#what is an allergy action plan | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

chiharuhashibira · 4 months

Text

What about a shorts featuring your fave Kimetsu No Yaiba teacher?

But make it Professor X Student 👀

Hey guys~ As promised! I am here again in one of my... favourite masterpiece 🤭

Thank you for answering the poll we had before~

So this will be the plan for the NSFW Series, I will finish our Special Class: Chemistry with Obanai then proceed with one chapter of the Tsugoku X Hashira and one chapter of the Oiran X Hashira.

Hope it works with y'all. Love yah hoho

Honestly I am so happy that I writing for this series again 😍

Anyways, let's start. You are very quiet 22 yo graduating-student. Obanai is 29.

𝓜𝓪𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓵𝓲𝓼𝓽

𝑺𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑪𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔: 𝑪𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒚

𝐊𝐲𝐨𝐣𝐮𝐫𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐤𝐮 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 | 𝐓𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝐔𝐳𝐮𝐢 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 | 𝐆𝐢𝐲𝐮 𝐓𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐨𝐤𝐚 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 | 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐢 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐳𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐰𝐚 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 | 𝐎𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐢 𝐈𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐨 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧

𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫>

Content Warnings: ProfessorXStudent/Age Gap/Suggestive/Curse Words/Matured Content/18+/Sexually Explicit/Mentions of Death/Angst/Tragedy

Minors DNI.

🌸𝑶𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒊 𝑰𝒈𝒖𝒓𝒐🌸

(Images are not mine, credits to the rightful owner)

"Is that all you've got?"

Your chemistry professor, Obanai Iguro, spoke, his voice slicing through the air like a blade. Feeling the biting pain of his apathy more than any harsh criticism, you grimaced inside as you heard his remarks. His intense scrutiny pressed down on your already fragile self-assurance, forcing you to look downward.

"I... I'm trying my best, Iguro-sensei." You felt your insides tremble as you spoke with a low voice, which could barely be audible under the quiet hum of the fluorescent light inside his classroom.

You're usually the jolliest and most active student in all science classes, particularly chemistry, because you want to be a chemist. But then, everything changed four years ago when the woman you regarded as an older sister passed away because of her dedication to science and education.

You hated science. You barely make an effort at it right now because it triggers you so much. But, of course, you don't want your professor to know that. Especially because of the rumours about his "allergy to women" and so on. Of course, he wouldn't understand your pain.

With his visage frozen in place, Obanai studied you dispassionately, as if you were a specimen in an exhibit. He repeated, "Your best?" He spoke with an acidic undertone of doubt. "Well, Y/N-san..."

You gulped.

"Your best? It seems severely lacking," Obanai added, his comments cutting through your delicate self-esteem. "Perhaps you should reconsider your actions before I end up failing you this semester. Chemistry's not for the faint of heart."

After saying that, he looked away, shifting his focus elsewhere, leaving you to grapple with the aftermath of his heartless disregard. However, one could not help but detect a hint of warmth and longing concealed beneath the academic dispassion that adorned their facade of indifference.

"I heard another student cried at Shinazugawa-san's classes earlier."

"I know, right! Someone also cried at Tomioka-sensei's. What's wrong with these professors?"

"I don't know. There's another professor, though, who is a terror. That... that weird face mask guy."

"Oh, Iguro-sensei."

"Yes! I'm glad I'm not in his class."

"Yeah, me too. We're lucky that we're in Rengoku-sensei's classes all day. I wouldn't ever complain. He's a ray of sunshine!"

"Uzui-sensei too... He's handsome, too. We're so lucky!"

"DAMN YOU KIDS! YOU'RE SO NOISY! GO BACK TO YOUR CLASSES!"

You watched as Shinazugawa-sensei stepped out of his class to yell at those two talkative students. You gulped, feeling scared that he might yell at you too. But fortunately, he didn't. You can't bear having additional stress today, especially after hearing Obanai's words earlier.

But then, you clearly remembered your earlier encounter. Looking into his enigmatic eyes, you can't help but wonder about that sudden flicker of emotion that he showed you. It's hard to believe, but it seems like there is more than meets the eye when it comes to Obanai. And yes, you're kind of curious to know what that is.

You didn't know that Obanai was secretly watching you on the corner. He's used to hearing students complain about him, so it's surprising that you didn't escalate the situation after hearing them. Especially considering what he did earlier.

"Am I too harsh again, Kaburamaru?" He asked the harmless snake, who was just busy slithering on his shoulders. No answer came, of course, so then Obanai just went back to his lonely classroom.

In the days that passed, Obanai's harsh words still haven't left your mind. But yes, even if you wanted to do your best, his subject is just so hard to deal with, not because you find it hard, but because of the sad memories that it brings you.

As you sit and listen to him in his classes, you can't help but find yourself grappling with a tumult of emotions. So one afternoon, you were astounded to feel a presence beside you, only to discover it was the chemistry professor. You were startled to see his heterochromatic eyes fixate on you with an intensity that took your breath away.

"Y/N-san," he said, his voice more muted than you'd ever heard before, but with an understated strength in its tone. "May I have a word with you?"

Your heartbeats were quickening at the unexpected invitation. "Of course, Iguro-sensei," you replied, your voice tinged with a mixture of apprehension and curiosity.

Obanai led you to a secluded corner of the hallway, away from prying eyes and wandering ears of the other college students. As you both stood there, bathed in the soft glow of afternoon light, you couldn't help but notice the subtle shift in Obanai's demeanour—a concern that belied his usual stoic composure.

"I've been watching you, Y/N." Your chemistry professor began with his heterochromatic eyes, meeting yours with unwavering curiosity. "You seem to be more lost than when I first talked to you. Is there anything you need to tell me?"

"As far as I know, there's none, sensei."

Obanai raised one eyebrow at you and crossed his arms, only to reveal Kaburamaru, who was hiding beneath his oversized lab coat. You blink in confusion at what you are seeing right now. You have heard the students talk about Iguro bringing his pet snake to the university a lot of times. However, you regarded those as purely rumours.

But seeing the white snake right now, you can't help but be amazed. You also had a pet snake in the past, which you and your best friend used to take care of. "Oh, what's its name?"

"Kaburamaru."

"I see. It looks beautiful..."

"Oh? You're not afraid of him?"

"No. I'm not. He reminds me of the snake that I used to see on our garden before."

"Oh..."

"Yes, sensei. Hmmm, when I was just 5, I used to see a white snake in our garden. I even tried to touch it."

The oozing tension and unwelcoming aura that Obanai used to blanket himself with seemed to fade as his eyes widened with what you said. He looked amused right now, and that kind of calmed you down.

"I see..."

It looks like he wanted to ask more, but then nothing came. So, you decided to get straight to the point.

"Iguro-sensei, I've got to go. I'm so sorry if I always disappoint you in class. I really do."

You said you felt guilty for letting your emotions always take hold of you. But before you could go, Iguro handed you something.

"A notebook?"

"Yeah. Try to study with those notes. Perhaps it could help."

You took the white notebook from his hand and gave him a small smile. "Thank you, sensei."

You swear that before Obanai turned around, you saw his cheek turn pink. That left you dazed, but then, it's none of your business.

Despite the amusement that you have felt for knowing Obanai has a soft spot, you can't help but not believe yourself for what happened. Why did he give you this notebook? Why is he observing you in the first place?

It kind of made you shiver, as you felt like one wrong move and bad things would happen with Obanai. Interpreting that moment as a sign of his concern for you, you chose to give him the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps...

After showering, you sat on your study table and looked at the innocuous photo in front of you. It was your best friend and non-blood-related older sister, Shinobu Kocho, who had passed away. How you've missed her and the time when she's just there for you. You loved the girl so much that you wanted to be like her.

You never would have thought that one day you'd end up hating something you love for taking someone away from you.

"Shinobu-san, I'm sorry for being a failure. I... I'll try my best to bring back my passion."

You whispered in the air, realising that, yes, if the woman is still here, she wouldn't want you to fail.

With that sudden flame igniting inside you, you opened the notebook Obanai had given you. Goosebumps formed on your body as you traced his handwriting. He has good handwriting, and you can't help but smile because of it.

It reminded you of Shinobu's wonderful handwriting, which you have always adored but also sort of didn't, as Obanai wrote in cursive.

And with that, as if by magic, time passed. You didn't realise that it was actually two in the morning when you finally stopped reviewing. Yes. It has been the first time again that you have let yourself get too absorbed in anything related to science for more than an hour.

It kind of felt overwhelming. Yes, it is overwhelming, as suddenly everything started to make sense again. All the things that you studied before came back. And perhaps it is due to the simplicity with which Obanai explained things in that notebook.

It seemed as though he had specifically designed it for that purpose. To make chemistry simple, which is too different from how he explains things in class.

For some reason, you felt a bit happy. Even if Obanai may appear nonchalant and harsh, he seems to really care. This simple gesture unlocked so many memories.

And even your promise to Shinobu before came back to you, pushing you harder to do better this time.

This is all because Obanai has made an effort to kind of talk to you at the uni this afternoon. And yes, he is cold but that gesture had gave warmth to your frozen heart.

A few days had passed, and one Saturday night, you found yourself sitting in a public library, reading the notes from Obanai's notebook. After the night of your realisation, you felt your passion for science spark again. And yes, it reflected on your grades.

However, Iguro still didn't speak to you after that day. No praise, not even a bat of an eye. You're just there again, invisible, despite doing your best.

Feeling a bit low, you decided to ditch the library and head towards the nearest coffee shop. All you wanted now was to chill and perhaps let your mind rest for a while.

But before you could reach the coffee shop, you accidentally bumped into someone. Without wasting time, you bowed down to apologise, and there, a familiar voice came into your senses.

Your eyes widened, and then, when you looked up, you met those familiar and enigmatic eyes. "S-sensei?" you asked, wondering why in the world would fate bring him to you tonight.

You were trying your best to forget him and his nonchalant attitude towards you, which is really weird after he gave you that notebook. Yes, you were expecting him to be a bit nicer, but he became colder.

"What are you doing here?"

He's still wearing his mask. I wish I could just see his face. You thought as you proceeded to take in his presence. Clad in a striped hoodie and black pants, Obanai could pass off as a university student. He looks young for a professor in the first place.

"Hey, I'm talking to you."

"Oh sensei. Sorry, I was—"

"Spacing out. I know. It's okay. I know it's surprising to see your professor around here."

You were astounded when he talked casually to you. He never did that at school. Oh well, that's because he's apparently your professor. You wanted to slap yourself for your foolish thoughts.

"What's up with you?" Obanai added, which made you blink in surprise. He wants to know what's up with me.

"Nothing much sensei... Just—"

"I'm going to cut you there." He said, and suddenly leaned in on you, which made you blush. His voice went out as a whisper as he told you,

"We're outside the university. It's Obanai, okay? I don't want the people around getting the wrong idea."

"Sorry sen— Obanai-san..."

He straightened up and crossed his arms, piercing you with his fierce eyes once again. "So you were saying?"

"Oh, I was just reviewing. Just heading to the coffee shop now to grab a coffee. How about you?" You said, trying to hide your nervousness from your casual tone. Obanai scratched his chin and shrugged his shoulders.

"Nothing much. Just another Saturday night in the pub, I guess."

WHAT? HE DRINKS? You couldn't hide the flabbergasted expression on your face as you heard those words coming from his mouth. You never thought of Iguro as some guy you'd see in pubs. So this information is shocking to you.

Obanai saw this expression and raised an eyebrow. "Is it weird to hear a grown ass man going to a pub? Why are you looking at me like that? Prick..."

"Sorry... I'm just... weird sometimes. Don't mind me."

"Okay. So, you heading towards the coffee shop? Want me to come with you? It's quite dangerous to walk alone in these streets at night."

This night is definitely getting weirder... in a nice way?

Obanai, asking to walk with you? The stern and cold-hearted chemistry professor, caring for you? You bit your lip and felt a bit flustered.

Yes, he's your professor, but he's also a guy. And it's the first time that a guy has ever offered you this. You know that it isn't too much. It's most likely lower than the bare minimum, but then a part of you started to flutter. You know it's wrong, and it's weird... but... For some reason, you just didn't care.

"Are you sure I'm not going to be a bother with you and your pub appointment?"

"No. I'm kind of thinking to drop the pub thing tonight, actually. Can I join your coffee appointment instead?"

"Why?"

"I don't know. I just want to? Is that an enough reason?"

"Yes, actually."

You found yourself sitting face-to-face with Obanai in your favourite coffee shop, wondering why he was here in the first place if he wouldn't order at all. Feeling a bit conscious, you fixed your braids and decided to take a sip of your coffee.

"Why didn't you order anything? If you want to go to the pub, it's okay."

"I just... don't eat much. And I hate coffee."

"Then why did you go with me here, sensei?"

"Obanai."

"There's no one around. And you're my sensei; we can't hide that fact."

"You're pissing me off."

"I'm not trying too, though. It's just..."

"Why did you stop? It's just what?"

Obanai's voice suddenly sounded a bit offended and sad. You gulped and looked down, stopping yourself from saying that this looks weird because somehow you wanted the company.

"Nothing"

"You can tell me directly if you don't want the company. I just came here to... to make sure you'll be alright. But I guess trying to be nice doesn't always pay off?"

You felt guilty as you watched Obanai stand up from his seat. So then, letting your intrusive thoughts win, you grabbed his hand and pulled him down. "Stay." You didn't care if his allergy to women would be triggered by this contact. All you wanted to do now was kind of comfort him.

Obanai looked at your hand and back to you with question marks almost becoming visible on his face. "Y/N..."

"Sorry..."

"It's okay. I'm used to it."

"I want the company. So stay, Obanai."

The facade of emptiness in Obanai's eyes was shattered after hearing your words. It seems like a memory has suddenly been unlocked inside of him. But then, no words came out of his lips. So you spoke up once again, trying to lighten up the mood.

"So... where are you going after this?" You asked innocently, which made the guy shrug his shoulders again. Obanai isn't speaking again.

You realised that he was looking at your hand, which was still holding him, so you pulled away and tried your best to hide your blush.

After you had let go of his hand, Obanai finally got the strength to speak up. "Walk you home."

"You're not pissed off with me anymore?"

"No."

"Okay."

And there... Again, you found yourself ending the night with Obanai walking you home in silence. Yes, it was awkward, but for some reason, it felt a bit warm. And you kind of felt happy.

Yes, he's your professor, but for this night, he made you feel like a normal girl. And yes, it is special, as you haven't felt that in a long while.

Actually... you have been feeling this for a while. Wanting his attention and care so bad and you didn't know when it started. It just sparked again after he lent you the notebook.

But you know you shouldn't feel this so, you forced yourself to stop. And you'll do it again this time.

On the other hand, Obanai found himself slithering back to the pub, letting his loneliness get a hold of him. Yes. He's lonely. And yes, he regretted what he just did. Just because you reminded him of something so important before doesn't mean that he should be as vulnerable as at that time.

You're his student. And yes, he reminded himself of that. You're just his student now. And it should stay that way.

Days have passed, and here we go again. As if that night never happened, Iguro didn't talk to you that way again. It kind of hurts because even if you wanted to hide your feelings so bad, you still wanted him to look at you and speak to you, the same way as that night.

But you have no choice. Even if you had the urge to bring up how confused you are, you didn't. You can't speak to him that way again. Like what you said that night, he is your professor and you cannot hide that fact.

So, you just did your best in his class, trying your best to focus on your promise with Shinobu, trying to fix all your mess.

Little did you know, but the chemistry professor has noticed how you've changed since the day he lent you those notes. You've turned the tables, as if suddenly you were his star student.

He had grown fond of seeing you answer his questions correctly. Especially when you started leading chemistry projects and stuff.

And beneath those observations, Obanai can't help but also adore how beautiful your confidence looks on you. Yes, he was dying to talk to you. But he can't bring himself to do so. He just can't say it but there's tonnes of things that he had been wanting to tell you.

"Iguro-sensei. Thank you for this notebook. I've finished studying them all, and it helped me a lot. I will return it to you now. Sorry if it took me too long to do so."

Obanai was astounded by your voice and presence. He looked up at you with an empty stare and simply nodded. After putting the notebook on the desk, you were about to go when, suddenly, Iguro spoke up in a soft tone.

"No worries. You actually started to do well."

With his words, your face lightened. Feeling your heartbeat race, you fought the urge to smile as you knew that things would not end with him praising you. You still need to pass the class. You need to make Shinobu proud, even if she's gone.

But then, cutting off those thoughts, Obanai stood up from his seat and walked in front of you. You were astounded by the sudden closeness, but of course, you didn't move.

The chemistry professor's heterochromatic eyes pierced within your soul, forcing you to look away. Heat crept up on your face, and you felt that the atmosphere had become a bit more intense.

A sudden, foolish thought had managed to escape from the cages of your mind.

Is Iguro-sensei going to kiss me?

Yes. Rising again from deep within your frustrations on his subject and the pain that it causes you is this feeling. And it is slowly burning you into ashes.

That's why it hurts more when he tells you you're not good enough. That's why you didn't get angry at him when he did so. That's why you hated those people who spoke badly of him.

That's why you wanted his attention again like that night when he made you feel like a normal girl.

Yes, Iguro can be so difficult, but he somehow brings this comfort to you. You have no idea why, but it's like you've known him forever, and you've been longing for his presence.

He feels familiar, but he also does not.

Obanai's hand felt warm on your cheek. The chemistry professor suddenly found the courage to caress your cheek, which made you blush. But then, his next words killed those flusters in just a blink of an eye, rubbing salt on your scars.

"You did well, Y/N-san. Keep it up, okay? You'll make Shinobu proud."

Those words. That name.

You almost found yourself shutting down. Now, all you can think of is: How did he know her? And if he has known her for a long time, why is he just telling you this now?

Turning to look at him with wide eyes, you've witnessed how Obanai took off his face mask. Yes, this is the first time you've seen him without that.

And yes, for the very first time, he looked so familiar that seeing his face now brought back your old memories from the foster home to haunt you.

Flashback:

"Shinobu-san, who's that boy with Mitsuri-san? Is he new here?"

"Oh, I don't know his name but yes, he's new. Don't approach him, though. He seems to be afraid of girls. I don't know why, though."

"Afraid? That's weird. He seems to be okay with Mitsuri."

"I know, right. Enough questions. Let's just study inside. Ne-chan told me that you'll be a Kocho soon! So you'll need to learn lots about science!"

"Hey. That snake will bite if you hold it that way."

"Oh! Sorry— Um, you're Mitsuri-san's friend, right? You're not afraid of me?"

"Oh..."

"Anyway, don't hold it like that. Aren't you afraid of it?"

"No..."

"Hey! Why are you playing with a snake?!"

"Oi Shinobu-san! Mitsuri's friend was—Oh, where is he?"

"Huh? That boy? He's not supposed to be here... Perhaps he ran away. I heard he had been adopted. But you know what? Let's just go inside. Leave that snake alone."

"Shinobu-san! I know that guy..."

"Yep. He's that kid from before. He's all grown up too. I guess, we'll be co-workers now? He'll be volunteering here as well to teach science with me. Anyways, Mitsuri's also here, she'll be teaching art. You should meet with her soon!"

End of Flashback

"Iguro-san? Y-you look... familiar..."

"Yes. You've met me and Kaburamaru before."

"You are kidding right? You can't be that boy from the foster home. Mitsuri-san's friend? My sister's co-worker? You died... You're already dead... Like them..."

It seems like your words have stunned Iguro. Regret started to paint on his face as he looked away from your wondering expression.

But here you are now. Answers. You need answers. If he had known you all this time, he must have known the trauma that you experienced when you saw the foster home getting burned with Shinobu, Mitsuri, and that unknown lad, who is apparently him, as they tried to save the children that they had been teaching science four years ago.

Why is he here now?

You shove Obanai away and glared at him. "This must have been a sick joke, sensei. You can't be that boy with my sister... No one has escaped that fire that night."

"I did, and I'm sorry I wasn't able to save your sister and Mitsuri."

"It's all too much for me now. Can I go?"

Tears suddenly escaped your wide eyes, and there, Obanai felt his chest tighten. He had expected you to react this way, but no matter how he practiced it, he could never prepare himself for the real thing.

Just like how he wasn't prepared to see his first love get burned to ashes before.

"Y/N, I'm sorry." Obanai tried to touch you, but then you swatted his hand away and gave him a glare.

Your passion turned to anger as you felt betrayed. All you can think of is why. He should have been honest. What other things is he hiding from you, then?

"Y/N, I never knew at first that you were Shinobu's sister. I heard she has siblings, but I didn't even know who they were. I and your sister barely had any encounters before except when we were teaching the kids at the foster home. How could I know?"

You didn't speak. You wanted to hear more.

"I mean, it just dawned on me when you told me about your memory back when you were 5. That's the only time I managed to fit in the pieces."

"What do you mean?"

"You're that little girl I saw when I was 12. The girl whom Kaburamaru almost bit. You had Shinobu's surname, so you got adopted by them. So that's also why you were gone when I came back to visit. Y/N... You were here with me all the time. It was all late when I realised it."

"Then why didn't you say anything?"

Obanai's eyebrows creased in frustration. "What should I say then? 'Hi, I'm Obanai, the boy from the foster home who also didn't manage to save your sister from the fire. How are you?'"

Sarcasm was obvious in his tone, which offended you a bit, so you decided to just leave. Perhaps this conversation shouldn't be happening right now. You want to move on. You're moving on, for goodness sake!

And now you're back to square one again.

𝓘 𝓴𝓷𝓸𝔀 𝓲𝓽'𝓼 𝓺𝓾𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓿𝔂 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓷𝓸𝔀 𝓠𝔀𝓠

But I swear, it'll be sweeter soon!

And yes, this will be in two-chapters as it is too long and too heavy than I anticipated XD

So see you soon on the next chapter!

Feel free to reblog, comment, and send a request! Will appreciate that my loves~

Wuvyouuuu! Just be on the lookout to our next series and of course, the ending of 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐘𝐨𝐮!

MDNI!

Ja ne~

~𝓒𝓱𝓲𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓾-𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓷🌸

𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫>

231 notes · View notes

janeyseymour · 7 months

Note

Hii hope ur doing well x If ur still accepting requests for Mel x Reader could u do one where reader has some type of disability like chronic pain and they have a flare at school (cause they both work there) and Mel immediately runs to action and there's like Loooots of comfort etc hehe :3

I hope this is what you're looking for!

Too Late Now

WC:~4.3k

You usually have this under control. Since your fourth concussion, you’ve dealt with the headaches and the occasional migraines easily. Doctors have been helping you and make sure that you always have your emergency migraine medication at the ready.

On top of that, it’s been seven years that you’ve been living with this. You know the when a headache or a migraine is coming for the most part. You didn’t even bother writing down on your forms when you got hired that you should technically have accommodations due to your chronic migraines. You just know how to handle them at this point. It’s part of your everyday life.

Melissa, your girlfriend, doesn’t even know about your condition. She doesn’t need to know. You saw the way she sprung into action when you had the flu a few months ago- or when you had caught the stomach bug from the kids. After taking care of you with absolutely no complaints, she got sick both times herself. You took care of her too, much to her dismay. She was a caretaker, she did not like to be the one being taken care of.

When you wake up, you feel a little funny. But something is going around the school, as it always is around this time of year. So you chalk it up to that, and you take an Advil and an allergy pill.

When you’re leaving, you almost have half a mind to throw in your migraine medication just in case… but you get distracted by a text from Melissa asking if you wanted coffee this morning from Dunkin.

Of course I do, you reply back.

Your usual?

Please, and thank you.

Sounds good. I’ll see you at school gorgeous.

And because of that text exchange, you forget to throw your pills in your purse and leave the house.

As you’re driving, your headache worsens just slightly, and you groan. Allergy season was bad at this time of year, and your sinuses have been paying for it- post nasal drip is at an all time high, you’ve already had an ear infection this season, and you’ve been getting sinus headaches because of it. You don’t realize a migraine is coming on yet, so you just pop another Advil before you head into Abbott.

Your girlfriend is waiting for you in the teacher’s lounge like usual, and she almost immediately sees how unwell you’re feeling.

“Hey, baby,” she says softly as she kicks out the seat next to her.

“Hey,” you sigh, but you don’t take a seat. You just lean down and peck her lips before standing back up straight with a grimace.

She hands you your coffee with a frown. “You feelin’ okay, hon?”

“Allergies,” you say through a yawn. “I think I’m gonna go sit in my classroom this morning, but you enjoy your news.”

“Alright, hon. Do you want me to come with you?”

“I know how much you like your news,” you tell her. “I’ll be okay.” You head to your classroom, and she watches you in concern.

By the time the kids are supposed to come in, you know exactly what’s happening- a migraine is coming on. And you, like an absolute lovesick idiot, forgot your medication because you were too busy texting your sweet girlfriend. Your head is in your hands as you massage at your temples, the lights are off, the sound of the barely functioning air conditioning is making your eyes throb in pain.

Hypothetically, you could call out now. But there’s a shortage in substitutes, you don’t think you can even think properly to create sub plans, the thought of moving from your desk makes you want to cry, and you know it’s only a short amount of time until you’re unable to drive for the next… eleven hours. You probably wouldn’t even be able to make it the drive home.

You have no idea how you’re going to survive today without your medication.

When the kids start to make their way in, you nearly burst into tears. You silently thank God that you didn’t put any makeup on today. You throw your sunglasses on as they trickle in, and you stay seated at your desk.

You can’t teach today, and you know this. It’s going to be a day where the kids sit quietly and watch magic school bus, you take them out for extra recess, and then they can sit and work on their projects, or read and draw. You don’t care what happens today, as long as they aren’t loud.

Again, your kids think that they have a sub until they see you sitting at your desk in the dark.

“Ms. Y/N?” one of the girls comes in and runs up to your desk.

“Hey, sweetheart,” you say softly, and even the eight year old can see the pain etched in your face.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m okay, Skylar,” you tell her quietly. “Ms. Y/N’s head just hurts, so today is mostly going to be an independent and quiet work day. Unpack and get ready for today, love bug.”

The little girl gives you a gentle hug before going to her desk and unpacking. You keep your eyes closed as the rest of them trickle in, and they’re oddly quiet. They are never this quiet. You almost always have to remind them to do their handwriting pages and do their lunch count.

When you do open your eyes to take attendance and explain to them what’s happening today, you see that Skylar had quietly taken it upon herself to write the morning routine on the board.

Morning! The note on the board reads. Ms. Y/N’s head hurts, so come in quietly. Unpack, lunch count, the next page in journal, then DEAR.

Your heart melts, and you realize how lucky you are that your students genuinely care about you the way that they do. Skylar is over by the lunch count board writing a tally for you, and she quietly comes and slips it over to you.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” you whisper to her, and you have a small tear trail down your cheek. “Do you want me to take it to Ms. Schemmenti to put in, or should I take it down to the office?”

“I can put it in, honey,” you give her a gentle squeeze before opening your laptop. You wince immediately due to the light, but you can handle this. You can’t have her go down to Melissa’s- your girlfriend would flip her lid when she found out how under the weather you were feeling and you didn’t stay home or ask for her help.

All of your students watch you silently. They’ve never seen you this drained. Sure, they’ve seen you sick; you rarely call out. They’ve seen you tired after a night of volunteering or staying up late to finish grading papers and preparing for them. But they have never, ever seen you this down- to the point that your skin is pale and you can’t take off your sunglasses because your head hurts so bad.

“Miss Y/N?” one of the boys raises his hand quietly, and he’s usually known for giving you a hard time.

“Yes, Cameron?”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

You just barely nod and take a shaky breath. “Here’s what we’re going to do today,” you tell them. “We’re going to do our independent work for each of our subjects today- I know we have projects and papers in all of the subjects except math. For math, I’ll have… somebody… take you outside for extra recess, and if you’re good and quiet today, I’ll put on Magic School Bus at the end of the day for dismissal. Deal?”

All of your kids nod, and you give them half a smile. Then you get a shooting pain right behind your left temple, and you quietly cry out in pain. You grip the table for a few seconds and take a deep breath before you open your eyes again. They all look absolutely terrified.

“Nobody tells Ms. Schemmenti,” you tell them as you point at them all.

They all raise their hands in surrender.

“Okay,” you sigh deeply, shakily. “Who is going to lead our morning meeting?” It’s Rayna.

When that’s over, the kids quietly pull out their social studies projects and start to work on them. When social studies is over, they quietly move on to their independent reading for fifteen minutes. And then they line themselves up silently for specials.

“Can I trust you all to walk yourselves down to the gym silently?” As you write a note to the gym teacher explaining that they are coming on their own and to just send them back down to your room when gym is over.

“I take my line leader duty very seriously, Ms. Y/N,” Jayden tells you seriously. “If we aren’t quiet, I’ll tell you.” You nod, hand him the note with the instruction to give it to the PE teacher, and they’re off.

You get approximately forty-five minutes of peace and absolute silence. You close the door, grab your coat and throw it over your head, and lay down on the back table. You’re small enough to fit if you curl up.

On your kids’ way back to the classroom, they just happen to see your girlfriend in the hallway on her way out of the teachers’ lounge.

“Where’s Ms. Y/N?” the redhead asks with a popped eyebrow. You always walk with your children everywhere.

All of the kids look at each other nervously, remembering the way you told them that they weren’t to tell the second grade teacher. But Melissa is staring them down.

“She called the gym teacher and told him to just let us walk down by ourselves because she had to use the bathroom,” Jayden tells a fib, and he hates doing it to his former teacher. But he promised you.

Melissa furrows her brows, but Jayden’s always been a good kid. “Okay… Well, tell Miss Y/N to put up another class compliment star because you’re all walking through the hallway very nicely.”

The line leader nods and takes off in the direction of your classroom, while Melissa heads towards the office to make copies.

You’ve just barely managed to get yourself back to your desk when the kids come back in, but your migraine is starting to make you nauseous, and you don’t even know what to do anymore. You won’t even be able to drive yourself home, so you just have to wait this out- at least you should get paid for it.

“We saw Ms. Schemmenti in the hall,” Omari tells you quietly while everyone else is getting out their snacks. “She said to give us a class compliment star because we were walking so nicely.”

“Nobody said anything, did they?” you ask.

“Jayden told her you were in the bathroom and told the gym teacher to just let us walk down,” your student says. “I don’t think he liked having to lie to her though… and Ms. Schemmenti didn’t really look like she believed him.”

As if on cue, the second grade teacher is knocking softly on your doorframe. She looks so concerned for you. “Ms. Y/N?”

You thank God you weren’t facing the door and have half a mind to rip off your sunglasses before standing and meeting her on the other side of the room. “Class, eat your snacks while I talk to Ms. Schemmenti in the hallway.”

“Amore,” Melissa whispers softly as she gets a look at you. “You look terrible. Why don’t you go home? I can split your class between the other third grade class and mine- not like I haven’t juggled two grades at one time before.”

“I- I can’t go home,” you mumble, and you wince at the florescent lights that aren’t out for once.

“And why’s that?”

You bite your lip. You have to admit to her just how terrible you’re feeling. She’s going to flip out and become insanely protective. She’s going to be upset you didn’t tell her about your condition before. “I get chronic migraines sometimes, and I… I have one right now.”

“Oh, hon,” Melissa whispers sympathetically.

“I usually have meds for it to lessen the pain, but I left it at my house this morning, and I think if I tried to drive home, I would throw up or black out,” you tell her honestly. “The kids have been really great this morning though, and they understand.”

“How can I help?”

“During my math period, can you take them outside? They deserve extra recess today,” you practically whimper as you close your eyes and brace yourself for the shooting pain you can feel getting ready to come on.

“Why don’t I just split the kids for the rest of the day while you lay down?” your girlfriend suggests.

“I’m here, they’re behaving and quiet, and I need to get paid,” you tell her. “They’re okay with me for everything except math.”

“Okay, sweetheart,” the redhead sighs. “But you just call if you need me, you hear?”

“I know,” you say softly. “I’ll be-” You cut yourself off with a whine and grab her arm as the pain comes. When it’s over, you relax and finish, “-fine.”

Your girlfriend shakes her head with a deep breath before stepping into your classroom. Jayden looks terrified.

“Ms. Schemmenti, I didn’t mean to lie to you,” he says quickly. “I didn’t want to, but I-”

“It’s okay, buddy,” she says softly before looking to the rest of the class. “You be on your best behavior for Ms. Y/N, and if anything happens, you come down to my room. I’ll be over during your math time for extra recess if you continue having a great day. Capiche?”

“Capiche,” your students reply, and you walk slowly into your room before putting your glasses back on and putting your head in your hands. Melissa gives you a gentle pat on the back before squeezing your shoulder three times.

Your kids finish their snack, and when that’s over they work on their research project for writing. They line themselves up silently for lunch and walk themselves down. You take up your position on your back table again, and close your eyes. You beg God to make the pain stop, and you finally give in, crying.

What you don’t know is that your sweet, sweet girlfriend is on her way to your apartment to grab your medicine. She also grabs a gatorade and your favorite hoodie (that is actually hers). She stops at Wawa and grabs you a Tasty Cake before returning to the school.

When she gets to your classroom, her heart breaks. She can see the way that you’re shaking from underneath your coat, and she has no doubt that you’re crying.

“Oh hon,” she mumbles as she makes her way over to you. She lays a delicate hand on your back and rubs up and down soothingly. “I brought your medicine, your favorite hoodie, and a Tasty Cake from Wawa. Can you take the medicine for me?”

Her kindness and gentleness just makes you cry even harder- and that only makes your head hurt worse.

Your alarm on your watch starts to go off, and you whine. “I don’t think I can do my recess duty today.”

“I’ll get the music teacher to cover it- she’ll do anything to get some of my meatballs,” your girlfriend tells you. “You just take your meds, and hopefully they kick in.”

You nod, just barely manage to sit up and take the medication and you take the hoodie and ball it up and put it under your head.

After she calls the music teacher and arranges your coverage, she asks, “Jeet today?”

“No,” you mumble.

“Can you try to eat the cupcakes I brought?” At your nod, she opens it for you and practically feeds it to you.

“Did you eat?” you ask your girlfriend.

“Don’t worry ‘bout me,” she dismisses your concern. “I’ll get my lunch in eventually- just might be while the kids are running around on the playground for math.”

Once you’ve had one of the cupcakes, you groan. “I don’t think I can eat anymore.”

“Okay, hon,” Melissa frowns. “You know your body.”

“My body wants to sleep.”

“Well, you have another thirty minutes of recess, and you know I’ll always take your kids for you,” your girlfriend reminds you.

You nod and close your eyes. “Set my alarm for the end of recess? And if you wouldn’t mind just sending my kids here from outside for me?”

She presses a delicate kiss to the side of your head, but she doesn’t set your alarm. She fully intends to let you sleep the rest of the school day, and she’ll take your kids for you- all twenty three of them. She can handle it.

It’s not like Ava is here to tell you you can’t get paid for today. And in reality, Ava wouldn’t care anyway.

Your perfect, wonderful girlfriend picks your kids up from recess, and she has no idea how she manages this, but every single child is able to grab their belongings without waking you up. They were even able to silently move their chairs.

When you wake back up, your head is still pounding. It’s starting to ease up though. You glance at your watch from underneath your coat.

4:12 is staring back at you. School has been over for an hour…

You take your coat off of your head to see a classroom without chairs and Melissa perched on the closest desk to you, glasses on the tip of her nose and reading something on her phone.

“There’s my gorgeous girl,” she says quietly as she puts her phone away. “How’re you feeling?”

“Mel, why didn’t you wake me?”

“You needed rest. Your kids’ chairs are in my room, and I told them to just come get them tomorrow.”

“I slept at school for almost four hours.”

“And how are you feeling now?” she prompts again.

“The prescription is starting to kick in,” you mumble. “But because I didn’t take it during the onset, I mostly just have to ride it out.”

“How long do your migraines usually last?”

“Hopefully, I only have another three hours of this hell,” you tell her.

“And are you feeling okay to go home?”

“I’m shocked Mr. J hasn’t come in here to kick us out,” you grumble.

Melissa flashes you that devious Schemmenti smile. “He did. But I told him… in a non-threatening way… that we would be staying here until you woke up on your own, and I would lock up the school.” She twirls the keys around her finger. “Now, do you need to stay here to ride it out, or…?”

“I really don’t know if I can drive to my apartment yet,” you admit sheepishly. “I’m still kind of nauseous.”

“Can I take you back home, then?” your girlfriend asks you softly as she fixes your wild locks.

You nod with a groan as you sit up. You go to grab your bags, but Melissa already has them next to her and both of your things are slung over her shoulders in a second.

“You just worry about getting your pretty little self into the car, yeah?” She presses a gentle kiss to your temple, and you know it’s all in your head, but her kiss makes you feel even the slightest bit better.

She piles your things in her car as you slowly get in and close your eyes. She gets in not a few seconds later, closing the door as quietly as she can. As the two of you are pulling out of the parking lot, you feel her warm hand settle on your thigh, and she squeezes it gently. It shouldn’t affect you the way it does- especially given how you’re feeling right now.

When she pulls in, she tells you gently to head in and up to bed. She’ll handle all of your things, she’ll be right in to curl up with you and/or nurse you back to health.

“I just have to ride it out, honey,” you remind her.

“Well, we’ll curl up together then,” she tells you. “And when you’re feeling up to it, I’ll make us something for dinner.”

“I love you,” you sigh softly as you drag yourself out of the car. You get yourself into the house and are just laying down in bed as she comes in. She changes, lays down next to you, and pulls you into her arms gently.

“Hon, I can sleep on my own,” you mumble into her chest. “I know you have a shit ton to grade.”

“I can do that tomorrow during my prep,” she whispers. “Right now, my girlfriend needs some love and attention.”

Because of her warmth and the delicate fingers that are tracing patterns on your arms, you fall asleep easily. And when you wake up, she’s still laying with you, and she’s half asleep herself. You wake up to a mouthful of red hair, and you sigh in content. Your head is no longer pounding- you think your migraine is gone.

“How’re you feeling?” your girlfriend asks you softly, eyes still closed.

“So much better,” you tell her truthfully. “You didn’t have to stay. You could’ve had dinner or graded stuff while I slept.”

“And what kinda girlfriend would that make me, hon?” Melissa retorts. “But I’m glad you’re feeling better. You ready to eat a real meal?”

“Yeah,” you sigh softly. “After a few more minutes of cuddles?”

“I can’t say no to that.”

After a few more minutes, and a rather loud grumble of both of your stomachs, you head into the kitchen hand in hand. She starts making dinner while you go over to one of her bags and start grading the math tests she gave to her class yesterday.

“You don’t have to do that,” she tells you as she stirs the pot.

“I have to make it up to you somehow,” you say as you mark a few questions wrong.

“You can make it up to me by tellin’ me why I never knew you got migraines… and frequently enough to have the good shit prescribed to you,” the redhead says as she turns to look at you pointedly.

You frown and keep your eyes trained on the papers in front of you as you shrug.

“Y/N,” she says sternly. “C’mon.”

“Nobody really knows,” you mumble before you clear your throat. You suppose you have to be honest with your girlfriend. “After my fourth concussion seven years ago… it’s just something I got used to dealing with. I usually have them under control and can just push through them.”

“Why didn’t you tell me, hon?” she asks softly. “Or at least told me this morning when we were in the staff room?”

“I thought I was fine,” you tell her honestly. “It didn’t hit me until after I had already walked into my room, and at that point… it was too late, and I didn’t want you fussing over me for something I could’ve prevented.”

“Hey,” Melissa turns the burner down to let her sauce simmer. “I always worry about you- whether you’re sick or not. But when I saw you this morning, I knew something was wrong. You shoulda told me. I would’ve driven to your place to get your medicine sooner.”

“I was just going to tough it out,” you sigh.

“You were going to pass the hell out in pain,” she tells you. “Your kids were really worried about you.”

“I know they were… They were so sweet today and made sure they were on their best behavior for me,” you say softly. “I wish I would’ve gotten a picture of the morning message Sky put up on the board for the rest of the class.”

“They were just as well behaved for me,” the second grade teacher tells you honestly. “Although that may be because I promised them all doughnuts if they were good.”

“So… we have to leave early to pick up doughnuts for the kids?” you laugh. At her nod, you shake your head playfully. “I’m buying.”

“With whose card?” she snorts out.

“Mine, thank you very much,” you tease back.

With your banter, Melissa knows you’re feeling much better and are on your way to feeling 100 percent again soon.

After dinner, the two of you go back to lay in bed.

“Put a few of your pills in a plastic baggie for me to keep in my car for you tomorrow,” Melissa tells you as she pulls you into her arms again.

“Babe, I usually have them on me,” you tell her. “This was a one time thing.”

“I don’t like seeing you in pain though,” she mumbles against your head, kissing it gently. “And if I can help prevent you from crying out in pain at a small noise, I will.”

“Okay, honey.”

The next morning, the two of you show up to school with dozens of doughnuts for the kids, and yours and Melissa’s classes enjoy the treats together. They’re all thrilled to be rewarded with the sweet treat. They’re happy that they can talk in their own classroom again. They’re glad to see that you’re back to yourself.

“Ms. Y/N?” Skylar asks as she gives you a hug that morning.

“What is it, sweet girl?”

“Can you like, not get sick like that again? I’m happy we got doughnuts, but I don’t wanna have to play teacher again for you… It was hard.”

You chuckle as you muss her hair. “I’ll do my best kiddo.”

Melissa just nudges you with a smirk. “I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again,” she assures your student.

#melissa schemmenti x you #melissa schemmenti #melissa schemmenti x reader #melissa schemmenti fanfic #abbott elementary fanfic #abbott elementary fanfiction #abbott elementary

296 notes · View notes

onyxbird · 9 months

Text

The Bridgeport Cat Café

New Leverage AU, based on this video of someone from a cat café account introducing their cats and describing what types of crime they (allegedly) engage in:

Hardison bought them a cat café instead of a brewpub.

Parker thinks it's a great idea. As soon as Hardison shared the idea with her, she started planning out the incredibly elaborate system of climbing structures, catwalks, tunnels, and hidey-holes at both cat and human scale. Hardison wasn't able to implement all of her ideas, especially not before the rest of the team arrived, but he managed a lot, including purchasing the rest of the building the original café occupied and expanding into that space.

The renovated café quickly becomes known for the fact that it is both the physically largest cat café any of the patrons have encountered and that sections of it essentially double as an indoor play structure for both kids and adults.

Hardison, as someone with allergies himself and knowing Leverage would want to bring clients here, poured a lot of thought into the cat-free and "allergy-friendly" side of the café, where patrons can enjoy all of the café's food and beverage offerings, watch the cats, and even climb a limited portion of their signature human-sized "cat tree" while remaining separated from the cats by enormous windows. The two areas are served by separate ventilation and both have thorough air filtration. The cat-free side quickly becomes popular with the remote-work crowd who like to bring their laptops and watch the cats without any actually climbing on them and their work materials. (There are also customer-free portions of the building the cats can retreat to and optionally view the customers through glass.)

Eliot and Sophie, of course, say the idea is absolutely insane. Sophie's mostly ticked off about the unilateral move to Portland and them taking on the extra burden of a (weird, niche) business (although she makes little secret of being charmed by many of the cats themselves), but Eliot is particularly incensed about the difficulties of trying to run a café that's full of animals. "Running a good café isn't child's play, you know. You planning make food on site with cat fur everywhere? You think the Health Department's gonna stand for that? Sure, you can probably get away with some kind of automatic coffee machine and prepackaged food, but that ain't a café, that's an animal shelter with a damn vending machine."

His complaints trail off as Hardison steers him into the (newly renovated) kitchen, through the airlock-style double doors from a hallway not open to the cats, each with an automatic air curtain to keep cat fur as well as cats from slipping through. The other side of the kitchen has pass-throughs and doors directly to the cat-free side of the café. The gleaming new espresso machines are already in place, along with other basic kitchen equipment, although Hardison comments that he's still researching the best ovens and layout for baking all of their pastries on-site (the printouts and notes on his research are already bundled up and ready to be "spilled" on top of the materials for their next job, in front of Eliot).

The kitchen also features several plexiglass tunnels so that cats can watch the action in the kitchen without contaminating the space. Eliot will never admit, even under torture, to making squinty eyes and kissy noises at the cats that come to hang out with him while he cooks with no other humans around to see, especially when prepping pastry in the wee hours of the morning before anyone but the cats is awake.

Finally, Nate regrets having turned Hardison loose with free rein to pick the Portland HQ. When he suggested a restaurant or something as a front, he assumed he knew the limits of what that could entail--in hindsight, he's glad they didn't end up operating out of a Medieval Times* knock-off. He's performatively grouchy about the cats, yet never seems to chase away the ones that mysteriously end up on his lap during job planning. There's one particular "shoulder cat" that seems to love nothing more than riding around on Nate's shoulders during a briefing, occasionally punctuating particularly passionate sections with supportive meows.

Another quirk the café becomes semi-known for is the prominent lost-and-found counter where patrons can try to reclaim items that have vanished from their pockets, as the cats at this establishment seem to be oddly prone to pickpocketing...

*Consciously or not, Nate is on some level aware of how much Hardison and Parker would enjoy watching Eliot "joust."

#bridgeport cat cafe au #leverage aus #leverage #cats

260 notes · View notes

dylan-duke · 5 months

Note

Nora first day of preschool

"daddy," nora whimpers clutching quinns hand as she looks back and forth between the classroom and her dad. quinn kneels down and gives her as reassuring of a smile as he can muster,

"it's ok bug," he says softly, "you're gonna have so much fun and make so many new friends!" nora looks into the room watching her classmates carefully,

"i dont wanna daddy. wanna stay with you," the four year old cries tears beginning to fall,

"oh baby," quinn coos pulling her into a tight hug, "it's ok doll. remember you get to play all day! then daddy and bubbe will come pick you up and you can choose what we do for snack!" nora's death grip on quinn loosens,

"promise?" she asks. quinn smiles kissing her cheek,

"pinky promise," he says as he holds his pinky up. nora giggles and links hers with her dads. once the promise is solidified, nora looks into the classroom,

"you stay daddy?" she asks. quinns eyebrows furrow, "stay till I'm ok?" quinn smiles nodding,

"of course darling," the pair then looks up when a pair of feet come into sight,

"and you must be nora!" a sweet voice says, "it's so good to have you sweetie, do you want to come inside? i have some coloring you can do!" nora's eyes light up at the mention of her favorite activity,

"with dinos and unicorns?" she asks,

"yep!" the teacher says, "why don't you go sit at a table and when I'm done talking to your dad I'll bring you some materials!" nora nods enthusiastically and takes off into the classroom, immediately finding a spot to sit and talking to the girl sitting next to her.

quinn straightens up smiling at noras teacher,

"thank you," he says, "i don't think I could've gotten her inside," the teacher chuckles,

"thats why i'm here!" she then holds a hand out to quinn, "i'm sarah. I'll be nora's teacher this year," quinn smiles shaking her hand,

"i'm quinn, uh did you get my email. I travel for work a lot and wanted to make sure everything was set with approved pick up and things," sarah nods,

"yes. it appears that you have a nice village set up for her," quinn nods looking past the teacher at nora who has managed to get her own coloring page and is happily chatting with her new friends,

"yah. i'm a little nervous," quinn admits, "she usually travels with me but because shes getting older it's just not possible anymore," sarah nods,

"of course. she's going to be great you don't have to worry," quinn lets out a breath and hands over nora's backpack,

"her lunch is in here with her epi-pen and allergy action plan. i know i went over it in the email, but its still new and she gets really scared, but doesn't completely understand it," sarah smiles taking the backpack gently from the nervous dad,

"don't worry mr.hughes we have plenty of allergies and your daughter is not the first with a severe nut allergy. she will be just fine," quinn takes in a deep breath,

"right sorry," he mumbles, "well i'll let you get back to it," the teacher nods,

"thank you again mr.hughes, and i'll see you at the end of the day on the playground," she then turns and walks to another parent who is saying goodbye to there kid. quinn peaks one more look at nora, who looks up and beams at him before waving and turning back to her task.

#nora hughes #quinn hughes #dad! quinn hughes #dad! quinn

63 notes · View notes

diocletianscabbagefarm · 1 month

Text

Wait, no, this Kalina thing is driving me slightly insane I feel like I need to write it out rather than do shower-thought-analysis.

- Kalina was pretty adversarial with Kristen at the start over what their plans should be, but that seems pretty understandable considering A) they were literally fighting to the death the year before when she was the NMK’s familiar B) her goddess existence - and by extension her own - was super precarious (or “instantly killable” as she put it) with only two followers, with the cleric kinda dropping the ball on their responsibility to spread Cassandra’s worship. Cassandra was noticeably anxious about straight-up dying, and Kalina was forceful on her behalf in advancing the argument since Cassandra was afraid and hesitant to be pushy about it C) Her character trait is being a petty bitch like that and honestly good for her; maybe she was even trying to be Cassandra’s favorite over Kristen but that’s just inside politics.

- Kalina advocated going to the mall, which is where the attacks took place and that can be construed as suspicious or purposeful, as the Bad Kids concluded later in the season. However it could also just be a story excuse for Brennan to get them at the mall to use the battlemap, and there are some alleviating factors; before the attack Kalina went to Adaine at the strudel bar to ask her if she could get Kristen to come (if she orchestrated the attack it would’ve been better to keep a high level cleric absent), and as Cassandra was initially affected by the shatterstars she again told her to get Kristen there asap. During the attack Brennan described multiple times through insight checks that Kalina was horrified, stressed and panicked.

- She threw herself in the path of a shatterstar headed for Cassandra (bloodily piercing through her paws to halt it), and even then first rushed to heimlich the shrimp out of Cassandra’s throat before the rage effect took hold (her eyes go red) and she says she liked Cassandra more when she was the NMK and slits her throat. Before being affected by the shatterstar she also quickly shouts out Ragh’s name as a hint to the Bad Kids to help them solve the mystery.

- Aelwyn said Kalina had come to her to modify the spy’s tongue curse so that it’d work on herself (being a non-humanoid) at some point near the end of freshman year (so before the Bad Kids destroyed her in Sophomore), so working together with Porter seems to have been an old plot from back when she was the NMK’s familiar rather than a recent thing. Aelwyn also mentioned she seemed rather pissed about needing it, and of course she mentioned Ragh’s name already to try and lead the Bad Kids down a trail of questions that’d end up pointing them to Porter (how did Ragh become able to see Kalina -> barbarian healing)

- In Baron’s Game she manages to push through the rage to repeat Ragh’s name again, and then when Cassandra offers her a moment of clarity she clarifies the hint (“it’s the only name I can say”) and < SNAPS! HER OWN! NECK! < in order to not be a threat to the Bad Kids anymore, like how hardcore do you want your sacrifice to help the heroes be because even if you can be brought back, that one is pretty hardcore.

- The Bad Kids discover some medicine in Porter’s desk to help with cat allergies. Could be recent, but could also be old from when they worked together in the past. This seems to be what leads the Bad Kids to conclude Kalina is still evil, but I can also construe it as Brennan trying to offer confirmation they correctly identified the link between Kalina and Porter.

Like, with all this I find it kinda hard to square Kalina was being evil and working against Cassandra; her actions at the start of the season speak more of protectiveness and anxiety, and after being shatterstarred she used every opportunity available to help the Bad Kids crack the mystery, why would the final reveal be she was actually still a villain - why actively sabotage herself, without any payoff? I can understand her to be bad if all she did was trick Cassandra into going to the mall in the astral, and that was the end of her role in the season, but she did so, so much afterwards to help the Bad Kids. To me this speaks at most of her having been a participant in the past, prior to being reconstituted, unless I am missing something major.

The logical followthrough for a Senior Year season - if it were to happen - would be to run with the thread that accusing her of being evil was a hasty judgement, and that because Ankarna was all to happy to smite her wife’s cat she never liked (even at the end Cassandra meekly protested, but was overruled by everybody), Kalina knew to make herself scarce. Great story potential, with the reason for the Kalina-Buddy teamup being that though wrongfully accused she was now on the run and grabbed the nearest ally to hand. Being able to be summoned by Bakarath could indicate Kalina was forcibly disowned from Cassandra as her familiar, and if I were a familiar unceremoniously dumped like that because someone else said you’re bad, I too would probably become the champion of a tiny god of rage because I’d sure be a teensy upset about it. Imagine the potential emotional payoff and catharsis to resolving such a false accusation during the story, Brennan doing one of his monologue things, and proving the faith Cassandra seems to have in her familiar correct despite everyone else insisting otherwise. I really really really hope that’s the direction they take it, rather than doubling down she was bad the whole time (fully ignoring the ways her help was integral to sabotaging the plot) and randomly slaughtering her in a Night Yorb treatment.

#Kalina #fantasy high #fantasy high junior year #dimension 20 #fantasy high spoilers #dimension 20 spoilers #Okay I just needed to get all of it off my chest in one go because it drove me insane to have these arguments in my head with myself #pls Brennan prove yourself to be the great storyteller we know you to be instead of an anticlimactic non-sequitor #I’d be so devastated if it’s just ‘oh evil actually. just ignore 90% of the things she did this season’

37 notes · View notes

redflagshipwriter · 4 days

Text

Nest Swap 6

masterpost

Mrs. Henderson was a lot friendlier with that explanation. He was grateful because that gave him a little space to think about escape plans. “You’re lucky I was here at all,” Mrs. Henderson chattered. “Goodness knows I’ll be out of town soon. My grandson is getting married this weekend, down in that shithole Metropolis.” She shut the window that he’d come in through, which looked a little difficult with her mace wedged in her armpit.

It would probably be really nice if her walker had a ledge for storage on it, Tim thought. He let his eyes glaze over a little bit as he imagined how he would design it. He ended up following the retiree through her house to the wall that he knew connected with the other apartment. The door stuck out because it kind of looked like an outside door: sturdier than a door usually needs to be inside.

Mrs. Henderson optimistically tried the door that internally connected the duplex. It rattled a rejection. “He never used to keep this locked,” she lamented. She gave up with a sigh and put her mace back on the display case a few feet away.

Tim hummed and bounced on his heels. He thought that made sense. If Jason wanted the neighbor man investigated, he probably had stuff to hide. Tim would lock out his neighbor, too.

“That's too bad,” Tim lamented. He clasped his hands behind his back. “I guess I'll go back to my Mom.”

“Oh, nonsense.”

Tim froze. Mrs. Henderson started walking to her kitchen. . Her long robe dragged behind her about an inch on cold hardwood floors. “You can wait for a while with me.”

Oh. Oh, this wasn’t great.

On the one hand, he would get to see the sausage man if Mrs. Henderson let him wait with her. On the other hand, he was going to know that Tim had lied about being a relative, and he would probably say so.

Tim followed Mrs. Henderson a bit woodenly and climbed up onto the stool on autopilot as she leaned over to the sink. Heck. What did he do? He searched his mind for a reference he could rely on. He had nothing.

‘I’m not a very good vigilante,’ Tim thought sadly. He kicked his feet against the bars of the stool and then suddenly stopped when Mrs. Henderson glanced over at him. She flicked the red light on on her kettle. ‘I should have watched more spy movies.’

He made a silent promise to himself to study before he went into action again. He didn’t know how he was going to get out of this, but once he did, he was going to learn from it. A few minutes passed before Mrs. Henderson poured the hot water into mugs and then stirred something.

“Do you like marshmallows?”

Tim blinked. Like, merengue? “I have sophisticated tastes,” he answered on autopilot. Then he wondered why she’d asked.

She laughed. “Me too.” She opened a bag and dumped a pile of sweets into the tea.

His brain shut down a little at the audacious display of dietary recklessness. “Thank you,” he said, and accepted the mug with both hands. He peered down and breathed in the sweet steam.

It was weirdly dark tea. And- really, really sweet-smelling. He sniffed it cautiously and then took a look at his hostess.

“It’s hot,” she warned, and then took a cautious sip of her own.

Tim copied her out of well-bred reflex and instantly coughed. It was thick. Why was it thick? “What kind of tea is this?” His voice squeaked up high.

Mrs. Henderson snorted brown liquid out her nose and then cried out in pain. Tim startled but she kept laughing, hand pressed over her face.

“... It's not tea,” Tim said. He took another suspicious taste. Now that he wasn't expecting something else, he could identify chocolate. “Wow. My mom wouldn't give this to me.” He slurped up a marshmallow. Then he froze because Mrs. Henderson had put a hand over the top of his cup.

“Do you have allergies?” Her dark eyes were serious underneath her eyeglasses.

“Prawns,” Tim supplied. “That's all.”

Mrs. Henderson took her hand away. “Ah. There's no prawns in there, so….” She pursed her lips. “Well, I was a scout when I was your age. I have to peddle sweets to show my pride.”

“You what?” Tim leaned a little closer.

She blinked at him and then took another sip of her chocolate. “You know, scouts? They sell cookies?”

Wow. Tim hid his reaction to that. Were things really that bad in public schools? She'd been working at 9? That was brutal and unjust. Tim worried his lip between his teeth for a few moments before he decided that he really did have to say something.

“That seems unjust,” he said. Tim worried that it was a little rude to say so, but he didn't want people to think he approved of child labor.

She choked on her chocolate again.

A car door slammed on the other side of the building. When his hostess cleared her throat, there were tears in her eyes. She patted at Tim's hand. “You can come back anytime you want, honey,” she said, in a funny voice. “Your Uncle is home! That was his door. I'll walk you around.”

Tim stood up. “No, I'm fine!” He chirped. His heart thudded in his chest. “Thank you so much!” He went to the door a lot faster than she could, pulled it open, and then felt bad. “The drink was really good,” he added, and then he hopped out and shut the door behind him.

“Oh. Hello.” A middle-aged man stood on the sidewalk outside of the duplex. He had a huge duffle bag over his shoulder and he was sort of leaning as if it was heavy. He eyed Tim and Mrs. Henderson’s door with a sort of sharp, calculating expression. “...Visiting my neighbor?”

Ah. His stomach wrenched.

Tim flashed a gala-ready smile up at the sausage guy, deploying maximum cuteness. “Yepp!” He chirped. “I’m her grandson.”

��Don’t be suspicious,’ he chanted internally. ‘Don’t be suspicious, don’t be suspicious.’

Sausage man frowned a little. “...Not the one who is getting married?” he asked in a funny voice. “I thought she only had the one.” He eyed Tim a little harder. “And, not to be rude, but i would have assumed he’d also be Black.”

Oh. Heck. Jason’s bad guy was definitely getting suspicious of him. He needed to deflect, fast.

“I was joking!” Tim giggled. “You’re funny. No, I’m a scout selling cookies.” He straightened his posture to look like a child with stable employment. “Do you want some?”

“...Cookies?” he clarified. “Not popcorn?”

“Definitely cookies,” said Tim, who had just learnt this fact today. “It’s okay, it’s confusing.”

Sausage man cocked his head to the side, opened his mouth, and then apparently thought better of whatever he’d been about to say. “Yes, actually, I love those cookies.” The man readjusted his duffle bag. “Do you have an order form?” He held out a hand expectantly.

Tim eyed it and resisted the urge to fling himself off the two concrete steps separating him from the lawn. “Not with me,” he bluffed. “What kind do you want?”

“You’re not going to just remember my order,” said the Sausage man, who was beginning to look genuinely irritated. He took a half a step closer. His heavy bag swung. Tim stole a glance down at it. Sausage man followed his gaze and then looked back at Tim. He narrowed his eyes and he smiled.

It did not feel like a nice smile.

“Why don’t you come in?” he said, and put a hand on Tim’s shoulder. “No one is waiting for you, right?”

“My boyfriend is,” Tim lied immediately. It was kind of true.

Sausage man snorted, because he didn’t know that Jason was going to kick his ass. “That’s probably alright,” he said, amused. He squeezed down on Tim’s shoulder a little. Tim tensed. He needed help, he needed an adult-

“There’s my mom!” Tim chirped. The man let go like he thought Tim was on fire. Tim took advantage of the moment and ducked under the Sausage man’s arm. His heart was pounding so hard. “I’ll see you later, bye!” He sprinted down the walkway and turned left onto the real sidewalk without slowing down.

Haha, sucker. Janet wasn’t even there! And the guy just believed him when he said he saw his Mom? Ridiculous! She was probably in Peru or in a board meeting! He pumped his arms a little harder until he realized that he wasn’t being chased.

The sausage man didn’t chase after him or call out. When Tim stole a look backwards, he saw the door pulling shut.

“Whew,” said Tim, slowing down. “That went okay. Except I didn’t learn anything.”

…He could try again tomorrow.

#red nest swap #tim drake deaged

23 notes · View notes

icyhottodo · 1 year

Text

... you're sick | reo mikage

genre: comfort, fluff, a bit of angst ig? | paring: reo x gn reader

summary: reo finds out that you're sick.

warnings: reader is sick, reader faints once, reader tries to avoid reo but it doesn't work, a bit of unsanitary stuff lol

wc: 1.1k

nini’s notes: i know koreans celebrate anniversaries by 100 days, but im not sure about japanese. this was extremely self-indulgent bc im sick rn ( ;´ - `;) also, im sorry if this was bad, i’ll proofread it when i get better. ૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა

allergy season. you hate it. waking up in the middle of the night feeling like you couldn’t breathe and sneezing constantly. instantly, you knew that you were going to become sick in the upcoming days. after you blew your nose into a napkin that you took, you sighed, remembering the date you and reo had planned weeks before this. along with that, you two were in a fairly new relationship, so this was your first time being sick, worried how reo would react to this.

how are you going to tell reo about this? a headache started to form quickly. slowly, but surely, you grabbed your phone to text reo that you sadly wouldn’t be able to meet up with him tomorrow.

(y/n): reo, smth came up

(y/n): i can't go on that date tmr

(y/n): sorry reo

sniffling because of your nose, you put the phone back on the bedside table. ignoring the persistent buzzing on your phone and the headache pounding even more, trying to force yourself to sleep. you felt bad for suddenly canceling the date with reo, the date planned was supposed to be cute. you two were supposed to be going to an amusement park for your 100th-day anniversary, and reo told you there would be surprises later on that day.

a few minutes later, after being unable to sleep, you could hear keys jingling along with some ruffling of plastic bags outside your door. thinking that the noise was your neighbor trying to open their home, you didn't pay any mind to it until you heard your door unlock. but you were so drowsy and dizzy that you weren’t able to do anything or even process it. you start to pull yourself up from your bed to see who it is.

"love?" was that reo’s voice? the voice, whom you thought was reo, sounded so distant, and with the white noise in your ear, you couldn’t tell it was your boyfriend. with each step you take, you become more lightheaded. the white noise was getting louder and louder. until you blacked out.

you could hear reo’s muffled, yet still panicked voice saying something along the lines of the nickname reo has given you until he said your actual full name. as he dropped some plastic bags onto the floor, shaking you, and calling your name continuously.

when you come to, you feel the comfort of your bed. you were sluggishly turning your head to the side, and you saw your purple-headed boyfriend running his hand through your scalp. next to him were the plastic bags you noticed before you blacked out. you wondered what they could be.

"love!" reo exclaimed, causing you to turn your eyes back to the man you love dearly. you can hear the relief in his tone. "you could've told me that you were feeling sick. you were burning up when i reached for you!"

"sorry reo. i didn’t want to get you sick. plus, i don’t want you to go out of your way to take care of me." you felt guilty; if reo stays here to take care of you, he might gain from your illness. and you wouldn't want reo to be in pain like you were feeling at the moment.

"well, i’m not going anywhere. i would be a bad boyfriend if i let you suffer alone." reo winked at you as he got under the covers with you. you rolled your eyes at reo’s flirtatious action. "plus, you would take care of me when i got sick, right?"

"of course, reo." you wrap your arms around your boyfriend, who feels extremely cold to you. your boyfriend’s presence makes you sleepier and sleepier until dreamland reaches you. reo’s hand is still running smoothly through your scalp.

you would wake up because of reo’s movements a few hours later. he was trying to get out of bed. your hold on reo becomes slightly tighter. "mm, i don't want to let you go, reo."

"love. last night, i got you your favorite soup because i thought you were sad about something. until you fainted. you need to eat something. let me warm it up, then i’ll be right back." he said grabbing the plastic bag you were wondering about a bit ago.

you would let him go after a few more persuasions, and he would return a few minutes later with a steaming hot bowl of your favorite soup, placing it on the bedside table. reo sits down and puts the bowl on his lap before grabbing a spoonful of the soup and placing his hand under the spoon so the liquid wouldn't drop onto the bed. "says aaa."

"you don't need to feed me, reo." you giggle, from your boyfriend. nonetheless, opening your mouth for reo to spoon-feed you, knowing that reo would deny any other way for you to eat.

after an endless amount of being fed the soup, there was finally nothing left. you felt full, but your stomach felt warm from the warm soup. he also gave you some medicine after setting the now-empty bowl away. (he ordered it while you were asleep, knowing that you wouldn't let him get out of bed.)

"thank you, reo, for taking care of me," you mumble sleepily once again, leaning onto reo’s chest like a cat. being sick makes you sleepy, reo noted.

"of course, my love. anything for you," he said lovingly, before falling asleep with you on his body. it was uncomfortable for him to be sleeping while sitting up, but he didn’t want to move you. like if you were a pet that fell asleep on him.

the next day, you woke up feeling a lot better than the day before, but still feeling a bit stuffy. but not pass-out worthy.

‘achoo.’ you heard reo sneeze from where he was sleeping.

"reo… you're sick."

#☆ BLLK #reo mikage #reo bllk #reo imagines #reo x y/n #blue lock x y/n #blue lock x reader #blue lock scenarios #blue lock imagines #blue lock #bllk x reader #bllk #mikage reo #mikage reo x reader #mikage x reader #reo x reader #reo x you

367 notes · View notes

kolyasupremanxy · 1 year

Note

Hello! i wanted to say that i read all your fanfics its so cute and i love the the way you write characters. and if you take repuests can i please repuest protective bf kolya?

you are free to ignore this:)

𝐍𝐢𝐤𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐢 𝐆𝐨𝐠𝐨𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝

𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 + 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Fluff, Romance

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 : Mentions of gun.

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 0.7k

𝐀/𝐧: Ohhh Thank you very much anon! Here is your request, hope you enjoy!

When out in public, Nikolai always keeps a watchful eye on his s/o, making sure they are safe and comfortable. If anyone so much as glances in their direction with a hint of malintent, Nikolai quickly steps in front of his s/o and gives them a menacing stare. Nikolai doesn't hesitate to take action when he feels his s/o is in danger. He's not afraid to use force, and his enemies know not to mess with him. When walking down a dark alley or through a sketchy neighborhood, Nikolai keeps his s/o close to him and his hand on the hilt of his knife, ready to defend them if necessary. If his s/o is ever feeling down or upset, Nikolai is quick to offer a listening ear and a comforting presence. He'll do anything to make them feel better. Even when his s/o insists they can handle a situation themselves, Nikolai remains close by just in case. He knows that they are strong, but he wants to be there to protect them if they ever need it. When they go out to eat, Nikolai always makes sure to order their favorite dish and take note of any allergies or dietary restrictions. He wants to make sure they are happy and comfortable. If someone ever tries to flirt with his s/o or make unwanted advances, Nikolai shuts it down immediately. He doesn't tolerate anyone disrespecting his partner. In a dangerous situation, Nikolai always puts his s/o's safety above his own. He'll do whatever it takes to make sure they get out unharmed, Even if it means he has to kill those people who harm you. When traveling together, Nikolai takes extra precautions to make sure they are safe and secure. He plans ahead and brings extra supplies, just in case. If his s/o ever feels threatened or unsafe, Nikolai doesn't hesitate to take them away from the situation, even if it means canceling plans or changing course. Despite his tough exterior and criminal background, Nikolai is a deeply caring and protective boyfriend. He loves his s/o with all his heart and will always put their safety and well-being first.

𝐒𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨 :

Nikolai Gogol had always been a bit possessive when it came to his significant other, and that had never been a secret. He was the kind of guy who would go to great lengths to keep them safe and protected from harm. It was something that his s/o had always found endearing, even if it could be a bit overbearing at times—

Nikolai and his s/o were out on a date, walking through the crowded streets of Yokohama, when a group of rowdy men started to harass them. One of them tried to flirt with his s/o, and Nikolai immediately felt his blood boil.

"Excuse me, gentlemen, can I help you?" Nikolai asked, his voice dripping with faux politeness as he stepped between his s/o and the group of men.

The men sneered at him. "What's it to you, clown boy?" one of them jeered, and Nikolai's smile only grew wider.

"Oh, I'm just a friendly neighborhood clown," he replied, his eyes sparkling with mirth. "But I must warn you, if you continue to bother my lovely s/o here, I'll have to show you some of my... tricks."

The men chuckled, clearly not taking him seriously. But Nikolai was deadly serious. He reached into his coat and pulled out a gun, pointing it at the men. "Bang, bang," he said, his voice low and menacing. "You know, I always liked magic tricks. But my favorite is when things disappear."

The men stumbled back, fear in their eyes. "We didn't mean any harm, man," one of them stammered, and Nikolai grinned triumphantly. "That's right. Now, run along, before I decide to make you disappear."

As the men scurried away, Nikolai turned to his s/o, still grinning from ear to ear. "Well, that was fun, wasn't it?" he said, slipping the gun back into his coat. "I must say, I do enjoy playing the hero every now and then."

His s/o couldn't help but smile at Nikolai's antics, despite feeling slightly shaken by the encounter. "You're quite the character, Nikolai," they said, still in disbelief at the way he had handled the situation.

Nikolai chuckled. "Oh, I'm just a clown, after all," he said, twirling his braid between his fingers. "But I'll always be here to protect you, my dove. No one messes with my girlfriend."

Despite his silly and energetic personality, Nikolai's s/o couldn't help but feel a sense of safety and comfort in his protective demeanor.

Do Not Copy or Plagiarize Any of My Fics. Reblogs Are Very Appreciated

#nikolai gogol x reader #bsd nikolai #bsd imagines #bsd fanfic #nikolai bsd #nikolai x you #nikolai x reader #nikolai gogol #nikolai fluff #nikolai imagines #bungo stray dogs nikolai #bungo stray dogs #bsd x reader

389 notes · View notes

worriedvision · 1 year

Note

Okay so how about Albedo getting closer to reader in hopes of learning a bit more of romantic social interactions and ques. Once he's a little more confident he tells them truth. I'm excited to see the angst you can come up with 👀

This will have spoilers for the event currently going on in-game, gender neutral reader. Unhappy ending, Albedos quite cold here because of the nature of his actions. I also made him tell the truth through the reader overhearing a conversation... Forgot to remember Albedo was supposed to come to the reader to admit it oopsie

You're known to be lonely by many citizens of Mondstadt. It was known to you deep down, and the Windblume festival intensified your lonely feeling. Every year, you saw confessions as you would carry out your usual work.

This year was different.

Albedo had approached you, asking for you to walk with him. Usually, you'd think this was some sort of prank. However, you knew that Albedo wasn't exactly the most social person either. You figured it was worth a shot, doing this 'allowing someone to get close to you' thing with him. He was awkward at the start, something you found very relatable, and you formed a comfortable friendship.

He did, however, slowly start to make more moves. Nothing solidly romantic, but from Albedo it certainly suggested something more. Paying for your meals, walking with you when he could, talking to you more often than he would with anyone.

It felt nice, you were letting your walls down. You planned to make more moves, and you were walking by yourself as you thought of what he would like.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Albedo?" You hear an unfamiliar voice ask, clearly not understanding something. "This isn't a normal thing to be doing."

"I say keep going." Another voice chimes in. "If you stop now, it will leave them high and dry if you ask me."

"This is all in the name of research..." Albedo states, you hiding behind a tree to listen in. What research was this about? Was this about you? Nothing was particularly interesting about you.

"I would recommend a bouquet of flowers." You hear the man with tall ears state, looking in your direction for a split second. "I'm sure they will appreciate it. However, I still think this is quite cruel on the person in question. Didn't you call them a non-consensual loner?"

Ouch, that did sound like a way of describing you.

"Well,_ has very low standards due to their lack of companionship. I figured that, given the bar, I would be able to find out more about this." Albedo explains.

The other man glances over, seeing you hiding behind a tree mortified that you heard your own name in that conversation.

"Surely you consider them a worthy lover, given the fact you're still talking to them fondly." The man states.

Albedo shakes his head, and he explains that he had no feelings for you. He was merely gauging your reaction and noting down anything that works.

"How about we talk over a meal about this?" Tighnari asks, giving you a sympathetic look before walking in the opposite direction from you, Albedo and Cyno following.

The next date Albedo takes you on, he gives you a bouquet of flowers. You can't help but glare at the flowers, tearing up.

"Do you like the flowers, my love?" Albedo asks. Clearly, this was an idea that was not his own. Looking into his eyes, you do not see the love you held for him.

"No, I don't." You respond.

"Oh, is it an allergy? Perhaps I can-"

"Let me guess... you can 'add this to your research notes on how romance works'? Or maybe 'try to find out what flowers I am not allergic to for the purpose of catering gifts to me'?" You state, louder than you expected to come out. People look over, surprised to hear all this.

"Please, my love. Keep your voice down." Albedo jests.

"No, I won't." You stand up, Albedo trying to hold you in his arms to soothe you. "I'm a human being. I heard your conversation with those two last night, they were suggesting ideas for you. You made it clear you do not hold any of these feelings, and I am embarassed that I stupidly let you in." You grit your teeth. "Jot that down in your notes, Albedo. Jot down that faking a relationship and giving someone a false sense of love is cruel and hurtful. Jot down the fact you chose specifically when everyone else has something happy going on to ruin my self-esteem further by faking your feelings."

You storm off, not daring to take a glance back as you go back home to wallow in your own self-pity.

#albedo #albedo x gender neutral reader #albedo x reader #gender neutral reader #cyno #tighnari

161 notes · View notes

yinses · 1 year

Text

all and half pt. ii

in which your soulmate is the one person you can achieve true pleasure from

alhaitham au! x f!reader wc: 10k+ rating: 18+

masterlist

a/n: made it before the banner ended! hope you enjoy the last installment ☺️

when you had sent a courtesy pending text of your imminent arrival, alhaitham had replied with a passcode to get you through the lobby. it was a grateful gesture as it gave you a few extra moments to fortify your resolve as you tapped left and right in the elevator.

your plan was simple. to just explain how you expected nor wanted anything in return. the sex was great but you were not going to be tied to someone because of it. you hoped the grand scribe had a similar outlook as well.

following the familiar hallway, you knocked twice then the door opened and he was in front of you. you eyed him briefly, he was dressed down today in cream slacks and an olive green sweater. you were sure he was regarding your barely put together expression as he stepped aside, gesturing for you to walk through.

you walked into the apartment and looked around, only noticing slight differences in the light.

you stare curiously into ceiling high window panel behind alhaitham rather than directly. the queasiness had returned, but when you forced your gaze to the man who was forever titled as your soulmate, you felt yourself lose another layer.

all the while alhaitham observed you quietly, arms crossed as he leaned his hips back into the spine of his couch.

“is this where i offer you something to eat or will you think it’s a date?”

the remark was low, not snarky but it doused fire on the dainty wings fluttering within.

“would you be cooking it or does the grand scribe salary come with a private chef?”

alhaitham raised a brow,” depends on if you have too many pesky allergies to make it worth the trouble.”

“interesting, that’s all it takes to make you quit.”

he cocked his head but said nothing more on the matter. “i didn’t expect to see you so soon.”

you pursed your lips,“so you’re the really a big head of the akademiya”

“i don’t know if i should be flattered or not that it took a business card to be recognize.”

“you should just be flattered that i went home with you.”

“i suppose i should, given my soulmate found me attractive even before i gave them the best night of their life.”

that sobered you up.

your mouth pulled in a shallow sneer, “just because we’re possibly soulmates doesn't mean our fate is sealed.”

alhaitham blinked in a flicker of emotion before his features schooled back into a mask of indifference, “might i remind you, we are most certainly soulmates. you might be determined to deny it but i’ll admit you gave anyone who came before you a run for their money and thats not an easy task.”

your scowl deppened. “so what now, have you picked out a ring?”

he intoned lowly, “sweetness, no offence, but you didn't exactly become tolerable until i got my fingers between your legs.”

your gaze narrowed, but the man only shrugged off the threat,” so no, i’m afraid you’re free to accept other offers.”

“so you don't want anything from this?”

“what do you want?”

the image of a heat flushed alhaitham flashed into the forefront of your mind and your hands shook slightly at the memory you’d been trying in vain to forget for the past twelve hours.

the tang of copper jerked you out of your thoughts with the burn of the broken skin of your bottom lip. the action wasn’t lost on alhaitham as he eyed you wearily.

“we don’t have to do this today. there is no timeline it.”

his voice was soft, gentle even as it licked against the fraying edge of your resolve. it was too personal … and more frighteningly it did something to you, shaking you at your core and making you feel less balanced than the foundation you’d arrived on.

you never considered yourself to be particularly weak. despite the akademiya priding itself on the very guidance of the archon, you had strove to get yourself admitted for the sole purpose of proving them all wrong.

you were fueled by pure stubbornness, much to your mother’s exasperation.

it was the very woman who you relied on to remain strong. stronger than any thing the institution or the rest of the world could throw at you.

more resolute than the temptation standing before you.

but you did have one flaw.

the very determinate factor that welcomed you into the akademiya despite your research intentions.

curiosity.

“i want to be sure.”

and then you closed the distance, pulling alhaitham down into a kiss.

he's not easy to draw under, not even with audible consent and desirable hands. it's prominent that you're reaching for something, perhaps your sanity or preferably self-respect.

you decide they both taste similarly inviting against the curl of his tongue. just when you think you've drawn him into a dance, he pulls away, hand seizing your forearm to keep you in place when you tense in preparation to flee.

alhaitham crooked a finger beneath your chin to draw you in for a reassuring peck and once more to hold your gaze. when he broke away, he said, "you're an adult, so i wont presume to make decisions for you. but are you sure?"

he was right to ask as you were the one who went running first, only to return just as the cold seeped from your feet and warmth bled into your lips.

the uncertainty was palpable but edible as you chewed through the racing thoughts. the desire was there, no doubt under any other circumstances would you have not pursued this man after he'd so eagerly returned your advances.

he wanted the reminder but you just wanted the taste. the forbidden fruit that held as many promises as it did curses. you wanted to know what you would give up before you walked away from the opportunity again.

and if he was willing to give you the chance, you'd take it.

your fingers curl at the back of his neck, though there is no give under your resistance. it's not until your lips purse into a pout that he cracks a hint of a grin.

"brat."

your brows knits determinedly, as you tug again," kiss me."

and he does.

it's a slower pace than before, explorative rather than desperate. solely from the press of your mouths, you could feel your overhanging reservations melt away. his hands swept down to guide your legs up by the backs of your thighs, drawing you down the vaguely familiar hall until you found yourself pressed down into the sheets.

he was addicting in a way that was arguably human and a sign of a deity. from the was he shoved pillows to the floor to give himself all the room he needed to get lost in you.

you were still learning about the man, but you were certain that he did nothing in halves.

alhaitham was different.

you gasped wordlessly because oh, oh, that felt so good

you were starting to lose control over your mind when he grabbed your hips with his firm hands and slammed into you with such force until it took your breath away.

you forgot about anything before him, all for a second there.

alhaitham fucked you, yes, he fucked you good in bed. or against the wall. bent over the counter. he fed you endlessly with so much fervour until you struggled to catch your sanity, feeling it dwindling down to zero. his abrasive nature, just like a hard cut diamond, dragged friction against your loins, filling up a reservoir of hunger pangs you hadn’t realised went neglected before. the thought of it alone made you feel greedy given the arrangement you’d had until now.

but this felt too damn good to compare.

you’d know kaveh for some weeks before the arrangement. he flittered in and out of the akedemiya enough to draw your attention. it took a short few nightly occasions for you to decide he was worth your time.

but whereas you had grow to learn kaveh, alhathaim felt like unmapped terrain ready to explore. he was saturated with fresh experiences and willingness to make you forget about the home you knew.

kaveh would take one of your breasts in his hand, lick on your nipple and nibble on it–or bite, depending on his mood, really, before moving on to the other. his hands would always stay stationary at one stop, concentrating all he had to that point alone so that he could make you feel so good.

his lips would always be latched somewhere so that he would not have to say anything to you about the waning passion between the two of you. your bodies knew the dance still, but the art was shallow.

lips on your breasts, lips between your thighs but no lips of devotion for you.

his movements were somewhat predictable at times because after he was done with foreplay, ensuring that you were properly aroused before taking it to the next step, he would slide into you and take you to heaven and hell at his own pace.

alhaitham was different.

he couldn’t give a flying fuck about nibbling on your breast or any pansy actions like that. his hands would constantly be on the move; one moment he would be roughly palming your breasts, squeezing too tight until pain bled into pleasure.

one moment they would be running through your hair to stimulate you. another moment they would be between your legs and rolling your clit to make you black out in pleasure.

and black out you did.

it reminded you of the first time he took you, he made you faint because his movements were brash and ravenous, slamming into you and changing his angles ever so often. he picked up his speed when you tightened impossibly around him and slowing down when you came in an euphoric bliss before adopting a pace twofold to his own completion.

tonight, he did the exact opposite where he would tease you with shallow thrusts in the slippery heat, cocking an eyebrow arrogantly when you thrashed underneath him to make him go faster, and getting rougher and rougher when you wanted him to slow down a little to avoid yourself from burning up.

and his mouth.

“you like that?” or “harder, huh? tell me what you need, honey”

occasionally: “who took care of you before this? you poor baby, you feel like a virgin.” or “ha- can’t even hold yourself up, lay here.”

and his personal favourite: “dirty, dirty, sweetness. who would’ve thought you’d be so much of a slut. ”

other times, he would not say anything at all and proceed to smash his lips against yours, all teeth and unchained lust, tongue sliding perfectly against yours and swallowing all the muted sounds you could make.

alhaitham was exceptionally efficient with his mouth, just like how good at plucking your strings with his fingers. methodical while latching to your earlobe and brushing against your temple to kiss it briefly there. the trail continued over your pulse point and down to your pebbled nipples.

his sweaty hands lovingly ran over your body and appreciated your hidden curves. alhaitham mapped fire along your skin, burning away anyone else’s touch; hiked your legs over his shoulders so that he could fit in better and never once did he stop doing so.

you couldn’t breathe.

oh no

ou squeezed your eyes shut as you felt tears of pleasure trailing down your cheeks when he shifted some way somehow to render you incoherent. all that you could do was to cling onto him for dear life, taking the pleasure train into the abyss. loving how he catered turmoil of emotion still simmering from the loss, all to make sure that you didn’t crack at the frail seams of your euphoria.

it was frightening to come to terms with everything you’d fought against. to feel every theory singing against your nerves and warming your face under the trail of your tears.

sex was meant to be good, but it wasn’t suppose to bind you. certainly not to a single person. for what archon would subject it’s people to such cruelty by only looking at the physicality of a relationship.

not that you would die from an orgasm, but there was more to life than that.

it felt good.

alhaitham felt good against your body too.

when your nerves tightened just like a taut bow and you threw your head backwards on the fluffy pillow and opened your mouth in a sharp scream. the feeling when everything faded away to red as your toes curled and your body trembled in release.

alhaitham, too, sharply plunged in and out again, meshing his addictive-tasting mouth to yours. his hands now roving against your wrists and holding them tightly into place as he dominated you purely without giving you a chance to turn the tables on him. you quicken his impending climax as you shifted a little in place and clenched around him, hard, to watch how he screwed his spitfire blue-green eyes dark and shut. it left you willing and able to swallow his grows against your uninhibited lips, “you … you make me feel ...so good,” before collapsing on top of you, spent.

during this moment, you could almost pretend that it had all started with him. that nothing came before or had a place after.

and it was a dangerous thought indeed.

petting his back. laving his hard muscles with trace of your fingers. you admired how well built he was, favouring a strong life outside of the akademiya. your body was desperate to fancy that he was yours and you were his.

but your heart could not lie.

it wasn’t enough. it couldn't be.

minutes afterwards, when alhaitham rolled away from the puddle of your combined release, he mulled over how jumbled up everything seemed. he ran a hand through his tousled locks, wondering how everything ended up to this.

he was not blind enough to notice that in your vulnerability, despite eventually coming to him, he did not forget how dismissal you were upon the discovery of you both. it was true he did not hold the regard of the archon’s binding fate above all, that it was still very possible to be choked by the fated thread that connected you. still there was no denying that the gods go something right when they decided to match your soul to his.

alhaitham sighed and cursed under his breath when he recalled how you were beneath him. you were the template of everything he’d aspired to have but could never withstand his pride and indifference.

for the first time since scoffing at the prospect of discovering the love of your life through intimacy, he was willing to play with the idea of it possibly being the door to something more. in any event, he wasn’t ready to settle just yet- to think about a stable home with kids. and yet all he could sense was-

wanton.

insanely erotic.

insanely wanting everything from him and leaving nothing behind.

you were, he realised, trained to fit what was needed. he could tell from the way you eyed him before making a move, as though gauging what type he wanted for his partner tonight, taking your role as it was and acting it all out on the bed. being who you needed to be. he supposed it made sense for someone who wasn’t your soulmate, who needed a routine over pushing the boundaries of predictability.

in his case, he was still temperamental; just as soon as you thought he wanted someone equally assertive in the play, he attacked you with a heated kiss and swallowed all of your complaints just like that. no wishy-washy lovemaking under dim lighting with you being a virgin and him being a gentleman. it was all lights from everywhere, cum on your face and glamorous fucking.

now, he paused for a moment, took a step backwards and tapped his fingers against sheets.

it was all about you today. all, everything, the entirety of the world. his analytical brain could not stop scrutinising you even further as he realised that despite all of that good screwing, you’d never said his name.

you were loud, and loose with your body. hands to rove over his and draw him closer. now that he had many good rounds with you, alhaitham frowned when he knew that he could almost read you. you wouldn’t dare to claim him but he could read between the lines…

…the expressions you made during the span of the act.

sexy.

wanting him.

unrestricted.

that was all he needed.

he shuddered when he realised he could be hard again if he gave it too much thinking. that was when you recovered from your exhaustion, pushed away all the sheets he draped over your stained body and crawled over to him, bed dipping with each of your moves and him fixated by your sensual movement. you stopped in front of him, on your knees. inquisitive eyes meeting his, as your lips flexed into an innocent smile that was unmarred by such filthy acts earlier.

the sun would remain hang for a while longer, the world undisturbed by the actions of two. there was still time to make sense of it all. clear a path of clarity for you both to finally address what was between you.

alhaitham shook away the exhaustion and pushed you back into the bed, throwing one leg over his shoulder before ramming into you ruthlessly. the heat consumed him, licking up his veins and gushing madly in his urgently pumping heart. as he looked at how you writhed underneath his body and he knew you mewled for more. that was when you made that expression again, one that was mixed with pleasure and want only for him and getting more than what you asked for.

but you’d come to him and for now he’d remind you why that was the best decision of your life.

it had taken effort, more so on alhaitham’s part than yours, to peel you away from the bed. he dug somewhere deep to carry both you towards the bathroom. a shower was out of the question. though he refused to admit it, that last bought of passion had worn him out.

what he did utter, was what kind of wonders a hot bath could do for aching muscles.

and to that you had to agree.

sprawled across, with legs open to either side of his, the two of you were more than welcome to the low hanging mist of heat that surrounded the bathroom. it had taken a bit of manoeuvring to decide on a level of comfort. the two of you new each other’s body quite intimately but this was a new stage to explore. alhaitham took up much of the space, he also conveniently owned it, so negotiation began and ended with him.

now he was content, grumbling and complaining about a past memory as he leaned back against the edge. with a low hum, he stroked at the water lapping at your stomach. your heart hitched but you refrained from flinching as his breath dusted your ear,” feeling better?”

his chin was damp and still managed to tickle the shell. yet you followed it, rolling your hair into his inquisitive nose. “mhm. can remember the last time i enjoyed a bath like this.” showers were efficient and you craved the contained heat and steam that embraced your body. but this was a different kind of comfort that you gratefully sank deeper into.

seemingly unable to resist and hardly insatiable hands reached for you, tweaking nerves and arousing sensitivity. biting through a gasp, your nails bit into his muscled thighs. his voice was rough, worn down to a decibel above hoarse,” perhaps we can weasel this into our future discussion?”

your lips pursed. right the conversation you had meant to be having before you’d all but jumped the man. alhaitham hardly seemed miffed though. he wielded the word ‘arrangement’ like it was both an offering and an escape. there were a lot of things to talk about, even morso now with new revelations. you had resigned yourself to that after he’d wringed your third orgasm out of you. the man had to carry you to your destination, for now you were at his mercy.

a blessing-curse as it was a necessary battle to address, even if it felt like an uphill one. it felt like a reasonable distraction as you leaned for ward to reach for the washcloth. alhaitham was patient through your half-hearted scrubbing as you collected your thoughts.

“what i had with ka- my previous partner was easy.”

‘because they weren't your soulmate’ hung between the both of you but fortunately alhaitham did not voice it.

setting the cloth aside, you leaned back and stretched your body out. if a man was going to run you a hot bath, the least you could do was enjoy it.

“i never believed in any of the one true orgasm propaganda. because if a relationship is built solely on that, whats the point of love?” you scoffed bitterly. it festered the idea that anything could happen, but the moment you fell back in bed together it was all mended and well. it was bullshit, a fantasy with no precedence.

you weren't an expert on love, but you knew enough to know that people need more than the warmth of a bed against their back to make them happy.

“...your parents?”

you didn't know what was funnier, that he would assume such a cliche reason for your deferment or how unsure the confident man sounded as he stepped into undiscovered territory.

“no, my parents are actually happily married.”

“oh.”

“but they're not soulmates.”

“so they never…”

“no, they did. or at least my mom did. neither of them really talk about it much anymore. but i know that she found her soulmate before getting into a relationship with my dad.”

the water shifts as alhaitham sits up intrigued.

“she was vague but it was obvious that what she had before was the best time of her life. she said it made her feel fulfilled in ways she couldn't describe.”

your mind conjured the memory of living in a household where both parents were there to dote on you with affection. a home where you slept soundly because echoed affection and not hate. you grew up on the foundation of love without fate.

“but with my dad … she said it was so obvious. just right in front of her , not some astral sign that she had to decipher. she loved the way he spent his mornings holding her to help power him through the day and how he spent his nights remembering her as if she never left. with her soulmate it was easy yes, but with my dad it felt like something worth achieving.”

you went quiet for a moment as your eyes traced the dewy condensation clinging to the tiled walls. for years you backed up your aversion to fated couples with scholarly evidence and witness statements. but this was one of the few times you brought your past into it.

the ‘passion’ your mentor needed from you was always hidden in the truth of it. and the anger. the faces of your past who called your family a farce. the stories they told to excuse why your parents had just ‘settled’ … for you.

“i guess … it just made me believe that life was more than an orgasm.”

“but you still like sex,” alhaitham replies evenly.

you can't help but laugh at the low drawl. “yeah, yeah i do. i like sex with you and i liked it before too. i’ll admit, its a bit overwhelming at first but my mom was right. satisfying the body is important but the mind is equally as paramount to remain in balance with yourself.” the water trickled back into the pool when your shoulder rose in a shrug. “you’re a whole person without your soulmate. so you should be at peace with yourself before offering it to someone else.”

“a wise woman. i think i’d like to meet her.”

“i think she’d want to meet you too.”

it was a losing battle in vain to hold back a smile as you turned to face him. alhaitham’s hands followed the motion, assisting and aiding stability. he met you in a kiss as heated as the bath water. tongue flicking at his lips, your hand dips beneath the water in search of his.

his eyes narrow in juxtapose to the soft widening of your mouth to form an ‘o’. shifting your hips into his touch, you lean in for another kiss. the implication was enough to answer as he swallowed the taste of it.

you went to pull away, content to accept his practised caress but alhaitham had other ideas, determined to mould your fingers into one as he slid them against your walls for a slick ride. the flesh was tender and sensitive but you still sang eagerly for him.

he accepts your nuzzles, allowing you to contain the soft moans and giggles into the damp crook. he took you along for the ride, showing you his trade and hinting at your weak points until you were panting in tune with his pulse.

alhaitham taps his forehead against yours, non-verbally brushing against permission with his cock against your entrance. he gave you a brief control of the reign, handling the balance as you fully seated yourself on his lap, chock full of cock.

the pace was steady, the environment too fickle for the frantic and erratic sessions you had come to now. you were still helpful, however, squeezing and sucking in his girth whenever he dared to pull out. there wasn’t a rush but the passion swelled undeterred by the change.

alhaitham’s grunts in surprise when you meet his upward thrust, hips grinding against the head. motivated, you did it again, and again. and again. until his hands clasped down at your waist.

“i agree the sex is good. but even after the orgasm fades away, i find myself still curious about you.” the rhythm remained unhurried, but it got deeper with increased precision. you gave up on the fight to stay upright, slumping contently against his chest to enjoy the ride as pleasure builds at the base of your spine. eyes pinching at the sensation until it overtook you, the orgasm washing through you fluidly.

“i want to learn more, if you’ll let me.”

whimpering pitifully, your body flowed with the waves as he continued his onslaught in search of completion. a hand grasped at your hip, rooting you as his own circled, cock still buried deep in your hot channel. just when overstimulation threatened, he let out a long groan, body stiffening before collapsing beneath you.

fortunately, his head caught the rim, nestling him there to keep him from slipping further into the lukewarm water. “hm, sweetness,” the nickname was doused with lethargic thoughts and tinged with praise, and it warmed you from within. his hand found your chin, turning it to him to receive his lips. “but let’s agree that we have a bit more chemistry to address before we can think of anything other than sex.”

opening your eyes seemed like too much work, but your mind was inquisitive if not a touch mischievous.

“or we can handle that now if you want? i can always shower again after.” it was a bluff, you could barely find strength in your thighs to squeeze, let alone stand.

the water muffles the firm slap against your bum but the intention was there.

“that’s enough out of you.”

“just to set the record straight. are you cooking for me because i'm your soulmate or just to prove that this isn't special treatment by being your soulmate?” it was both a jest and the most you’d spoken in confirmation of the decided fact detailing your fate.

alhaitham’s voice was dry, though he chose not to turn to face you. “i’m thinking about poisoning said food. how does that factor into your theories?”

unable to resist, you laugh. if the way the muscles of his shoulders lax at the sound, it was safe to assume he discovered the hidden humour as well.

after the bath, the two of you had lounged atop the comforter for nearly half an hour while your bodies dried. most of it was spent recuperating, the other part chatting over meaningless details of your life. you were just delving into the histories of the scarlet king when your stomach intervened.

you would have been satisfied with takeout, but unsurprisingly alhaitham was picky about his tastes. he moved first, rolling out of bed to pick out a pair of sweats before tossing you a second pair and one of his shirts.

he now stood comfortably sauteing vegetables shirtless. you should be concerned about the popping oil so close to his exposed skin, but if he didn't have any complaints you weren't going to dissuade the view.

it served as a perfect conversation starter anyway.

“do you work out?”

“what makes you ask?” he asked blandly.

your gaze roved over the sewny muscle and healthy girth wrapped around his biceps. if he was part of the matra, you could probably find some reason. but he was the head of the mahatma and that left you with loose ends.

but of course, the bastard wanted you to admit the real reason for your curiosity.

you waved dismissively at his body even though he couldn't see the gesture,’' you’re mildly fit,” you offered, trying to sound disinterested by it all.

but alhaitham was wiser, if the smirk on his lips was anything to go by as he twisted his head to regard you. “there is a gym downstairs. i sometimes drop in when the stress gets too high.”

he must be a high risk stressor if the way his muscle jumped even at the slightest flex was anything to go by.

“i … suppose that’s a healthy outlet.”

“granted, things are different now.” he didn't give you the time to speculate. “i have you to help.”

but he didn't stop there, moving the pan away from the fire before approaching. the very arms you admired bracketed your hips as he leaned over you.

“i can pretend you’re another roommate. get you in for free.”

then the bastard wiggles his brows, proving that he knew where your line of thought was going.

rolling your eyes you pressed your palm against his chest, but he didn't budge.

“is that the only perk you can expect for sleeping with the grand scribe?”

alhaitham watched you quietly before dropping his head to steal a kiss. he nibbles at your still sore, puffy lips, one, twice and pulls away. “among other things.”

shaking your head, you retaliate by kicking out to firmly smack his retreating ass with your foot.

“care to explain?”

“stay the night and i might.”

it’s not often a sharp cry from your own mouth is what shatters the haze of sleep as you rouse. it’s disorienting at first, because you can’t recall any bad dream to shock you out of the realm of slumber.

awareness comes to lip a foamy sea, each sense lapping at your nerves lazily. the first wave is the brush of sheets against your shoulder, followed by the warm glow of the sun blanketing your eyelids, the fine hairs littering your body standing at attention in call of the sound of the soft gasps bubbling past your lips.

the final wave crashes through your disorientation as you inhale sharply, eyes bareilly recognizing alhaitham’s head below your navel. there is a low rumbling snicker in his hum as he acknowledges your wakefulness. a chiding tsk comes at its heel when your hip bones press into his palms. he’s nice about the first warning, pressing you back down firmly, propped on his elbows with his face between your legs.

your voice is trapped somewhere between a whine and a whimper, voicebox crackled with sleep as you try to sound out his name.

“for a moment, i thought i might be out of practice.”

it’s a jest of course, because he was the last person who would ever be out of rhythm when it came to strumming the tune of your arousal. the humming vibrations pluck more chords, shooting the pleasure through your clit and up your spine. it was long decided that the man was a menace, but this just proved there was no point and time safe from him.

it was certainly a lifetime to look forward to.

his tact is equally messy and refined, yet still a league above sloppy as he took your clit into his mouth, teeth grazing the sensitive tip. he lets out a grunt when you dig half-moon crescents into the meat of his shoulder, a promising accompaniment to the red lines still streaking his back.

a familiar sensation coiled at your navel and curled your toes. alhaitham reacts to the song of his name, pushing your hips up further so he could thrust his tongue inside you.

alhaitham expressed gentleness as he pressed a lingering kiss to your hip before kissing his way up the path to your chest until he reached your nape. you quiver at the ticklish touch, breath spilling from your lips. when alhaitham laughs, low and quiet, you can taste his self-satisfaction.

he returns to the top of the bed, curling you into his body heat before you could protest. he’s getting too good at reading you, already prepared when your mouth opens wide in a yawn. his hand slides into the weight of your hair, coaxing you steady onto the road you were already headed down.

your brain is too foggy to come up with anything more than indistinct mumbles against his skin, voice muffled by the promise of sleep to form audible clarity. alhaitham continues to stroke your hair until your breathing shifts and you begin to store softley.

you come to several hours later, plastered comfortably to the fine threaded comforter and the man who paid for it. part of you was still trying to drift back down to wakefulness unassisted. without the familiarity of your home, there was no confident recollection of where your phone could be.

from what you could tell, the sun had fully spilled into the bedroom, eating away at the shadows and teasing the fraying edges of morning. the scrunch of your nose and twist of your head is what alerts alhaitham as his hand comes down to card through your hair.

“ ‘seems i wasn’t the only one who had my fill at breakfast. tuckered you out, hm?”

you're quiet for a moment longer, trying to blink the sleepiness from your eyes. you blame the languid lax of your body on your slow comebacks as not even a sound of defiance comes to your aid. even the thought of it is whisked away by the press of a kiss to the curve of your jaw.

grinning, you shift onto your elbows to stare up at him.

“must be nearing lunch then because i’m starting to get hungry again.”

alhaitham’s brow raises in question and you feel the spark rear its head again.

“for food, ‘haitham.”

“food is trapped by it’s scope of nutritious value which can come in many forms.”

“i want steak.”

“spoiled already.”

“you haven’t complained yet,” you groused as you shifted around and sat up. a squeak leaves you as you stretch your arms above your head. softer you ask,” is that a problem?”

the two of you had circled the discussion of expectations last night but there was still much to be addressed. you weren’t seeking out a happy ever after, but you weren’t going to deny the sweet promise of the orgasms he could provide with a simple flick of his tongue.

gnawing on your bottom lip, you observed alhaitham as he reclined lazily on the bed with his arms bent behind his head. you hardly knew him for seventy-two hours and you were already thinking more about him than you did kaveh. it was both frightening and thrilling.

your fingers twisted uneasily in the upturned edge of the blanket,”when we first met you said..”

“—when we first met i had been trying to hide away in the port away from the akademiya and yet found another pretty little student under my nose. and a petulant one at that.”

you open your mouth to speak but he continues.

“then we proceeded to have the best sex of our lives and had but a few moments to come to terms with it. i stand by what i said then, i wasn’t planning to prepare a proposal. i did not have any expectations for you then and nor do i now.”

you chew at your lip as he speaks, a tumble of trepidation bursting at the seam. he was speaking honestly; words truier than your own conciousness. though it felt jarring to your current reality as you soaked in the same bath, skin plastered against one another.

it was funny how easy it was to feed into sanity of actuality. for a moment, you would have traded the future for the present of this moment.

but alhaitham continued on, drawing you back down from the billowing steam blowing smoke in the mirrors of your mind

“expectation breed misconstrued limitations. we’re led to believe all our lives that soulmates are the ends of all. but it should still be a choice. you are more than just an orgasm. though i will admit that you are a rather exquisite one.” alhaitham tsks softly as his thumb wipes away a stray tear.

“so we won’t build—something—off what we accomplish between the sheets. if you want to explore more then we will do so out of bed.”

it wasn’t a promise but an extended offer. he was willing to see what could come of this, if you wanted it too.

alhaitham eventually gets you out of his bed for the third time since you entered his apartment. he tells you he wants to take you out in the port, wanting to show you more of what ormos had to offer. and you weren't planning on denying him but the question of clothing had outlived its excuses.

staying inside had abandoned the use of undergarments but you weren't as daring in public. you met in the middle by borrowing another set of his clothes to see you to your own flat, with the intention of packing an overnight bag to see you through the rest of the weekend.

it would be another day of no expectations, just wandering curiosity.

you had just stuffed the last of your laundry into one of his spare tote bags when you finally entered the main area to find him waiting by the front door. alhaitham settled for casual again, clothed comfortably in a loose shirt and pants. his face a vision of calculated boredom as he twirled a jingling set of keys around his ring finger.

it would have been a passable notion, had a particular ornament not caught your attention as it swung freely. you recognized the minature furry beast as the mascot of the kshahrewar school. but that wasn't all that plagued familiarity.

with a hand at your side, alhaitham escorted you through the entrance before turning to lock the door. it wasn't until he stuffed it into his pocket that your curiosity broke through the surface.

"close with the kshahrewar?"

the man hummed, more of an acknowledgement than a question though you took it as permission to continue.

"the keychain. it has a lion."

alhaitham glanced down at his pocket as an afterthought,"oh. its my roommate. he leaves his keys around. it happened to be the closest so i took it."

you had a feeling there was more to that, but you also recognized that they were all adults.

still ... there was something about it.

"are you going to wait here to return it to him or are you coming?"

rolling your eyes, you shed the trickling interest as you quickened your step to enter the elevator.

alhaitham played the part of a patient chaperone until you arrived in sumeru city. he assured you there, however, that he had more than enough to keep himself occupied while you freshened up at home.

with the confidence that he would stay out of sight while you gathered your things, you prepared to give the man who had both made you food and made you laugh in equal measures the chance you’d given anyone else interested to get to know you.

you always knew port ormos had a lower density of students. partially because of the fare it took to make it here, leaving only ambitious researchers to tally the costs. you only bothered for a quiet drink, but alhaitham convinced you that there was even more to offer.

lunch consisted of cheap sandwiches and walks along the harbour. together you filled each other in on snippets of your lives, alhaitham clearing up quite a bit about the rumours surrounding his name.

“i still can’t believe they considered you for a sage role. no offence.”

alhaitham threw you an insincere glare and took another mouthful. he chewed over his thoughts then spoke, “it was a rash decision on all parts to fill the sudden vacuum.”

right … the ethics scandal that had unseated four sages during your second year. there was still plenty of speculation about the root of the problem, but the institution as a whole seemed to sweep the mess under the rug. it felt like it had been over in a blink of an eye, though the schools who had lost their seat had been in a bit of a scrabble at first.

alhaitham had to have just recently graduated at the time. you jest, but it was a high seal of accomplishment to even be recommended, least alone actually chosen.

you made a vague gesture with your food,” and the almighty alhaitham felt himself too far above the lowly displies.”

he scrutinises you with a squint,”you’re sounding oddly alike to my roommate.”

alhaitham had only mentioned the mysterious man twice, but you gauged that the relationship wasn’t rainbows and butterflies. though as much was expected from two grown men sharing a living space.

“but no, i just don’t enjoy delegating.”

you snort, recalling just how much the man enjoyed giving you instructions over the last few days.

to this, he grinned.

rolling your eyes, you stepped into his path to nudge him with your shoulder, only to have him return the sentiment and remain in your space. the two of you walked comfortably together, bodies brushing without friction.

“i suppose in a way it saved us grief. you truly would have been insufferable.”

“you graduate this year, right?”

“yep, as soon as i finish this thesis.”

he hums noncommittally. while you had dumped your ideals on him, you had refrain from discussing its interwovenness in your research. while his opinion would no doubt be insightful, you felt it was something that needed to rely on your resolution alone.

“well, i doubt your sage plans to retire anytime soon. so what are your goals after?”

you can’t help but laugh at the notion. there had been times that you’d come close to making her wish she had.

still the future, the part outside of the obvious, wasn’t something you’d planned for much. there were promising fields growing in time-sensitive commodities. you had thoroughly enjoyed partnering with the amurta students to design efficiency products to help preserve the future by learning from the past.

it was something you didn't mind sharing. alhaitham was patient while you delved into different projects you had accumulated over the years, mentioning your favourites and less desired. when you finished, he was quiet, face contemplative before eventually speaking.

“i have an …. acquaintance who graduated from the amurta. he specialises in rainforest preservation, but he might have better insight.”

you smile, a little touched that he’d offer.

“yeah sure. you can give me his contact and i’ll reach out.”

“tighnari has a habit of not responding to emails. likes to use the excuse of poor reception.”

your brain short circuits.

alhaitham was a notorious name, but you needed additional evidence in order to weed him out from the rest.

but tighnari.

you didn't have to have a particular interest in biology to have known about him.

alhaitham’s gaze flickers to your face briefly at your silence, expression comically dubious with unshrouded judgement.

“are you …blushing?” he groans low and notably exhausted. “please don’t tell me you’re one of those fans.”

the way he says it is with such thinly veiled disgust that you can't help but be offended.

pursing your lips, you press your finger against his chest, “he’s a new-age genius, haitham. it’s hard not to admire that.”

and so what if you had sat in on a few interest seminars before regulations were put in place to limit the seats to amurta only students. the man was a legend.

“he’s a nerd.”

“were all nerds.”

he rolls his eyes but does not dispute that. when he resumes his step, you file in behind.

you keep pace quietly,

then can’t help but mutter.

“you’re still going to introduce me, right?”

alhaitham makes a show of lengthening his steps and you can't help but laugh.

he keeps you involved from early afternoon until the light begins to darken on the horizon. the conversation flowed from studies to hobbies, infiltrating the critics of literature and tackling the fears of heights. it was a comfortable exchange with mounting intrigue and curiosity until the interruption your stomachs fractured the small dome you’d both built under reality.

it was you who came up with a place for dinner, eager to share a bit more of yourself in the language of food. hole-in-the-wall restaurants always had a mixed bag of customers, but you were confident enough that the two of you would manage a fair amount of privacy.

having no reason to decline, alhaitham neatly shuffled into the booth across from you, attention drawn to the small carvings etched into the wooden panels of the walls. the doodles varied in levels of imagination, but the central theme mirrored the depiction of the local legend of the aranara.

the restaurant itself, the vintage lyre, prided itself on hosting a cosy atmosphere that welcomed and cultivated musical talents. the music tonight was a smooth lullaby hanging off the notes of a moon-veiled night.

“i’ve been here before,” alhaitham eventually supplied. the pinch of his brow gave the impression that it had not been for awhile.

the dim lighting took some getting used to, but you came to appreciate the effort it took for others to peer at neighbouring tables. the ambiance was meant to encourage auditory senses oversight, coupled with the light green afternoon to mimic a forest.

it was quaint and worth the trip when you could spare the time to get out of the city.

speaking of—”what made you leave sumeru city? the commute isn’t terrible but wouldn’t working for the akademiya make it more convenient to stay close.”

alhaitham kept his gaze on the menu as he spoke,”what i do can be completed remotely when needed. i still do a fair amount of research and prefer the distance.”

your brow arched quizzically,” seems a bit hard to ‘scribe’ if youre too far away to hear.’’

“what exactly do you think my job entails?”

shrugging, you slide your own menu aside, confident in your order. “i dunno … transcribing meetings? overseeing the flow of information.”

alhaitham threw you a dry look,” i’m honoured you think so highly of me. i’m afraid the job isn't as luxurious as you think. i’m not required to be present at most meetings, nor is my input taken into account.” he continued with a short laugh,” my interests are more rooted in my research. the job is merely a title of convenience.”

you were still learning about the man, but there had to be more filling in the gaps he left open.

“so why not solely put your time and resources into just research. you wouldn't ever need to go to sumeru city if you didn't want to.”

“because my job gives me access to those resources.”

looking up, he sighs quietly at the perplexion on your face before sitting back and crossing his arms over his chest.

“by controlling the flow of information, i'm also aware of it. i am given access in order to manage and archive it. i provide my time and make the most of it while i’m there.”

a quiet ‘huh’ escapes your lips, both impressed by the simple genius and his willingness to share such a thing. truly, it was an ideal position for someone seeking knowledge. most people would soak in the shallow prestige of the role but alhaitham dug into the soil for the true treasure.

you withhold your follow up question at the arrival of the waiter. alhaitham gestures for you to go first before placing his own order. when they leave he nods, encouraging the inquiry.

“so you have no interest in going for a sage role?”

“not the slightest,” he stated, exhaling slowly. “they pay me enough to mind my own. i’m content with the relationship we have.”

you thank the waiter when the return with the drinks.

“at least you aren’t scared of commitment.”

alhaitham doesn't laugh but his eyes shine with mirth. “when there is a benefit, yes, i’m willing to go all in.” he then sipped his drink, pursing his lips before giving the contents a swirl with the straw and trying again. “at the moment our goals align and that’s enough for me.”

“because you’re just a feeble scholar,” you echo, surprising yourself by recalling his words from that night.

“feeble and handsome,” he intoned mildly.

the question itches at your throat. one certain to spiderweb the delicate glass you had both enjoyed yourself under, but the point of this weekend was to test it after all.

“and how does a soulmate fit into your other goals?”

alhaitham sat back in his seat,”you would fit where you feel comfortable,” he replies, not bothering to ghost your title. for a moment he was quiet, head cocked to the side as he regarded you. though you couldn't see the intricate detail in his eyes, you imagine he’s settling into that calculating role. the one that ran circles in under a second, running through algorithms and scenarios before coming to a conclusion.

“ i don't plan my life around soulmates.”

though it likely wasn't intended, the slight felt directed at you. in response, your nose flared slightly, a treacherous lump manifesting in your throat. “ i don’t plan anything around soulmates either. i live my life and expect whomever i'm with to do the same.”

“so why do you assume everyone else doesn't have the same inclination?”

“i don't speak for anyone else, “ you defended tersely.

“no, but you have a way of trying to construct your walls around your ideology. it makes it rather hard to feel welcomed.”

“i’m not trying to offer any promises,” you utter crisply. you're slowly regretting leading back into the conversation, trying to force your bitterness away. it would be so much easier if this man just was not your soulmate. the implication of him being your fated match continued to flare up your natural response to deflect despite your interest.

alhaitham regarded you quietly before asking,” what do you wish for in return?”

the question gave you pause. you vehemently protested what you did not want. not the fabricated life predestined the day you were born or the perfect cookie cutter life at home. you’d spent so long filling detailing one side of the list without giving much thought to the other.

what did you want?

your gaze lingered distractedly on the slow condensation rolling down the side of your up. the path was determined, always downward, but often one droplet would be pulled in one direction or the other. it was a fixed destination, but the abrupt coming together and leaking apart left you wading in the sea of possibilities.

“i want to graduate,” you began, thoughts already drifting to the fresh excitement of meeting tighnari and cultivating your minor research into preservation.

“i’d like to travel … maybe to liyue.” you’d learned about the lantern festivals while in your early years from an exchange student who had made loose plans to meet up if you ever went.

“and i want a pet.” maybe a dog or perhaps a cat. your landlord hated anything that wasn't human.

when you looked up, alhaitham was watching you patiently. eyes blank but open. when you didn't speak further, he took up the mantle.

“well, i would like to discover new knowledge. crack open a new dataset and challenge what we have noted.” his dull nails tapped against the table,” thanks for asking by the way.”

unable to resist, you crack a smile. slowly he returns it.

“i’d also like to travel but towards the desert. the akademiya overlooks the value there but i think more is hidden under the sand.” he stops, thoughtful. “not sure about pets, never asked for them growing up. but tighnari would often stress out our resident advisor with his terrariums. it was an irrational fear. tighnari would never let something grow out of his control.”

they were all loose whims with no timeline or point of direction. eventually, you’d both grow old and reflect on your choices, but for now the variables were flexible. what you made of them.

but alhaitham wasn’t finished.

warmth bloomed in your belly as his hand reached out, fingertips brushing against the back of your hand until you turned it over and offered your palm. from there he slid through the gaps, taking your hand in his.

“but right now, i’d like to date you. spend more days like this and see what comes of it.”

whatever it may be with no expectations or obligations.

untethered desire and curiosity.

“i mean i’d also like to take you to bed again later but i thought you’d appreciate a more vague response.”

a huff of a laugh blew past your lips before you could stop it. there was no denying the alhaitham had a bizarre effect on you. he was blunt and clung to the density of rationale to keep him rooted. it was so ordinary human, a trait you would find in anyone. yet with him, you couldn't explain why it made your head feel dizzy and breath hard to catch.

as true as it was the night you met, you were attracted to alhaitham. he was as fit as he was intelligent. factors that you had not been actively seeking, but if you had, he would have been an interesting swipe.

as it went, he was here before you now, propositioning you in away that made you feel equally safe and wanted.

your food hasn't arrived yet, but you felt like you could enjoy more of opportunities like this, tucked away from society.

“how do you feel about carawan ribat?”

alhaitham’s grip flexed in tandem with is pinched brow, but he pushed through the hesitation,”it’s hot but street food is good.”

“that’s good to know, i’ve never been. i suppose i’ll have to leave the planning to you then.’

alhaitham’s slow grin sent your gut aflutter with treacherous little butterflies. you were grateful for the table separating you both, hardly confidently in your own ability to keep your hands to yourself. the shadows of the restaurant were convenient but too much action would bring attention.

he was daring, however, bringing your joined hands to his mouth for a brief kiss. your skin bloomed with heat at the touch, lip bitten at the slow drag of his lips before he set them down. his thumb circled the spot of the kiss, massaging the imprint into your skin.

“it would be best to go after your dissertation. we can spend a week out there if you’d like.”

you would like that very much, eager to explore what was between you.

but for now, a mischievous grin pulls at your lips as you return a similar gesture with your own thumb.

“ —but.”

alhaitham groans, already familiar enough to be sceptical of the saccharine words dripping from your tongue.

a smart man indeed.

“only if you keep your promise to introduce me to tighnari.”

he arched an eyebrow again but his snarkiness was absent as he countered your offer with another; unbearably smug to boot.

” what if i put cyno on the table?”

you blanche. cyno was another name that needed no clarification. it made sense that is alhaitam had been part of tighnari’s class, he would have also been in the same one as the general mahamantra.

weakly you shake your head, prepared to give up that whole generation. one look at your face and alhaitham threw his head back.

his answering laugh resonates deeper than anything you’d ever felt.

late into the night, the two of you had lay awake, soaking in the warm even breaths fanning across one another’s skin. if there was one trait you had come to appreciate about alhaitham, was his ability to hold conversation. whether it was a challenge or a discussion, he had an art of feeding into dialogue in a way that prompted you to respond.

in the privacy of his room, he whispered promises. so many detailed explanations of what he was doing and would do to you. it was a product of desire and even greater inspiration, indirectly prodding you.

the next morning, you decide to return the favour.

alhaitham rises early, but you’d fallen asleep with a plan and woke with a purpose.

“haven’t you ever wanted to sit back? let someone else do the talking for you?”

his answering hum is low, already too familiar, but ends with an undertone of questioning. it was the second time waking together, pressed against each other’s body heat and soaking it in.

alhaitham’s breath remains even despite the slow running of your hands stroking the length of his thighs, settled comfortably between them. your fingers trace invisible lines, though you imagine them as threads tethering your souls together. it’s the only way it can be explained how a simple touch makes yours tremble.

“if i left it to others, nothing would get sone.” there is humour in his voice, hidden amongst the valley of curiosity. he’s never witnessed you like this. focused solely on him but in a leading role. he is deftly stripped of his sleeping clothing, yours falling cohesively behind. understanding is more prevalent now and he goes to slide touch up your sides, but you stop him.

“just let me do this for you.”

practiced control can only assist for so long before he begins to feel his muscles jump as your caress smooths over his abdomen. he wants to look, the need to grapple for the reins, yet he can’t resist the urge to sag under your petting. lips brush over his chest, riding the soft thudding beneath his sternum. and your hands, always moving, never stopping; arching over his broad shoulders, following the curve of his hip, tickling the dip of his collarbone.

“sweetness-…” you quietly tell him to hush, but there is no need. the gentle glide of teeth against the skin of his throat already bowing him before the altar of submission. alhaitham’s breath catches, swallowing thickly under the soft kiss they press there. a velvety groan keens highly, and your sinful delicious lips twist into a playful smile as you pull him under.

nearly half an hour later, alhaitham is the one rendered boneless as you grin with glee at his state. he makes a grumbling protest, pawing at your smugness. his efforts double when you evade him efficiently, going as far to roll to your feet as you scoop up a stray shirt with your heel and pull it over your head.

it was nice to not be the one left listless for once as you calm alhaitham’s attempts to coax you closer with the promise of a quick return and caffeine. he lets you go with a huff, your laughter coating the halls as you shuffle towards the kitchen.

the morning sun was just beginning to filter through the shadow space between the window blinds, giving the stretch of the common space a dim glow. there were still plenty of shadows hiding while the could, still clinging to the coolness left from night.

they were all familiar to you after a weekend.

except for the huddled one already taking your place by the coffee machine.

the shriek escapes your lips at the same time the figure turns, but it was too late to realise the stranger wasn’t one at all. the familiar tangle of golden hair and stupefied expression.

“kaveh…?”

the facts stack loudly as they click into the place, the absolute fabled fantasy turned reality of your life finally coming in full circle. because of course your soulmate was the infamous incorrigible housemate of your ex-bedmate. to think that kaveh’s insistence on sparing you the cold front by staying at your place was the whole reason you’d never met.

you wanted the laugh at the audacity fate had in playwriting your fate.

kaveh was just beginning to mouth the start of your name when the kitchen light sprang on and you both froze, startled by the additional overhanging stark glow.

alhaitham stood in the doorway, sweatpants hung low on his lips and fist curled in preparation for a fight. his gaze swept over the pair of you, and the implication that he’d rushed so quickly at the sound of your fright twisted something in you that you weren't sure how to comprehend.

eventually, his fist uncurled when he found no threat in your vicinity. it was kaveh who bounced back first, eyes widening when he tried to take it all in at once. “wait … you two? how did you even meet…?” realisation colored his face. “no….”

you can see the indecisiveness in those vermillion eyes, face calculated as he juggles the visible evidence with his own disbelief. apparently knowing parts of the party went a long way with assisting critical thinking.

and still he wanted to be absolutely sure before accepting the reality unfolding in front of him.

you watch as his gaze roves over the wrinkled- very much not your button up. unable to be patient, your lips part to help him out but he holds up a hand instead, clearly trying to process his thoughts.

you barely flinch as alhaithamn’s chest warmed your back. he reached around for his coffee, returned to his otherwise unbothered state despite his half dressed appearance.

kaveh catalogues this all with barely restrained cynicism.

“as untoward it would be for me to judge you for jumping into another bed after only a week—my roommate nonetheless—”

“you hopped first,” you supplied dryly, already not enjoying the direction. pointing out that you didn’t know they were roommates would hardly work in your graces.

“—ah ah! this is my emotional turmoil not yours.”

you roll your eyes but gesture for him to continue.

he makes a show of it too, shedding his wide eyed disbelief for a painted sneer at alhaitham.

“and you, ruffian. couldn’t wait to get rid of me for your nefarious acts. what happened to the no overnight guest rule?”

“that was rule for you. this is my house. i do what i want,” alhaitham drawls smoothly.

you can’t help but snort earning you a much deserved glare.

“right, so i’m supposed to just believe you two had such a wonderful time that you not only stayed the night but exchanged clothes?”

“....kaveh”

“—uh-uh still not done. and my roommate of all people. to think i got you used to such class just for you to fall into the grasp of barbarism.”

alright, you were getting equally tired of the dramatics and the interruptions.

his gaze returns to your attire then over to alhaitham’s no doubt bored face.

all the shades of kaveh and alhaitham’s dynamic begin to blend for you, giving you a rather vivid perspective of them both. kaveh had always referred to his roommate in thinly veiled expletives, giving the impression of a crude arrangement.

but from the lack of tension emitting from alhaitham, it was apparent that their ties ran deep enough to foster something tangible to keep them rooted together despite the odds.

“you heathens are soul mates, aren’t you? naturally fate would hand me that plate.”

knowing you both to some degree, it shouldn’t be a surprise that kaveh was able to come to the conclusion.

you’re just dumbstruck how he made it his problem

his blonde fringe whisps across his face as he leaning closer, “i know how you are about soulmates. he must have locked you in this tower. blink once for ‘yes’ and twice for ‘save me’.”

you let out a low, taut exhale. “kaveh, seriously?”

he leans away, mirroring your folded arms. “to think if i hadn’t discovered my own, this could have been a very different morning.”

his declaration gives you a pause. that was true. while you weren’t establishing anything permanent with kaveh, the convenience had started to grow on you. there was a real possibility that this could have been a very different morning.

a realisation that alhaitham was taking oddly well. curious you crane your head up to gauge his stance on the matter, but all you received was a spare raised brow as he tilted his cup back to his lips.

“which leads to one unfortunate conclusion. now i measure your fears, this really is the worst thing that could happen to me.”

alhaitham intercepts wryly, “i can guarantee you that what she just experienced was the very opposite.’’

you saw distaste colour kaveh’s features before they once more resumed an air of vexation as his attention darted to the silent party.

“archons, you're going to be insufferable about this aren't you. and you're just going to let him?”

you could have shrugged, had the weight of alhaitham’s arms come to curl around your shoulder.

“at least you’ll have to believe them when she says i’m better in bed. not that it was ever a debate.”

“so … this is your final theory.”

taking a deep breath, you nod, too nervous to speak.

it had taken you three more weeks of deliberation and near meditation to settle your wide ranging thoughts into a cohesive conclusion. along the way, you discovered more about yourself and eventually loosened the reins holding on to your future.

the funny thing about taking your gaze off the future for a bit, allowed you to appreciate all the finer details of the present. along the way, your thesis became less about changing the perspective of others and more about discovering your own.

your mentor gleans your paper once more. they spent the better part of an hour reading through your final report, offering her last thoughts before you sent it in.

“i think this is the most complete your thoughts have been.”

the breath that leaves you sags the tension resting in your shoulders. for the first time since entering the office, you manage a small smile. the expression draws a similar one from your sage as they regards you evenly.

“i never worried about your direction, archon knows the world tilts better when the axis is challenged. but i worried more about you. i felt that it was important that you took this in the correct stride if you were determined to make it your belief.”

they gives you a speculative look.

“something changed but i’ll accept it simply as it is for the better. if you’re sure that this is your final stance on the matter, than i’ll give it my approval.”

you think about your parents and their desire to make the most of what they had, continuing to reap the benefits of the future.

the reality of it all wasn’t quite as easy or as romantic as you’d imagined as a child. you were sure your parents overcame many hardships to establish what they held now.

what you and alhaitham had would never be like your parents. it could be better or maybe worse.

what you did know, was that it was a choice. one you made and always dreamed of having.

and that alone made it worth it all and half.

#alhaitham x reader #alhaitham imagines #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact imagine #genshin impact fanfics #alhaitham genshin

346 notes · View notes