question!” he spat, his grip remained tight on your shoulder as he kept you pinned against the door. tears started to fall from your eyes as you clenched your jaw and kept a stern look. “get off me.” you muttered. noah kept his eyes on you, his rough hands gripped even tighter on your bare shoulder. you pushed him back, causing him to release his grip. before he could say anything you turned away from him and raced out the front door.

you ran to your car and slammed the door shut. at this point the emotions you had hiden came crashing down as you drove through the neighborhoods. wiping your tears and sniffling at every red light, you drove as fast as you possibly could to the only faces you wanted to see.

after parking your car, you walked quickly to the front door slightly shivering from the breeze considering you didn’t get to grab a sweater before you left. you knocked loudly on the door impatiently waiting for someone to answer.

chris opened the door with a bright smile on his face before seeing your teary and red eyes. “hey, what’s going on?” he asked softly. you couldn’t even respond before you latched onto him for a hug as broken sobs escaped your throat. “oh no. hey shhh it’s okay don’t cry, don’t cry.” chris held you tight and stroked your hair gently before matt and nick walked down the stairs to see what had taken their brother so long to answer the door.

“y/n, sweetheart let’s go upstairs to the living room okay?” nick whispered softly. you looked up from chris’s chest to see nick and matt with worried expressions plastered on their face. nick took your hand and interlocked them before leading you up the stairs and onto the couch. he sat down next to you as you rested your head in his lap. matt and chris followed behind the two of you and took a seat beside nick.

“tell me what happened y/n, did you get hurt? do i need to kill someone?” nick asked, rubbing your shoulder. “it-it was noah” you choked out with a sniffle. “he came to see me and, he got upset with me because he said i didn’t look nice enough for him when he came over.” matt’s anger started to bubble up just hearing noah’s name. “i yelled back at him and told him he was being immature. and when i tried to leave but he grabbed my shoulder and pushed me against the door. i had to push him back before he finally let go.” you rambled, tears falling from your eyes.

matt’s jaw hardened after hearing what noah had done to you. he gave chris a hard stare before they both stood up and walked down the stairs without saying a word. “wha-where are they going?” you asked, sitting up and turning to nick. “don’t worry about it, let’s get you cozy and do something to get your mind off that brainless boyfriend of yours.” nick suggested with a smile, wrapping a fuzzy blanket around your shivering bare shoulders.

˖ . ݁𝜗𝜚. ݁₊

matt’s gripped the steering wheel of his car so hard his knuckles were almost white. he couldn’t believe that your idiotic boyfriend would ever think it’s okay to lay his hands on a women, especially you. you always found a way to forgive noah for his mistakes because of your kind heart. the thoughts coursing through his mind made the drive to noah’s house a fast ride. he already knew the directions from previous occasions when you had asked matt to drop you off there.

“you don’t need me to come in do you?” chris asked as matt jumped out of the driver seat. he grabbed a small object out of the side door and looked up at his brother. “no, i’ll be fast.” matt responded slamming the door shut and walking up to your front door. he twisted the door knob and pushed it open using his shoulder. noah looked up from his phone and stood up from his spot on the couch, looking at matt.

“dude what the fuck?” noah sneered, looking confused at the loud noise coming from the front door. until he recognized the face that was staring back at him. “matthew sturniolo, what brings you here today?” his face twisted into a cocky smile.

“do you find pride in hurting your girlfriend?” matt said through gritted teeth. noah laughed from across the room “what’d she tell you now, that i’m abusing her? god she’s so full of lies.” matt slammed the front door shut before taking slow steps towards noah.

“i won’t ever understand how she fell in love with such a lowlife like you.” matt scolded, keeping intense eye contact with the boy in front of him.

“what? you jealous i get to fuck her instead of you? get over yourself, she’s mine.” noah teased, a grin present on his face. matt scoffed and reached into his pocket, he was sick and tired of the way your boyfriend treated you like an object and constantly put you through so much pain.

“i never liked you from the start. i always knew you would be a shitty boyfriend. but y/n always finds a way to see the good in people, even the most insufferable people like you. and i won’t let you take advantage of that.” matt fumed, pulling his hand out from his denim pocket. noah’s eyes widened at the pocket knife in matt’s hand. he stepped back but was met with a wall behind him, he had nowhere to run.

“woah man let’s just talk this out i can-“ matt didn’t let him finish talking before piercing his stomach with his knife. noah let out weak groans before matt retracted his hand, releasing the blade from his lower abdomen. in a swift motion matt struck him again and again, watching the knife go through his chest. over and over and over again.

noah’s body quickly fell limp underneath him. matt crouched down, using the carpet to wipe the blood off his pocket knife before clicking it shut and placing it back into his pocket. matt stood back up looking down at the lifeless body beneath him, a smirk creeping on his face.

“she’s always been mine.”

xoxo, mia ♡

[hees-mine]

𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 - 𝐋.𝐡𝐬

𝐇𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐠 ⚥ 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐦𝐝𝐧𝐢!

𝐄𝐱 𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐠, that broke up with you cause he never felt like he was worthy to be your boyfriend in the first place, but he just can’t stop watching you from afar cause he still loves you so much.

𝐄𝐱 𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐠, that knows you still love him even though he said some really fucked up things to you while breaking things off. He didn’t mean it. He was just trying to make you hate him so you’d find a man better than him.

𝐄𝐱 𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐠, that gets jealous just by seeing you within ten feet of a guy, and he has to restrain himself because he remembers that you’re no longer his.

𝐄𝐱 𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐠, who can’t control himself and will occasionally text you just because he loves and misses you so damn much to the point it hurts.

𝐄𝐱 𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐠, that shows up on your doorstep at three in the morning, face covered in tears apologizing and begging for your forgiveness.

𝐄𝐱 𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐠, that lets you drag him inside your apartment and take him to your bedroom.

𝐄𝐱 𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐠, that has your body blueprinted in his head and touches you in all the right places until you’re begging for him to put it in.

𝐄𝐱 𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐠, that whispers sweet nothings into your ear, face scrunching in pleasure with every thrust.

𝐄𝐱 𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐠, kisses you so passionately while filling you up with his cum promising he’ll never leave you again.

𝐄𝐱 𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐠, who will clean you up and cuddle you in his arms, telling you how much he misses you and making a vow to be the best boyfriend ever because you deserve 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬.

❗️I don’t not take requests ❗️

Late night post because fuck it lol I’ll be working on playtime part 7 tomorrow!

Thanks for reading please reblog and leave feedback.

[starvity]

hiii can you do yujin x reader first sleepover that would be so cute!!!

— ☆ first sleepover with yujin

gn!reader x zb1 yujin

genre: fluffy fluff // warnings: teenage love awkwardness™, thunderstorms, cursing, the birds and the bees talk lol, sleeping in the same bed duh, just yujin being a cutie patootie

author’s note: just realized i got kinda carried away and didn't talk about what you guys would actually do at the sleepover other than...sleeping LMAO so lmk if you want me to write a drabble about that!! :D (★ω★)/ [requested♡]

you barely get to see yujin out of school. and even there, you don’t even have that many classes together. he did come to your house a couple times. the first time to bring the textbook you had forgotten at the library. he was standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, scanning the random objects displayed on your shelves while you were telling him about some drama that happened on your way home. the next time he came over was to study with you and this time, he actually felt comfortable enough to sit on your bed. after this, he would come over pretty often, most of the time to play video games or just to annoy you.

it was almost 8pm, yujin had walked back to your house with you after school to study and your mom had suggested to let him stay for dinner. what you didn’t know though is that there would be a big thunderstorm warning later in the evening and that yujin would be unable to walk back home under the pouring rain. naturally (more like awkwardly), you asked if he was okay with staying over. you said he can borrow some old clothes from your dad and you can go grab another mattress from the guest’s room.

so here you are, eyes absentmindedly looking at the ceiling as you lie on your bed while yujin is half-asleep on the mattress on the floor, just next to yours. the air has been heavy and the silence awkward as soon as your mom insisted that you two keep the door slightly opened "just in case". you had turned off the lights 15 minutes ago, with the only source of light coming from the moon piercing through your window, but both of you couldn’t seem to fall asleep.

"you’re asleep?" you finally ask, breaking the silence. "not really." yujin spoke back, almost apologising for how awkward this situation is now because of him. you tried to silently put your head closer to the edge of the bed to take a peek at the boy practically lying on your bedroom floor. however, you almost feel your heart spill out of your ribcage as your nose almost touch yujin’s, who had the same idea as you. the sudden closeness causes him to fall back, hitting the back of his head on your nightstand before crashing on his pillow and whining in pain. "you scared the shit out of me." you laugh at the incident, hand grabbing the hem of your shirt. thanks to this funny moment, the atmosphere became less awkward as you started talking about everything and anything.

after what felt like probably 2 hours, you could hear the silence of the night settling, it was probably around 1am by now. you hear yujin yawn, tossing and turning and sighing trying to lay the blanket correctly with little kicks. you giggle and finally ask "are you really going to sleep there? this mattress is so thin, your back is going to hurt tomorrow." yujin simply hums in response but then he hears you tap the empty space on the right side of your bed with your hand, "you can come here if you want."

you were resting on your side, right hand underneath your pillow and your cheeks a reddish color. you suddenly see the top of yujin’s head appear, his chin now resting on top of your blanket. "i don’t want to make it awkward though." he admits shyly, pouting. "we’ve cuddled in my bed before and if you end up feeling uncomfortable you can still switch places in the middle of the night, i’ll understand" you reassure him with a smile. the boy finally gives in, happily hopping on your bed and making himself comfortable on the much better mattress. he looks at you cutely, laying on his side while facing you. all of a sudden, he timidly spreads his arms, welcoming you in his embrace. you chuckle before planting a soft good night kiss on his cheek as your eyelids get heavy.

you two slept like a log, feeling safe in each other's warmth. you stirred awake, confused since you didn't feel yourself falling asleep yesterday and it was already early morning. yujin was still sleeping soundly, his arm carefully draped around your stomach, his breathing slightly tickling your cheek. he slowly opens his eyes, looking as confused as you were. the corners of your mouth go up seeing his half-asleep state and you nervously pucker your lips. he breathes through his nose, an almost quiet chuckle getting caught in his throat, before he lets his lips every so slightly touch yours. after mumbling a timid good morning, yujin places his face back into the crook of your neck, drifting back off to sleep.

[judeyswife]

not what i’m looking for. — jude bellingham x reader.

genre : angst

word count : 800+

note : hii lovies, this is so exciting for me since this is finally my first piece of writing ill be posting!! it’s a bit short but i hope you enjoy my content and if you have any requests, feel free to send them to me :) i will soon publish a masterlist once i've posted a few writings! ps there will be multiple parts to this "mini story" !‏‏‎ ‎

‏‏‎ ‎ ———————————————————-‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎

you’ve had multiple guys in your life to say they’ve had you head over heals for them. physically maybe. something held you back from dating ever since getting heartbroken by your ex. however jude gave you a different view of that.

you had met jude a while back through a friends birthday party. you’d both had seemingly been watching each other and asked your friend to put both of yall on to each other. it was funny coincidence to your friend seeing both of their friends already so desperately trying to catch each others attention. but that was the beginning of everything, something you were remembering today just like it was yesterday.

•

you had been studying for a test that was literally almost your entire grade, it could basically break or make your entire percentage for that class. not that it matters. but this was obviously something you were taking serious. * bzz bzz * the name on your phone brought a wide smile to your face. you caught it trying to stop yourself from getting all flustered and nervous and answered the call with a grin.

“hello?”

J: “hey beautiful, i’m near your place, up for a ride?”

Y/N: “what kind of ride” — it was normal for yall to to flirt like this lol.

you heard that thick deep chuckle radiate through the speakers of you phone. god you loved him.

J: “feelin’ confident tonight huh? seriously though, you free?”

Y/N: “um, i’ve got a few more pages to look over but i’ll just do it tomorrow, how far away are you?”

you were starting to get up and organize your notes as you put down your glasses you had been using.

J: “like 5 minutes”

Y/N: “mkay, give me a few to get ready”

he gave you a quick approval and ended the call.

you weren't underdresses but you wouldn't say you were overly dressed as you are wearing a pair of a leggings, an essentials hoodie, and a pair of uggs you slid on by the front of your door. basic white girl outfits are so cute to you when you hang around.

it was about 8:47pm when you saw some car's lights flash through your living room window. you grabbed you keys and purse and walked outside to meet jude.

you opened the car door door and sat down closing it while trying to warm up your hands as it was a cold outside. but you refuse to wear a jacket. jude always makes fun of you for it.

J: "hey, you hungry?"

Y/N: "very.”

you both sat in a comfortable silence as yall ate at a park near your house.

“this is so fucking good” you said while your quite literally devouring you meal you got from the fast food place. jude bursted out laughing trying to sneakily take a fry from your box. “hey, that’s mine!” you said slapping his hand away. he moved away eating the single fry he got to steal with a grin on his face.

you saw it drop.

“what’s wrong?”

“y/n i need to tell you something, but please don’t freak out, or anything. please.”

something inside you already knew what it was. but you rather stay delusional then believe it.

“i won’t.” — “so, i’ve been thinking and i just need to tell you.”

mhm.

“so listen me and one of my friends have been getting closer and we’ve been talking for like the past week and I didn’t really know how to tell you because i really do care about you but i just really want a girl who’s trying to be in a relationship with me. i know we’ve gotten closer but i don’t know if I can do this talking stage anymore, you just aren’t what i’m looking for .”

you could hear a pin drop.

what the actual fuck.

“so you just did it behind my back disregarding my fucking feelings?” — “y/n it’s not like that i swear-”

“don’t fucking lie to me just to protect me, what the fuck is wrong with you bro” — “i didn’t want to lose you.”

“if you didn’t wanna lose me then you would’ve thought about that before you started talking to her behind my back.” — “i’m sorry.”

you just laughed. sorry. so fucking hilarious.

you picked up your food, shoved it in your bag and walked home. you thanked god for not living to far away from where you lived.

when you were a few blocks away you realized you weren’t crying. but you felt this heavy feeling in your heart. your gut. your head. you would’ve never expected this from the sweetest man you met.

i guess what they say it’s true. the nice ones are the worst ones.

that’s when you felt your eye well up with tears.

you entered your home as a different person than the one you left with.

[cowboybarzy]

unexpected - part 2

guys it’s finally here and I’m so sorry it took so long! but daddy barz is finally here! please lmk if you’d like more of this or something similar (daddy barz)

PART ONE PART 2.1 PART THREE

word count: 3.5k

warnings: pregnancy, children, childbirth (not in detail)

note: if you hate the name, sorry not sorry, but also lmk and if enough ppl don’t like it I’ll change it haha but I love sort of uncommon names but I also wanted it to be short and sweet so this one is not that out there for me lol

December 25 - 4 months

"Wait, I have one more for you," you told Mat and hurried to you closet where you had kept an extra special present for him. You loved giving gifts and you knew he was going to love this one. You were doing a gift exchange just the two of you, before going over to the Martins to celebrate the holiday with them and a couple more team members. Today was also the day you were going to tell them about the baby. "Here."

You sat back next to him on the floor and watched with teary easy as he tore the paper away. His eyes fell on the little blue onesie with the Islanders logo on the front. "Baby-"

"Turn it around." He did and a huge smile crossed his face. In tiny letters his last name was written across the back with a '13' underneath. "Do you like it?"

"Like it? Baby, this is-" He pulled you into a hug, taking a deep breath fighting his tears. "I love it. This is so cute. I can't wait to see the baby in this."

"Me neither. Little baby Barzal." You smiled at each other before he kissed you deeply. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," he replied. "Next year, this little one will be sitting right there."

"Can't wait."

January - 5 months

"What are you doing?" You jumped at Mat's voice breaking the midnight silence. The kitchen overhead light turned on and you were caught red handed rummaging through the fridge in the middle of the night. "Are you crying?"

You quickly wiped your tears away, closed the fridge and turned to him. You watched him rub his eyes sleepily as he made his way towards you, then wrapped you in his arms for a warm, comforting hug. You started sobbing again, even tough the reason was ridiculous, but you couldn't help it. Your hormones were out of control. "What's wrong?"

"I'm craving pickles with peanut butter, but we don't have any," you said between sobs. Mat chuckled lightly and rubbed your back.

"But you hate peanut butter."

"I know."

"And nothing else sounds good?" You shook your head. "What about Nutella? You want to try that?"

"No!" You we're still silently sobbing when Mat took your face in his hands and tilted it back to meet his gaze. He had a small crooked smile on his lips as he kissed your tears away.

"Do you want me to go buy some?," he asked gently. God, he really was the sweetest man alive.

"Where the hell are you going to find peanut butter in the middle of the night? Plus, you should be sleeping! You have a game tomorrow, go back to bed."

"I'll be fine," he said and kissed your lips this time which were wet from your tears. "And there's probably a gas station that sells some."

"Mhm," you shook your head and leaned back into him for a hug. Your 5 months pregnant belly prevented from hugging tightly, but his hugs still worked their magic.

"Then what can I do?," he asked softly, rubbing his back.

"I don't know." Your hormones got the best of you again and the tears started flowing once more. You could only fixate on that damn peanut butter and every other food you thought of made you want to vomit. While fighting with yourself in your head and silently crying into Mat's chest, you suddenly felt a strange sensation in your belly. Your tears stopped and you pulled away from him. "Oh."

"What?"

"I think the baby just kicked." You felt it again and a smile broke out on you face. "Maty! Feel this."

Your placed his hand on the lower right side of you belly, then patiently waited for the next kick. His sleepy eyes opened wide when he felt it. "Baby, this is..." He pulled you in for a kiss, but pulled away when the baby kicked again. "He did the again! Did you feel that?"

"Yes, I felt that," you laughed. "And she kicked."

"We'll find out soon." His face beamed with happiness. "I never want to remove my hand."

"Kinda hard to play hockey this way, though."

"Eh, I could manage." You both chuckled and he pulled you back in for a hug after kissing your forehead. You stood in the embrace for a bit, enjoying the moment.

"Are you still hungry or can we go back to bed?," Mat asked after a while, yawning. You thought about it for a second, then rummaged through your pantry and settled for a bag of chips. With a sleepy grin, you held up the bag and followed Mat back to bed.

"This will do."

February - 6 months

"How was the checkup? Is the little squish okay?" Mat asked over facetime from his hotel room. "Did you find out?"

"Yes, the little squish is okay. And I have the envelope, but don't worry I'm waiting for you to come back to find out," you answered and told him more of the details of your six month checkup. The baby was as healthy as could be and you couldn't be more grateful for that. You due date was May 25th, one day before Mat's birthday and everyone was excited to see if they'd end up having the same birthday. The doctor also was able to tell the sex of the baby and had written it on a piece of paper that you stashed inside an envelope so you wouldn't find out until Mat came home from his road-trip.

The last few months had been absolutely crazy. Your lives had been thrown upside down when you found out you were unexpectedly pregnant. Now, you were both trying to figure out how to make your lives work with a new addition to the family. Your friends and family were shocked to say the least when you told them, no one had expected it, but everyone was very supportive and excited for the both of you.

"I'm looking at the house later, too," you started a new topic. At around four months your bump started showing and all of the sudden it clicked how fast this was all happening and how unprepared you were. So taking Mat's suggestion, you did agree to start looking for houses. After all, you carrying his child was a fair exchange for a nice house.

"Ok, take videos for me, please. I think this one is going to be it."

"Only because Anders lives down the street."

"Well, we'll need help. And it doesn't hurt having someone experienced close by." You grinned, chuckling, then spent the next while talking.

A few days later, Mat came home from his road-trip more excited than usual. He had a bouquet of flowers and your favorite Starbucks drink with him and showered you in kisses when he saw you. "I missed you, too." You kissed him one more time, before taking a sip of your drink you had been craving all day.

"Ok, I need to know. Now!" He was of course referring to the sex of the baby. You were more relaxed about the subject, not really understanding the need to know (except maybe to know if you should buy those absolutely adorable pink baby dresses or not), but Mat was dying to so you gave in and agreed to find out as well. You grabbed the envelope from a drawer you had kept it in and handed it to Mat who basically ripped it apart.

"Ready? Final vote?"

"Girl," you said confidently, trusting your mothers intuition. "What's the pool from the guys say?"

"The majority said boy, but probably only because most of them have daughter and we need more boys," Mat replied. Of course, when he had told his teammates he was going to be a father, immediate bets on the sex, weight, future hockey career, etc. were made. "I'm going with boy, too. Ready?"

He slowly opened the piece of paper so the both of you could read it at the same time and after a few seconds of scanning the page, you let out a scream.

"I was right!" You almost tackled your boyfriend with a hug jumping from joy of soon getting a daughter. Mat's face however wasn't as joyful as yours and sort of killed your mood too. "You're not happy? Mat!"

"What? No! Baby, I am, I just," he sighed searching for his words. "I don't know anything about babies, let alone girls. How on earth am I going to raise a girl? I- What am I supposed to teach her? Or play with her?"

You put a hand on his cheek, calming him. "You'll figure it out and I'm here to help. Trust me, it'll all come naturally once she's here." You kissed him. "And you could probably teach her how not to fall for a hockey playing fuckboy like her mom did. That would save her a lot of heartache."

"Hey!" He playfully pinched you and trapped you in between his arms. "Oh, she is not going near any boy until she's 30!"

"There you go! That's the spirit." You smiles turned serious again when he dropped his forehead against yours.

"You really think I can do this?," he asked, doubt in his voice.

"I know you can. You take great care of me and I'm a girl. She'll be like a mini me."

"A mini you? Uf, I'm in deep shit if she turns out like you." Now it was your turn to pinch him, but you did it harder. He could handle it. "I'm kidding! I couldn't ask for a better role model for our daughter than you."

"Thank you," you said and kissed his soft lips again. They were so addicting. "And she'll tell you what she likes and doesn't like. And when she's old enough you can bring her on the ice with you and teach her to skate."

"Yeah! She'll be the best skater in the world. Oh! I'll get her little pink skates and a matching helmet! And a pink stick, too? Or is that too much pink?" You chuckled at how quickly his doubt turned into excitement.

"Maybe a little."

"Ok, we'll figure it out then." You nodded in agreement. You still had a few of years until then.

"Hey, (y/n). I am excited. I just panicked for a second."

"I know, it's ok. I like that you're sharing your fears. As much as I am excited and overjoyed, I'm terrified as well. Teenage girls are horrifying."

"We got this!" Mat stepped away and high-fived you. "Dream team."

You picked up you drink again and watched as Mat worked his way over to the fridge looking for food. This man was always hungry and now that you were pregnant, you were grocery shopping for what felt like five people. "Oh god!," he exclaimed, closing the fridge again but not before stealing a piece of cheese. "What if she doesn't like pink?"

Yeah, he was going to do just fine as a girl dad.

April - 8 months

"Guys, thank you so much for today. This was truly so sweet and I'm so grateful I'm going to have you guys around for help." The girls in the room smiled and cheered as they came over again to congratulate you again. The Isles wags were sweet enough to throw you a baby shower today and you truly felt the support by each and every one of them. You would really need it, especially when Mat would be on the road for games.

You went home to your apartment with a lot more gifts than you expected and were ready to just lay down and put your feet up. Yes, still your apartment. You actually had closed on a house (the one close to Anders) a couple of weeks ago but since your birth was so close you had decided to put off moving until after the baby was born. That would lessen the stress and also allow time to do some renovations to the house. The baby would be sleeping in your room for the first few months anyway and didn't need her own room. You couldn't decide on a nursery theme anyway so hopefully once she was here, you could make the final decision.

Music was blasting throughout the apartment and you followed it to find Mat on his knees in the living room putting together a rocking chair. "Oh, you're back," he got up to kiss you softly. "You look beautiful."

"I look and feel like a whale."

"But whales are beautiful amazing creatures." He kissed you again. "Did you bring me back cake?"

"In the grey bag," you pointed to where you had dropped your things and then plopped down on the couch, moaning in discomfort.

"Want me to massage something?," Mat asked when he came back to the living room, already digging into the piece of cake.

"My feet. But build the chair first, I wanna see how it looks." He raised a hand to his forehead, saluting, then started up building the chair again. It was relatively easy, so he was done quickly to massage your feet.

"I also put the bassinet together. It's in the bedroom already."

"Aw, I can't wait to see it. It's getting so close. Oh god, there's still so much to do. I need wash the clothes, and-" You started spiraling.

"Baby, calm down. It's gonna be ok. I'll help and you parents will be here soon who will help, too," he calmed you. "Take a deep breath."

Every day getting closer to you due date, you're anxiety increased, but it was usually trumped by your excitement over holding you baby girl. The timing of your pregnancy also wasn't the best since it was right during the playoffs that the isles were guaranteed to play in. You felt bad about it, but you were secretly hoping they'd get kicked out so you could be sure Mat would be there for the birth and help support you every day.

"Hey! Squish is kicking," you announced excitedly and Mat jumped from his spot landing next to you, eagerly placing his hand on your belly, feeling for his girl to kick.

"We're really gonna have to come up with a name. We can't call her squish all her life." You chuckled. The nickname came about when you saw the first ultrasound picture of her whole body and you noticed how cubby her cheeks were (or at least that's what you told yourself). Mat's response was that she looked like she was very squished in there (your belly) and the word kind of stuck around. She was your little squish and you couldn't wait for her to get all chubby.

You ordered in that night, too lazy to get up from the couch and cook a meal, and cuddled on the couch seriously discussing baby names.

May 11th - 9 months

That was the worst night of sleep you had gotten ever! You had been uncomfortable for last few months and hadn't gotten the best sleep, but last night you probably only slept for 30 minutes. Everything was hurting, your back, your legs, and most notably your belly. Looking back on it, you probably should have realized you were in labor or the idea should have at least crossed your mind, but for some reason you denied it and you just laid in bed and endured the pain. The pain was also nothing like a 'normal' contraction, you thought your body was just preparing for labor, it was more like Braxton Hicks and that was definitely not labor. Mat was also leaving for Florida the next day for a few days and you didn't want to worry him. Plus, you were scared. So yeah, you just laid there and took it. This would all be worth it in the end.

Mat noticed your discomfort, asking multiple times if you'd rather he stayed with you, but you assured him it was only false labor and even the doctor a few days ago said that she probably wouldn't come until at least her due date.

"Alright, bag is packed. I got my plane snacks," Mat listed in the afternoon, thinking out loud. He sat on the bed and leaned down to kiss you. "Now you," he said placing a hand on his stomach. "Don't come out until I get back, okay? It's nice and warm in there so stay comfy for a few more days."

"Yeah, she's nice in there but her mama is definitely getting tired of not being able to move." Mat shot you a worried look. "I'll be fine. I've got my girls coming over and my mom will be here in a few days."

Of course in that moment you got a cramp like feeling that paralyzed you with pain for a few seconds. "I don't like this, I should stay."

"No, no. Go. These are important games. I promise I'll be safe and I'll have people stay with me."

It pained him to go, but after a bit more convincing and a long hug and kiss goodbye he did. When you heard the dot shut, you moaned again in pain. Okay, this was much more painful than just a few hours ago. You turned the TV on, trying to distract yourself but the pain got more intense. Then you felt a little wet, like you had just peed yourself (and horribly that was a normal part of pregnancy). And suddenly all of the alarms went off. You were in labor.

"Shit!" You started freaking out, but the pain limited your movements so all you could do was reach the phone. "Maty!," you yelled when he picked up.

"What? What?," he yelled back, panicked.

"It hurts." You started crying. "I think the baby is coming."

"Ok, I'm coming. Hold on, I'll be there in a few minutes." Thankfully he was still in his car so he was able to turn around easily and come back to get you. He stayed on the phone with you the entire time while you explained to him what you had been feeling for the past few hours. Mat was very good about not being mad that you had lied to him about how you were feeling, he understood you anxiety about it for which you were very grateful.

"Baby time," Mat shouted when he stormed into the apartment and into the bedroom where you were struggling to get up. You couldn't help but chuckle at his grin while he was helping you stand up. "Let's go."

"Wait! I want to change." He rolled his eyes but helped you change outfit. He did the same, changing out of his suit and into comfy clothes. Once you got everything, you waddled out of your apartment and on your way to the hospital you were. One waddle step at a time. One waddle closer to meeting your daughter.

Which you did after a long few hours of painful labor. Mat stayed with you the entire time, never leaving your side except for getting you ice chips. Since you technically started labor the night before, you only spent about five hours in the hospital bed before your tiny girl made her appearance.

******

"Our first choice seems like the best fit, eh?"

"It does," you replied smiling. The smile hadn't left your face since the moment you held your daughter. Your head leaned against Mat's shoulder who was sitting next to you in the hospital bed. In your arms, you held your perfect little girl.

"Wanna make it official?" His fingertips traced her tiny face. He too, hadn't stopped smiling. You nodded. "Myla."

"Hi, Myla." She opened her eyes for a second and let out a cute baby noise and of course the two of you were infatuated with her all over again. "She looks like you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, she has your eyebrows." You traced them softly, outlining the distinct shape.

"She has your nose, though."

"A perfect mix." You looked up at him and he leaned his forehead against you. "I love you."

"I love you more," he whispered. "Thank you. You did such a good job. I am so happy. She's perfect. You're perfect. And I can't wait to take her home. And read her books. And put cute little outfits on her. And-" You chuckled at him rambling, but took all of his words to heart.

"I can't wait for all of that either." You kissed him again, but you little moment was interrupted by a nurse who was coming to take baby Myla to the nursery so you could get a couple of hours of sleep. While your heart broke watching her being wheeled away, you definitely needed to catch up on your sleep. With a final kiss from Mat, you got as comfortable as possible and fell into a deep sleep, the image of your daughter never leaving your mind. You had everything you ever wanted. The perfect boyfriend (and hopefully soon to be husband) and now a perfect daughter.

[hoonieyun]

“pink carnations”

pairing: riize song eunseok x reader “y/n”

genre: strangers to lovers

plot: every year, for the last 4 years, you’ve always visited your mom’s grave, each year it gets harder and harder. this year, you weren’t able to visit your mom’s grave on her death anniversary, but when you visit the day after you see a bouquet of flowers that you didn’t bring. 

warning: aside from mentions of death, i don’t think so but please let me know if there are

notes: obsessed with riize TT so i’m going to be writing a couple of riize au/fics and uploading them - italics are dialogue but they will also be in quotations i just like to differentiate them from regular text sometimes lol also slight sungchan mention - also this isn't proofread lol

word count: 3902

thursday

“hey, are you going to visit mom today?” your older sister asks you through the phone. you ponder for a moment before responding. “i don’t think so. i’ve got that deadline at work that i need to finish but i’ll probably visit her later tonight or tomorrow.” you respond, a small amount of guilt hitting your chest for the lie. truth is, your mother’s passing has only gotten harder on you the last few years. you’ve lived out your dreams but what was it worth when your mom wasn’t there to see you reach your successes? or even say she was proud of you… 

“you know…” your sister breaks you out of deep thought, “you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. i know ever since mom died you’ve kinda thrown yourself into your work and it’s nice to see it pay off but you need to find happiness again. i know it’s easier said than done but…” your sister stops her sentence there. you think about what she just said, almost as if she knew you were lying about your work situation and that she read you like a book. “we’ll grab dinner this weekend okay? i haven’t seen you in a while and i’m not taking a no; its the weekend i don’t wanna hear and work bullshit.” and the line cuts off. you sit at your dining table for a moment, looking out the window and taking in what your sister said when your phone gets a notification. 

5 Years - Mom’s Anniversary March 14 2024

you forgot that you had set a yearly reminder onto your phone, you swiftly swipe away the notification. it felt a little stupid to have that reminder, only because how could you ever forget when your mom’s death anniversary was? you only kept the reminders because in some way it made you feel more accountable, but this year you weren’t going to visit her. you would eventually, probably tomorrow, but not today; you had too much on your mind and you’d probably break down more than the last few years if you went to go see your mom. 

thursday evening

you had finished work early today, which was almost never but you knew today would be somewhat easy going as you just closed out a deal the day before leaving the rest of the week with almost no work to be done. “wanna grab a drink with us after work?” your coworker sungchan from IT asks you, his head popping into your office. he was cute but a relationship wasn’t something you needed right now. you softly smile at him, “not tonight, you guys have fun.” you politely decline and he dramatically acts like you just stabbed him in the heart, clutching the left side of his chest and letting out a fake painful groan. the two of you share a laugh as he slowly enters your office and stands next to your desk. he leans over and softly places his hand over yours, “i know today is hard for you, but just know i’m here for you if you need anything.” sungchan says looking deeply into your eyes. a warm feeling makes its way across your face and before the tears start to pool at your eyes you take your hand back and just smile and nod. sungchan takes this as a sign you’d like to be left alone so he does just that, exiting your office but not before he takes one last look at you, to which he sees you’re now chewing on your bottom lip and looking out the window. 

it was around 7:30pm when you left the office. you could’ve gotten home a lot earlier before the sun had set but you made yourself busy at work. finding anything to do just to avoid having to go home. your drive home didn’t feel real, almost as if you were in limbo, for a while it felt like you weren’t moving on the road but everything else was moving around you. it wasn’t until you turned onto your neighborhood did you snap out of this weird feeling. you had no thoughts in your head but upon entering your home you instinctively went to your kitchen to grab a glass of wine and made your way into your bedroom. changing out of your work clothes and into pajamas, you climbed out onto your roof. something you really enjoyed about your home, a balcony that led to the roof with a ladder. whenever you were up there it felt like nothing else in the world existed. like you were on top of the highest mountain, the only person for miles, and it was just you, the sky, and the never ending thoughts of perrill as you finish your glass of wine. 

*beep* 9:56am *beep* friday morning *beep*

you're awoken by your alarm and the cold air pinching your cheeks. you had accidentally fallen asleep on your roof. your lips were chapped and hair frizzy from all of the morning wind. thankfully it didn’t rain. you grab your phone to turn off your alarm when you realize the time, your’re almost 2 hours late to work, getting ready now would only make you even more late. you quickly dial sungchans work phone but he doesn’t answer so you try his cell but nothing either. you leave him a voice, asking him to cover for you in case something at work comes up. even though you’re in different departments, he’s always had your back; the two of you were in the same group of new hires when you both joined the company. 

you made your way inside, getting out of the cold and plopping down onto your bed. you let out a groan as you do a full body stretch, regretting falling asleep on the roof as your back slightly aches but now grateful for the comfort of your mattress. you get a text, assuming it’s from sungchan to which it was, “don’t worry, got you! *winky face*” you smile, mentally thanking him when you get another text. “oh… was that winky face weird..? sorry!” he says with 3 wide smile face emojis. you can’t help but laugh and find his actions cute. you text him a thank you and saying you owe him one to which he says you’ll have to grab drinks with him sometime. 

it’s almost noon when you finally decide to get out of bed to get ready to visit your mom’s grave. every year it not only got a lot harder on you without having your mom but going to see her grave got harder because it was just a constant reminder of how close she was but so far away at the same time. 

2:28pm friday

you’re driving to the cemetery, trying to compose yourself; getting ready to leave wasn’t so hard but the closer you got to leaving the house and getting into your car made your anxiety rise. you’re not necessarily an anxious person, but right now everything seems to be causing you to panic. you sat in your for half an hour, catching your breath, before you could even start the car. you’re driving with the windows down, needing the extra air to breathe as it feels like the air in your lungs are being funneled out of your body the closer you get to your destination. 

when you see the familiar stone fixture at the front of the cemetery you let out a huge breath. almost as if you had been holding your breath the whole drive there. you quickly find parking when you realize you didn’t bring flowers or anything to offer your mother. you shut your eyes and almost fall to your knees. a ringing in your ears causes you to wince, making you regret coming all the way here. you question whether to just leave and quickly grab flowers, or stay, or just leave altogether and maybe come back during the weekend with your sister. 

a sudden burst of wind envelopes you, almost like a hug. taking it as a sign from the earth to stay, you release one more deep breath before making your way to your mother’s grave. as you pass the other tombstones, adorned with candles and colorful flowers, you almost want to turn around and just run back to your car but something keeps telling you that you shouldn’t and before you know it you’re standing over your mother’s grave. 

a bouquet of pink carnations rests to the left of her tombstone, adjacent to the bouquet your sister brought during her birthday at the beginning of the year. “i wonder why she got pink carnations this time?” you think to yourself, questioning your sister’s decision of flower choice. you spend the next few hours just sitting there, catching up with your mom, telling her the new stuff in your life, mentioning sungchan but only briefly because you know her response to any boy in your life would be to automatically bring him to meet her so she can feed and investigate him. 

your phone rings so you reach for it inside your bag. pulling it out to see that it was your sister, you quickly answer. “hey, what are you up to?” she asks after you answer. “i’m actually at mom’s grave right now. probably going to head home soon i’ve been here for like 3 hours now.” you respond, as you pick yourself up from the ground and dusting off the dirt from your clothes. “that’s nice, i’m glad you got to visit her.” she says, “yeah, i’m glad i did too. hey why’d you choose pink carnations this time?” you ask her. theres a slight pause before your sister responds. “pink carnations?” she says like she has no idea what you’re talking about. “yeah, the bouquet you left at mom’s grave? don’t we usually bring her roses or sunflowers?” you explain. “i wasn’t able to visit her yesterday, that’s why i called you; i was going to ask if you wanted to go together today.” you make a confused face, now unsure who the bouquet is from. 

you bend over to pick up the flowers, “someone probably left it on accident or maybe it was one of my mom’s friends. you know she was popular at the market we used to go to as kids.” your sister explains but you remain silent, observing the flowers. “look, let’s catch up this weekend, maybe saturday?” and you just respond with a short “mhmm” before ending the call. 

with the bouquet in hand, you turn around when a voice startles you. “they’re for remembrance.” a boy says behind you as you slightly jump from the sudden voice. “sorry…” he shyly chuckles, “didn’t mean to scare you.” you’re looking at him, blinking rapidly. “remembrance?” you ask. “yeah…” he walks closer and grabs the flowers from your hands and places it back where they were when you had arrived. “pink carnations are for remembrance. they’re also a symbol for gratitude and heartache for someone you love” he explains. you’re now staring at his back as he places the flowers down, he turns around and you’ve come to your senses when you realize you’re staring. 

“sorry this is probably weird. uhhh. i’m eunseok” he extends his hand to shake yours. you shake his hand, “y/n” you tell him as you shake hands. “nice to meet you” eunseok smiles and you feel your heart beat faster. “were you the one that left these?” you ask him, pointing at the carnations. “uh, yeah i did. hope that’s okay, i noticed no one stopped by yesterday so i thought i’d leave some flowers.” he tells you while wiping his hands on his pants. “wait, what do you mean? why would you leave flowers for my mom?” you question him, unable to read if you were getting a red or green flag from the random boy. “i see you every year, my mom’s grave is just that way.” he points to a tombstone a few feet away. “i always see you whenever you bring your mom flowers, i spend the whole day at my mom’s grave on her anniversary and when i didn’t see you yesterday i thought i’d leave some for her so she didn’t feel forgotten.” this boy, who you didn’t even know, remembered to bring your mother flowers on her death anniversary when it was so hard for you. 

it made you think about how the hardships you were facing were all in your head. that the turmoil of facing the truth that your mother’s passing is real and was something you were eventually going to have to come to terms with. you realized you needed to get out of your head and that your mother passing wasn’t the thing stopping you from finding happiness, it was yourself. a stranger’s kindness felt like the comfort you’d feel from your mother’s embrace after a long day. 

“i’m sorry, i didn’t mean to upset you.” eunseok says in a panicked voice. you realize that you’re crying and he offers you a small towel. you wipe your tears with your hands and eunseok retracts his hand with the towel and places it into his pocket. “no, i’m not upset. that’s very kind of you eunseok. sorry i don’t know why i’m crying.” you explain trying to stop the tears. “that’s okay.” he smiles. “sometimes we just need to cry. it may not seem like it but i spent most of yesterday crying, i’m kind of glad you weren’t here so you didn’t see me crying” he chuckles and his small joke also makes you laugh. 

“it was nice meeting you, i should head out it’s getting late.” you say and his smile forms into a straight line. “yeah, i was just heading out too when i saw you and overheard your conversation.” the two of you begin to walk together to the parking lot. “how come you came back today?” you ask him. wondering if yesterday was his mom’s death anniversary like yours; why did he come back today. “i’m not sure. i just felt like it, like something in the air was telling me i should go see her.” he says with a shrug and it makes you think about how upon arriving here the air seemed to comfort you and let you know you were in the right place. 

the two of you arrive at your cars, which coincidentally, are parked next to each other. you enter your car with a big sigh as you lean your head back onto your headrest. as you’re about to start your car you notice something from the corner of your eye, making you turn your head. you see eunseok somewhat leaning outside of his car, waving his hands; trying to get your attention. you roll your windows down, your heart beating faster, like it was going to explode. “your tail light is out by the way.” eunseok says and you briefly look to the back as if you would see it. you smile softly at him and thank him before he retreats back into his car. 

you back out of your parking spot, almost wishing he had asked you out. sure he was just a stranger but his kindness alone was enough to make you swoon. let alone his kindness to your mom, he was also attractive. as you’re exiting the parking lot, you think about all the times your mom asks you if you have a boyfriend or when are you going to get a boyfriend, only for you to respond with a groan or rolling your eyes at her. maybe this was a sign from your mom, bringing eunseok and his kindness through pink carnations to your mom’s grave. your mom truly bringing him to you. 

you’ve been stopped at the exit of the parking lot for a few minutes now when you realize eunseok has just been behind you, probably growing tired and confused waiting behind you. you close your eyes and let out a breath before putting the car in park and exiting. you walk towards eunseok’s car and see that he’s rolling the window down. “do you wanna go out sometime?” you ask him as you look into his eyes. you could almost see the sunset in his eyes the way they reflected light. “as a thank you… for the flowers you left my mom.” and to what seemed like eternity waiting for a response from eunseok, you felt disheartened. maybe you thought too much into it. what were you even thinking taking this as a sign that you may have found love. before you turn around and walk away, eunseok stutter’s out a response. saying sure, prompting the two of you to exchange phones to add each other’s contacts.

you grab your phone from eunseok and return his phone. after you’ve entered your car again and exited the parking lot you let out a squeal. just like you would when you were younger whenever you’d tell your mom about the boy you had a crush on in middle school and how he looked so cute during lunch time. 

eunseok

eunseok sighs and slightly hits his head, “idiot! why didn’t you ask her out?” he says. when he’s getting ready to leave he notices you’ve already driven off and are about to exit the parking lot, he pulls up behind you, waiting for you to make your turn onto the road. thinking about how he’s going to have to wait a whole nother year before being able to see you again. his little crush he’s developed over the years while visiting his mom.

eunseok realizes he’s been waiting for a while behind your car when he stops thinking about regretting not asking you out. he sees you put your car in park and he watches you exit the car and make your way to his window to which he rolls down. 

“do you wanna go out sometime?” you ask as eunseok pops his head out his car through the window. “as a thank you… for the flowers you left my mom.” you explain further. eunseok is shocked you just asked him that he’s a bit speechless. the silence is so deafening you take it as a no, but before you walk away he stutters out. “s- sure.” you hand him your phone and so does he, adding one another into each other’s phones. you make your way back to your and exit the parking lot. once you’ve left eunseok can’t stop smiling, cheeks flush; almost as pink as the carnations. he even double checks his phone to make sure you really did put in your number, you even texted yourself through his phone. 

next year

“ready?” eunseok asks. it’s been a whole year since you met eunseok. the day after both of your mother’s death anniversary. your relationship has grown a lot within that one year. growing closer each day, getting to know one another, and eventually dating. he’s parked outside of your job, standing next to his car. 

today marks another year, the day of both your mother’s death anniversaries. he’s come to pick you up after work so the two of you can visit your mothers. you walk out the office building towards him with a smile and nod. he extends his hand out to you and you grab; the two of you quickly share a kiss. you enter the car and he closes the door behind you and makes his way to the driver’s seat. before he drives off you groan, “what’s wrong?” he asks placing his hand over yours and slightly rubbing it. “i forgot to grab the flowers, i’ve been so busy with work and-” you start to ramble, feeling your anxiety start to build in your chest. “hey… everything is okay. i’ve got it” he says. soothing your nerves. you look at him endearingly and he shares a smile. 

he reaches in the back seat and presents you with a bouquet of flowers, specifically pink carnations. “you got them?” you ask. “of course, i’d never forget.” he responds. your heart was now beating a lot faster, not because you were anxious or that you were beginning to feel like the world was crumbling beneath you; but because eunseok has started to make you feel happy. replacing your anxiety with joy and allowing you to grow out of your habits of suffering alone. that we would gladly suffer with you if it meant at the end, there was no pain but just love. 

the two of you arrive at the cemetery, deciding to visit your mom first since eunseok’s mom was a bit further down; you’d visit her after. you introduce eunseok to your mom and vice versa. tell her about the year you’ve had and how happy and grateful you are to have eunseok in your life. he holds you tight, an arm around your shoulder; slightly rubbing your arm to further your soothe and provide comfort. 

you pull out some photos from your bag, childhood photos you wanted to share with eunseok and your mom. a few of you and your sister during your birthdays, photos of you beginning the first day of school, but one in particular caught eunseok’s eye. a photo of you and your mom at han river, she's bent down to your small height helping you blow bubbles. it wasn’t the image of you and your mom that caught his eye but something in the back of the photo. a mother is holding her small son up on her shoulders. she’s wearing a bright yellow sundress while the son is fitted into a red shirt and denim blue shorts with a cap that has a propeller on top. 

“wait…” eunseok says causing you to pause your trip down memory lane of childhood photos. “everything okay?” you ask him as you turn your head to face eunseok. he brings his arm from around your shoulder to grab something from his bag. he takes out a small tin box, one an assortment of cookies used to reside in. “cookies? eunseok are you hungry?” you ask him with a slight chuckle. “no… look.” he says after opening the tin box and flipping through some photos. he hands you a photo, one that looks familiar but you can’t tell why. the photo is of eunseok as a baby, sitting on top of his mom’s shoulders. “aww, you’re so cute! look at your little hat.” you say pinching his cheek. “nooo, not that. look at this.” he grabs the photo of you and your mom blowing bubbles and puts them next to each other. there you realize that in the back of your photo with your mother at han river, there was a boy with his mother as well; and in the back of eunseoks photo with his mom, stood a mother bent over to help her daughter blow bubbles. 

the two of you make eye contact, realizing that at this moment. you’re both sat at the cemetery your mother’s are buried in together, in which another instance in both your lives, where the two of you alongside your mother’s were near at hand. sharing the memory of a joyful time with not only your mother’s but now with one another. 

copyright 2024 - present © hoonieyun fka jjhyn all rights reserved

all writing here is fiction & not in any association with characters mentioned.

[meiiuka]

hi Mod Toko!! <3 can I request rantaro and nagito finding out that the reader has a crush on them and how they both would react??

of course, that's such a cute idea!!

rantaro amami and nagito komaeda finding out that you have feelings for them:

category: headcanons, fluff

notes: i hope i didn’t stray from the prompt too much, i tried my best to make the scenarios entertaining lol

Rantaro Amami:

• you, rantaro, and your mutual friend were having a conversation with just the three of you in a casual group setting

• the third party had accidentally mentioned that you had feelings for him while telling a “funny story” 💀 • rantaro’s first reaction is to chuckle at the news but he doesn’t really fully process what’s being said until he notices the flustered reaction on your face

• he has this moment where his eyes just kind of go out of focus and he thinks about the fact that your mutual friend just said it aloud without thinking

• he’s normally a very composed guy but this time, he can’t help but react by widely grinning and letting his excitement show in his face 😭

• the normally chill, sociable guy that you fell for is bubbling with excitement and is struggling to think of how to phrase what he wants to say smoothly

• “can the two of us have a minute to ourselves? i uh… might need a second”

• “hey y/n, so about that. when were you gonna tell me you had feelings for me?”

as you held your breath in anticipation, he completed his thought

“i wasn’t sure how i was going to tell you about my feelings, so i take this as a good way to break it to you”

• you two are both laughing at the situation (and at your mutual friend who has zero idea what they just revealed), rantaro putting his hand on your shoulder for leverage as he struggles to compose himself

• “what do you say a date for tomorrow night? it’s my turn to take initiative and put effort into this”

Nagito Komaeda:

• it started when you wrote a message to your friend about nagito: “i just don’t know what to do… i like him, but what if he doesn’t like me?”

… and accidentally sent it to nagito 💀

• the first reaction you get from him is “?” (that is, the first reaction you can see)

• on the other side of the phone he is freaking out, wishfully thinking that it might be about him, blushing PROFUSELY, pacing around, and is unsure of what the hell is going on

• you immediately send him a follow up message trying to cover your tracks but you get the feeling that he already knows

• in a way, you also want him to know so that you could just get it out there, but it’s extremely nerve racking for everyone involved

• meanwhile every single fiber of his soul is hoping that the message was about him, and that somehow you’d reveal it to be

• “not to pry but could i ask you something y/n? who is this person you have feelings for? we’re friends and i want to help you, if i can”

• this evolves into a conversation about you practically describing the aspects of nagito without actually naming anyone— but it’s exactly what he needs to deduce that you’re talking about him

• you two have the same moment of realization where the tension is so high that you just can’t ignore what you both already know

• “i think i’ll just be honest at this point,,

i’ve been talking about you, nagito. you’re the one i have feelings for.”

• he literally cannot type words. he’s paralyzed by the fact that you of all people??? liking him? no way. he must be dreaming

• his reply reads:

“if i wasn’t already obvious, i have feelings for you too… sorry if it was awkward for me to ask you that. i want to go further but i think i’m worried about ruining our friendship. i want to watch movies with you and maybe even hold hands, i wanna be closer with you. agh. i can’t even think… what am i saying??? just ignore this”

• you reassure him that it’s okay and that these are things you’ll figure out with him along the way. he buries his face into a pillow and sighs with a mixed feeling of excitement, joy, relief, and nervousness. but above all, he’s happy to know his feelings are reciprocated

[veras1ne]

“Take a Break.”

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ Summary 🕊️: So wrapped up in his work, Anakin can’t but bare to be away from his beloved holopad, that is though, until you simply INSIST he must take a break. A 5 minute shower turned rogue might just do the trick.

🫧Pairing: Anakin Skywalker x AFAB!Reader

: ̗̀➛ WARNINGS🪷: This is your warning for the following: NSFW content, PIV, mild degrading, pretty vanilla compared to some other works.

HI DOVES!! I just wanted to say again thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the love and reblogs, follows and hearts I’ve been getting I appreciate it more than you even know <3

Also yes… this is the ipad kid Anakin fic

Remember my inbox is open to suggestions, requests, comments or nonsense! Love you guys (Also I hope atleast one of you got my Hamilton reference with the title lol.)

Anakin was a busy man.

Being a Jedi in itself was hard work, but being on the council was another, meaning that you began to see your beloved partner less and less as the minutes turned into hours and days turned into nights. One thing that remained, though, was that when he did get a moment to himself, those sweet times were spent trying to convince him to take a break, just for himself, and relax. More often than not, he would ignore your discretions and bury himself in one of your many holopads and screens, consuming media on the holonet as if there was no tomorrow, mostly to see if he had any important updates or tasks he had to keep up with.

That’s the situation you've currently found yourself in. His attention was on one of the many news outlets he had loved to read, while you sat on the opposite-facing sofa, watching his eyes get lost within the words. "Ani, you’ve been reading that dastardly thing for hours now; take a break, please. You know you need it; You’ve got eyebags, and before you know it, you’ll start to get wrinkles with how much you frown at your screen." You teased him, but truly, you meant what you said.

He appeared before you restless and paranoid, and yet he still insisted that he was fine. "That’s nonsense. All these news outlets on the holo-net just don’t know what they’re talking about. They’re making the Jedi Order look like fools." He huffed out, getting up from his seat to grab a drink, not once looking up from his screen. "Just take a quick break, please? I promise your holopad isn’t going anywhere; just a quick 5-minute shower to get your muscles relaxed and all this dirt out of your hair, and you look like you rolled around in a bantha-sty." Your voice echoed out, following a deep sigh coming from Anakin. "5 Minutes. And no face masks this time; the last time you told me to take a break, you put a mask on me and made me look like Master Luminara." That earned a laugh from both of you.

You smiled at him, turning his attention from his holofeed. "Fine, 5 minutes, and then you can go back to your beloved holopad." He grinned, placing his cup down on the table before he made his way over to where you sat. "Let’s go before I change my mind." He looked down at you; his eyes changed from concerned and tired to playful yet serious.

You knew he always took his work seriously, especially since he was eager to earn his rank as master, which he ranted to you about several times earlier that day. Regardless, though, you still valued his time away from it and knew that it was important for him to rest and relax, even if he refused. His hand rested on the small of your back as he helped you off the sofa, guiding you towards the bathroom across the room. Before shutting the door behind you and locking it, you glanced at him over your shoulder. "I’ll start the water; you go on and get out of those clothes; maker knows I need to do laundry anyways." You told him, knowing that he’d start to get antsy with you if this process took too long.

He sighed, turning away from you and starting to undress himself. The only sounds that followed were the faucet running and his grunting every time his belt got stuck because he was trying to act with haste, which turned out to be his enemy in this case. "Anakin Skywalker, if you don’t stop worrying and just take your time, I’m serious. You need to relax, honey. The planet doesn’t revolve around what people perceive you or the order as on the holo-net." You snapped at him, taking him aback and making him furrow his eyebrows.

No words were exchanged as you stripped yourself of your own clothing, taking back the glass door of your shower and stepping in as he followed suit. The water felt wonderful on your skin after such a stressful, yet quite frankly, boring week, and soon the steam surrounding you and his warm breath hit you in waves, soothing your tired body.He stood behind you, letting his fingers trail along the curve of your waist. "Maybe you’re right. I could use a little relaxation." He smirked at you, dipping his fingers below your navel and slowly making his way towards your core, pressing them against it.

The sensation sent tingles up your spine; you couldn’t help but lean into him, a moan escaping your lips as your eyes fluttered shut. A light kiss trailed across your neck, sending goosebumps over your skin, and he chuckled darkly, "You’re so beautiful, you know that?" He whispered, his voice low and husky. You hummed in response, leaning further into him. "I love you." He added, his hands moving to your hips, pulling you closer to him. "Ani, not now. This is about you, baby." You withdrew from him, only getting scolded in return. "Yes, now. There’s never been a better time, Angel." He pulls you into a passionate embrace, pushing you into the wall, and kisses you deeply and passionately.

Your fingers tangled themselves in his curls, causing him to groan lowly into your mouth, and you moaned into his lips, pushing yourself closer to him. "Oh fuck. I need you so badly, Ani." You breathed out, attempting to ignore how close his hands were to your dripping core. He pulled away slightly and said, "I know, baby. We’ve barely even gotten started, and you’re already so wet. It’s disgusting how hungry you are for my dick." He asked in mock disapproval, and you whined in response, leaning into him again. "What happened to relaxing, dove? Isn’t this what you wanted?" You nodded furiously, biting your lip in anticipation. "This is all you wanted, huh? Acting like a slut to get me all alone and fuck me." He pushed you harder against the wall, grinding his cock against your cunt. You moaned, arching your back into him as you ran your fingers through his curly locks. "Anakin, oh my maker, yes." You practically begged him, his name rolling off your tongue so smoothly that it almost sounded like a song. "Please." You whimpered out, "Give me all of you." He kissed your collarbone, nipping and sucking on it as he pressed himself further into your opening, squeezing your hips as he slid himself inside of you.

The tight fit of his cock gave you a sensation that was pure and unadulterated. "Oh, Ani!" You cried out, wrapping your legs around his waist. He continued to thrust in and out of you, hitting every spot on your body that caused you to tighten around him. "This pussy belongs to me. I’m the only one who will ever get to see her like this." He growled at you, rubbing your clitoral area as he pulsed inside of you. You moaned once more, clenching your teeth together. "Oh, fuck me." He grunted, continuing to pound against your core, and his pace quickened.

Soon enough, you were coughing hard, tears falling freely from your eyes from his relentless pounding as he quickly came inside you. He continued to hold you tighter until you stopped shaking, taking a moment to hold you as he slipped out from inside you. "I love you so much, Ani." You mumbled, burying your head in his chest and warming up in opposition to the now-cold water. His arms wrapped around you tightly, resting his chin atop your head. "I love you more, dove. Thank you for making me take this break with you." He replied softly, pressing kisses all over your head and smiling at you. "Next time, listen to me before I have to beg you to stop being a holopad youngling." You joked with him, grabbing the bottle of soap to wash the grime and, quite frankly, the disgusting fluids that your body now had attached to it. "I promise to spend more time away from work, just for you," he smiled before carrying on.

"And by the way, that was way more than five minutes."

[atzjieun]

[240805 FROMM UPDATE]

[02:15 PM KST] | [01:15 AM EDT]

JIEUNIE SOPHIE hiiii tinys~ (PM 02:15)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE it’s been a while since i’ve been here, right? (PM 02:15)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE sorry for not being very active 😓 (PM 02:16)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE i’ll try harder in the future! (PM 02:16)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE wow so many international atiny are awake (PM 02:16)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE it’s 1am here though? (PM 02:16)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE ah i see. i guess people just don’t sleep during sunmer break (PM 02:18)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE yes i’ve been exploring all the cities! (PM 02:19)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE i know my reputation ㅋㅋㅋ but i promise i’ve gone out (PM 02:19)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE there were a few days i stayed at the hotel because i was tired, but the members drag me out often (PM 02:19)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE i went to a restaurant with mingi-oppa and yeosang-oppa the other day! (PM 02:20)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE the food was so good!! best steak i’ve ever had and i ate so much i thought i’d explode (PM 02:20)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE toronto and illinois atiny!! please give me some food recommendations 😊 (PM 02:21)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE i like trying local food places 🥰 it’s fun to see what different foods are popular here (PM 02:21)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE ah, what did i do today? (PM 02:21)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE well earlier i went out for brunch with hongjoong-oppa (PM 02:21)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE then i worked out at the gym for a bit (PM 02:21)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE and then took a shower and have been resting since (PM 02:22)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE wooyoung-oppa and i were watching a movie (PM 02:22)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE mamma mia of course <3 (PM 02:22)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE you guys want a tmi? (PM 02:23)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE hmm… (PM 02:23)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE ack it hurts (PM 02:24)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE wooyoung’s laying on my leg and cutting off my circulation (PM 02:24)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE he fell asleep while watching mamma mia!! a crime, really (PM 02:24)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE that’s why i came to talk to atiny~ (PM 02:25)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE no, i’m not going to send a photo of him asleep (PM 02:25)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE i did take some, but those will stay between the members for now ㅋㅋㅋ (PM 02:26)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE maybe i’ll use them for blackmail later (PM 02:26)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE some people are asking for another mamma mia cover (PM 02:27)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE maybe one day! (PM 02:27)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE i've been working on a lot of things in between shows (PM 02:27)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE no spoilers~ (PM 02:28)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE LOL someone's asking what i'm getting mingi for his birthday (PM 02:28)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE nice try mingi-oppa (PM 02:28)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE i know its you (PM 2:29)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE i might try to sleep soon (PM 02:29)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE i forgot i'm going out with the others tomorrow (PM 02:29)

JIEUNIE SOPHIE goodnight north american atinys <3 please go to sleep (PM 02:30)

a/n: jiwoo are officially no longer fighting in real time :) the details of their fight will be shared one day LMAO

a/n 2.0: the layout for the fromm post was inspired by the lovely @ateezjuliet :”)

[reigningqueenofwords]

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

Pairing: Dean x Reader

Part 3 of the Games We Play

The next morning when you woke up, you felt the warm body that your back was against move as he breathed. Rolling to your stomach to look at him, you smirked. “See something you like?” Sam chuckled as he stretched.

“Well, what I really like is covered by a sheet right now.” You teased. He rolled you so that your hands were pinned by your head and he was settled between your thighs. Letting your eyes roam down his chest, and back up. “Much better.” You grinned.

His lips met yours roughly, making you moan. Biting your lip, he moved so that both of your hands were pinned above your head with one of his. “Got one more round in you?” He whispered in your ear.

“You got another condom?” You asked.

“You bet your ass I do.”

As you had left his room right before lunch, you saw his brother and waved. “Bye, Dean!” You chuckled, making your way to your own motel room.

You stripped out of your clothes and hopped in the shower, wanting to be on the road soon. There were a few options for you, so you thought about where you felt like heading while you washed your hair.

Sitting on the bed, you leaned against the headboard and logged onto your account. It had been a couple days since you’d had the chance to talk to him, so you were hoping that he was on. Your face lit up when you saw that he was in fact logged on.

Theinastus- There you are!! Where were you last night? I had to listen to my brother fuck some chick. Kanestinia- Why didn’t you put on your headphones? lol Theinastus- They were in his room. And you didn’t tell me where you were. Where were you? Have you been cheating on WoW with another game? Lol Kanestinia- I went out to a bar, hung out with some pretty cool people, and went home with a guy. So no. I was no cheating on WoW. I was having a grand ol’ time. ;)

Dean stared at the screen. He had no right to be jealous! You weren’t his girlfriend, but he hated the thought of you sleeping with some random guy. Taking a deep breath, he tried to make sure he didn’t come off like some douche.

Theinastus- I hope he at least pleased my lady. I would hate to have to hunt him down for disappointing you. Kanestinia- Oh. I’m very pleased alright. He was one hell of a way to break a dry spell! Lol. How about you? Boulder City had some hot women. Please tell me you snatched one up ;) Theinastus- Actually, I didn’t. After my brother left with what’s her name, I came back to the room hoping to see you.

You sighed, shaking your head.

Kanestinia- Don’t forget to live your life because of some girl behind the computer screen. Theinastus- You’re not just some girl.

Staring at his words, your heart sped up, crossing your fingers that he didn’t mean what you thought he did.

Theinastus- I love you.

He ran his hand through his hair, his leg shaking. Did she feel the same? Would she blow him off? Did he just ruin this? Dean suddenly felt sick to his stomach. Groaning, his head went back. “Fuck.” He sighed.

Kanestinia- You don’t know me. We flirt, yeah, but you don’t really know anything about me. It’s safer that way. Just… Live your life, okay? Don’t let our flirting ruin it. Maybe in a different life, it would have been very different, but this is our life. I’m sorry. I have to go. I’ll be on tomorrow night. Just, please think about what I said.

Tearing up, you shut your laptop without properly logging off. It wasn’t fair. You broke your own heart as you were typing those words! You loved him, a lot, and that’s why you had to do that. That’s why you had to say that. Wiping your cheek, you set your laptop off to the side and forced yourself to breathe.

Dean read what you wrote. Over and over. Something that stuck out was that you never said you didn’t feel the same way. Not once did you tell him you didn’t love him. His heart clenched. What did you mean it was safer this way? Were you in trouble? He had a million and one questions going through his mind at the moment.

[nobodybutapathetic]

Making Out With A Malfoy

You and Draco making out be like:

⚠️ !WARNING! ⚠️

Making out, teasing words, ROUGH GRASP FROM DRACO MALFOY

(!IF YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED INTO THESE TYPE OF STUFF, PLEASE LEAVE! YOU ARE WARNED!)

“Why is my lips itching today?…” You asked yourself as you lean into the window.

You suddenly spotted Draco who was hanging out with his friends by a tree which gave you the greatest idea.

You stood up from the chair you have been sitting on and went outside.

Draco was just laughing with his friends about something until you tapped his shoulder.

“Ah, my love. What brings you here?” He looked at you and smiled.

You just gave him a smirk and gave him the “look.” It took him time until he finally knew the meaning.

“Uhm. I’ll be taking her to her dorm. See you guys.” He fixed his tie as he walked to his dorm, holding my hand roughly.

“You’ve made a bad decision, princess.” He said before he took his robe off.

“Oh please. Now, shut up and make out with me.” You grabbed his scalp and attached his lips onto yours.

He started the kiss slow and soft until he deepened the kiss when he pinned you against the wall, slowly unbuttoning your blouse.

“No. We’re not doing it today.” You said, in between kisses.

He groaned until he slipped his hand onto your thighs then picking you up, crossing your legs between his.

He broke out for air then whispered into your ear.

“I’ll make you feel so good, love. I promise. You’ll never forget this day.” He seductively said, his hot breath hitting your face.

“Then prove it.” You said, messing up your hair.

He licked his lips then roughly attached his lips onto yours again, this time, the kiss was filled with lust and hunger.

“Draco, slow down.” You said, breaking the kiss causing him to frown and kissing you again, with force.

He removed his shirt when he broke out of the kiss then pushed you onto the bed to continue what you two were doing.

“You’re so delicious today.” He smirked.

“Be thankful I let you escape from your pesky friends.” You said before making out with him again and maybe do something even more than that. 😉

(SORRY IF THIS WAS SO SHORT LOL- I HAVE AN EXAM TOMORROW SO- YEAH-)

[babydollmarauders]

BORROW — DYLAN DUKE

dylan duke x fem!reader

FAITHLYNN’S 500 CELLY!

🌷: “Have you seen my hoodie?” “Noo.” “You’re wearing it, aren’t you?” with Dylan.

notes: i’ve never written for Dylan before so bear with me lol i love him though <3 love my UMich sophomores <3

sophomore house is packed. full of college students celebrating the hockey teams win last night, although most students in attendance probably couldn’t care less about the win and just wanted somewhere to party. i’ve been here for three hours now, most of my night spent glued to my boyfriend’s side. Dylan’s arm is slung around my shoulders, my own being wrapped around his waist; we stand in front of Luke and Mackie, the three hockey players discussing their most recent game and what they could’ve done better. but they’re interrupted when Mark and Ethan come rushing over.

“shotgunning contest out back!” they shout in unison before dragging the Luke and Mackie out to the backyard. Dylan grins and we part in order to walk outside. he’s handed a can of beer and slips off his hoodie, handing it to me.

“i don’t wanna get beer on this, can you hold it, babe?” he asks me.

“yeah, i got it.” i tell him, wrapping it around my waist. he presses a kiss to my cheek before falling in line with the rest of the guys. they all count to three before shotgunning their beer, Ethan ultimately winning. the guys all fist bump and start chatting, but before i can walk over to Dylan, my friend and roommate, Lily appears at my side.

“hey, you ready to go? i’m falling asleep on my feet.” she jokes.

“yeah, just let me say bye to Dyl.” i tell her, breaking away to go over to my boyfriend. he smiles as i reach him, pulling me back in against his side.

“Lily is ready to go, so we’re gonna head out, babe.” i lean forward, pressing my lips against his in a quick kiss. “i’ll see you tomorrow, congratulations on your win again!”

“okay, baby. i’ll see you tomorrow.” i walk away, joining Lily again and we walk around the side of the house to the front yard, starting our walk back to our dorm.

about halfway through the walk, i’m shivering from the nighttime chill, and i realize i still have Dylan’s hoodie around my waist. slipping it on my body, i’m instantly enveloped in warmth and the scent of his cologne, making me grin.

Lily and i reach our dorm and she announces she’s going to take a shower, grabbing her towel and disappearing to the bathroom. i change into my pajamas, keeping Dylan’s hoodie on, and take a seat on my bed, settling in with a book. i’m just getting in the flow of reading when my phone starts buzzing with an incoming call from Dylan. i press the accept button, switching it to speaker.

“hi, baby!” i exclaim, a smile taking over my face.

“hey, babe! have you seen my hoodie? i can’t find it and i was wondering if maybe you set it down somewhere.” he replies. i bite back a guilty giggle.

“noo.” i drag out. i hear him chuckle on the other line before her speaks.

“you’re wearing it, aren’t you?” he asks, and i can hear the grin on his face through the phone.

“maybe.” i confess.

“as long as you have it.” he tells me. “i just wanted to make sure it wasn’t missing.”

“nope! it’s safe and sound on my body!”

-

-

[slothgiirl]

in the air (xiao x reader)

7.3k words. mentions of rock climbing and chinese traditional medicine. pining. fluff. first time writing in genshin impact for xiao so idk how in character this is. probs errors bc this is unedited like my lyfe lol. also xiao takes 1k words to show up hehe

“Delivery for Bubu Pharmacy,” you dump all your packages on the counter, finally able to see in front of you once again. The walk from Qingce Village to Liyue Harbor was long, made longer by the various dried herbs and distilled oils you had to carry.

“Ah, our lovely botanist,” Herbalist Gui grabs a letter opener, already sorting through the parcels. Silk flowers, glaze lilies, fresh lotus root, ginseng root, and the rest of the raw ingredients a pharmacy needed. “No violetgrass? Or qingxin flowers?”

You slip behind the counter, taking a seat on the stool Qiqi used to reach. You’d need the stool too in order to get the very top shelf ingredients. Maybe you weren’t a pharmacists, you think as you read the labels for ingredients as rare as sakura blooms imported from abroad to condensed ginger, but you could probably fix a cold.

Botany wasn’t your dream growing up, but your family’s business. The house you’d grown up in was tiny compared to the greenhouse full of silk flowers, to the pear trees and lotus growing in flooded terraces. You liked the job. You liked getting to see all of Liyue. You loved the smell of drying cinnamon and seeing a plant perk up once you gave it some compost.

“Not yet,” you admit, “with the rains last week I couldn’t exactly get to Huaguang Stone Forest.” Your favorite part of this job was getting to climb up the towering peaks. You loved rock climbing. You loved the cool wind on your skin after ascending, looking down and knowing you’d done this. You loved the solitude, the quiet and peace. You fell in love with the alien perspective of being up so high.

“Be careful out there,” Herbalist Gui says, a crease forming between his brows, “isn’t full of hilichurls and demons?”

“I am careful,” you massage your calves, “pretty sure a lawachurl could break me in half.” It ate at your time, having to go around treasure hoarders and hilichurls, unsure if they’d let you pass freely or not. There was no way you’d risk a run-in with fatui skirmishers that far from the Millelith’s sight.

So you hid behind bushes and trees, going around and losing hours.

“And the demons? You ever actually seen one?”

You laugh. “No, thank the Archons.” You didn’t want to test how effective exorcist charms were against demons. Chongyun had carved one out of wood for you to keep you from being possessed, while Hu Tao’s last present had been a jade sigil to tells ghosts you were a friend. You were concerned about its effects but Hu Tao always had good intentions despite her questionable methods.

You trusted her.

And there was no way you were going to disparage one of your childhood friends to her face. Some people had no tack.

You couldn’t imagine calling someone a weirdo even if it was true. Especially in a mean spirited way.

“That’s good.”

“Tell Baizhu I’ll be back in two days ,” you tell the pharmacist.

“That fast?”

You smile, “yeah. I’ll come back here then head home.” It’d mean only having one day to lazy about at home before hitting the road again, but like Hu Tao you valued the reputation of your business too much to delay the order of violetgrass and qingxi flowers to next week.

“Okay, I’ll be sure to let Baizhu know.”

“You’re the best.”

“Do you want some tea before you go,” Herbalist Bui asks, “it’s got jueyun chilis, good for all that running around you do.”

“Of course you don’t have regular jasmine tea?” This was a pharmacy. You accept it all the same, grateful for the warmth of the tea quenching your thirst. Maybe you wouldn’t be dead on your feet when you ascend tomorrow.

___

You camp at the south of Caijue Slope.

Travelling at night wasn’t a bright idea if you didn’t have a vision. Something you most definitely didn’t.

You’d always dreamed of a geo vision, though without Rex Lapis who knows if there would be any new geo visions. When you’d started bouldering around Mingyun Village, learning to identify fungi and flowers with your father, you could only ever imagine a geo vision.

It would be mad useful.

You wouldn’t need to carry ropes and anchors if you could just form your own anchors and climbing forms out of the very rock you ascended.

Passing through Jueyun Karst let you know waiting had been the right choice.

The mud clumps to the soles of your boots. When you step on the road, your feet sink. There’s little to no treasure hoarders or fatui to be seen. It must’ve been awful the day after the rains and near impassable with the rain. The towering mountains made the roads down below prone to flash flooding.

You have to stop and scrape the mud off your boots on rocks every few steps until finally you start the road up to Qingyun Peak. You barely even need to check your worn map.

Your family has been in the botany business for generations. You know where the clusters of Violetgrass and Qingxin spring up. Between here and Mingyun Village, you gather enough of both to fulfil Verr Goldet and Baizhu’s orders.

It takes the entire morning to ascend up the northernmost pillar of Huaguang Stone Forest, sitting on the edge as you Mint Salad and mora meat. It’s not as good when the food’s cold, but there’s nothing better than the food you eat after a long climb. Sweat runs down your spine as you look over Liyue. You can make out the Jade Chamber in the sky over Liyue Harbor. This must be what the adepti, what Rex Lapis, saw every day.

After Bubu Pharmacy you’d deliver to Wangshu Inn, then home. Then you’d collapse in bed before starting all over again.

You run your fingers over the petals of the qingxin flower. This one could stay. It was too small, the majority of the buds still closed.

The zenith of the sun has passed when you finally start to descend.

You hook your safety rope into the anchors you’d placed on the way up.

One of these days you’d buy yourself a Monstadt glider.

As you go, you remove the anchors, releasing the expansion clamps and slipping it into your bag, before descending the next metre.

You hook your safety rope into the next anchor. Then descend another metre. Carefully. Taking your time.

Pebbles fall past you.

It feels like the entire world rumbles.

You look out into the landscape, into the fog you can barely make out the other stone pillars, but even the fog cannot obscure the flashes of green anemo bursts in the skies.

Shit.

You glance up. It was a good twenty metres to the peak. You look down. It wasn’t any better.

It was worse.

A good thousand metres up. 800 from where you’d started climbing from the top of the road.

The flashes of anemo grew closer.

More pebbles fell, clinking against your shoulder. Dirt dislodged and fell in your hair.

You were stuck.

Your hands grew sweaty.

If it had been raining you could make it up free handed. Waited it out. Rain usually built up. This stone forest had no ledges to seek shelter on.

Fuck.

Flashes of green interspersed with flashes of red and blue.

Dread.

You look around, trying to find anything to perch on.

Okay, okay. Let yourself fall onto the ledge 30 metres below. No-

Not survivable.

Your hands grow slick with sweat as figures emerge out of the fog.

Dark figures. Demons. Monsters.

Your grip slips.

You flail, trying to catch yourself.

Fuck.

You slam into the side of the cliff, dangling by your safety rope over a thousand metres in the air. Pain explodes across your thigh.

Your fingers are bleeding where you’d tried to grab a rock.

The figures are closer now. Across from you fighting in the air, floating. Abyss mages and a fighter. You couldn’t tell.

And you couldn’t waste time watching.

You clip into the next anchor, attaching your safety rope. There was no time to climb up for the other rope and anchor.

You cut your loses.

Okay, move.

You scramble down, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire.

There’s an extra safety rope in your bag, you climb another metre down. And another one.

The sound of fighting is still too close, approaching, you hear the laughter of the abyss mages, the clash of steel against abyssal magic. You don’t look, chest heaving as you try to climb down in minutes what would normally take hours.

You inhale sharply, the dirt from the rocks mixing with the blood on your fingers. You slice your fingers on the ledges but keep going.

It doesn’t matter.

You have to keep going.

And then nothing matters.

Ice explodes against your back.

A chill spreads from the spot, your muscles tense and freeze and you can’t move. You can’t move your fingers. You can’t-

You look up.

The abyss mage is looking at you, laughing behind it’s terrible mask, a mockery of Opera makeup, as you fall.

It’s why the spear that jut out of it’s chest catches it off guard.

But what does that matter?

You’re falling, falling…

The figures disappear from your vision.

—-

You scream.

You’re so cold.

You can’t even flail as you plunge to your death.

You’ve never been so cold.

The fog dissipates as you approach the ground.

Your vision explodes in emerald and black. “Hgh,” a hand grips your wrist.

Thunk.

You smash onto the ground.

Only you’re still alive.

“Hold still,” a gruff voice says near your ear.

What!

You kick, blinking the tears, blinking away the terror from your eyes, “let me go!” You were alive. YOU WERE ALIVE!

And tangled on the ground with a strange masked man.

Vexation is clear in his tone as he repeats, “hold still.”

You roll off him, wincing. Everything hurt. You side ached. Nothing was broken. You could tell you’d be bruised black and blue for the next week. “Thank you,” you huff, connecting the dots even as your vision grew white with pain. Your fingers were still cramped from the cold. You could use jueyun chilis right now.

Thank the Archons you still had your bag. Crushed flowers were better than no flowers.

“Mortals should not be in Jueyun Karst.” The man still wears a mask carved of blackened wood. It matches the black of his gloves. A vision is strapped to his wrist.

Not a man at all.

You breathe, forcing down the pain.

You couldn’t do anything about it until you were safe. Not out here. Not out in the open.

You look around.

You weren’t in Jueyun Karst anymore. This was the road east to Guili Plains.

“I have permission,” you tell the adepti, “I can show you the sigil of permission.”

He says nothing, crouching in front of you like an overgrown bird. The mask is still on.

Despite that you’re not scared.

The sigil feels strange. It feels akin to resting your back against the statues of Morax.

“See,” you tell him. You weren’t lying. It was the same sigil your family had used for generations. Your grandmother said Moon Carver had gifted it when the Qixing closed passage into Jueyun Karst. “Master Adepti? Sir?…” You weren’t sure of the proper way of addressing an Adepti.

His eyes travel from your sigil to you. There’s mirth in his cor lapis eyes.

The mask.

The fighting.

He wasn’t just any adepti.

You lean forward, “you’re the vigilant yaksha,” you raise your hand, forgetting yourself for a moment as you move to touch his mask only that might get you struck down for disrespecting an adepti’s pride. All the adepti had strange rules about what was permissible. “I don’t know about you adepti, but it’s kinda rude for you to keep your mask on for so long.” It felt like he had something to hide.

“You presume to order an adepti?”

You crack a grin, “I couldn’t make you do anything.” You shift, trying to get up. You need to get to Wangshu Inn before night.

“Fuck,” you hiss. Right. You were all banged up.

The yaksha moves swiftly, steadying her. “You’re hurt.”

“I am,” you wince. “Just bruises.”

“Why were you in Jueyun Karst.” His tone drips with disapproval.

“For qingxi flowers. Violetgrass. Pharmacists need it.” You laugh. “Ironic right?”

He’s still holding you up, his hands on your arms, gentle despite the destruction he just caused in the stone forest. You want to see his face. You want to thank him without any barriers.

He must be handsome, you think to yourself. You know he is.

“Can you not grow them in Liyue Harbor?”

You shake your head, “they only grow at high altitudes. They prefer rocks to soil. I think there’s something in the rocks, some mineral. We’ve tried to grow them in Qingce Village but they didn’t take.”

His eyes study you once more, “your hands are bleeding.”

“It’ll be fine,” you tell him, “some balm. Baizhu deals with worse all the time.” At least the cold wore off.

“Where should I leave you?”

The words are unexpected. He’d saved you, but he wasn’t exactly friendly and warm. The Yaksha was quiet and reserved.

He’d stayed to make sure you were okay.

“Liyue Harbor,” you say tentatively, “though if that’s too far…”

“Heh,” the Yaksha rolls his eyes, scoffing.

“If it’s out of your way,” you amend, smiling, “I’m sure that it’s an easy distance for the Vigilant Yaksha to cover.”

He tilts his head.

You wonder what he thinks of you.

“I’m only joking,” you add when the silence streches out in case he missed your teasing. “But Liyue Harbor would be great if it’s not a bother.”

The Yaksha nods. “I offered.”

“You did.” He didn’t have to.

You try not to read into it too much. The adepti were all about protecting Liyue. You weren’t special.

Quite the opposite.

You’d been in Huaguang Stone Forest at the wrong time.

He finally lets go of your arms, only to pick you up bridal style.

“Ah!” You’re caught off guard, barely processing what is happening before the world disappears in black smoke.

You squeeze your eyes shut, as wind streaks through your hair, chilling your skin all over again.

In seconds, he’s already placing you back down, overlooking the Harbor.

“Wow, that was amazing!” What took you two days to travel, the Yaksha had done in seconds. You look over the Harbor, it’s lights slowly turning on as the sun sets over the water. It was a short walk to the Pharmacy. You’d be imposing on Hu Tao tonight.

She’d probably love the impromptu sleepover.

“Thanks again-,” you turn back to thank the Yaksha once more.

But you’re alone.

—-

“Jueyn chilis, qingxi flowers, and a boatload of mint and ginger,” you list off to Verr Goldet. “Hey, do you sell incense sticks?”

Verr’s eyes widened, “what happened to you my dear?”

Your hands were still all bandaged up, but as you suspected, it was pretty much all bruising. Still, you’d be sticking to Mingyun Village and Wuwang Hill until you were given the all clear by Baizhu. It was good to let the usual spots grow wild in the meantime.

You didn’t want to overpick any one spot.

“Nasty fall,” you also didn’t want to worry the Innkeeper unnecessarily. “I’m mostly bummed out. I have to go back for most of my anchors.” Stupid abyss mage.

“Well,” Verr Goldet hands you an incense stick, “this one’s on the house. Since you’re always on time. I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Are you sure,” you ask, already reaching for your mora bag.

“Listen to your elders and take the incense stick.”

“Thank you.” You bow respectfully to the woman, “this is so kind of you.”

“I know you would show me the same kindness.” She bows back. “Make sure you rest and rest before heading off.”

“Of course,” you grin, “you’re the only place that sells mushroom pizza in Liyue.” You could get honey roast and radish veggie soup at a street vendor in the Harbor but not pizza.

—

With your own mora you purchase healing balm. The Yaksha would appreciate this. You think. It made sense. He probably fought demons and monsters all the time.

He could use this when he got hurt.

You think.

You don’t know much about adepti.

“I think that’s a marvellous idea!” Hu Tao practically dances in delight when you tell her your plan.

“As a thanks,” you further explain. “It doesn’t feel right to just pray at a shrine.” You don’t even know his name.

“Ah,” she twirls in the street, running into a merchant

“Hey! Watch where you’re going weirdo!”

Hu Tao pays him no mind. “Obviously my charm worked.”

“What? No it didn’t,” you frown. The spirits had not been the problem. The abyss mages had nearly killed you.

But your friend is too busy with ideas to pay you any mind, “perhaps you need a noctilucous jade sigil to repel evil spirits?”

“That was an option,” you raise a brow. That seemed more useful.

“Most spirits aren’t bad silly,” she tells you, “very few become demons.”

“Can it at least be Cor Lapis,” you think about the Yaksha’s eyes again. You’d thought about the Yaksha a lot.

“No. That wouldn’t work for the carving. Hey, let’s get a drink before you go!”

—

You sit at the shrine in Mingyun Village. And it really was a village. Just two stores and a few houses. Most of the people here were fishermen, but you knew some lived off the shells and pearls that could be gathered on Yaoguang Shore.

The largest was inscribed to Rex Lapis. There were steles for Moon Carver, Mountain Shaper and the other adepti of legends. And a small one for the Yakshas, but there were no names for them.

You frown.

You set the jar of balm in front of you. Then you light the incense stick, unsure of what the proper prayers for a Yaksha were.

“Oh mighty vigilant Yaksha,” you cringe, closing your eyes, “scratch that. Um,” could adepti even hear your prayers? Could Rex Lapis answer prayers from the heavens? “Thanks again for saving me. Sorry if I got in the way or anything. I’m glad you keep those monsters aways from the Harbor and villages. And thank you for dropping me off in Liyue Harbor. That was incredibly kind of you. This balm is for you.”

There. That didn’t sound half bad.

Maybe you could still be a ritualist.

Change careers last minute.

You hear a snort.

You open your eyes.

In your peripheral, the Yaksha stands facing the shrines. His mask rests on his belt.

You were right, he is handsome.

Teal streaks through his dark hair. There’s a violet mark on his forehead and he’s handsome. His expression is inscrutable though his eyes remain kind despite what his demeanour would suggest.

He sits down next to you, watching the incense stick burn. The smoke wisps off in spirals.

“Thank you.”

“I heard.” His voice is not unkind.

You nod, “all the same.”

You breathe the rich aroma of the incense.

“You should always burn 3 sticks, or 5.”

“Sorry?” He doesn’t seem angry or upset. But you still feel the need to apologise. He was an adepti after all. The Yaksha did so much for Liyue already.

His eyes fall close. The last vestiges of wariness dissipate. “I do not need the balm.”

“Oh.” Your face falls. Stupid. You’d done nothing right. It would have been better to just leave things be.

You watch the smoke, biting your lip. He’d come all this way and you’d done everything wrong. You were embarrassed.

He probably had better things to do.

The Yaksha opens his eyes, turning towards you. He frowns.

He had such lovely eyes: black tea steeped perfectly. There was a warmth in them that had you dismissing all your negative thoughts. He wasn’t irritated with you at all. He’d chosen to come all this way for you even when you had things all wrong.

The Yaksha was strange, but kind.

Even as he held your gaze for an inhumane amount of time, unblinking, you felt comfortable the way you might with Chongyun.

You were right. He was handsome. The stories never mentioned that.

He parts his lips, brows furrowed, before looking away. He fixes his gaze on the steles again.

“Well, is there anything that you might like as thanks,” you finally settle on uttering, looking very pointedly at the bas relief of Morax. Heat rises to your cheeks. It was so silly. This was such a normal thing to do, thank someone and yet you grew flustered.

“Ah?” The Yaksha’s cheeks grow pink. “There is no need-I do not act in exchange for material gain.”

“I just want to thank you. If not for saving me then for taking me to the Harbor.” You bite your lip. “You can think of it as friends exchanging gifts.”

It’s the wrong thing to say.

The Yaksha stands suddenly, a swirl of anemo blowing your hair about. “I have duties to attend to.” And he’s gone.

Clearly, you and Hu Tao both failed at making friends.

—

A month passes, and you’ve made every effort to take your mind off the Yaksha. He was an adeptus. Two times you’d met him. That was more than most people ever interacted with adepti.

You weren’t part of the Qixing.

You were a simple botanist running around liyue.

You run your fingers over the new jade amulet from Hu Tao. You’d be okay.

Last time was a freak accident.

In two decades of life, last time had been the sole time you’d seen an abyss mage. Nothing would happen this time. You’d collect the herbs in Jueyun Karst as usual and be on your merry way.

Ascending is made easy by the anchors you left behind. You’re the one who takes baby steps, pausing with every push up to look around in case there’s some hilicurls aiming for you. You close your eyes, leaning your forehead against the rock. It was fine. You were fine.

Your hands had scarred over.

You refused to be afraid of going out in Liyue for the rest of your life.

You push onwards.

You check your safety line. You check each anchor.

You look around.

So far so good.

It’s only when you break past the fog that you realise how uneventful the entire ascension has been. You’re worried sick about nothing.

You pull yourself onto the cliff top and collapse on your back, panting.

You laugh, at yourself, at the situation. At being so high up. You close your eyes and soak in the warmth of the sun, the heat of your body against the cool stone. Had Rex Lapis created this stone forest too? You’d have to ask Baizhu. He knew all the stories since he told them to Qiqi endlessly, not that the little girl ever remembered.

She’s been a child for as long as you could remember.

Lunch is cold jade parcels and leftover fried radish balls which are never as good cold. Nothing fried was ever as good cold.

You pluck the qingxi flowers first, bunching them up in your bag. The violetgrass was easier since you collected those on your way up.

You take another drink of water from your flask, looking over the landscape. Jueyun Karst was so beautiful. You forgot how dangerous the area was.

The plan was to head north and swim across the waters to Qingce Village, swim home. You’d have to camp out on the isles, but it was safer than staying in the stone forest overnight or trying to swim in the frigid night.

You take a nap, waiting for midday to pass before you start your descent.

You pull the last anchor free when a voice startles you.

“What are you doing here?”

“Ah,” you weld the anchor like a knife in the air before you recognize the Yaksha’s distinctive purple pants and green tattoo. “Fuck,” you place a hnd on your chest, “you scared me.”

“I did not mean-,” he frowns, “why are you here?”

You point up, “have a job to do. Qingxi, violetgrass. I’m just happy everything else can be cultivated.”

The Yaksha’s frown deepens.

“I have a job to do. It has its risks but medicine must be supplied.”

He nods, but remains sullen.

“Anyways I’m all done here.” You wipe your hands on your robes, “and relax. I waited until I was done healing, see,” you hold up your palms. With coconut oil the scarring would fade.

The Yaksha steps close to you, taking your hands in his and looking them over. He runs a finger over your darkest scar. There were specks of gold in his eyes. The mark on his forehead glowed.

He looked up through long teal lashes at you when he was done accessing your hands.

Your mouth is dry. It’s hard to meet his heavy gaze. It feels like falling all over again.

There’s no way he misses the flush on your cheeks that has nothing to do with climbing and everything to do with the way his touch renders you breathless.

“I will escort you through Jueyun Karst.”

“Oh,” your eyes widened in surprise. “You don’t have to,” you brush your hair behind your ears. No matter what you did climbing made your hair a rat’s nest. “I’m sure your very busy with your adeptus duties.”

“Tt.” He releases your hands. “It is not up for discussion.”

“Vigilant Yaksha,” you have to insist, “I have an amulet to keep the monsters away. And I’ll just be back next week…I don’t want to be a bother. Really. I’ll be okay.”

He tilts his head, “what amulet?”

You lift the necklace up, “it’s from my friend. She knows more about ghosts but I-”

The Yaksha closes the distance between you. He scrutinises the sigil, his breath ghosting over your cheek. “There is a limit to the accumulation of evil spirits and demons an amulet can repel.”

“But it does work?”

He nods.

You can’t stand being this close to him while he is seemingly unaffected. Your heart is lodged in your throat but his expression remains as guarded as ever.

It was silly to even think about an adeptus like this.

A smaller, crazier voice that sounded a lot like Hu Tao points out that half adepti like Ganyu exist for a reason.

You avert your gaze, stepping back. “So you see, you don’t have to-”

He cuts you off. “It is not up for discussion.”

You nod, accepting he would do why he thought was right even if it did make you feel like you were bothering him. (He wasn’t even angry or bothered.)

The Yaksha was kind in his stilted way.

“I’m headed north to Qingce Village.” You pocket the last anchor and drink more water before embarking on the road home.

“Xiao.”

“Hm?”

“My name is Xiao.”

—

You fall into a pattern. Buy 3 incense sticks from Verr Goldet, burn them for the Yakshas. Deliver to Wangshu Inn and Bubu Pharmacy once a week. Collect Herbs from Mingyun Village and Jueyen Karst once a week. See Xiao in Jueyun Karst.

A rough pattern because Xiao came and went without notice. Sometimes he’d be waiting for you at Cuijue Slope until he began to climb up a mountain. At times he wouldn’t appear until you’d finished descending.

You made the lion’s share of conversation, complaining that Chongyun was in Mondstat to deal with some apparition and therefore was getting to eat all the tea pancakes in the world. You told Xiao about flu season and how much ginger Baizhu went through. You complained about having to dilute soap in water to keep pests away from your family’s crops.

“-I’ll need new boots when the caravan from Sumeru stops by,” you take a break on a rock to catch your breath. You’d never seen Xiao tire.

The soles of your boots were worn down. You could feel the rocks poke at your heels through the leather.

You let the silence reign in the picturesque valley.

Xiao doesn’t sit, but he closes his eyes as the sun chases away the clouds. You soaked up the warmth. The sun’s rays made the chilly breeze bearable.

He leans his head back, basking in the sun like a lizard.

You wonder what his animal form looks like. You’d only seen Rex Lapis on the Rite of Descension. But everyone knew Mountain Carver was a magnificent stag.

With his eyes closed, you find yourself staring at his visage shamelessly. He was striking, the graphic cut of his hair only accentuating his bone structure.

You wanted him to hold you again. You wanted him to run his hands over yours, to-

You quash the thoughts down.

Xiao opens his eyes, polearm already in hand as he spots something in the distance. “Wait here.”

You nod, used to this by now.

It was never a long wait, but Xiao would step away for minutes to deal with threats to Liyue.

You are glad to rest for a while longer.

—

“Why don’t you just tell him,” Chongyun splits a milk tea shaved ice with you, “how you feel,” he scoops up a brown sugar boba with his spoonful of shaved ice.

“Are you crazy? What if I make things awkward? Then he’ll never speak to me again! That would be so much worse.” You didn’t want to lose Xiao’s friendship.

You eat another spoonful of shaved ice, making sure to get some of the mochi, managing to look incredibly dejected while eating dessert.

Chongyun sighs. “You can’t complain and not do anything about it.”

You stick your tongue out at him. “I’m not taking advice from someone who can’t even order.”

“So? I’m proactive about it,” his voice cracks. “I ask you, or someone I’m with to order.”

You pat his hand, knowing it wasn’t fair to take your crush out on him. It wasn’t his fault Xiao made you want to kiss him everytime he tilted his head to indicate he was listening to you, or confused. It wasn’t Chongyun’s fault Xiao went still, buff arms flexing right before he took off to fight.

Archons, you were down bad for the Yaksha.

You couldn’t even enjoy your shaved ice.

—

“What’s your adeptal animal form,” you asks Xiao, breaking the serene silence atop Qingyun Peak. “You don’t have to answer that if it’s rude.”

He wouldn’t answer if he didn’t want to either way.

You no longer found it rude when he stayed silent. Xiao meant what he said, and therefore took more time to speak, and didn’t answer at all when he didn’t think his words added to the conversation. The more time you spent with him, the easier you were able to read him.

It wasn’t so much that he was an unfeeling adeptus, but rather he was usually occupied with hunting demons. He falters when he knows you’re joking but cannot understand the joke. His eyes widen when you hand him dried chrysanthemums for protection. It was a peasant superstition, but the idea of Xiao fighting alone weighed you down if you contemplated it for too long.

He sits down next to you, feet dangling over the edge. “A Peng.”

“Huh.” You vaguely recalled a giant bird story, but Adepti were usually giant animals that saved Liyue at some point.

“Similar to this,” Xiao points at his tattoo. The bright colour shines against his pale skin. He never sunburns unlike you.

You study the depiction closely. You brush your fingers against his skin, tracing the lines of the tattoo.

Xiao shivers under your touch, his eyes flutter closed.

“Are there more?”

“Yes.” His voice is distant, in the world of the adepti you couldn never understand. “They do not immerse themselves in mortal affairs.” Xiao turns his gaze towards you, the naked emotion in his eyes draws you in. You cup his cheek with your hand before you think better of it.

He leans into your touch. “Seldomly do they take a mortal appearance.”

“Would you ever show me?” You knew he’d be beautiful. It was Xiao, you’d love him in every shape and form.

He pulls away, jerking away from you.

You let him, drawing back, giving him space.

Xiao clenches his gaze, cor lapis eyes on you. His mouth parts, but he thinks better of it, wavering between thoughts. He finally looks away.

“Xiao? You don’t have to.” You remind him. You think he might disappear like smoke in the air. “Xiao?”

“It is not safe for you.”

“Huh?” You don’t follow. “There’s no hilichurls up here.”

“My karmic debt…I could not forgive myself if I tainted you as well.”

You don’t understand. “I’m always safe with you.”

His shoulders tense, the Yaksha grows taunt as a bow string.

You reach out. “Xiao,” you utter softly, caressing his cheek with the back of your hand, “you would never hurt me.” Your belief in that is absolute. You had more than enough belief for the both of you.

He meets your searching gaze, eyes wide in surprise. There’s a glassy quality to their soft brown shade.

Tears.

You know he’ll leave seconds before Xiao disappears in flashes of green and black.

–

You burn three incense sticks at your makeshift camp. The delivery at Wangshu in had taken longer than you should’ve. Verr Goldet was dealing with a broken door or something to do with a guest, you weren’t sure of the details. There were travellers from Monstadt so your food order had taken an hour. Nothing that was anyone’s fault, but now you had to camp out in Guili Plains. It was too late to try and make it to the Millelith Outpost in Liyue Pass. It was by far your favourite place to purchase artisan presents for Lantern Rite and birthdays, before they got marked up in Liyue Harbor.

So now you’re stuck here until daybreak.

You go back and forth between lighting a fire. It’s warm this far inland, without the ocean breeze or mountain winds, but a fire might attract hilicurls or treasure hoarders.

But if you were lighting incense sticks, you might as well have a hot dinner.

You kneel, praying to Rex Lapis and all the adepti. You pray that Xiao is safe, wherever he is, whatever he’s fighting.

You pray that Xiao is safe from monsters and the weight of his karmic debt.

—

You manage to deliver to Liyue Harbor and gather herbs in Qingxu Pool before heading back through Liyue Pass. Qingxu pool had more violetgrass than qingxu flowers but it was allergy season. Violetgrass was needed.

It wasn’t your favourite place to gather in, but these two herbs were the trickiest to find, loving spots out of the way, clumping in fours at best. You didn’t want to overpick and then lose a harvesting spot.

It’s sunset when you reach the Statue of Morax.

Your new boots were a mistake. You know there’s blisters on your ankles and soles. Breaking in leather sucked.

Your old boots left you with stinging pain whenever you stepped on any rock so there really wasn’t any winning.

Bowing your head at the statue, you say a little prayer to the geo archon. Morax. Rex Lapis. You’d made another successful trek. The god of contracts had built his nation in the most beautiful part of Teyvat. You could only hope to add to Liyue’s prosperity.

It’s hard to get back up, your muscles sore. Exhaustion always hit you in the last moments when rest is at hand. You were so close.

The people of Liyue pass were kind. They were always willing to host you for a night, forming a contract in exchange for something simple and silly like telling children a bedtime story or sweetflowers which were always abundant throughout Liyue. Uncle Liu generally wanted thunder god vine which was something you always carried.

You were happy to know you’d be fed and well rested tonight.

You hear the music, firecrackers going off in the dusk. The entire village was decorated in lanterns and colourful banners. A wedding!

Uncle Liu had many granddaughters of an age with you. Could one of them be getting married?

There would be roasted duck and lots of desserts like tofu pudding with red beans and almonds. Your mouth watered at the idea of fried fish and shrimp balls.

The folk music was carried by the wind.

It made the night take a magical quality to it. With the decorations and sky full of stars, it was a perfect backdrop to a celebration.

You smile, thinking of the silk flowers you could give the happy couple.

You look around. There’s pots of bamboo on the rock wall leading into the village proper.

The people are in reds and yellows, dancing and singing.

You grin, taking in the sight. You loved Liyue, you loved being from here and getting so many moments like this one. It wasn’t just Lantern Rite when the country was at its most beautiful.

You wonder if Xiao would go into Liyue Harbor with you for Lantern Rite. Hu Tao would talk his ear off but your heart fluttered at the idea of spending the festivities with him.

You’re so caught in your thoughts, they featured Xiao so often, that you nearly dismissed the Yaksha standing in the moonlight as a figment of your imagination.

You blink.

Xiao is still there, perched on a rock. It’s dark enough that no one would see him from the village, but his gaze is on the celebration.

You wonder why he doesn’t join in.

The Liu family was incredibly welcoming.

You make your way towards him instead, “Xiao?”

He jolts, standing up at once. “What is the matter?” There’s dried blood on his white shirt and dirt on his pants.

“Nothing,” you laugh lightly, “I’m always glad to see you.”

“Mm.” His gaze returns to the celebration.

You sit down next to him, sighing at the relief of being off your feet.

It’s nice: to listen to music with Xiao. While it’s not as energetic as Xinyan’s songs, there’s a beauty in the traditional wind and wood instruments. They were songs you’d known all your life.

“Are you alright?” You venture to ask. You’d never seen anything draw blood from Xiao.

“Mhm.” He nods. “The fight was long, but I persevered as I must to fulfil my sworn duty.”

You rest a hand on his shoulder, “so I don’t have to go get Baizhu then?” It was half a joke, half sincere worry.

“No.” Xiao shakes his head, “the statue of the Seven is all the healing I require.”

You nod, deciding to lay back against the rock. You were greedy for every minute you could spend with Xiao. Food, a warm bed, you could put those off for a while longer.

There was a tranquillity to just being besides Xiao.

Maybe Chongyun had been right. But the surge of panic that Xiao might vanish from your life kept you from saying anything about your feelings towards him.

Instead you reclined on the rock.

You release the hold on his shoulder, moving your hands to fiddle with the amulets around your neck. They were small fragile things, nothing compared to the adepti amulets Xiao wore.

He looks down at you, his expression tender in the starlight. You never tired of gazing at him, at the cut of his jaw and the light in his honeyed eyes. Unabashedly, you drink him in.

If he could look at you in such a way that had your heart palpitating despite not even touching you, then you could look at Xiao. You loved him.

He’d never so much as made a move to kiss you yet your heart was his. Every beat of your mortal heart belonged to the Vigilant Yaksha.

The music changes as a drumbeat joins the fray.

You close your eyes, stretching out like a cat. It felt nice. It was nice.

There was no pressure to make conversation.

Xiao brushes your hair out of your face. His hand lingers against your jawbone for a moment, too long to be a mistake.

You blink.

His mouth is parted in surprise at his own actions, he hunches in on himself, glancing back down at the party. He hugs his knees to his chest.

“You like music,” you ask.

“I do.”

Softly you offer, “we should go down there. Uncle Liu has always been kind to me and I always love an excuse to dance.”

Your words hang in the air.

You sit up, wrapping an arm around Xiao’s back lightly, unsure if he’d be okay with the action. You’re prepared for him to pull away immediately.

Instead, he replies, “I cannot endanger them for my own enjoyment.”

Your heart aches for him.

“I can listen from here.”

You squeeze his shoulders, “this is a great view,” you reply earnestly. There was no place else you’d rather be.

“I agree.” Xiao meets your gaze, brows drawn in thought.

He was so close you could see each individual eyelash of his. They were teal. Almost dark enough to be black at first glance.

You smile tenderly.

“I-,” he frowns at himself.

“What is it?”

Xiao cups your cheek with his hand. It’s the closest you’ve been since he saved your life and carried you to safety.

You swallow thickly, realising the love you felt for the man was mirrored in his eyes.

“Can I kiss you,” he asks in a hush whisper.

You don’t trust your voice. You nod, still not believing this was real, this was truly happening. Though you’d daydreamed that Xiao reciprocated your feelings, it had been more fantasy than a reality. You never believed it was possible.

But it was real.

The press of his lips against yours, Xiao’s breath warm on your skin, his thumb rubs your cheek. It was real. He kissed you with a softness you’d come to expect from the Yaksha.

He was a warrior; he moved through the world like a gentle breeze. His love for Liyue went further than a simple contract made long ago.

Xiao loved you.

Xiao kisses you softly and the moment is far too short.

He pulls back, tilting his head. Red dusts his cheeks, “I cannot say when I grew fond of you, but I have.” He lets out a sigh. “I wish to kiss you again?”

“I would very much like that,” you reply giddily, “I look forward to seeing you each week, and feel guilty when I don’t pass through Jueyun Karst.” You had to be mindful of how much you collected from any one spot.

“I would prefer that you did not go to Jueyun Karst,” Xiao admits, “but I selfishly enjoy your foolish ventures into Jueyun Karst.”

You laugh, full of love. You laugh knowing you are loved by the one you love.

You lean into him, kissing his cheek, “thank you for spending time with me.” You treasured every moment with him.

He nods, incredibly flustered.

So you kiss him again, granting his wish yourself.

His lips were slightly chapped. You hardly cared. He kisses you back clumsily. His hold on your cheek tightens, checking that you were solid, that you were kissing him.

You forget all about food and how tired you are. Your thoughts are full of Xiao.

Xiao caresses your cheek as you catch your breath.

You feel his heartbeat race from your hand on his back.

“Would you like to dance,” his voice was small.

You nod, beaming from delight. He liked you. He’d kissed you. Now he was asking to dance with you. Xiao, your Xiao.

“Yes.” Anywhere with Xiao was perfect.