#tears of themis fluff

[icypopz]

when their s/o gets injured ♡

↬ request from anon ; could I request the NXX boys with a s/o who received the injury while they were away and how would they take care of them during their healing process?

↬ notes ; artem wing (zuo ran), luke pearce (xia yan), marius von hagen (lu jinghe), vyn richter (mo yi) x gn!reader

↬ from ice ; hihi!! unfortunately i was quite busy this week so i wasn't as active 😵 also as someone who's often in hospital i rly related to this request :') but anyways i hope you enjoy!

↬ warning(s) ; reader has an unspecified injury to their foot, artem + luke carry reader (but they're crazy strong so they can def lift u up dw)

please reblog ! it helps a lot :)

[ artem wing / zuo ran ! ]

as soon as artem heard that you were injured, he would want to drop everything he was doing and rush to be by your side at once. unfortunately, reality means that he can't just ditch his job, so he finishes his work so quickly that even celestine is surprised and he heads home at once.

upon seeing the state of your foot and the way you wince in pain as you try to hobble towards him and greet him, artem lifts you up like you weigh nothing and brings you straight to the bedroom. he surrounds you with a million pillows and if necessary, elevates your foot with a stack of cushions too. for the entire time that you're injured, artem applies for permission to work at home, and he'll be by your side day and night. whatever you need, he'll get it for you at once so you don't even have to lift a finger.

when he realises that you're feeling upset about your injury, artem would hold your palm in his, gently squeezing your hand as he listens to you talk about your worries. he understands that such a sudden injury can be earthshaking, especially when it results in such a loss of autonomy. but artem wants you to know that he'll be with you every step of the way until and after you're 100% healed.

more content utc !

[ luke pearce / xia yan ! ]

luke would be working at the antique store when you call him and tell him you've injured your foot while at work. his first emotion is complete and utter panic, he can't lose you again- but then he snaps back into focus and tells you he'll be on the way immediately. he grabs a bunch of things that might be helpful like an ice pack, bandages and cotton pads before driving to your workplace at lightning speed (he definitely runs a couple of red lights in his hurry).

once luke brings you home, he won't even hear one single word about how you want to help him, or how he shouldn't worry too much about you. he'll just carry you and lay you down on the sofa, putting on your favourite tv show to help pass the time while he goes to prepare a meal for you. he does his best to keep you as involved as possible, asking you about which spices you want, and walking to the couch just to give you a taste test. at that point you both remember that he's terrible at cooking, so you settle for ordering takeout instead LOL.

throughout the course of your recovery, luke flits about you like a worried butterfly. he doesn't want you to strain yourself, so even when you're taking your first few steps again, luke is the one who looks like he's going to pass out from nervousness. if you ever tell him that you feel like a burden because you aren't able to do anything for now, luke will reassure you with soft kisses and whispered words of comfort. as someone with a chronic illness, he understands how useless you can feel when you're bedridden, so he knows just what to say to help you feel better.

[ marius von hagen / lu jinghe ! ]

marius is actually the bane of his directors' existence. the second you call him and tell him you're injured, he dismisses everyone in the meeting room, muttering something about rescheduling it to another day. he leaves everything up to poor vincent, who's forced to deal with the wrath of the old men on the board of directors. marius drives way over the speed limit back home, and he doesn't care at all about the accumulated speed tickets he's going to have to pay - nothing is more important than getting to you asap.

once he's got you tucked into bed and is convinced that you aren't in mortal danger, marius is soo dramatic about the whole thing it's almost as if he's the one that's injured. "but i was so worried about you! you almost drove me to an early grave, is that what you want, mx lawyer?!" he clutches his heart and stumbles around the room, which at least succeeds in cheering you up a little. unfortunately, marius can't skip out on work to be with you because pax would probably fall apart in two seconds without him at the wheel, so he relies on payton to give you everything you need (it shows how much he trusts his butler that he even entrusts your safety to him).

marius would spend as much time with you as he could, always cuddled up next to you and resting his head in the crook of your neck as you thread your hands through his hair. he'll talk about everything under the sun, hoping it distracts you from your pain. when you confess that you've been feeling down because of your injury, marius comforts you the best way he can, letting you vent as much as you need to get everything off your chest. after that he tells you that he'll treat you like royalty every day if it means that you'll feel less bad about him doing it while you're injured.

[ vyn richter / mo yi ! ]

one of the perks of running your own workplace is that you can do whatever you want, and that is exactly what vyn does. when he hears you're injured, he informs his receptionist that he'll be unavailable for the next few days except for patients with extremely urgent needs that can't be handled by the nurses. with that out of the way, he calls ogier and drives home at once, not caring how many traffic lights he ignores.

anyone who saw vyn at the time might say that he was unbothered about your injury upon looking at the way he calmly handled the situation, merely asking you what happened and checking the prescribed medications. but you know better, because you notice all the small details about him that no one else would; the way his usually flawless hair is now messy, or how his eyes flicker to you every second as if you're going to disappear into thin air, or the way his hand is ever so slightly trembling as he holds onto you so tightly.

as a psychiatrist, vyn can spot the signs of how upset you are before you say anything, but he waits for you to tell him first because he doesn't want to put any pressure on you. when you open up to him, vyn isn't judgemental at all, he listens to you carefully and reminds you that your feelings are valid. after all, it must have been incredibly difficult for you to cope with such an unexpected injury, and he's so proud of you for being so strong. vyn would help you start to walk again, and the look in his eyes when you take your first few steps on your own almost makes the whole thing worth it.

✧ thank you for reading ! if you have a request, feel free to send it in 🌠

© icypopz 2024. do not repost or modify in any way.

[byizoyas]

tears of themis ; drabbles

sfw. ✩ the type of hugs they give you featuring: artem, marius, luke, vyn

⸻ ꕥ ⌎ artem hugs you good morning pretty much everyday. his hugs are always quick, but so soft and comforting, and since he initiates it everytime it feels like he’s offering you his love through that daily embrace. and to be honest this is one of his ways to express his love. he’s pulling you so close that you can almost feel his heartbeat and then he drops a kiss on top of your head. he’s so gentle that if you ask for another one he’ll just keep you against him for as long as you want.

⸻ ꕥ ⌎ marius is super touchy. he just can’t help but pulls you in for a hug whenever he sees you. he stares at you for a few seconds, admiring how pretty you are and then he just rushes towards you, almost forcing you into his arms. ‘i love you’ he whispers against your ear, and he gets you smiling everytime. it surprised you at first how easy it was for him to speak these words so often but now you can’t see a day without hearing it, because it genuinely warms your heart everytime.

⸻ ꕥ ⌎ luke loves to hug you from behind while you’re doing something casual. you’re busy and he’s busy staring fondly at you. he looks at you for a few long minutes which seem to be a few seconds to him. you don’t even notice it because you’re too focused on your actions and he finds it absolutely adorable which is why he eventually comes towards you, grabs your waist and buries his face into your neck, dropping a few soft kisses on your skin.

⸻ ꕥ ⌎ vyn isn’t that much into initiating physical contact because he prefers when you do it. still, sometimes, when he craves attention and you don’t give it to him, he’ll take you by the hand and slowly pulls you in for a gentle embrace. and he remains unmoving, keeping you close to his heart and humming your delicious scent. he always tells you compliments while rubbing your back softly. his hugs definitely are the best despite it not occurring a lot making them really precious to you.

[the-travelling-witch]

𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐦: 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐒𝐢𝐱

pairing: marius von hagen x gn! reader

prompt: gift shopping + movie night

miscellaneous masterlist || hollysm event

When you came home from your gift shopping trip, you were exhausted, the bags you were holding seemingly weighing a ton. Marius next to you, however, looked as lively as life itself, the grin on his face not able to possibly be any bigger.

Of course, the shopping trip had been his idea but you had easily agreed, considering the approaching holidays and your lack of presents. Only when you had arrived in the city, though, did you remember something integral: Marius’s willingness to buy just about anything your eyes landed on for even a second.

“I still think the gem drop necklace would’ve suited you well,” the man next to you said, setting down his bags before taking the ones you were holding. Initially, he had offered to carry yours too but you wanted to do at least that much yourself. 

“And I’ll remind you again, I already have a similar one,” you sighed affectionately. “One that you bought for me, actually.”

“So?” He shrugged his shoulders way too casually when your eyes had nearly bulged out of your head when you saw the price tag. Cupping your cheek, his amethyst eyes were softer with love than the pads of his fingers felt against your skin. “You should have options to choose from, so don’t hesitate to be a little greedy. For you, there should only be the best.”

Smiling up at him equally as fond, you placed your hand over his, slowly stroking over his slender fingers with one of yours before humming pensively. “But I already have you, how could there be anything better than that?”

Your squeal echoed around the house followed by your giggles as Marius swooped you up into his arms, spinning you around before setting off towards the living room. Apparently, Vincent had been working hard as you were gone, because the house was tastefully decorated with boughs of holly, fairy lights and sparkling ornaments. 

“You can’t just say something like that and expect me to ever let you go again,” Marius chuckled as both of you plopped down on the comfortable couch. The festivities were still a while off but he looked like a child on Christmas already. “So, did you already think about what you want to watch today?”

“Hm, it’s a tough call,” you laughed, thinking about your options of Christmas movies. “Do you want to watch the obligatory story of a high-strung business woman falling for the guy moving to the city and opening her eyes to the beauty of Christmas? Or rather one about a rich prick falling head over heels for a woman that’s made out to be very plain but is actually super attractive?”

Marius tapped his chin in mock contemplation for a second, his lips quirking up into a grin at your sarcasm. “Let’s go with the first one. I already know all about rich pricks falling for stunningly beautiful people.”

At the end of his sentence he tapped your nose affectionately and your cheeks heated up consequently. Then you regained your composure and playfully jabbed your finger into his chest. “Marius von Hagen, you’re not a prick. You’re very sweet and attentive.”

“Who said I was talking about myself?” He laughed as you muttered a ‘Maybe you are a bit of a prick’ under your breath, then wrapped his arms around your middle tighter to subsequently bring you closer. “Well, you are the most gorgeous person I’ve ever met, both inside and out, so maybe it’s true. I definitely think you changed me for the better.”

From up close you could study him without trouble as your hands framed his perfect face the same way your knees bracketed his hips against the cushions. Caressing your thumbs over his cheekbones, you felt his arms unwind from you so he could settle his ringed hands on your waist. 

Then, you leaned forward until your lips brushed his soft ones. The tips of his midnight blue hair tickled your skin as you deepened the kiss and Marius tugged you impossibly closer. One of your hands wandered to the back of his head to grasp at the soft locks there and he groaned breathlessly. There was no rush from either of you, your slow and sensual movements completely in sync as your hearts beat in unison against your rib cages. 

When you parted for the sake of breathing, Marius’s violet eyes sparkled as if you just hung the entirety of the stars in the night sky. Holding his gaze, one of his fingers mapping out the path from your jaw down to your collarbones, was like looking straight into the universe.

“What’s this? Can’t resist my charm any longer, darling?” You could see right through his cocky exterior, your boyfriend betrayed by the redness blooming across the tip of his ears, making his silver studs stand out even more.

“Mhm…” Humming confirmentally, the blush dusted his cheeks under the pads of your fingers as well. No matter how much he teased you, he was never prepared for you to reciprocate and turn his game onto him. “I’m just being a little greedy.”

“Ah, seriously…” Marius buried his head in the crook of your neck, making you giggle. But just when the vibrations travelled against his lips, he closed them around the skin there to leave his mark on you. “The things you do to me…I know I said you changed me for the better, but in one aspect I’ve become much worse since meeting you.

“When it comes to you, I’ve grown much greedier than ever before. So, won’t you give me every piece of you? I’ll gladly give you all of me in return.”

© the-travelling-witch 2023 - do not repost, translate, copy or edit

if you like my content, reblogs, comments and asks are always much appreciated ♡

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➺ ‧₊˚ So, did you manage to find today's piece of the starmap? ✩彡

[softxsuki]

1.5k Follower Event Song Drabble "Begin Again" With Marius (TOT)

This event is now closed. You can view the masterlist here.

Request: Hey! Congratulations on 1.5k followers I really love your writing and you deserve even more 😎 id like to request a song inspired Drabble for Marius :D of the song begin again by Taylor swift, it was hard to pick a lyric but I think I’ll go with “I think it’s strange that you think I’m funny, cause he never did”. It’s no problem if you can’t do it but either way thanks for doing this event 👍

| Pairing: Marius x Gn!Reader| Genre: Fluff with a bit of angst | Post-Type: Drabble | Word Count: 660 |

Warnings: mentions of ex, bad past relationship

Note: No idea why this request deleted itself from my inbox, but thankfully I copy and pasted them all in advance heh. Finally onto the song drabble part of this event. The fact that this has been going on for a year now...and now I'm almost at 2k followers...wild.

Anxiety filled you as you entered the quaint cafe the guy you’d been speaking to for a few days now recommended. You don’t know what persuaded you to agree to go out with him as your past relationship had ended horribly not too long ago. The guy was full of himself and made you feel worthless, criticizing every little thing you did. But for some reason, walking into Marius at that art gallery, you felt…different.

A good kind of different.

So when he started up a conversation with you, ultimately asking for your number to keep in contact, you gave it to him. You didn’t expect much. After all, all guys were like your ex…right?

You’re thoroughly surprised to see him already sitting at a table as you walk through the cafe, a bright smile on his face as he waves at you, inviting you over to sit with him. As you approach the table, he quickly stands up and runs to the other side of the table, pulling your chair out for you, making you pause in shock, your lips parting slightly in awe. What was this?

“After you, Y/N,” he says gently, nudging his head towards the seat, urging you to take a seat, shaking you out of your shock as you softly thank him. You take a seat as he pushes you in, before he runs back around the table to his seat across from you.

“What would you like to drink or eat, or both?” He asks, eyes bright in interest. “It’s on me.”

Every second of this interaction was shocking to you, mentally comparing everything to your ex, nothing was going as you thought it would, but in a good way…

“Oh that’s okay, I can pa-” 

“Nope, I got it. I was the one that invited you out anyway,” he smiles reassuringly, gently resting his hand on yours when you reach for your wallet, pausing your actions.

Guess you couldn’t argue with that as you sigh in defeat, nodding your head as you tell him what you want. Watching his back as he stands up and walks up to order it, leaving you with your jumbled thoughts.

First he was early, then he pulled your chair out for you, and now he’s paying for your drink…was this some kind of prank? Your ex never did any of this for you, not before he was your boyfriend and especially not while he was your boyfriend. 

Returning with your drink, you both engage in conversation, feeling your chest lighten the more you speak to him. He was so gentle with his words, throwing compliments your way and listening to everything you had to say. 

Your heart nearly stops in your chest when he throws his head back and a cute laugh leaves his lips. Did he really find that funny? 

“How strange…you think I’m funny when he never did,” you mumble to yourself, feeling your face heat up when he chuckles, resting his chin in his hands as his attention goes back to you.

“Who never did?” He asks curiously.

“I- sorry, I can’t help but keep comparing things here to my past relationship. It’s so strange how…kind you are.”

“Hmm, well I think it’s strange how genuinely into art you are, so I guess we’re both a little shocked. At least I hope that’s a good thing for you, because it definitely is for me,” his eyes light up even more.

He wasn’t even upset that you had mentioned your ex, probably sensing your shock since you walked in and now happy that he at least knew why you were so shocked. It was in that moment that you felt it, that small familiar feeling blooming in your chest again for the first time in years. All happening before your eyes in this tiny cafe on a random Wednesday afternoon. And it was all thanks to the purple eyed man in front of you…

Posted: 9/9/2024

[lightarin]

Nighttime Secrets

Content: GN!Reader x Vyn Richter; implied relationship, pet name of my dear; fluff

A/N: reader is not specified as rosa but this is a really cute and soft image so i chose to use it

You shift in your sleep, starting to wake up from the unfamiliar sensation around your torso. Your half asleep mind realizes that you were being hug, the realization slowly being followed by the understanding that it was Vyn who was hugging you so tightly. With a sleepy hum you move your hand to rest on his, curiosity nudging you awake.

"Vyn? Is everything ok?"

Silence was the only response, encouraging you to turn the best you could in his embrace to face him. You rest your hand on his cheek, realizing that he was still asleep as you brushed a few stray locks of his silver hair out of his face. His brow was furrowed, and even in his sleep he drew you closer, his embrace tightening in response to your movement.

It was rare, to see his emotions so clearly on his face like this. He was usually so aware of his emotions, so in control. No matter what you did, he usually responded with his steady and affectionate smile, rarely gracing you with the slightest blush and flicker of surprise in his striking golden gaze.

So to see him like this…

Your train of thought is interrupted by his arms somehow pulling you closer, his lips pressed into a thin line, almost as if he thought there was something threatening you in that very moment. Your gaze softens as you brush your thumb against his cheek, then shifting your hand to smooth out his forehead.

I wonder what kind of dream he's having to react like this…

You watch as his expression relaxes, leaving only his lips in a frown as his embrace loosens minutely.

"See? Everything's fine. Silly."

Your voice is hushed, unwilling to wake up him, yet unable to hide the affectionate amusement that was welling up within you as you tapped his nose. He lets out a sigh in his sleep, as if he were responding to your words, the slightest smile gracing his features as he nuzzled the nape of your neck. With his worries eased, (even though you still didn't know what they were), you let yourself enjoy his embrace, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead before settling down to go back to sleep.

"Sweet dreams, Vyn."

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

Vyn looks at you curiously as you prepare breakfast together, noting the way you kept glancing at him with amusement, a smile he couldn't quite understand on your features.

"My dear… Did something good happen?"

"Hmm… You could say that."

Your amusement seemed to grow at his question, leaving him in an even more confused state. Had he done something? That couldn't be… Yesterday had been quite normal, and he as far as he knew your sleep had been quite peaceful.

"Are… are you going to tell me what it is?"

You hummed briefly, shooting him a glance and giving him a smile that answered his question before you even spoke.

"Nope!"

His eyes closed in resignation, giving a quiet chuckle as he chose to give up on questioning you. Whatever had happened, it had made you happy, and that was enough for him.

For you, there was nothing but delight at the realization that he didn't remember anything from last night. Not that anything had happened. However, you got the chance to see a secret side of him, one that only you got to see. It was a memory you woul hold onto, another remind that he was as much of a normal human being as you were regardless of how composed he seemed everyday.

Maybe you would tell him about it someday, when he becomes more expressive with you.

But for now…

For now, this was your secret, a part of him that you could treasure in your heart.

And that was enough for you.

[totromanticfool]

It's you and me this summer

Hcs for the nxx boys going on holiday with you (order: Luk - Marius - Vyn - Artem) maybe a bit ooc? (its been a while) Enjoy!

Luke

If you travel by plane, he will offer his shoulder for you to sleep on. He will wake you for snack time though!

If you travel by car, you will switch with driving, and he will have a full playlist with music to keep you both in vacation spirits.

Cannonballs in the pool every single time, then shakes out his hair like a really cute dog. (a golden retriever prob)

Probably burns easily, you will have to remind him about sunblock.

Makes you join karaoke with him out of the blue.

Will take you to little local places to eat, might get a food poisoning from it, but it will be worth it, to see his beautiful genuine smile.

Marius.

First class travel everywhere. Marius is used to it, so you should, too.

By car, he hires someone to drive, so you can both relax closely together in the back seat

Splashes you with water when you try to ease into the pool.

If you are both in a good mood, he will pick you up and throw you in the pool. Has you piggyback ride him in the pool as well, to keep you close.

Probably has staff around him (and you!) For all your needs. Miss wants a drink? It's there within a second. Some shade? Parasol building on the spot.

But the one thing Marius will do himself is apply your sunblock.

He might write something like ♡Marius on your back, so it will be visible agianst te rest of the colored skin.

Vyn

Traveling by plane? He picked out a few books you both can read, while you can choose the music.

By car? He drives. He wants you to relax as much as possible.

He's it the pool on a big floaty with a cup holder. Has a cocktail in it and maybe paid off a waiter to refill it every time he puts the empty glass in the air. (Fight me for this one! I see him as a diva on vacation, canon in chibi lounge 'member?)

Offers to help put on sunblock just to be able to touch your skin.

If there is a wine trip, you will take it. Vyn will have all the knowledge on it and tells you about it with that sparkle in his eyes.

Artem

Traveling by plane, first class. It is expensive but he wants you to relax to the fullest. Even he will close his eyes for a nap.

By car? He drives. He doesn't want you to worry and relax.

Does laps in the pool early in the morning.

Reminds you every few hours to apply sunblock. If you ask him to help, he will turn red, but do it, with a very serious face.

He will do his research before the trip. Knows all the food spots and cultural trips are already planned (only if you want to)

Will act like your personal butler. He will not relax until you are.

You will have to remind him to sit down and enjoy the view every once in a while. (You're his view, obviously)

If you ask him what he really wants to do, he will tell you he wants to visit that super romantic couples spot. (All the while sporting his signature red ears and cheeks)

This has been sitting in my drafts for a while, but i never had the feeling it was 'done' now i know i cant put more in it for now, it was time for me to post it.

until the next drabble!

Love, Hann ❤

[yaesnovels]

EMERGENCY COMMISSIONS

i really hate to be doing this right now, but i geniunely have no other choice.

i have reached a point where i won't be able to cover some of my basic bills and debt. theres a total of 350€ i need to pay off in the next couple of weeks of which i can cover about 100€ right now. (the remaining is approx. $280 according to google).

i am currently working as an intern in an unpaid internship where i only get a small amount of money to cover basic living expenses such as groceries, etc. and unfortunately, turkiye (where i am currently staying at) had been hit by a massive hyperinflatation, making basic living expenses very expensive.

with this, i want to open emergency commissions for genshin and tears of themis fanfiction, as well as original characters works, selfship works specilized for you alone, and similar stuff.

if you have a bit to spare, i would really appreciate the support. i am not the type to beg for money but i am really in a tough spot right now and i hate to be doing this right now.

as for the pricings, dm me or send me an ask and we can work something out that works for us :)

if you're unable to help out in this way, please share this post by reblogging, telling people you know who you think are able to help, anything. i appreciate all the help.

links:

KO-FI

BUY ME A COFFEE

[nagisadelune]

Headcanon: Vyn Opening Up

(Definitely not edited)

Oh ho? Writing about a super deep topic? Either way, I'm back to write another Vyn headcanon! For this one, I drew inspiration from Kaguya-sama because let's be honest: they have a lot of great ideas for romance and stuff, especially with the couples in the show. However, this topic leads to several different ideas that I had such as Vyn actually being able to express himself or just starting to feel comfortable and relax.

In the end, I think I ended up with the one idea you'll read because I think that it's shorter. Although the other one works just as well with the topic we want to talk about, I think it deserves to be written better and be more expressive in terms of what we see from the relationship; basically, I would want to write it as a proper fanfiction rather than just the quick headcanons that I write. With that aside, I hope that you enjoy reading this!

For the timeline, I think that this should be around the beginning of your relationship since I feel like this would be established well before you guys get engaged. Also, Vyn's partner can be anyone including Rosa, so that means whoever you are, you can imagine that it's you and him! Alright, let's get to the story!

⭐⭐⭐

She would never love me like this.

Those word ring through his mind as he carefully adjusts the clothes on his body. Although you two already confessed weeks ago, he can't help but feel doubtful about himself as a lover. He knows that you were being truthful about your feelings that day, yet he doubts that you would love the other sides of him: the side that made everyone in his home country reject him, the side when he's stressed, and even the side when he's slightly irritated. With these sides overwhelming him, he wishes he could just let them all out and expose himself to you.

He can't lose you though. After everything that has happened, all he wants is for you to be by his side, but he can't let the one he wants nearest to him to see his weak side because no one would like it. Plus, no one wants to see a tired person after such a long week; he needs to hide it.

"Dr. Richter!" you call out when you spot him in the lobby of your building, but you falter when you notice his tired expression. "Dr. Richter?" Your steps approach him before your figure stops in front of him. When he turns to look at you, the dark eye bags under his eyes contrasts his pale skin, making the concern starting to bubble inside you. He gives you a small smile, hiding the exhaustion from the week.

"Hey, how are you?" he asks quietly, the fake smile extending to his eyes. You look at him, noting his tired golden eyes blink as he looks back at you. Although you haven't said anything to him, you have noticed his tired eyes for a few weeks now, and you're starting to feel restless with what has been happening.

"I'm okay. Are you okay though?" you ask, choosing your words carefully. Your hand slightly reaches to his cheek, feeling the dryness of his skin against your hand. With a frown on your face, you place your hand on his forehead, concerned about him getting sick. His hand reaches up to grab yours and brings it down from his forehead, staring at it and squeezing a bit.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he answers softly, not making any eye contact with you. Your mind races as you try to figure out how to help him before a plan forms in your head. Deciding to act on it, you grab his hand and tug on it. His eyes meet yours, slightly confused as he tries to piece together your actions.

"Let's head back," you whisper, swinging your interlocked hands. With a sigh, he stands up and nods in agreement, a small smile pulling at the corner of his lips. With another slight tug, you two walk back to your apartment, the sounds of the city filling your ears. Although you guys didn't share any words, the silence surprisingly does not feel awkward like it needs to be filled with conversation. Besides, Vyn's thoughts consume his mind, and it seems like he wants to sit with them for a bit.

The moment you step inside the apartment, you immediately drag Vyn to the couch. Despite his confusement, Vyn willingly follows you, taking a seat after you tap the couch cushion besides you. Watching him, you notice his eyes rarely meet yours, making you concerned. With a squeeze of his hand, he looks up at you before sighing.

"Vyn, be honest," you start, hoping for him to open up about his feelings. "Are you feeling okay?" With Vyn's gaze on you, he smiles slightly before squeezing your hand, trying to reassure you.

"I'm okay," he answers with his eye smile. "Don't worry about me, okay?" Although he normally answers well enough to hide his feelings, you know that he's lying to you, and his answer blatantly reveals his feelings. With a huff, you can feel the anger boiling your blood, and Vyn keeps his eyes lowered. As much as he can hide it from you with his words and actions, his eyes would reveal everything to you in an instant. You tug at his hand again, prying an answer out of him.

"Please just tell me," you mutter, looking at your intertwined fingers. You can't help but feel slightly upset that he insists on being strong in front of you. Deep inside, you know that there is something troubling him, and you want him to feel comfortable enough to talk about it with you.

"I'm serious," he answers, squeezing your hand. "I feel fine." That makes you hit your breaking point. With an angry huff, you look at him with a pout, ready to lecture him about how keeping everything bottled inside will make him feel worse. However, you try to keep your anger at bay; there's no way he would immediately feel comfortable with your request, so you need to take baby steps.

"As much as you're going to try and convince me that you are okay, I can tell you aren't," you start, clearly explaining the situation from your perspective. Despite the anger that wants to come out of you, you know better than to explode at him for his feelings. "I've been worried for weeks about this, and I just need you to understand that I'm here for you. You might not feel comfortable to talk about it, but I just want you to know that I'm here to listen whenever you want someone," you continue after a shaky breath, your eyes still looking at your intertwined fingers. "Please," you whisper, "don't try to hold it all in." The anger inside you dissipates to sadness as you work out your feelings over the topic. You shoot him a small smile which Vyn returns with a sigh.

"Alright then," Vyn responds back quietly, brushing away the strands of hair away from your face. "I didn't want to bother you with this problem since I thought you only wanted to see the stronger side of me." He reaches for your other hands, forcing the two of you to directly face each other on the couch. "I'm sorry that you have been so worried about me," he apologizes as his thumbs run over the back of your hands. You watch him bring your hands to his lip to kiss them before tugging gently on them to close the distance between you two. His arms wrap around you as he gently rests his chin on your shoulder. Despite your flushed cheeks, you wrap your arms around his neck, your fingers playing with the hair on the back of his head.

"Tired?" you whisper into his ear, your hands gently smoothing the strands of his silky white hair down. You feel him nod into your shoulder as his hands gently lower to your waist. In an instant, you feel his hands grip your waist before moving you towards him, settling your figure close enough that your legs legs are touching. With his sudden actions, your cheeks happen to become redder than before, leading to you hiding your face into his shoulder.

With a shaky breath, he asks, "Is it okay if we can talk about it?" Shocked, you pull yourself away from him to look at his face. When you two make eye contact, you notice the honest gleam in his eyes, making you smile a bit. You nod a bit before you rest against him again. Although he feels scared to admit his weakness to you, your words were enough to ease his worries a bit; he's definitely not close to completely opening up to you yet, he feels comforted to witness your willingness and care.

For the rest of the time you're together, Vyn speaks in a hushed voice as he conveys his feelings without the restraint he normally shows. Although he decides to not reveal certain details, the weight of keeping it to himself finally lifts off his chest.

Maybe it's okay to be weak in front of her.

⭐⭐⭐

And that's a wrap! I was kind of hoping that this one would end up better, but it is what it is. This is what I get for not thinking things through, but I still hope that you liked this one! I'll see you in the next one!

[icypopz]

with an affectionate s/o ♡

↬ request from anon ; If your requests are open of course and if you could, I would like to request some hc with Artem and Vyn with a s/o that is very affectionate

↬ notes ; artem wing (zuo ran), vyn richter (mo yi) x gn!reader

↬ from ice ; the original ask was very detailed so i just put an excerpt of it above :) btw this is my first post for artem !! hehehe,,, also i rly need to kiss mo yi ok bye hope you enjoy <3

↬ warning(s) ; vyn's is microscopically suggestive at the end hahaha

please reblog ! it helps a lot :)

[ artem wing / zuo ran ! ]

artem would definitely love having an affectionate partner. he's someone who values communication, and hearing you always remind him that you love him never fails to make his day, whether it's through text messages or verbally. whenever he receives a notification from you, a smile will always unintentionally curve his lips as he stares at the barrage of heart emojis and exclamation marks. celestine has caught him smiling at his screen multiple times now, and she never stops teasing him about it.

as for physical affection, artem is comfortable with it as long as it isn't at work. it's not that he doesn't want to show you off or he's embarrassed to date you, he's just shy and gets too embarrassed when you kiss him goodbye in front of his coworkers (it's mainly celestine's knowing smirk that he doesn't think he can face). at home or when you go out on dates, he adores it when you jump on him in an excited hug or pepper kisses all over his face. he especially loves having your hand in his as you both walk around stellis, it's so casual and subtle but artem secretly likes how it signifies to everyone around you that the two of you are dating.

if you ever get insecure about being so enthusiastic with your love, artem is quick to reassure you. he'll tell you that you're like sunshine to him, and he adores basking in the warmth of your care. he would pull you into a comforting hug, resting his chin on your head and caressing your hair as you nuzzle into the crook of his neck, whispering sweet nothings about how much he loves you. artem hopes you know that he loves you equally, if not more, despite not showing it as boldly as you.

more content utc !

[ vyn richter / mo yi ! ]

having a partner who's so genuine with their affection would come as a welcome shock to vyn. he's usually more restrained with his emotions, rarely letting his guard down even around you. ever since he was a kid, he's never met anyone who was so eager to love him like this, so it takes some time before he feels more comfortable with your enthusiasm. but once he's used to it, it's a welcome addition to all the things that he already adores about you.

vyn really appreciates the way you always tell him you love him. as a psychologist, he has a tendency to hyper-analyse everyone's behaviour, which includes you, and he sometimes manages to overthink himself into a spiral where he convinces himself you don't really love him (though he'd never voice it to you). at times like these, just seeing an "i love you, vyn!" text from you always chases away his negative thoughts, and he'll remind himself that you truly do care for him. he'll be sure to make your favourite desserts when you get home, but if you ask why he'll simply chuckle with an enigmatic smile and say he just felt like surprising you.

to be honest, vyn would totally one-up you in the physical affection department every time. he isn't shy to show that he loves you through touch, and when the two of you are relaxing at home, his hands are somehow always on you. resting on your waist, intertwining your fingers with his, sneaking under the hem of your shirt - vyn just loves how warm you are, and sometimes he can barely believe that you're there beside him, so the physical contact helps keep him grounded. if it makes you flustered, then that's a bonus! he also has zero shame when it comes to kissing you, and there definitely isn't a single place on your body that his lips haven't marked at least once. can you blame him though? vyn just wants to show his precious partner that he loves every single part of you.

✧ thank you for reading ! if you have a request, feel free to send it in 🌠

© icypopz 2024. do not repost or modify in any way.

[ribbeoms]

"A psychiatrist never tells his secrets."

A TEARS OF THEMIS FANFIC

FT. VYN, YOU

G/N READER!

"Oh, how can one man figure out all my secrets!"

The morning sun shined into the window, curtains slowly flowing to the rhythm of the softly blowing wind. Outside the window, birds chirped as the morning dew slowly dripped off leaves.

This would be a perfect morning, if you were not losing your minds over Vyn's mind games.

First off, he woke up earlier than you. Earlier! Vyn, the man who has shifted NXX meetings to the afternoon to fit his sleeping schedule. Vyn, the man who under no circumstance would absolutely allow anybody (well, except you) to wake him up before 11am, waking up before you!? Unheard of!

What was even worse was that he also PREPARED BREAKFAST? He woke up of early morning drowsiness and made you breakfast?! Okay, maybe he was being the oh-so-caring boyfriend that he is but..It truly is too much to believe!!!

However, a package arrived. Not knowing what was inside it, you called Vyn over to take a look. He deduced that perhaps it could be something that a client sent as thanks for their case, or perhaps one of Vyn's patients sent over a gift of appreciation. And so, you both opened it together. Inside...was none other than....

The gold necklace you had wanted?!

The week before, you and Vyn were out shopping together. However, Vyn said he had left something in his car and went to go get it, and you were walking around jewelry stores just to find something eye-catching to wear to a masquerade ball that you both were invited to. However, all the prices made your wallet feel empty, even though you haven't even bought anything yet...

But somehow the gold necklace is right in front of your very eyes?! Vyn's face etched a sly grin, and his eyes displayed that he knew something that was kept a secret from you. This was truly all too mind-boggling! (had to sneak in a white person phrase sorry)

Of course, out of curiosity you asked Vyn what was he smiling about. He merely shrugged and said, "Haha, for me to know, for you to find out."

This Vyn-! Well, at least you have something to wear to the ball..

[kirbykat]

tears of themis is top tier when it comes to their card art, art in general, events, storyline, and love interests (like they’re all my favorite it’s crazy)

[kirbykat]

he is so perfect

artem.wing requested to follow you!

when you pull out your phone, you have to check the notification twice to make sure you’ve read it correctly. you even go so far as to tap it, watching curiously as your phone opens pax’s newest social media app.

this couldn’t possibly be your artem wing. your fellow senior partner at themis artem wing, who once called social media positively mind-numbing. 

but it is artem, a cursory glance at the profile picture confirms. not only is the picture he uses the exact same as his identification badge, but his account is already verified — no doubt due to his association with marius von hagen. 

you purse your lips in an attempt to stifle your laughter as you stalk study the rest of his profile. 

Artem Wing Senior Attorney at Themis Law Firm artemwing@themismail.co (serious inquiries only)

it’s professional and clean, with all the aspects of an account made for business purposes. was this the firm’s latest marketing strategy? you really must have zoned out during the last staff meeting. 

smiling, you accept his follow request and send one back just as celestine returns from the restroom.

“who has you smiling at your phone like that?” she asks, taking a sip of her iced tea. “is it your secret boyfriend again? when are you going to let me meet him?”

you take a bite of your salad, shrugging. “i told you, he’s shy.” 

she sets her glass down, resting her elbows on the table. “yeah, but you’re always gushing about how sweet he is! you said he was a lawyer, right? is it howard styer? from baldr?”

last week, you’d let it slip that your secret boyfriend was also a lawyer. since then celestine and kiki had been hurtling name after name at you, trying to guess his identity. 

it’s not like you wanted to keep his identity a secret forever. it was just that the two of you were happy in this little bubble of yours. the gentle, intimate mornings spent swaying in each other’s embrace to his morning coffee playlist. the private date nights at his apartment that are spent cooking dinner together. 

“ah,” celestine giggles. “you’re thinking about him again, aren’t you?”

you try and fail to fight the heat crawling up your neck, thankful when your phone chimes with a notification in your bag. 

“it might be about my civil suit,” you tell her, eager for the distraction. 

you dig your phone out of your bag, checking the notification. 

artem.wing tagged you in a post

your heart skips a beat, and you hesitate before tapping the notification.

_____

artem looks up when his office door is thrown open. he’s glad to see that it’s you, even if you’re wearing that look on your face, the one you put on when you’re crossing a witness in court.

“mr. wing,” you greet tersely. “do you have a moment?”

he rises from his seat and buttons his suit jacket, smiling. “for you, always.”

“stop being cute,” you mutter. “why did you tag me in your thirst trap?”

“thirst trap?” he echoes, genuinely confused.

“artem,” you whisper harshly. “you posted a shirtless picture of yourself at the gym and tagged me in it! now everyone will know that we’re dating!”

“but my account is on private,” he frowns. “and i only tagged you…”

“everyone you let follow your account can see that picture!” you explain. “that includes celestine, jeremy, kiki, rosa, luke, dr. richter, marius—”

this is the last time he’ll ever let marius von hagen peer pressure him into anything. 

“so…you didn’t like the photo?” he asks, rounding his desk to stand in front of you. 

you seem taken aback by his question, avoiding his gaze. “i didn’t say that…”

you both startle when celestine pounds on the glass wall of his office, holding up her phone. 

“i knew it!” she shouts through the glass. her shouting draws the attention of kiki, rosa, and just about every other employee in the firm. 

you’re absolutely mortified, but artem simply takes your hand, pressing a kiss to the backs of your fingers before pulling you in to wrap his arms around you. 

you don’t fight him, simply sighing deeply and hiding your face in his chest as celestine cheers loudly. 

“i’m sorry, love,” he murmurs, lips brushing the shell of your ear. 

“you owe me,” you mutter, but you’re smiling as he presses a kiss to the side of your neck, your cheek, the corner of your mouth. 

“i suppose now we have to take that very romantic walk down to hr.”

_____

themariusvonhagen: ARTEM???? 

themariusvonhagen: DAMNNNNNN 🔥🔥🔥🔥

celestinetaylor: @ themislawfirm please please please repost this on our story for the free advertisement

[jingyuans-precious]

“s not enough..” he mumbles into your shoulder before trailing his lips down to your collarbones that were littered with his love bites, the ultimate proof of his love, he claims.

“you’re so good to me, my love” he says while moving up to place gentle kisses on your neck. “maybe too good.” your lover lets out a soft sigh as he rests his head in the crook of your neck.

“no i’m not” you chuckle at his adorable show of affection.

“yes you are” your lover says as he grabs your hand gently and intertwines your fingers with his, a sign that your lover will always want to hold onto you and never let go. even if he supposedly thinks you’re too good for him.

“no~” you giggle as you squeezed your intertwined hands gently.

“yes” he huffs softly and nuzzles your neck gently, your lover truly looked so adorable this way, as if to win you over with affection and have you admit that you are in fact, so damn good for him.

“fine” you finally say as you give in to your lover’s endearing antics.

— Aventurine, Ayato, CHILDE, JING YUAN, Kaeya, Marius von Hagen, Rafayel, Wriothesley + your faves ♡

a/n: decided to add lnds and tot!

[rhenuvee]

A/N: sorry for inactivity again!! I'll be posting some drafts (like this one) to slowly empty them out (sorry if it's bad!)

Warnings: implied sarcasm/exaggeration in tone, somewhat suggestive because of a lot of kissing/making out + teasing

‿︵‿︵୨˚̣̣̣͙୧ - - ୨˚̣̣̣͙୧‿︵‿︵

Hoyoverse men who have the audacity to say, "Slow down, I'm not going anywhere." when they're in the middle of kissing you. The man whose eyes are the first to fall on you when you're within his line of sight. Who's the first to say "I miss you" and kisses you like there's no tomorrow even when he saw you ten minutes ago. I mean, how dare he?

For some of them, he means it in a factual way, because he only wants the best for you and wants you to know that you both have all the time in the world. You're his sweet partner, and his heart breaks in two knowing you do this because you miss him, and have been deprived of his affection- but don't worry he'll give it to you. He feels you hugging him so tight, and all he can do is hug you tighter for your heart to feel safe and to let you know he means his words. He'll do whatever to ensure you have what you want.

And for others, he's 100% doing it to rile you up. To tease you. For them, at this point he knows he's already spoiled you with affection and yet he keeps lighting the fuse ever so slightly. In his heart he also can tell you miss him- your clawing hands griping his jacket so tightly and knuckles pressing into his chest, why wouldn't he know? He would do anything for you, and anything to relish in these moments longer. So don't mistake him for just wanting to poke your sides, because this feeling is something he is not willing to give up easily either.

But it doesn't matter because in the end you will bury yourself impossibly closer into his arms, hoping that you stay there forever. And you will continue to kiss your man as you please, because even he himself will not stop you from loving him.

"I'm all yours."

Alhaitham, Ayato, Baizhu, Diluc, Kaeya, Wriothesley, Argenti, Aventurine, Blade, Boothill, Dr. Ratio, Jing Yuan, Sunday, Luke, Artem, Vyn, Marius (this is just who I thought of, but you can imagine whoever you like!)

[kirbykat]

they’re such cuties

Hello, may I request headcanons for the NXX boys when they hear reader (who isn't mc) that usually only addresses them by their last name calls them by their first name for the first time, while giving a heartfelt compliment with the softest and sweetest expression?

Bonus if they're normally shy yet silly in general. Another bonus is if they did it without realizing it and immediately fluster when they realise what they did, and puff their cheeks when in denial when called out upon.

Thank you!

"Thank you so much! Luke, you're a lifesaver!"

A wave of relief washed over you as Luke repaired the final piece on your drawer. You still weren't sure how you'd ripped the cabinets clean off their hinges, but all that mattered was that your friend Mr. Pearce, antique repairer extraordinaire, had come to your rescue.

Mr. Pearce.

Luke Pearce.

You hadn't realized how casually his name had slipped out of your mouth until it was too late. "I... Um... Mr. Pearce! Thank you!"

Humbly you bowed your head. You could feel the heat rising in your cheeks, and you could only imagine how much you resembled a boiling lobster right about now. Cautiously, you tilted your chin up just enough to get a peek at the brunet's face, only to find...

That he looked just as flustered as you.

His gaze darted to the floor. "L-Luke..." He stumbled over his own name, and you could have sworn you saw him bite his tongue in his own embarrassed frustration. "Luke is fine. Great, actually." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Because... we're friends, aren't we?"

His eyes flickered back to you, aglow with the warmth of a fireplace but the intensity of a bonfire.

"At least, I've been trying to put down clues that show you I consider you a dear friend."

~♡~♡~♡~♡~

"You tend to these all by yourself? I can tell how much love you pour into your garden, Vyn!"

Awestruck by the vast array of flora and foliage before you, the words fluttered from your lips before you had a chance to truly think about them.

Of course, you meant what you said! When Dr. Richter had invited you to see a garden, you were excited at the prospect of going to fancy botanical gardens. When he mentioned it was his own personal garden, a healthy dose of curiosity sprouted alongside your eagerness to see his home. Now, upon seeing how beautiful his "humble" garden was, you were impressed and delighted.

But as a moment passed without any response from the gardener himself, you began to worry that you'd said something inappropriate. "Don't tell me, is Dr. Richter bad with prai--"

You clapped your hands over your mouth and began bowing rapidly, bobbing up and down and up and down.

"Dr. Vyn! I mean, Dr. Richter! I'm so sorry! That was super informal and super rude of me! Oh, Dr. Richter, I can't apologize enough!"

A gentle hand came to rest upon the top of your head, stopping you in your tracks.

"Now, while I'm qualified to treat them, I'd appreciate if you didn't give yourself a concussion from whipping your head up and down so many times." He chuckled softly as you rose to a full standing position again, then gave you a gentle pat.

"Raised them with love, you say?" he murmured. "I don't know if I'd put it that way. I'm simply following standard guidance and instructions for each and every species of flower." He pursed his lips for a second, then continued. "But if tending to flowers is anything like tending to people in need of tender love and care..." He turned to look at you, and his golden eyes glinted in the sunlight.

"Then I'm sure you have quite the green thumb yourself."

~♡~♡~♡~♡~

"This is the best grilling I've ever tasted in my life, Artem!"

You had barely spared a second to sing the attorney's praises before digging back into your meal.

When you'd fallen ill with the latest seasonal flu, you had messaged him as a courtesy to let him know you wouldn't be able to meet him this weekend as planned. You certainly hadn't expected the star of Themis Law Firm to offer to bring you some food. You were less prepared when he said he was going to cook it himself, asking for your favorite foods and flavors.

Least of all did you expect his food to be so delicious!

'Never judge a book by its cover,' you thought as you devoured another spoonful. 'I just didn't expect Mr. Wing of all people to have the time to learn to cook so well!'

You peeked up at him, concerned that he hadn't responded yet. He probably wasn't the type who received compliments often; he seemed like the type who intimidated others. Respected, but never appreciated in this way.

"Your cheeks are really red. Are you catching a fever from me?"

Wildfire had spread across his face, from the tips of his ears to the tip of his nose. If he got sick because he was taking care of you, you'd never forgive yourself!

"You... perhaps need more rest," is all that he said in response. "But..." He smiled gently at you.

"If a flu is what it takes for you to loosen up around me, I can't truthfully say that I'm upset about it."

~♡~♡~♡~♡~

"You designed this? Marius, you're a creative genius!"

Your jaw dropped as you absorbed the details in the painting before you. The effect was almost reminiscent of a stained glass window, with the way the colors and strokes created a mosaic image. You could easily see this hanging up in a museum or even a church.

But like a dog who received one treat and was desperate for more, the painter turned to you with big, pleading eyes and whimpered, "I couldn't hear that. Could you repeat it, please? For me?"

He wasn't usually this pathetic. "I said you're a creative genius!" You folded your arms over your chest. "Don't make me take back the genius part."

"No, no~ Before that."

Before that? What exactly had you said that brought this CEO to wag his tail so desperately?

Realization struck you like lightning and you spun away from him instantly. "Mr. von Hagen, it's very unprofessional to tease me like this!"

You could almost feel the mood shift as Marius deflated behind you. "Aww, you were being so friendly a minute ago," he whined. "Even calling me Marius~ Marmar~ Mariri~"

"I didn't use any stupid nicknames!" you protested, whirling to face him with flustered tears stinging your eyes. "You're such a pain in the neck, Marius!"

He perked up immediately. "Oh! There it is again! We are close, aren't we?" He leaned forward, the corners of his mouth turned up into a cheeky grin as he batted his eyelashes at you.

With a huff, you shifted your attention back to the painting. "On second thought, I think this is too abstract for the exhibition. I guess Pax can't host it after all."

"Whaaaat? Now that's just too cold!"

[revasserium]

Hello, Rain! Congrats on the 2k followers! 🎉💖 Hope your day is going well!! For the event, may I request Marius and butterfly lovers? ☺️

prompt list reqs are: temporarily closed

14. butterfly lovers

marius von hagen; 5,103 words; fluff, no "y/n", slightly canon-divergent, highschool sweethearts to lovers, marius being the simp he is, mentions of dif socioeconomic backgrounds, verbal bullying from other students

summary: marius does not have many friends at starhigh; you see fit to change that fact.

a/n: this is loosely based on both his "precious mornings" ssr and also his "world of glitz" ssr so vague spoilers for both and you'll understand this more if you kinda sorta know those but otherwise it's just a cute lil fic to feed my marius obsession (ㅅ´ ˘ `)

001. want and need

“I don’t want anything from you.”

Those are the first ever words you say to Marius von Hagen.

It is, by all accounts, a strange kind of meet-cute (if you can even call it that, years later, with his arms curled around your middle, his chin hooked over your shoulder — the pair of you reminiscing on your school days, marveling on the passage of time, how quick things flash by. But back then, time had seemed an infinite thing, ticking solidly through from morning till night, Monday to Friday and onwards), but even then, Marius had an alarming amount of charm and self-awareness, a shockingly prurient view on the world.

Rich and spoiled as he may be, no one could say that he wasn’t brilliant.

“Sorry?” he says, blinking over the stack of notes he’d been going over in the library as you slump down in the seat opposite, tossing your bag onto the table and propping your cheek on your hand.

You shrug, “Just wanted you to know that… I don’t want anything from you. So, yeah,” you repeat, pulling out your own set of notebooks. They’re a bit battered but full of multi-colored tabs that bulge out the sides and top, your textbooks, clearly secondhand. Marius blinks for a second but doesn’t comment, leaning back slightly to look you over.

“Then, senpai…” an easy, self-serving smirk twists the corner of his lips, “why’re you here?”

You pause, fingers hovering over a pink gel pen, your shoulders tensing.

“All the other tables were full.”

It’s a bold-faced lie, but Marius makes a show of turning to look at the tables around you both — sure, they’ve all got one or two people but none are full. You could’ve chosen to sit at any of the other tables, with any of the other students. And yet.

“And,” you add, rather sniffily, “how’d you know I’m not in your year?”

Marius considers his answer — because Payton had presented him with a roster of everyone in his class (with headshots) the week before his first day and asked in that smooth gentle way of his for Marius to “make sure he’s done his homework”, because since then, almost every single person in his grade has tried to come up and introduce themselves, toppling over each other to try and make an impression, to stake their claim on his friendship and by proxy, Pax Group.

Because he wouldn’t have forgotten a face like your’s.

“Cause…. I know all the pretty girls in my year already.” He winks.

Easier to play up the foppish, rich fuckboy facade than admit any of those other things which are infinitely more true, but no less harrowing for a growing teenage boy to try and admit.

Predictably, you roll your eyes and continue on your journey of emptying the entire contents of your schoolbag onto the remaining space of the table.

“Right.” Your tone is disbelieving and Marius feels a thread of intrigue twang in his chest against the initial shock of your blunt appearance. You don’t believe him, and yet you’re still here. You claim that you don’t want anything from him, and yet.

“So? Are you gonna introduce yourself? Seems kinda rude to sit down at someone else’s table and not even tell them your name.” Marius taps the heel of a pen to his cheek, the intrigue slowly festering into curiosity. It itches inside his chest and he finds himself leaning in as you slate him a long, piercing look.

“Fine.” You say, and then you tell him your name — first and last, with no title, no frills, no mention of a family dynasty or some kind of foreign conglomerate empire. In fact, Marius realizes as he runs through his quick mental list of all the who’s who of society, he has no clue who you are or who you might be related to. It’s a difficult thing to achieve at Starhigh. And then he remembers —

“I’m on scholarship,” you say, dropping your eyes back to your now open notebook, twirling your pen once before setting in to scribbling along some sort of complicated looking diagram. Your voice is flat, almost curt, cut short by the implication of those three words.

Scholarship.

Marius knows that the prestigious academy accepts a handful of scholarship students a year, mostly as marketing fodder to pander to the masses — look at us, opening our gold-gilded doors, our marble-foyered halls, peeling back our velvet curtains to accept commoners who are driven enough, who are brilliant enough to shine amongst the ready-born stars.

“Well, guess someone’s gotta keep the test scores up,” Marius says, now entirely taken with the task of watching you take notes. You pause again, glancing up. There’s a spark behind your eyes that makes his heart stutter.

“Ah… so you do know about us.”

Us. You say the word so casually but it still makes Marius flinch inwardly. An “us” precludes a “them” — one group, and the other. Somehow, Marius doesn’t like the thought of you and him being othered from each other so obviously by your respective social circles, even though he knows it’s unavoidable.

“Sure I do — I mean, none of us study hard enough to make the numbers we post every year,” he says, with a stab at casual nonchalance, putting an extra emphasis on his use of “us” just to be a tad more self-deprecating. That should be the tactic here — people like to feel superior, so debasing himself a little from time to time is necessary.

So he tells himself.

You, however, don’t seem to be buying it.

“I’ve seen you in here every afternoon for the past two months.”

Marius leans back, stretching his arms over his head and yawning hugely.

“Nowhere else to be, so…” but even he hears the strained edge to his voice, the flatness that drops at the end of his would-be cheery tone. You hike an imperious eyebrow and Marius feels heat cresting up the back of his neck.

“Nowhere else?” you echo the words back at him, but in your voice, they sound softer, more wistful.

He slumps back forward, making an exaggerated face.

“Yeah, my brother’s busy with the company and my dad’s… off somewhere in Europe doing whatever he does in Europe,” he waves a would-be careless hand and sighs dramatically, “what’s a guy to do with all that time but —” he motions around the gorgeous library reading room with it’s floor to ceiling windows and endless stacks of priceless reference books and first editions.

“But to study,” you finish for him, amusement dangling off the end of your words like a comma, hinged there, waiting for the rest of the sentence, the remainder of the story.

Marius chews on the inside of his cheek and doubles down with a light laugh and another good-natured wink. Meanwhile, he can’t help the way his mind is racing. Why would a scholarship student randomly come up to him in the library, loudly declare that she “doesn’t want anything from him” and then proceed to invade his personal space?

It reminds him, outlandishly, of the story of a man who’d struck gold, and then, terrified that someone would come steal it from him, proceeded to bury it all back with the sign “NO GOLD BURIED HERE” tacked up over the mound of freshly dug earth. The denial so egregious that it rebounds back into confirmation instead.

Were you really trying to get closer to him by telling him to his face that you had no such intentions?

His chases down the line of thought, the speculations spiraling wilder and wilder until your voice snaps him sharply back into focus.

“Oi! Are you okay?”

Marius blinks, jerking back as you click your fingers in front of his face.

“Huh? Oh yeah sorry —”

You cock your head, that strange, knowing spark still flickering behind your eyes.

“Where’d you go off to, hm?”

Marius opens his mouth before shutting it again, shaking his head.

“Just… never mind.”

“You do that a lot, don’t you?” you ask, cocking your head to one side, birdlike.

“Do what?”

“Keep things to yourself.”

And this time, Marius feels himself being caught off-guard — there’s a skip to his already arhythmic heartbeat, a skid in his breath, a click-shuffle-snap in his mind’s eye as he tries to refocus his attention on what you’d just said. And when he does, heat and heat and heat claws its way up his skin, bleeding into his cheeks before he can force it back down.

“I - I don’t know what you mean.” There — that quaver in his voice. He curses himself for it. The vulnerability of it all.

“I’ve seen it, y’know —” you say, sighing as you drop your eyes back onto your notes, now highlighting something in a bright, blinding chartreuse, “the way people flock to you. But I mean, everyone titters over everyone else here, don’t they?”

Marius stares, nearly open-mouthed at the casual, almost bland way you’re laying it all out, as if he weren’t the storm-center around which all of this social grandstanding spins.

“What do they ask you about first? Oh, lemme guess — is it the fact that you’re confirmed to be Pax’s next CEO or whether you like girls with short hair? I guess the short-hair thing is a bit less on the nose, right?”

You flip a page in your notebook and methodically tab it with a pink sticky note.

“What do you want?” the words are out of his mouth before he can stop himself, and Marius realizes too late that he’s staring, wide-eyed and desperate, his heart now pounding inside him like some angry, caged thing, thudding so hard against the back of his throat that he actually feels like it might leap right out of his mouth.

Placidly, you raise your eyes back to look at him, meeting his wild, bewildered gaze with the steady, solid one of your own.

“Like I said… I don’t want anything from you.” Your voice is calm, your words sure.

Disbelief roils inside him like sickness and he swallows hard as he realizes his hands had clenched into white-knuckled fists on the table between you.

“Then why —” his voice isn’t light anymore, instead it's jagged around the edges, raw and torn and bleeding.

He feels naked, exposed, stripped in a way that he hadn’t felt since the first time his father had taken him to visit the family shrine.

You purse your lips and sigh, and this time, you look just as tired as he feels as you slowly start to gather up your things.

“Because… you just looked a bit lonely and I thought you might like some company.”

You tuck your last gel-pen back into your bag before hoisting it onto your shoulder, turning and walking away.

002. oh bully you

“Senpai… you know it was super mean of you to just leave me like that yesterday.”

You jump nearly a foot in the air as Marius drops into the empty desk directly in front of you, straddling the chair back with his legs on either side, crossing his arms over top of your opened textbook and peering up at you from beneath his damnably long lashes.

He bats them at you as you blink down at him, trying to reconcile the sight of him with the space of your classroom — which is not his classroom, because — right, of course, you’re not in the same grade. So, why —

“Oh~ reading even during lunch period? You’re so studious — hey d’you think you can help me with the history homework? I suck at names and dates.”

You stare at him for two whole seconds longer before narrowing your eyes.

“What’re you doing here? This isn’t your classroom.”

Marius pouts, feigning hurt, “But senpai… it’s lunchtime! Didn’t you say you wanted to keep me company yesterday?”

“Yester — “ you break off, understanding finally settling over your confused expression as you soften in your chair. casting him a reproachful look.

“Well you didn’t seem like you wanted the company so I thought —”

“Wha — I never said that! You just caught me off guard! I was just asking what you wanted to do for the rest of the afternoon, but you stormed off. Ah… I thought you were angry with me — you’re not angry with me, are you senpai?”

You let out an exasperated sigh at his antics, but a smile still breaks across your lips.

“Did I say I was angry?”

Marius’s grin widens by degrees.

All around you, people are beginning to stare. What is Marius von Hagen, society’s most elite golden child doing with a no-name scholarship student like you? And acting all chummy when no one had ever seen you two together before? Whispers gather like a rising tide but Marius doesn’t seem to notice as he casually reaches over your textbooks to peer into your bento.

“Whoa! That looks so delicious! Did you make it all yourself? Can I have some? I’ve always wanted to try home-cooked food from someone my age!”

You smack his hand lightly and click your tongue.

“Manners! And if you wait patiently, I’ll let you have half.”

Marius smiles cheekily, looking all too pleased with himself as the whispers and murmurs gather in strength and volume. And by the end of the day, there’s not a soul in school who doesn’t know about the strange new friendship between you and Marius von Hagen.

003. rumors

“Did you hear?”

“Yeah — and with Marius —“

“Everyone says he’s nice but hard to get close to, so how the hell —“

“Maybe it’s some kind of… arrangement?”

“But why would a von Hagen need any kind of arrangement?”

“Dunno, but maybe it’s a charity project?”

“What? Adopt-a-pleb? Ha!”

“I’ve seen them around campus — he’s always following her around —“

“Ugh, so weird! Unless they’re dating? But god, he’s so out of her league it’s not even funny.”

“Hey do you know anyone who knows her?”

“Ew, no! Who would any of us know who knows her? She’s scholarship!”

“Maybe that’s why he’s so into her? Like… y’know those kids who grow up in the desert and have never seen snow?”

“What, like he’s never seen a poor person before?”

“Up close? Have you?”

“Ugh, it’s just so… weird. I bet he’ll lose interest in her by the end of the month. There’s no way they’re actually friends.”

“Yeah, that or… they’re…”

“Oh… that.”

“You don’t think…”

“Well… if she’s really that good… I guess a guy could overlook anything, right?”

004. in place

He has always been quiet when he paints, but there’s something in the thick, churning silence today that makes you pause, looking up from the book of sewing patterns in your lap. The sun’s long since set, and there’s only the two you left in the arts classroom.

Marius frowns as he leans back, a streak of dark blue paint smearing his cheek.

You glance at the canvas, pressing your lips.

“Okay. What’s wrong?”

“Hm?” he sounds distracted as he picks another brush and leans in to carve a thick slab of black through the heart of the already dark and chaotic painting.

“You’re stewing. What’s wrong?”

“How do you know I’m stewing? I’m not stewing,” Marius huffs, tossing the paintbrushes into a can, his lips pursed into a pout as he turns towards you.

You snap your book shut and sigh, “Because. I just do. And you just admitted it.”

“No, I didn’t!”

“Did too — now spill it.”

“I —” Marius lets out another loud sigh before knitting his arms across his chest, turning back toward the canvas and picking up his brushes. He squints at the painting as if it’s done him some grievous personal harm, and then jams his brush into the middle, his strokes going wide and harsh.

“Have you heard the rumors?”

You scoff, “What, about us?”

“Yeah…” his voice drops, and you almost laugh at how childish he sounds before you realize that you’re both still children. You wonder if things will change when you grow up — the thought of it seems so far away. Like this, in the fluorescent brightness of the empty art classroom, the night outside stretches like an uncertain future, unfurling into impenetrable darkness.

“Sure I have,” you say, watching him as he pulls back to examine the dark blob on the canvas.

“You’re not mad?” He doesn’t look at you and you don’t make to look away.

“Why would I be mad?�� You open your book again to mark your page before tucking it away in your bag. Marius pauses as you start to pack.

“Because it’s horrible! The things they’re saying — I mean, I’m used to it because I’ve grown up around people like this but you’re —” he cuts himself off as you whip around, eyebrows raised.

“I’m what? Different?”

Marius gapes, scrambling for words that do not come.

You pack up the rest of your things in a terse silence, then you push out of your chair with a loud scrape.

“But y’know, the people who talk behind your back? They’re right where they should be.”

Marius frowns.

Your lips pull into a wide smirk as you shoulder your bag, “Behind you.”

You’re barely out the door before Marius lets out an incredulous laugh and topples back into his chair. He lets a second pass and then he’s launching out of the chair, grabbing his own bag and slinging it over his back.

“Senpai! Wait for me! Hey, you wanna go to that really cute restaurant that just opened last week? It’s got a Michelin Star but I’m sure I can get us seats!”

005. be-friend

“Marius! You’re so funny!”

“Wow, Marius — that’s incredible! You’re so smart!”

Marius laughs, carding a hand through his hair, his expression bright and open and unassuming, but the group of people around him all inch in closer, as sunflowers might strain towards the sun.

“Hey.”

You lean against the doorframe with an amused grin.

Marius looks up, his eyes visibly brightening as he sees you.

“Senpai! I was waiting for you!”

“Bullshit. We’re gonna be late for the show.” You tap at your wrist where a watch might be as Marius bounds out of his chair, shaking off his hoard of simpering admirers.

“W-wait! Marius! We’re all gonna head to the Ace Club later — you know, the super exclusive one? Don’t you wanna come with us?” one of the girls asks hopefully.

Marius turns, smiling as if he doesn’t hear the strained desperation in her voice, the flash of annoyance in her eyes as she looks you over.

“Sorry! Maybe next time — I’ve got a theater date I can’t miss. Bye!”

“You know if you keep calling them dates, people are going to get the wrong idea, right?” you ask breezily, sounding less concerned and more amused.

“So? Let them get the wrong idea.”

You cast him a mischievous grin, “Ah… the prince in love with the pauper. Tale as old as time.”

At this, Marius pouts, “Senpai… so mean to me… and you were the one who wanted to be my friend first.”

You wave him off with a flap of your hands, “Sure, but you’re the one who stuck around.”

“Hmph, maybe after tonight’s show, we’ll go our separate ways then,” Marius makes a show of harumphing and stomping off in front of you as you laugh and jog to catch up, swatting him in the side with your bag.

“So you’re just hanging out with me for the theater perks?”

“Yep! Well, I knew you’d find me out eventually,” Marius smiles, teasing as the pair of you make your way off campus and turn towards the community theater.

After a while, Marius bumps you with his elbow, “You really are super good at costume design… are you sure you don’t wanna —”

“I don’t want a handout, Marius.” Your voice has gone cold and clipped, and Marius bites his lip, shoulders shrugging up as you continue to walk.

“I wasn’t offering one. It’s just… there’s a Pax program for young aspiring artists to study abroad in Europe and…”

“And you’re offering to get me in? That’s literally the definition of a handout.”

“No! I’m just telling you about it. I swear I won’t say a word about your application — if you even apply, that is…” he sounds eager in a way that you haven’t heard in a long time. Not since he’d entered the school fine arts contest under a pseudonym.

You give him a sidelong look before sighing, “I’ll… think about it.”

“Okay! That’s —” he reigns himself in as he skips out in front of you, looking not unlike an over-excited puppy, “that’s… good! Wah — I’m so excited for tonight’s play! Hamlet, right?”

You laugh as you hurry to catch up to him, “Yeah. But it’s not like you haven’t seen it before — didn’t you say that you dad took you to see it in London or something?”

“Yeah, but that’s different.”

“How?”

Marius rolls his eyes, smiling cheekily down at you, but when you catch his eyes you see them go soft, the light in them somehow molten as he looks and looks and looks at you.

“Obviously, because Ophelia’s dress wouldn’t have been made by you!”

006. stay and leave

“I got in!”

Marius blinks at the flat beige of his bedroom ceiling as your voice rings out from across the phone line. The bed beneath him is perfectly made, the silken sheets freshly pressed from this morning.

“A-ah! Congrats, senpai!” he tries to sound like his usual cheery self but he’s not sure how successful it is.

A beat.

“Marius?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

Another beat. Marius shifts, curling onto his side, cradling the phone to his ear as he stares at the halo of light cast by his artisan bedside lamp.

“For… telling me about the program. And… for not pulling any strings on the back end.”

Marius grins, flipping onto his back again, “How’dyou know I didn’t?”

Your laugh comes through the line, soft and sweet.

“Because. I know you.”

Something inside Marius squeezes; he fists his fingers into the soft silk of his nightshirt. Warmth spreads from the base of his spine up through the rest of his body till he’s tingling from his toes to his nose. He wrinkles it, feeling abashed as he scratches at his cheek, even though he knows you can’t see the gesture.

“R-right — so! When do you leave?”

“End of the summer — so…”

“So?”

You sound hesitant in a way that he’s not used to.

“I’ll miss you.”

He almost misses the words, they’re so soft, so quiet that he almost thinks he might’ve imagined them. But he knows your voice almost better than he knows his own, knows the color and shape, the weight and temperature. Knows how it gets pitched when you’re excited, and flat when you get mad. Knows the giddiness that fills it like sweet champagne bubbles when you know something and want to share. Knows the dull coolness of it when you’re done or tired or annoyed.

“Senpai…” Marius presses his cheek ever closer to the face of the phone, “if you keep saying that, I might ask them to rescind your acceptance letter just so you can’t go.”

He smiles, bracing for the sharp bite of your reprimand, but it doesn’t come. Instead, he hears you sigh.

“Just promise you’ll come visit, okay?”

“Sure! I’ll come every weekend if you want! My dad’s old jet’s been sitting in the hanger anyway.”

“Mm, maybe not every weekend.”

“Aw… senpai, I thought you’d want to see me!”

“I do! Just… you know what I mean.”

Marius chuckles, throwing his free arm over his eyes, reveling in the temporary darkness. A strange, hot tightness gathers at the back of his throat as he sighs. He feels the tickle of words on his tongue — and what is it about the nighttime that makes it so much easier to say the things he might never have the courage to in daylight?

“Senpai… if I asked you to stay… what would you say?”

“Hm?”

“If I — I mean… if I told you, right now, that… that I didn’t want you to go…”

You hum as if contemplating his question. Marius squeezes his eyes shut.

“I’d tell you you were being a spoiled brat and very selfish,” you say, but there’s a lightness to your tone that makes Marius smile.

“Well… I’ll never escape allegations of either of those things,” Marius replies.

“And then, I’d tell you that you’re being stupid because — why ask me to stay, when you can just come with me?”

Marius sits up, “Ha?”

“I’ve seen your art, Marius. You’re brilliant. You’d be the first to get in, even without being the next CEO of Pax.”

Marius stares at his own hand, now lying limply in his lap. He’d never considered entering the program himself — it’d be a huge conflict of interest. But… if he didn’t apply as himself then…

“Aren’t you being a little selfish too, senpai? Asking a guy to move across the entire world with you.”

“I never said I wasn’t.”

Marius drags his hand down his face, feeling his heart thudding right beneath this throat, a strong, startling hoofbeat that thrums through him. It beats behind his ears, rushes blood to his fingertips. He squeezes at the bridge of his nose, a recklessness filling him like helium to a balloon and suddenly, he’s weightless as he lets himself fall back onto this too-big mattress.

Later, long after he’s hung up the phone, your voice still echoing in the recesses of his half-asleep mind. He smiles to himself, pressing a palm to his chest to feel the rhythmic, certain beating of his own heart.

That, he thinks, is the girl I’m going to marry someday.

007. want and need (redux)

Years later, long after he kisses you for the first time at the airport in Florence, when you’d come to meet him for his first year in the young artists program, Marius flies you back under the guise of an anniversary trip.

You have a feeling you know what he’s going to do, and he knows you well enough to know that you do too.

Still, when he gets down on one knee, your eyes are gleaming with unshed tears.

“Remember when you told me you didn’t want anything from me the first time we met?” he asks, grinning up at you, a velvet box in the palm of his hands.

“Well… I can’t the same because… the truth is, ever since that first meeting in the library I’ve wanted so many things from you — I wanted to hear you laugh, to watch you when you designed your clothes, to listen to your voice every night on the phone till I fell asleep…”

There are flowers everywhere, and the sunlight is magnificent on Marius’s white tux. He looks like a prince stepped right out of the pages of all your favorite fairy tales; he looks like a daydream. You briefly wonder if this is a dream, but Marius charges on, and amongst all the tittering guests that surround you in the gallery, you’re the only one who notices the slight tremor in Marius’s voice, way his breath is just a tad more shallow than it usually is.

You reach down to pull him up, and you shake your head.

“Y’know, I lied to you — that first time, when I told you I didn’t want anything.” Your voice is scratchy from the tears, but Marius grins.

“Oh? Then… you did want something from me?”

You press your hand to his chest, the steady beat of his heart thudding beneath your palm.

“Yeah. I wanted… this.”

It’s a horrible, cheesy line, but all things considered, you think it feels right.

Marius laughs, leaning forward to press his forehead to yours, cupping your cheeks.

His smile is radiance itself.

“Good… because I want this too,” and he reaches down to open the lid of the tiny velvet box. You barely notice the ring for the feel of it as he slips it around your finger.

“But… I want so much more than that too — I want your everything — your body, your mind, your soul, your life — I want you to spend it with me, because even though you never wanted anything from me… all I’ve ever wanted to do was give my everything to you.”

You swallow, wiping at your eyes with an exasperated laugh.

“Dummy, you’ve always had it,” you hiccup as Marius tips your chin up with a finger, his eyes going soft as he looks over the planes and contours of your face — ever an artist, his gaze always both hungry and admiring. As if he could never get enough, but that won’t ever stop him from trying — from wanting.

“I’ve always been yours,” you say, and time itself is caught in the negative space between your lips.

Marius nods, reaching down to thumb at the solidness of the ring now circling your finger.

“Then… that’s the only thing I’ll ever want or need.”