𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮

SHOWTIME! | haitani r.

haitani rindou x fem!reader ft. haitani ran, sanzu haruchiyo, kokonoi hajime, kakucho, akashi takeomi, sano manjiro

summary: you pushed your boyfriend just a bit too far while he was trying to stream a game with his friends

warnings: fem!reader, college au, mean dom!rindou, exhibitionism (can hear, not see), oral (f->m), rough sex, unprotected sex, brief manhandling, humiliation, slight impact play, implied masturbation (m), pet names (princess, pretty girl)

wordcount: 4.2k

notes: for @spookygeto's streamer collab

It’d been hours, you were sure of it, and you couldn’t bear it any longer. He swore--he swore--that he wouldn’t be on long, that he would actually spend time with you and you knew you shouldn’t have believed him. It was never just one match when Rindou got on with his stupid fucking friends but every time you naively held out hope.

Sighing from where you were leaning against the doorframe, you watched Rindou’s fingers fly across his keyboard, his gaze trained on the computer and headphones blocking out any sound other than the game and his friends.

Your eyes flickered over to the computer, noting the fact that he was streaming but his camera was turned off, as per usual. Sometimes, it amazed you how many fangirls your boyfriend had for being a streamer that never showed his face online but you supposed it was understandable, Rindou had an attractive voice, you would be the first to admit that.

You wandered over to his desk quietly, his eyes flickered up to the mirror he had above his computer, meeting yours briefly. He raised his eyebrows, questioning you, you pouted as you drew closer--pouting harder when he turned his attention back toward the game.

Kneeling next to him, you pressed your cheek against his thigh and looked up at him, “You’re so pretty, Rin,” you said softly as to not have your voice picked up by his mic, eyes trained on his pretty purple ones, watching the reflection of his game in his irises, watching the way his pretty purple and black hair strayed in his face.

Rindou looked down at you briefly, a small smile tugging at his lips for a moment before you heard Sanzu Haruchiyo shriek something through his headphones and he tore his gaze off of you and back toward the computer.

You pouted as he redirected his attention back toward the game, laughing at whatever was going on. Sighing you rested your head back down against his leg, cheek smushed against his thigh as you looked up at him through your lashes, hating the way he didn’t even spare you a second look.

You should just go, you told yourself, an unwelcome feeling stirring in your chest at the genuine smile spread across Rindou’s face as he talked with his friends.

He promised you time, another voice argued, take your promised time if he won’t give it to you freely.

Your eyes drifted to Rindou’s sweatpants, eyes focusing in on the outline of cock through the gray material, gaze shooting back up to where his eyes were following the movements on the screen rapidly, not sparing you any attention.

While his concentration was entirely on the game, you shifted under the desk and between his legs, movements going unnoticed. You tapped his thigh, watching as Rindou’s brow furrowed in confusion as he absently lifted his hips off of the chair, tongue darting out as his fingers tapped furiously at his keyboard.

Dumbass, you thought to yourself, albeit fondly, as you slipped his sweats down to his thighs. Rindou hadn’t even realized what you had done until you freed his cock from his boxers and he inhaled at the feeling of the cool air against it.

His gaze tore from the game and darted down to where you were kneeling in between his legs, fingers ghosting the length of his cock. His eyes were dark with warning as he watched you, hissing as your hand wrapped firmly around his cock, pumping it twice before you brushed your thumb over the precum beading at his slit.

You watched him scramble to turn the microphone off on his headsets. “Keep your mic on,” you complained quietly, “or are you afraid you’re gonna be loud.”

“Not right now,” he muttered and you could see the veins of his forearms bulging as his entire body tensed as you leaned in to lick at the precum leaking down his tip. Voice strangled, he said, “We finally dragged fuckin’ Mikey away from that other group he plays with, we gotta focus on this match.”

“Then focus,” you told him quietly, leaning up to lick a stripe up the length of his cock, watching him let out a heavy breath as he tilted his head back, that stupid matching tattoo he got with his group of friends on broad display.

“OI! RINDOU, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING? STOP FUCKING AROUND!” you heard one of his friends, Kokonoi Hajime, you recognized, shouting through his headsets and Rindou let out a low groan, shooting you a lidded glare before he turned his microphone back on, focusing back on the game albeit with shakier hands.

“Fuck off, Koko,” Rindou said roughly, “My girl came in, had to talk to her real quick.”

“Y/n’s there? Tell her I said hi,” Ran said immediately, his other friends echoing the sentiment. Rindou only glared down at you, you smiled from where you were leaning your cheek on his inner thigh, lazily pumping his cock.

Rindou took in a sharp breath as he set his gaze back on his computer screen and you leaned up on your knees, resting your elbows on his thighs as you took his tip into your mouth, sucking lightly and swirling your tongue around it. Rindou’s fingers faltered from where they were flying across his keyboard.

“Rindou, what the fuck?! How did you miss that?” you heard Sanzu shout and Rindou told him to go fuck himself. You smiled when you noticed one of his legs trembling. You pulled off of his tip with a soft pop, running your hands up his thighs and under his sweatshirt, nails tracing patterns on his abdomen. You watched as the muscle tensed under your touch, his body hunching in slightly and a grimace crossing his face as he shot you another irritated look.

You looked up at him, eyes wide. Tell me to stop and I will, you said silently. Understanding what you were getting across, Rindou only sneered at you, going back to his game.

You smiled.

One hand still lightly scratching the contours of the abdomen, your other drifted back to his upper thigh, bracing itself there as you leaned in to capture Rindou’s cock between your lips. Rindou hissed at the suddenness of the action. Shifting up more on your knees and forcing your throat to relax, you bobbed your head on his cock, inhaling deep through your nose as your lips brushed the base of his cock, desperately trying to stop yourself from gagging and making noise.

Rindou choked on his breath, coughing violently, and his cock twitched sharply in your mouth--tears stinging at your eyes as it stretched out your throat. Your nails dug into the skin of his thigh as you pulled halfway off his cock, tongue tracing up the vein on the underside of his cock, sucking hard at his tip cringing lightly at the salty taste of his precum before pulling off again and looking up at him.

You could hear a mesh of voices shouting at Rindou from his headphones but Rindou had his eyes squeezed shut and one hand clasped around his mouth, head tilted down. Haitani Rindou was good at a lot of things but controlling his reactions was not one of them. Haitani Rindou was loud and responsive in bed, and it was something that you appreciated a lot and he despised because no matter how hard he tried to shut himself up he couldn’t.

The glare he shot you was nothing short of lethal when he finally reopened his eyes and dropped his hand from his mouth, lavender eyes dark and hooded, lips pressed together tight and twisted down.

You smiled at him again, his glare darkened.

Leaning in, you placed wet kisses along the length of his cock, feeling his abdomen spasm underneath your hands at the action. Just as you were about to take his cock back into your mouth, one of his hands curled around your hair, dragging you up.

Your eyes widened in shock, watching as he leaned forward to press a few buttons on his keyboard, ending the stream and closing out of the game. You heard his friends screaming at him from his headphones, Sanzu being the loudest but Rindou only spit a few curses at them as he dragged you rather harshly over to his bed.

“Rindou,” you said, wincing at the painful grip on your hair but he only flattened his other palm against your back and shoved you face-first down onto his bed. Before you could try to push yourself onto your knees, Rindou was straddling your back, pulling your head up and forcing something over your ears.

“Rindou, what the fuck is going on?” you heard Sanzu spit directly in your ears.

“Dude, why did you disconnect? We’re getting fucked,” Kakucho asked.

“Come on, man, are you shitting us right now? We just fucking lost, you know how long it took us to get Mikey to play?” Kokonoi complained.

Rindou leaned in close to the microphone, chest flush against your back and cock pressed against your ass, “My girl wanted to play a different game, you should be thanking me for the front row seat, assholes,” he said lowly, and you turned your head to look at your boyfriend, eyes wide as the others on the call quieted down.

“Rin-” you began, voice wavering as he leaned back on his heels, shifting off of you.

“Thought you wanted the mic on,” Rindou spat, dragging you closer to him, grip bruising around your thighs. Distantly, you could hear his friends mocking you through the headset but all you could focus on was Rindou, “Made us lose the match, least you can do is give ‘em a show, yeah?”

“Yeah, give us a show, y/n-chan,” you heard Sanzu jeer into your ear from the headset.

“Mm, let us hear you, pretty girl,” Ran cooed, “Wanna hear how good Rinrin can fuck you, bet I can do it better.”

You inhaled sharply as you felt Rindou tug your shorts down harshly, looking back at him nervously because he wasn’t really about to fuck you with all of his friends and his brother listening, was he?

Tell me to stop and I will, the same mocking look you had sent him before was now directed your way and you could only glare at him. He didn’t back out, so you wouldn’t either.

“You hear that?” Kokonoi Hajime cooed, “Thinks she likes the sound of that, maybe Rindou doesn’t fuck his bitch good enough.”

“Koko,” Kakucho warned but he was cut off by Ran’s loud laughter.

“Is that it, princess? Need me to teach my little brother how to fuck you? Want me to make him watch as I split you open on my cock, hm?” Ran’s voice was cruel, mocking, tears sprung to your eyes.

“N-No,” you said, “No, I-”

“Shut the fuck up,” Rindou said from behind you and you gasped when you felt his fingers slip between your folds to press at your entrance, smearing your slick around messily, “Don’t fuckin’ talk to them 'less I tell you to.”

You shut your mouth immediately even as Rindou’s friends started mocking you and you weren’t sure if wanted to cry or if you wanted Rindou to just hurry up and fuck you. You felt pathetic because while you listened to his friends make fun of you for ‘at least being an obedient slut’ you couldn’t stop the heat that was pooling dangerously fast in your lower abdomen.

You wanted to throw up--you shouldn’t be getting turned on from this. You shouldn’t and you knew damn well that Rindou was going to notice and when he did-

“There’s no fuckin’ way you’re actually turned on by this,” Rindou sneered, as if on cue, and you whimpered, humiliation spreading through you as his friends burst into laughter, sharp in your ears. Your eyes blurred with tears as Rindou grabbed your waist to pull you up to your hands and knees in front of him and you let out a shaky breath when you felt his tip nudge against your cunt, slipping against your wet folds. “You fuckin’ are, you like that they’re listening, don’t you? Want them to hear you actin’ like a fuckin’ whore? Maybe I should turn the video on for them too, yeah?”

“N-N-oh-” you couldn’t even finish the protest as Rindou’s hands found themselves in a bruising grip on your hips, fingers digging hard into your skin as he pushed into you without warning, an obscene moan escaping your lips when you felt his cock stretching out your walls, slipping into you almost easily without any prep just from how turned on you were.

Keyword, almost. You grit your teeth as discomfort spread through you, the stretch a strange mixture of pleasure and pain that was unfamiliar to you because Rindou never fucked you without making you cum twice on his tongue and twice on his fingers at least.

It burned and you couldn’t tell if it was in a good way or a bad way because your thoughts were jumbled not only from the feeling of Rindou’s cock splitting you open but also because of his friends’ voices piercing your ears.

“Jesus fucking christ, sounds like a fuckin’ pornstar,” you couldn’t tell who had spoken--Kokonoi, maybe? Takeomi? Yeah, Takeomi.

“Fucks like one too,” that was Ran, “Rindou accidentally sent me a video of them once when tryna send one he took of some guy hacking in the game.”

“Nah man, why the fuck is Rindou the first of us to get a girl? There’s something fundamentally wrong with that, when is it my turn?” That was Kokonoi, you realized.

You whimpered as you felt Rindou draw his hips back, you could feel each and every inch of his cock pressing against your cunt, each vein molding itself into your walls. And you tried, you tried to brace yourself, tried to hold back the moan bubbling in your chest because you knew the microphone connecting you to his friends was right next to your lips but you couldn’t.

Your arms trembled against the bed in anticipation, abdomen and legs tensing and pussy aching at the empty feeling left behind by Rindou’s cock as his tip once again nudged at your opening. But he wasn’t moving, he wasn’t moving and you were sure it was about to be what pushed you to tears rather than all of his friends making fun of you in your ear.

“Rin-” you began taking in a shuddered breath when you heard Sanzu Haruchiyo mock your call of your boyfriend’s name instantly. Fuck, fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck, for a moment you hated Rindou. You hated him for making him wear his headphones while his friends were on a call, you hated him for drawing this out when he knew what you wanted and you hated-

Any thought that might’ve been running through your head fizzled away as Rindou bucked his hips into you, a loud cry of his name tearing from your lips silencing all of the boys on the other end of the voice chat. Your arms gave out as Rindou pulled his hips back, snapping them back into you at an almost painful pace--dropping to your elbows as Rindou’s fingers dug deep into the skin of your hips and ass, dragging you back and fucking you onto him as he thrust up into you, hitting you so deep inside that it almost hurt, you swore his tip was brushing your cervix.

You could barely even hear Rindou’s friends in your ears over the sloppy sound of your boyfriend’s cock dragging in and out of your sopping wet cunt, over the filthy sound of skin on skin, over Rindou’s low groans and your piercing, broken moans that were cut off each time Rindou drove his hips into you.

“Holy fuckin shit-”

“... fucking hot, Rindou’s gotta shar-”

“-ucho actin' all holier-than-thou, we all know you’re fuckin’ your fist too.”

“Rindou,” you sobbed, fisting the sheets next to you, “feels s’good, Rin, feels s’good, feels-”

Another high-pitched moan tore from your lips as Rindou brought his hand down on your right ass cheek, the sound ringing throughout the air. That very same hand slid up your body to wrap around your hair, pulling you right off of the mattress, back arched almost painfully but you couldn’t even feel it over the numbing feeling of Rindou’s cock fucking so deep into you.

“Tell them that,” Rindou groaned but his words went in one ear and out the other until his grip tightened, “Tell them.”

“C’mon, princess,” Ran cooed, “tell us how my baby brother’s makin’ you feel, yeah?”

“Makin me feel s’good,” the words slipped from your lips before you could stop them, half a slur as your head started going fuzzy from all of the stimulation, “he’s makin’ me feel s’good, Ran.”

“Oh, fuck-” Ran groaned just as Rindou brought another hand down on your ass, making you cry out again.

“Don’t say his fuckin’ name,” Rindou spit out viciously, “Say it again and I’m not gonna let you finish.”

“Sorry, ‘m sorry, ‘m sorry,” you sobbed, but you weren’t even sure if the words were coming out as you intended and you weren’t even sure what Rindou was telling you, everything felt too hot and you couldn’t even hear yourself over the headphones and the sounds of Rindou driving himself into you over and over and over again.

“Keep going,” Rindou said after a moment and

You hiccuped over your breath, “R-Rin makes me feel s’good, n he’s so big, he’s so bi-ig,” god you should be embarrassed, you knew you would be whenever you came back to but you were too fucked out on your boyfriend’s cock to care, “makes me feel the best, makes me fe-”

“Bet I could make you feel even better, pretty,” Sanzu interrupted you, “Should convince your lil boyfriend to let-”

“No!” you said, “N’you can’t, Rin makes me feel the best, Haru-”

You weren’t even able to finish his name, cut off by another gasp and resounding smack as Rindou slapped your ass again, “What the fuck did I just tell you?” he seethed, but you could barely hear him over the near-pornographic moan of Sanzu Haruchiyo ringing through your ear.

Oh god, did he just cu-

Rindou’s grip on your hair tightened, your mind going blank as he drove his cock deep into you again, his free hand slipping from his harsh hold on your hip to rub at your clit, your lips parted in a silent moan as you felt him tug lightly at your clit, body spasming at the action. Letting go of your hair, Rindou brought his other hand back to your waist so he could fuck you faster, harder, at a brutal pace that had you crying out with each thrust, that had your mind half-dazed and your jaw slack.

Your upper body dropped limp against the bed without Rindou holding you up, cheek flush against the mattress and eyes rolling back as Rindou dragged your body back to meet him for every thrust, fingers playing with your clit like one of his stupid games. His name left your lips in a mantra, a series of nonstop high-pitch chants, his name was the only intelligible thought running through your head as he brought you closer and closer to your high.

“Fuck, sounds-”

You were gonna cum, you could feel it-

“... nzu came all over-”

But you can’t, are you really gonna let them all hear?

“...f your brother doesn’t let us hit, I swear-”

Heat spread through your body fast, too fast, you couldn’t fucking control it--you couldn’t even tell if it was from pleasure or humiliation as your pants and cries of Rindou’s name grew louder and louder.

“...so fuckin’ hot-”

Desperately, you tried to slap your hand over your mouth but Rindou grabbed it before you could try to muffle the noise, you sobbed, head almost feeling like it was floating from how close you were from being pushed over the edge.

“-n’t believe Rindou-”

They’d never let you live this down, you had to see most of them every day, how would you be able to look them in the eyes-

“Princess, convince your boyf-”

Rindou leaned over you, a sharp gasp escaping your lips as he rolled his hips slow into, hitting impossibly deeper, “Hurry the fuck up ‘n cum.”

Your entire body trembled as Rindou flicked your clit hard, grinding his hips deep into you as he attached his lips to the back of your neck, sucking deep bruises down your spine and moaning shamelessly against your skin as your walls spasmed around him. A piercing moan of his name left from your lips as you felt your high wash over you, nails ripping into the bedsheets and body tensing. You could feel Rindou’s hips stutter and still against you as he came deep inside you and you felt full, too full, too hot, it was all just too much.

“Fuck,” you couldn’t even tell who was speaking as your body fell limp to the bed, mind hazy and fuzzy--Rindou was saying something to you, you could see his lips moving from the corner of your eye but you couldn’t tell what he was saying over the combined sound of his friends loud in your ears and the blood rushing to your head, body shuddering in the aftershocks of your orgasm.

“Hey, Mikey,” you heard Ran laugh as Rindou reached to take off the headphones, “Bet this is better than your other little group you play with, yeah?”

Everything went eerily quiet once he pulled the headphones off, the only sound in the room was your own heavy pants as you tried to catch your breath and Rindou murmuring something to his friends before wandering over to his computer.

Distantly, you wondered if he really had the audacity to go back to playing his game after all of that, but you were proven wrong a few seconds later when he wandered back to your side, sitting on the bed next to you, headphones out of hand. He brushed your matted hair out of your face before leaning down to press his lips against your forehead, lingering there for a moment before pulling back, cupping your face gently.

You smiled, turning your face to the side to kiss the palm of his hand, he let out a soft breath, the irritated look in his lavender eyes long gone and replaced by a fonder one.

“Love you, y’know?” he murmured and you giggled, the irritated look returned momentarily before disappearing. Haitani Rindou was never the most affectionate man but he tried his best for you,

“Love you too, Rin,” you said, giving his palm another peck.

For a moment, the two of you just rested there, basking in each other’s presence and just as you were about to speak up, his computer began binging incessantly. His friends, you realized after a moment, realization slowly beginning to hit you over what just happened.

Rindou seemed to recognize your distress and his grip on your face tightened slightly, forcing you to look at him, “I’ll kill them if they bother you,” he said, and you knew he meant it from the dark look in his eyes, “Ran-”

Ran-

“Rindou accidentally sent me a video once-”

“Rin,” you said quietly, cutting him off mid-rant, “Ran said something-”

“Ran says a lot of things-”

“Something about a video of us,” you finished, watching his face go red almost immediately. Rindou launched to his feet instantly, moving away from you. You forced yourself to sit up, wincing at the soreness shooting through your body, “Rindou!”

“I don’t know what he’s talking about,” he spit out, refusing to look at you. You stared at him in disbelief, watching as he made a beeline for the bathroom, “Gonna run you a bath.”

“Rin-”

“Gonna run you a bath!” he repeated, louder, slamming the bathroom door behind him. You sighed as you heard the water running, flopping back down onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

“Rin,” you called, knowing that he could hear you over the running water, “I’m gonna beat your ass.”

Rindou didn’t respond, and you tilted your head over to the side to look at his bathroom, watching as he opened the door and glared at you, “It was an accident.”

“An accident?” you demanded.

“I thought I was sending something else,” he snapped, “It’s not my fault my phone spazzed.”

“I’m gonna fuckin' kill you, Rin.”

“You can’t even walk on your own right now, good luck.”

“RINDOU!”

--

taglist: @spookygeto @kennyb0y @portfolio-of-dreams @devinsdaydreams @mortuary-ossuary @sano-obsessed @sugusshi @haitanihime @adeptiixiao @kageyama-i-want-tobiors @crackheadwithtoes @zuuki @hanmascult @4leafcloverwithawhitecraneforyou @hollypastl @kazufuyusluv @imkumichan @meena-in-a-nutshell @aces-high @obsessiontoanime @thevillagehiddenintheinternet @marism @prettyiolanthe @whydohumansss @rinsie @blvebcrry @xenixenxen @manjiroscum @r-xochitl @chaoticwh0re @chifuyuslilkitten @wakasasucker @shibuyawardnetwork

Within the Void

a/n | this has been in my drafts for forever and i’m happy to finally share it with y’all :) i have definitely been very high off of the scara hopium leaks and lore lately, and wanted to write this based on the unknown parts of his character. i really tried to challenge myself with this piece. i hope you like it and happy holidays everyone!! (art credits @/chinikuniku on twitter)

warnings | slight profanity

genre | love confession, enemies to lovers

word count | 2.3k

pairing | scaramouche x reader

⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩

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hi!! I really like your works and i enjoy it so much esp you portray diluc’s character so well, May i request frustrated kisses with diluc? I was thinking of a scenario where diluc is holding back his feelings for reader (bc of his darknight duties) and reader cant take it anymore and decides to show how much shes willing to risk it all for diluc?? if you’re still busy with work you dont have to do this! Hope you are well :’)

hi love!💕 thank you so much, it makes me so happy to know you're enjoying my writing, especially for diluc <3 i loved this idea, thank you for submitting it! i hope you're doing well too 🥰🥰💖💖

frustrated kisses with diluc | 2.1k+ words

the cooling night of mondstadt does little to calm your racing heart and the butterflies in your stomach. nothing within these walls could ever calm you down when you find yourself walking side by side with diluc as he escorts you home after a night at the tavern.

you think you’d be used to it by now; used to how both your cheeks turn a lovely shade of pink when you step too close and your arms brush against each other or the way your heart feels like it’s going to burst out of your chest when he smiles and chuckles at a story you’ve told him or even when he lectures you to be more careful on your commissions and is unable to hide the worry in his tone as well as he’d hoped. but even after all this time, you aren’t used to it and you aren’t sure you ever would be.

“you should get inside,” diluc says not a moment after arriving at the front door of your apartment. “it’s unsafe this time of night.”

“right,” you agree, your gaze casting down as your hand comes up to your face to push the hair out of your face. “thank you again for walking me home tonight.. and well most nights.” a small smile falls on your lips at the thought of how often you get to share these moments with diluc, a privilege no one else in all of teyvat gets to receive.

you regret moving the only thing that could hide your blushing cheeks when your eyes return to his handsome features and you see ruby orbs looking softly but intently at your lips and you can’t help when your eyes drop to his in return. what would they feel like when he finally kissed you instead of holding you at arms length? you’re sure they’re more intoxicating than the grapes he turns into the finest wine. were you going to find out tonight just how sweet they actually were?

he turns his entire face away from yours, his gloves hand coming up to hide more of his face than his plentiful hair already does when he sees you’ve caught on to what he’s been longing to touch for so long. he clears his throat before looking back at you, pink still lightly dusting his face. “please, think nothing of it. if it’s within my power i’ll ensure you get home safely,” he finds himself saying this a lot, especially with how often he does escort you home and you thank him as sweetly as you do. they’re words you’ve heard before and will never tire of hearing. “ah well - g-goodnight y/n.”

you say your own goodnight before he leaves much too quickly for your liking, before either of you can get the courage to get closer to the other and you’re stuck standing inside the doorway to your apartment, your heart fluttering and your mind racing. dilucs half hearted rejections were nothing new and you don’t let it bother you, your patience for him was unyielding. like the blooming of the spring's first flower or the butterflies that find their way into the grapevines of the dawn winery, in order to let wonderful things blosum and show you their true beauty, you must give them time. but like some flowers need a little extra time, a little more sunshine before they fully flourish.

you’ve thought about it for a while now, how much longer it would take diluc to stop pushing aside his feelings. you weren’t even sure at first if that’s what he was doing or if he simply wasn’t interested but as time went on and you two drew closer to each other it became obvious that he cared for you in a special way and that he was also pushing you away because of it. as he started to let you in, little by little, you began to understand why he did but as time continued and you stayed by his side you saw him soften, saw how his walls began to break down around you and you wonder now if the little bit of the wall that remained was up to you to move so you could finally make it to him.

worry of overstepping almost stops you in your tracks when you drop your bag inside your apartment and shut the door loudly you as you chase after him but your heart screams so much louder and all you want is to see him, tell him that you care for him so much it almost hurts and that when he’s ready, you are too. he couldn’t have gotten too far, it hasn’t even been 10 minutes since he left you at your door and disappeared into the night.

if it weren’t for his bright hair you may have missed him standing in an alleyway not far from your place. stopping in your tracks and turning on your heels you hurry towards him, calling his name just as he lunges forwards towards an enemy you hadn’t noticed before. you hadn’t even seen the claymore in his hand until now.

as the abyss mage disappears after being defeated, diluc quickly turns towards you, his eyes burning with a quiet fire that you’ve only seen a few times before.

“what are you doing out here?!” the words come out harsher than he intended and it almost has you faltering. he notices the hurt in your eyes and his tone immediately lowers as he comes closer to you. “i escorted you home so you would be safe for the rest of the night.”

“what are you doing?” you stand still in front of him, shocked and trying to process the sight before you. you’ve heard rumors about the hero keeping mond safe under the darkness of the night but you hadn’t imagined till now that they were true. as you come down from your shocked state, it all begins to make sense. of course the dark knight hero would be the ever protective diluc, his love for mondstadt and it’s people simply didn’t go away when he left the knights. it only makes you fall for him more. you meet his burning gaze and can’t stop the words before they leave your lips, “is this why you have been pushing me away?

“it’s for your own good,” he states and crosses his arms. “now,” he’s trying to make a point, what you just saw is not up for discussion at the moment, not until you're safely inside. “let's get you back home, shall we?”

“for my own good?” you sound upset and you absolutely are. it makes his heart ache. you weren’t supposed to find out this way, aren’t supposed to be out in the night where it’s dangerous.. where you could get hurt. he’s been trying so hard to keep you from getting hurt, even if it meant pushing away how badly he wanted you no matter how much he found himself drawn to you. under the cover over the moon he hopes you can’t see the way his whole face turns as red as the hair utop his head when you step closer to him and reach for his hand. the feeling of your gentle touch relaxes and yet worries him. “diluc what’s for my own good is up for me to decide.”

he sighs, his hand squeezing yours when his eyes meet yours. he’s not sure if it’s meant to comfort you or him or if his touch is only going to make things worse. “as i’ve said, if it is within my power to protect you i would. it’s not safe so i’ll escort you back home.”

but you don’t budge and neither does he.

“what about you?” you can feel the heat coming from him, it soothes the unease that was bubbling in your stomach that you may have ruined all the trust you’ve built with him till now, gives you the little push you need to finish what you came out here for in the first place because you never wanted to forget this warmth. “are you going to get home safe?”

“you don’t need to concern yourself with that,” his gaze is serious, almost too intense for comfort but you still don’t pull away and he doesn’t push you away. “it is up to me to deal with the darkness.. to keep it far away from you.”

for the first time since you’ve touched his hand, he pulls away and with it goes his gaze. the place where your hand lay on his fingers and palm tingle and he misses your gentle touch immediately but he had to move away. he worries your touch will cause him to waiver even more than it already has, cause him to push aside the worry in his chest that the darkness he brings with him will consume you, all so he can bathe in your light, breath you in and feel the softness of your touch against his rough, scarred skin. it simply wasn’t worth it. he can’t- he won’t let the darkness touch you and he’s convinced himself the only way of doing that is by not letting himself get close, keeping you at arms distance while under the night he protects you so the darkness can’t even cast a shadow on your beautiful face. “let’s go,” he repeats.

you take a step closer, so close your chests are almost touching and you don’t miss how his eyes look straight towards your lips before his gentle, yet sturdy grip wraps around your arms, keeping you only inches away from his own lips.

“y/n.. don’t..”

“why?”

“you know why..”

“i heard what you said but your actions betray your words diluc..”

“they don’t.” trust him, betraying his words would mean he would have kissed you long ago and even now when he’s finding it nearly impossible to pull away from you. he knows he has to but archons he doesn’t want to.

“darkness is everywhere but it doesn’t scare me because where there is darkness there is light and you watching over me.. if it’s for you, only you, i’m willing to risk it.”

“you may be,” the words come out in almost a whisper, “but i am not. i won't let you risk your safety and you shouldn’t be so willing to either. it isn’t worth it-”

“not worth it?” you’re finding it harder to hide the frustration in your tone and the tears pricking at your eyes. didn’t he see how much you cared for him and that even if you weren’t together you’d care enough to continue to be by his side? didn’t he know that he didn’t have to face the darkness alone? tears fall without your permission but you don’t let that stop you. grabbing onto the collar on his coat for support, you stand on your toes and lean up, ready to risk it all. “you are worth it to me.”

your words and your lips heat his skin more than his vision ever could, makes all of teyvat stop moving around you; only the sound of the wind proves that the world around you in fact still moves. your lips are so much sweeter, softer than he imagined and your fingers cupping his face feel chilly against his burning cheeks and he welcomes it happily. his hands hover above you, hesitating for a moment before one wraps around your middle, the other tangling into your locks and pulling you closer to him until your feet barely touch the ground. all your worries and frustrations leave with the wind as your lips meet over and over again.

you only pull away when you have to breathe but you don’t go far, not that you could even if you wanted to, and you don’t, with the way his arms hold you close. his warm breath fans over the skin on your cheeks and he can feel yours on his neck as he gently lowers you back down to the ground, placing his forehead on yours when your feet are steady underneath you. your hands find their way from his soft face to his jacket to extra support. it’s a good thing he keeps his arms around you, you aren’t sure you could stay upright with how weak your knees are.

“i’m sorry..” you whisper. you know you’re overstepped, possibly ruined your relationship but your body can’t stop now, moving on it’s own you rest your head against his chest. it’s comforting to know his heart is beating just as wildly as yours.

his arms pull you tight against him, his head rests on yours and you love the way his chest vibrates against you as he speaks, “you have no reason to be,” the sweet sound of his words that come out breathlessly are enough to convince you that you haven’t ruined a thing and just in case it wasn't, he leans done to kiss you once more.

LITERALLY DEPRESSO AKAASHI HOURS SOMEONE GIVE ME LVOE RIP

10:20 pm || akaashi keiji

➵ you just want a cute polaroid of your boyfriend. 

wc: 1211

warnings: gn!reader, time-skip occupation spoilers (?)

a/n: jem, dear, this one’s for you! if i remember correctly, i believe that today is your birthday. if that’s so, i hope you have a wonderful day (although, i hope that for every day, too). you’ve always been so kind to me, and the comments and tags you’ve left on my fics never fail to make me smile and make me feel like i’m actually Doing something here. i appreciate your support more than i can put into words, but i just want to say thank you! i miss seeing you on my dash, but i hope you’re doing well and that this fic brings you some comfort ♡

“Sit still.”

You grouch, the view finder of your polaroid camera held up to your eye.

A tiny image of Akaashi stares back at you, fist covering his mouth as he sat languidly on your bed under a garland of fairy lights. You’d wanted to put them up for the ‘ambiance’ – Akaashi had done most of the work, reaching the ceiling with ease. You’d played the role of ‘artistic director’ more so than handyman, but neither of you minded.

“I am,” Akaashi murmurs, raising his eyebrows ever so slightly.  

You lower the camera, pouting at him. “You keep covering your face.”

“And?” Akaashi raises an eyebrow at you.

“Stop doing that.”

“It’s for the aesthetic.”

Keep reading

this is too hot i-

Snare

Keiji Akaashi x Reader (Haikyuu!!)

WC: 3k

TW: Exhibitionism, Degradation, Teasing, Begging, Bratty Reader, Daddy Kink, Spitting, Spanking, Asphyxiation, Mirror Fucking, Jealousy

A/N: This is my (extremely late) secret santa gift for @deathcab4daddy. Forever sorry that it took me this long to finish, but I wanted to make sure it was perfect; hope you enjoy it love! ♡´･ᴗ･`♡

Irritation is not an emotion Keiji feels often. Trying as you are, he prides himself on keeping a level head and soft tone, only ever offering the truth with a smile. It’s only right, considering how much experience he’s had dealing with explosive personalities.

Tonight, he can feel himself slipping.

It’s not that you’re being explicitly difficult; hell, you’ve been nothing short of an angel all day. From the breakfast you served him in bed to the time you spent lounging and simply enjoying each other’s presences, it seemed like Kuroo’s Christmas party was bound to be the icing on the cake to a perfect day. And when he watched you glide out in a short, velvety dress—all long, lustrous legs and bare shoulders—Keiji was positive nothing could ruin his mood.

“Yeah, ‘Kaashi was so plastered he face-planted in front of his date,” Bokuto’s deep baritone rings out amongst the throngs of guests, “and to make it worse, he puked all over her dress!”

“Kōtarō, please,” you let out a giggle dipped in one too many glasses of champagne, manicured fingers grazing his larger friend’s bicep and lingering just a second too long for Keiji’s liking. He knows that his friend’s story is all in good fun, that your gesture is innocent, that the casual word, ‘please,’ is nothing compared to the strings of prayers and curses alike that he has you sobbing beneath the sheets most nights.

So he remains silent, hands stuffed in his pockets, glaring with furrowed brows and a permanent scowl. Is it just him or did Bokuto actually flex when you touched his arm? Every time his eyes glance towards yours, Keiji can’t help but grit his teeth harder. Perhaps he’s just overreacting, turning nothing into something for the sake of his frail ego.

Maybe he’s the one being difficult.

But the night continues this way for far too long—Bokuto landing joke after joke, you chuckling along, and Keiji downing glass after glass of champagne and still feeling painfully sober.

When a careless quip about his stamina, or lack thereof, is thrown out, Keiji decides he’s had enough. He offers his clueless best friend a polite excuse, threads his fingers around your dainty wrist, and tugs you into a far hall of the looming house. It doesn’t matter that his body sways with every step or that the words muttered beneath his breath are slurred; his only concern is pulling you away, reclaiming your precious attention, and losing his cool in the privacy of a shadowy corner where no one will take notice.

“What the fuck was that?” Despite being well-past inebriated and teetering on plastered, Keiji thinks he’s doing a stellar job at keeping his voice even and reserved. A quick glance at your raised brows tells him otherwise.

“I think I should be asking you that question,” you run your fingers down the miniskirt of your dress, smoothing out wrinkles that don’t exist. He’d think it’s a tell—a trick to steady wavering, guilty hands—but your stare doesn’t shift from his own. “You haven’t said a word all night.”

Firm as you’re trying to be, your voice is still twinged in confusion, the words tumbling from your lips a soft whine of annoyance. It’s nothing Keiji’s not used to, but tonight it seems the alcohol is speaking.

“And? You’re too busy drooling over ‘Kōtarō’ to care.” With that blunt retort, he feels a bit more himself. A version seething with envy, but still, himself.

The impact is swift, a worried bite at your lip flitting into a slow, knowing smile. Keiji can read you like a book, but what the hell is there to be smiling about when he’s deathly serious?

“Keiji,” your lithe fingers trail at his crisp collar, causing him to sink further against the wall, “are you jealous?”

“No.” Yes.

He can feel his head clouding over, the weight of all the downed champagne bubbling up with every stroke of your hands across his chest. The privacy of the empty hallway now seems uncomfortable, far more cramped than the bodies crowded into Kuroo’s large living room.

“You’ve been around me too long,” you giggle, teasing, “I see you pouting, babe.” It’s clear you’re trying to rectify the situation by poking fun, but Keiji doesn’t budge, doesn’t want to budge; not that easily, anyways.

His lack of compliance only makes you laugh harder, wrapping your arms around his neck and holding him even as he tries to shake you off. “We were talking about you the entire time, drama queen.”

He catches himself before he can crack a smile; at this point, he’s in too deep to simply kiss and make up. Though if you continue to carelessly splay your body against his, that plan may quickly slip out of reach. Every brush of your breasts against his bicep or warm hands roaming his body reminds him why he typically stays sober at these functions. A tipsy girlfriend makes for a loss of inhibitions—and a complete lack of self-awareness.

“Do you even realize what you’re doing?”

“Huh?” He watches as your face contorts, confusion etched onto your soft features once again. It’s adorable, almost allows him to forget you’ve been trying his last nerve all night. Almost.

“You– ugh.” Instead of arguing, Keiji twists your bodies, caging you in against the wall. His hands roam your bare thighs, kneading and pressing at the supple skin and reveling in the heat that seems to pull his fingertips closer. His lips ghost over your collarbone, your neck, your jaw, never quite making contact even as you shift to allow him access.

A smile spreads across his face when he hears you mewl softly, fed up with his groping. “I can see you pouting, babe,” he speaks between grazes, licking the shell of your ear, “but you did this to yourself.”

“Keiji, we’re in public,” trembling hands push at his chest, a half-hearted attempt at maintaining respectability. Well, it’s too late for that.

“Yeah? What about when you were all over Bokuto?” He skims a finger across the hem of your dress—smooth red velvet sending shivers down his spine—before tugging it up. The article’s so skimpy, he doesn’t even have to, but the way your eyes widen is worth it. “What about when you were all over me, just a minute ago? Were you not in public then?”

“That- that was all innocent,” you whisper hurriedly, voice jittery as your brows furrow. He runs his finger across your panties, an action that makes you keen and him snicker. He doesn’t let up, simply because he can’t contain his excitement any longer; the lace is absolutely drenched.

“That’s why you’re fucking soaked right now, huh.” Keiji’s words are surprising, even to himself; though blunt, he’s not typically so vulgar. But they work wonders on the both of you.

He feels your lower half twitch towards him, hands reaching out to steady yourself against his shoulders. All the while, your eyes are lidded, glazed over in– lust? inebriation? Whatever the reason, it does it for him. He feels his dick harden beneath his slacks, strains it against your thigh so you can feel how painfully frustrated he is with you, for you. “Anything to say for yourself?”

At that, you seem to regain your bearings, hands settling more firmly on his shoulders. When you look him in the eyes, Keiji can practically see the jest—the disobedience—dancing across your irises. Your lips quirk into a devilish smirk and out tumbles the word he had been waiting on,

“Nope.”

And there’s the brat he knows, coming out to play your favorite game of cat and mouse. You want to make him work for it, desire nothing more than to be treated like the whore you are until you’re crying and begging for him. He knows the game well, of course.

But this time, he’s got something different in mind.

The sheer disappointment on your face when Keiji untangles himself from you is enough to make him cackle. As he turns away, he offers little explanation in the form of a shrug and a devious smile.

“Heard Kuroo’s making a speech,” he throws over his shoulder, “we should probably head back.” He doesn’t even have to check to know you’re pouting.

As the night continues, he knows he’s got you precisely where he wants you. An ‘accidental’ graze of his arm on yours makes you shiver, the hand glued to your lower back has you keening into him, every charged gaze into your eyes and sharp flash of pearly canines results in a lip bite and clenched thighs. But still, he makes no move towards you.

Because this time, the mouse is going to come to the cat—hand delivered with a shiny red bow to boot.

“All in all, I’m just glad I could have my closest friends around for the holidays,” Kuroo raises a glass to the small crowd, “Merry Christmas!”

Keiji raises his glass with the rest of them, the same one he’s been carrying around for the past hour; sobriety is necessary for what’s to come. When you raise yours, he shifts his fingers to massage slow circles into the back of your thigh.

A gasp, shattered glass, and dozens of eyes trained on you.

It wasn’t his intended reaction, but it works at riling you up nonetheless. Soon, you’re apologizing for your clumsiness, glare unwavering from Keiji’s own amused smile even as you whisk him away to the bathroom ‘to clean up’.

“Keiji,” you stress, arms crossed against your chest, while he’s kneeling beneath you rubbing at the tiny stain.

“Hm?” He doesn’t look up, doesn’t dare ruin the little trick he’s mastered: feigned indifference.

“Keijiii.” This time it’s a whine, high-pitched and drawn out in the hopes that it’ll sway him. When he finally glances up towards you, he can practically taste the desperation threaded through your face. Your hands grab at his jaw, ghosting a thumb across his cheekbone as you finally, finally break, “Need you.”

But it’s not enough for him.

“Is that any way to ask?” He snickers, you let out a huff of frustration, and the game goes on.

“We’re in a tiny bathroom at your friend’s Christmas party. I’m not gonna sit here and beg–”

He turns his head, making a move to leave, “Oh, the stain’s gone. We should probably head ba–”

“No, no– wait!” Your palms grab at his face again, frenzied and forlorn, slightly sticky and sickly sweet, reminiscent of the bubbly champagne still surging through your bodies. “Just fuck me already.” It’s spoken hardly above a whisper, laced with urgency.

“Vulgar, but not quite,” Keiji teases, but he finds his hands already on you, drifting over the smooth skin of your calves, your thighs, and toying at the soft, velvet hem of your dress once again.

“Please.” That earns you a few kisses to your inner thighs, to which your legs party readily. Needy slut. He can hardly wait himself, wants to pounce on you and be done, but the wait is worth it.

“Please what?” He speaks between nips and licks at your thighs, traveling closer and closer to heaven, but never touching you where you both need it most.

“Please daddy, fuck me.”

And finally, Keiji complies.

The bathroom is cramped, filled with heat and fervor and two bodies haphazardly grabbing and groping anywhere they can get their hands on. He lifts you onto the sink, lips clashing to yours passionately; your fingers weave through his hair, shooting sparks down his spine.

Every touch is a plea for more, an insatiable craving to meld your bodies into one. He fumbles with your dress’s zipper before deciding it’s a hopeless endeavor, choosing instead to tug the bodice down and hem up to expose you.

When he pulls his lips from yours, a string of saliva still connects you. He gives you a once over and– fuck. You—with your lidded eyes glazed over, lips puffy, breasts strained against his chest—are enough to drive Keiji mad.

In seconds, his fingers are at your cunt and his lips at your neck. He shifts your panties to the side and slides two digits into you easily, reveling in the heat that envelops him.

“Oh, fuck,” you gasp sharply, a pretty little noise that he wants, needs, to hear again and again. With each thrust, it’s as though your cunt molds to his fingers, pulls him in and aches for more. His thumb at your clit makes you twitch and bite at his shoulder, and all the while, Keiji grinds his throbbing cock against your leg.

But it’s not about him, not yet. Right now, he wants nothing more than to see you fall apart, to cling to him and chant his name like a prayer—trembling and begging for more.

His free hand flits to your jaw, pressing your mouth open. And like the good little whore he knows you are, your tongue rolls right out. Keiji’s enraptured by the spit that hits it, offers you a rough grunt of ‘hold it,’ while he continues to pump and curl his fingers into you.

You’re nearing the edge; he can feel it in the way you clutch at his shirt, in your furrowed brows and quivering thighs. It only makes him move faster, resolute in making you see stars.

“Cum for me.” It’s a demand more than a request—one that he knows you’ll fulfill with devotion.

And you do. One press against that spot Keiji knows good and well, and your body stills, muscles straining and a choked mewl leaving you with a shudder. He works you through it, biting at your neck and soothing over the pain with his tongue.

“Turn over.” You may be worn out, body still quivering against his, but Keiji’s not quite done with you yet.

He unzips his pants in a flash, pulls his cock out in half that time. Rubbing against your slit, his entire body shudders with need. “So messy,” he can’t help but groan, hands secured to your waist. It only makes you hump back against him, wiggling any way you can to get him inside of you.

Back and forth, he runs his member across your slick, spreading it all over him—though he doubts he’ll need the extra lubrication. “Tell me how badly you want it.”

“Please Keiji,” a stinging slap to your ass, “Please daddy, I need you. Need you so fucking bad.” Your hands are flush against the counter, gripping the sides with enough force to turn your knuckles white. Keiji thinks he likes you best like this, wanton and breathless, splayed out for him like a common whore where anyone could see you. It suits you, he thinks.

He sinks into you hard and fast, basking in the warmth of your cunt— the way it pulsates and stretches around him. No matter how hard you try to keep quiet, your moans quickly escalate from soft, whiny whimpers to full-blown mewls. Keiji quickly reaches to shove a finger into your mouth, then two, pressing down hard on your tongue until you gag and sputter around them.

“That’s it, baby,” his free hand tangles through your locks, yanking so that your face meets the mirror. “Take a look at yourself.”

“Mmph.” Whatever you’re trying to get out is hazy, turned into mindless babble as you pant and squirm beneath him. Even as you try to keep your eyes trained on your reflection, every thrust makes your eyes roll back, a movement that prompts Keiji to tug harder on your hair.

“I said,” another harsh snap of his hips against your ass, “look.” Despite his attempt to gag you, a delirious, high-pitched moan is ripped from your throat. He removes his fingers from your mouth, only to smear spit-soaked fingers across your plump lips. Sloppy, just how he likes you.

Keiji begins to lose himself in you; it doesn’t matter that your voices are escalating, that your hands hit the wall with a resounding thunk every time he pounds into you, or that the two of you have been gone for far too long to blame on a stain. His only concern is the fluttering of your soft cunt around him and your inevitable releases.

“M’close,” you murmur, eyes screwed shut. He keeps his pace, fast and hard, and nuzzles his face into your neck, enveloping himself in the smell of warm vanilla, champagne, and sweat—a combination good enough to fucking eat. One of his hands moves to wrap around your throat, the other to rub circles on your bud.

“Fuck,” he grunts, “such a perfect whore for me.”

Your entire body tightens, muscles tensing as you murmur strings of gibberish. Keiji doesn’t let up, doesn’t dare stop moving his fingers, even as you buck and shake. With the way your cunt sucks him in, the warmth and pleasure of each hump into you, he finds himself close behind you—stilling all at once to paint your insides white.

And then you’re both left panting, unmoving from your spots on the counter, all tangled limbs and sweat-soaked skin. He takes a moment to regain his composure, whispering soft praise into your ears as you both come down from your highs.

When he’s finally settled, he slips out of you, grabbing toilet paper to wipe you both off while you fix your dress.

“That was–” You sigh contently, voice hoarse, and turn to look at him, still wearing that fucked out glow that makes his heart soar.

“Yeah.”

“Do you think anyone noticed?”

A knock at the door.

“Uhm, hello?” Kuroo stutters. Bokuto’s deafening laughter can be heard from behind him. “Yeah, uh, the party ended twenty minutes ago.”

Keiji smiles.

“They noticed.”

JJK | falling asleep on them;

✧˚ · . GOJO is the type to get really invested in movies if interested enough so he propably wouldn't notice you getting comfortable to fall asleep on his chest during a movie night. he turns his head to look at you and share a comment about something happening on the screen (why is he so dumb he could've-oh-) and immediately shuts up at the sight of your face squished against his chest because you look so cute. satoru definetly takes tons of pictures of you, the sweetest and largest smile on his lips, and prepares to tease you when you wake up in the morning as much as he can. and if he's tired enough he will snuggle your closer and fall asleep with you, but if he is not then he'll just settle you more comfortably and plant a soft kiss on you head, letting you sleep and finishing the movie.

✧˚ · . NANAMI is very fond of how you act around him, when he is not paying attention to you. when he happens to be finishing his paperwork at home you try not to distract him and mainly hang out somewhere else, but knowing that he is home and not being able to be close to him eats you from inside. so inevitably, you silently sit by his side on the table and lean your head against his shoulder with a small sigh, and kento has to supress his smile and withstand the urge to pet your head. eventually, he notices how your breathing slows down a little bit and turns his head to finally look at you. sweet, nanami thinks as he watches you for a few seconds before carefully picking you up and carrying you to your shared bedroom(and maybe join you a minute later because he can't resist you for too long).

✧˚ · . MEGUMI hates the missions gojo-sensei often sends him to complete, but they are better whenever you are around to participate. most of the time, he needs some cleaning after because of the cuts and bruises, this mission isn't an exception, so that's how he finds himself in the shoko-san's office with you, sitting by his side. he leans his back againt the wall, subtly focusing on your slightly rapid breathing, and then he feels weight on his lap. he manages to give a questioning look while silently observing your figure, trying to get comfortable on hard stools, and when he recieves a tired smile and a 'please?'' as if in permission to lay your head on his thighs, fushiguro can only nod. it's not long before your breathing steadies; megumi can't help the dust that spreads all over his cheeks as his fingers move your hair away from your face, gently stroking the skin, which visibly makes you relax, and he is glad.

✧˚ · . ITADORI loves, loves, loves to share his everything with you so it's common for him to talk a lot about his adventures. he gets so invested, like he is living through those moments again, and it gets you excited and interested too. when he is tired(and i'm sure this pretty boy can get really tired) yuuji often tends to zone out for a brief second and then come back to telling his story, but eventually exhaustion will take over him and i believe he is the first one to fall asleep most of the time. you are not mad, of course; he looks adorable while mumbling something in his sleep and drooling a little bit so you just join him, letting him wrap his arms around your figure to bring you closer with a content sigh.

akira reacting to a (eventual) S/O that beats the phantom thieves in finding the treasure at palaces, like they always show up near the end to just give them the palace's treasure smugly or clear out all the shadows in the palace right before the PTs actually enter the palace? sorry if it's a bit confusing!

I’m pretty sure this isn’t the direction you expected me to take this but darkness my old friend paid me a visit :^)

“That was far too dangerous!”

“You should be thanking me!”

Shouts and defences fired back and forth as you and Akira argued in the safe room.  Stuck to the sides, the rest of the Phantom Thieves wore varying grimaces and frowns under their masks as they spectated the fight.

“We need to stick together in Palaces–how many times do I have to repeat myself?  This is a team!” the onyx-haired male practically snarled in frustration.

A scoff left you as you snubbed your leader before retaliating, “I can handle these small-fry on my own!  I already cleared us a path to the treasure so why can’t you just admit I’m doing a good job?”

“Am I supposed to be proud?  Just say "oh, nice job” while you throw yourself into danger?  There’s no way I’m anything but worried sick about you!“ Joker threw his hands up in exasperation.

"I can take care of myself!” you growled.

“Oh really?” the male responded as his pupils narrowed dangerously. “Then you can take care of yourself by yourself from now on.”

A collective gasp left the remaining members of the team as they processed Akira’s words.  Your own mouth opened in silent astonishment before it flapped in an attempt to make a comeback.

“Wait, what?” was all you could come up with.

Your regret, however, was far too late.  Akira had already turned his back to you and approached the others with a neutral air and discussed further plans for the Palace.  The other thieves were clearly uncomfortable, but stayed out of the personal dispute.  You tried to call out to the male, but all you received in return was the back of Akira’s black trench coat.

my first kiss went a little like this.

masterlist!

# — pairings: albedo x reader

# — characters: gender neutral reader, albedo, kaeya

# — summary: someone tell albedo that first kisses are supposed to be a little more romantic.

# — warnings: n/a

# — tags: drabble format, fluff, first kiss with albedo

# — notes: it's almost 1 am and i've got a crush on a genshin boy. as always, reblogs and reactions are greatly appreciated, and i hope you guys enjoy!

✧ — 🏵 — ✧

unsurprisingly, the first time albedo kissed you, it was for research purposes.

the two of you are alone in his lab in mondstadt, and you're standing beside him, examining his notes while he waits for you to give your opinion. you may not be an alchemist, but albedo knows the benefits of having an outside opinion. of course, when sucrose returns from her trip, he'll have her give her educated opinion as well. you're silent as you read the notes closely, trying to make sense of every line. albedo's pleased that you're so invested in this, but... something’s bothering him.

you're bothering him, actually. not your presence, no, but your lips.

lately, albedo's been distracted by you. he's not sure when it started or why, but these days, he's been sensitive to your mannerisms. he's always been attentive to details -- he has to be, otherwise he'd probably have singed off his eyebrows (or worse) by now -- but he's never been that way towards anyone other than klee before.

for example: a few weeks ago, albedo noticed that you had a tendency to bite your lip whenever you were deep in thought. that was one of the many things you did whenever you were thinking hard, actually; he noticed that you would sometimes chew on the inside of your bottom lip or cover your mouth with a hand whilst humming.

he also noticed that whenever you finished laughing at something, you had very faint laugh lines around your mouth; an indication that you must have been incredibly amused.

and, when you two got lunch together per your suggestion, you had a habit of licking the corners of your lips in quick succession -- likely a method of ensuring that there was nothing lingering there.

thinking himself strange for paying such close attention to that, he took it upon himself to do a little bit of research.

...it didn't take long for him to realize that the common denominator was your lips. the issue now was what he was supposed to do with that information.

fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it), albedo ran into kaeya during his studies and explained the problem. the cavalry captain had the time of his life laughing at a bewildered albedo's expense.

"i'm not sure what's so comical about my research." albedo said. he isn't the type to get offended very easily under normal circumstances, but listening to kaeya crack up after hearing about his recent project was starting to make his hackles rise.

kaeya wiped a tear from his eye as he caught his breath. "albedo, you've got to be one of the most interesting people i have ever met." he finally said. he sighed, his lips still upturned in a smile. "why are you telling me this, anyhow?"

"i believe i've told you why already, cavalry captain. i just wanted your input, but i'm considering retracting my request."

"ah, ever the professional, this one is," kaeya chuckled. "you want to know what i think? i think you're attracted to them."

albedo blinked. kaeya snorted. "attracted to them? i don't see why i would be. this just suddenly started, so i..."

his sentence went unfinished as he turned over the idea in his head. attraction? albedo hasn't felt attraction outside of a platonic sense for anyone besides the traveler, and even then, there was still a line of friendship that he had yet to cross with them. and surely, kaeya was referring to romantic attraction, wasn't he? but why? he had no experience with it, so--

kaeya sighed, interrupting the alchemist's thoughts. "i can hear what you're thinking. you must be wondering why, right? well, don't. just let yourself feel it, and stop treating it like it's alchemy." an emotion albedo couldn't place flickered in kaeya's eye and his smile softened into something less mocking. "you can't always explain away relationships, albedo."

lost for words, albedo nodded. perhaps he would have to take that under consideration.

while albedo understood that kaeya may have been right about relationships, it wasn't all that easy to give up his natural approach to experiences. he decided to continue his research for a little while longer, keeping in mind the words of the cavalry captain. finally, he came to one conclusion:

he needs to kiss you.

if he covered your lips with his own and stamped out the flames of curiosity that only grew hotter by the day, then maybe, just maybe, he would be able to get on with his life.

so, when you finally finish reading the notes, albedo has a hard time focusing on your feedback.

"i think you're a bit too detail-oriented, albedo," you say, your forehead creasing as you skim the paper again. "maybe you should zoom out first since it seems like you've hit a bit of a snag."

"is that so?" albedo replies half-heartedly, his eyes never leaving your lips. it's almost mesmerizing. "is there anything else?"

you look from the paper and see albedo looking at you but you can't shake the feeling that he's somehow looking elsewhere. his eyes are on your face, but lower than they should be. your body temperature skyrockets when it dawns on you that his eyes are on your lips. you silently hope that he hasn't noticed your sudden nervousness, but you see him raise his eyebrows.

"is something wrong?" albedo asks, his bright teal eyes meeting yours. "you've stopped speaking."

you avert your eyes. it's true that albedo was already looking your way, but you feel like you're being observed, and not even in a scientific sense. something about the way albedo's eyelids lowered while he was looking at your lips was making your mind race. d

does he know how intimate of a look that is? albedo isn't one for doing things without purpose; the very idea that he was staring at your lips with intent makes you flush. this would be so much less embarrassing if you didn't harbor feelings for him. maybe you were just delusional; he wouldn't kiss you, right? he wouldn't kiss anybody! albedo's not a kisser, that's just not his style, so--

"you still haven't replied," albedo speaks again, breaking you away from your thoughts. he tilts his head and you suddenly realize that he's closer than he was before. again, his gaze jumps from your lips back up. "are you sure you're--"

"sorry, i think i must've stepped forward while i was reading." you chuckle shyly. this kind of pressure isn't good for your heart -- not in the slightest. you take a step back to gain some distance, but albedo follows you, taking a step forward. "um..."

"there's something i'd like to try with you, if you'd allow me." albedo takes your chin between gloved fingers. your entire body locks up. "i'm afraid it will require you to relax."

archons, he's so observant, it's almost unsettling. your tongue swipes over your bottom lip quickly and you see albedo follow the movement. this is the exact position of people who are about to kiss, but you take a shaky breath, still trying to convince yourself that that's not what albedo's trying to do.

albedo brushes his thumb over your mouth. "relax."

you shiver. "i-i'm afraid it's not that easy. you're behaving like you're going to kiss me. did you know that?"

the alchemist hums in what seems to be approval. "how astute of you. that was my plan, actually."

...what.

"you were planning to--"

"kiss you, yes. may i?"

it's a miracle you haven't passed out yet. you run through your options at lightspeed.

on one hand, you could say 'yes' and get to kiss albedo. he's probably doing this for a project, but being his lab rat doesn't sound too bad right about now.

on the other hand, if you do kiss him and it really is just for a project, then you'd have kissed the man you've been head over heels for and receive nothing in return. you two would have to proceed as though nothing ever happened, and honestly, you'd probably just leave mondstadt to avoid ever having to see him again.

you make your decision fairly quickly. "you may," you whisper. kissing albedo is a once in a lifetime experience, you figure, so you may as well do it once before you die. albedo inches closer until your breaths are intermingling. you want nothing more than to stop breathing and live in the moment, but you're pretty sure that would ruin it, actually.

albedo finally tilts his head slightly and closes the gap between you two and... you're kissing.

you're kissing the chief alchemist of the knights of favonius.

it's a very gentle press of lips that doesn't last very long, but it's enough to send your soul to celestia and back. you're the first to pull away after a few seconds; you didn't want to, but any longer, and you probably would have tried to deepen it. albedo's fingers haven't left your chin, but when you get a better look at his face, you see him start to frown. "was... that okay?" you ask, breathless.

albedo presses his lips together as though he was trying to commit the feeling of yours to memory. "again," he says. it doesn't sound like a question. he must notice, because he rephrases it. "can we try that again? longer this time; i'm a little unsure on something."

you weren't going to make it out of this lab alive.

"unsure on what, exactly?" you ask. really, you just want some peace of mind. "i-i'm sure there's an obscure book about kissing in the library somewhere."

albedo's reply is immediate. "no." his frown deepens, but he looks almost.. disappointed that you would say that. maybe you're just imagining things. "no, i would much rather do this with you."

you say a silent prayer:

if there are any archons who can hear me, thank you.

you nod stiffly. "uh, sure, i guess. what do you want to try then?"

albedo seems relieved by your response. "i've come across people who tend to move their lips while kissing. should we try a deeper kiss, then?

a giggle stumbles out of you. this is going to be one hell of a story to tell someday. you apologize right away, explaining that people don't usually express their desire to kiss someone like this.

albedo nods. "i see. next time, i won't ask, then."

"next time?"

no response. instead, albedo kisses you again, taking you by surprise. for someone who's never kissed anyone before, he sure does know how to start. you sigh into the kiss unknowingly and feel albedo's fingers twitch. you slowly work him into it, moving your hands to rest gently around his neck to get him more comfortable.

he pulls away. before he can ask his question, you decide to take the liberty of adjusting your position. you take his hands and put them on your waist. "it's a more intimate way of sharing kisses," you explain. "but if you really want to learn, you have to follow my lead."

for some reason, albedo's eyes flash with what you think is irritation. "have you done this before with someone else?"

"yes?"

"interesting." he doesn't interested at all. "again."

you don't question him and do as he says. in the moments that follow, you affirm your belief that albedo is a very fast learner.

maybe too fast, actually.

somehow, he's taken control of the kiss from you, speeding up and slowing down the pace seemingly just to mess with you. you don't fight it for a while, content with the way your lips seem to fit together perfectly. you tried to pull away to tell him off, but he held you in place, grazing his teeth on your lip to keep you going.

it was almost as if he was starting to enjoy himself.

"albedo," you call his name and your voice comes out breathier than you intended, "albedo, gimme a second, i need--"

the alchemist pulls away and drops his head on your shoulder. the two of you are a little short of breath, but you don't have it in you to complain. your lips are tingling. "i should have stopped sooner," you say, tapping his shoulder. "are you alright?"

albedo doesn't say anything. he's breathing fine, but he's just not replying.

"albedo?"

"i think," he finally says, straightening himself out, "we need to take a break."

"a break?" you parrot back. "but that would mean you want to--"

he wants more. you flush again and take a few steps back. the more distance between you two, the better. you don't want to be too hasty. "yeah, sure, that's fine, of course!" you blabber. "do you know how much more you want, though?"

albedo sits in a chair a little ways away. his fingers are hovering over his own mouth and he glances at you, his eyes gleaming.

"as much as it takes to satisfy me, i suppose."

✧ it's very very late at night, so the ending is rushed and messy, but i do hope you'll let me know if you enjoyed it!

a bolt from the blue | royalty au

✦ kazuha. scaramouche. kaeya. x gn!reader

✦ tags: descriptions of anxiety (nothing explicit) in scaramouche's part. arranged marriages. historical!au. royalty!au.

for not all encounters in life are tinted in rose-colored lenses, showered in sparkles, nor does a symphony of music spring out of nowhere. sometimes it’s a little clumsy, often wholly unexpected — but it’s human, and life-changing all the same.

kazuha *. ⋆ breaking free

"are you lost, your highness?"

you freeze — as if you'd been seized red-handed committing an act of treason — turning your head slowly to the unforeseen guest while the leg you were halfway through swinging off the balcony remains suspended in the air.

"uh ... no?" you cleared your throat, raised your chin, and tried your best to muster as much dignity as you could — not an easy feat, considering your current plight was downright scandalous and truly unbecoming for a royal.

"i'm quite certain that this is the swiftest escape route, so you shall have to excuse me," you wave a dismissive hand airily. "carry on, good sir."

the gentleman takes a few steps forward, red cloak falling from his shoulders gracefully as he leans over the balcony.

he places a careful hand atop your ankle as he peers down below. "i doubt you'll end up unscathed with this high of a fall."

you shrug, mostly unbothered. "i'll take my chances. anything to escape that awfully stifling room and its attendees."

his mouth turns into a small, conspiratorial smile. "then the winds must have been kind, for it was i they brought you."

you raise an eyebrow, ultimately abandoning your earlier plans to leave by placing your foot back down. "consider my interest piqued. why do you say so?" you ask, smoothing out your garments.

"for i have first-hand experience in fleeing and running away."

the emblazoned gold and red rendering of maple leaves on his clothing glinted under the moonlight, and finally, it hits you.

"you're KAZUHA, sole heir and last prince of the kaedehara lineage," you surmise, dipping your chin. "i apologize for the late greeting and the shameful display i put on moments ago, your grace."

the man next to you was a prince, the last of his bloodline, who'd been rumored to escape the confines of inazuman royalty by stowing away on a ship.

news of his disappearance had spread like wildfire among the upper echelons of high society — and you'd likewise heard that the entire aristocracy had been in an uproar at his return.

"please, call me kazuha." he shakes his head, presenting you with a polite bow. "as expected, you're as clever as they've described. it's a pleasure to meet you."

"i found myself in great envy when i heard you'd manage to roam lands around freely, bereft from the burden of responsibilities."

his eyes take on a faraway look when he says, "both lives have their ... tribulations. though i must admit, i did prefer it."

you fall silent for a moment — watching him — before he shakes off his reverie. he faces you fully, fingers softly tapping atop the marble ledge.

"then what prompted you to return?" you ask.

the side of his mouth twitches, as if he'd been expecting you to ask him, and as if he'd prepared an answer for it already. his slight smirk made him appear even more charming under the moon's grace.

"perhaps i've learned about a certain royal figure well-loved by their people, and who've i've only heard good stories about on my travels, so i longed to see them for myself."

sparks consumed your skin with the way he stared at you, as if you were worthy of worship and of his high praise. here, on the balcony, away from the festivities, it was hard for your knees not to resemble pudding.

"well, i hope you weren't disappointed." you turn away, gazing longingly towards the world beyond instead. "though i'm afraid their tales did not inform you that they've been stuck in a cage their whole entire life."

from inside, the orchestra begins to transition into their next section of ballads. kazuha takes a step back, before offering a hand.

he tilts his head slightly. an invitation. "then shall i break you free, your highness?"

and without any hesitation, you easily slip your fingers into his palm, excitement quivering in your stomach. he tightens his grip, his thumb brushing your knuckles once.

he wore a pleased smile — the kind that could melt the coldest of hearts and simultaneously make bystanders swoon — and to your not-so-dismay, it proved to be awfully hard to say no under his influence.

you take a deep breath. "just for tonight."

"that's more than enough time."

and he leads you into a dance that has you both hiding behind marble pillars, your bodies pressed close enough to ward off the cold night air, twirling behind large drapes, and in a fit of hushed laughter, all while kazuha skillfully weaves you through the patrolling guards.

once you reach past the royal gates, you're both breathless, and not once, has he dropped your hand. he only tugs you along. closer. faster. away from everything.

and for the first time in forever, you don't look back.

scaramouche *. ⋆ an accidental misstep

you take a heaving breath as you push open the embellished doors and step into the ballroom.

perhaps arriving late wasn't the most well-thought-of plan you've had up to date, but it was far more preferable than being announced. the music and raucous chitchat falter slightly as you enter and you feel the weight of everyone's eyes on you.

it's heavy. suffocating. prying.

you should never have come here.

it was a foolish idea — one that you'd been unwillingly forced to.

you hardly considered yourself ready for everything this evening entailed, barely equipped with any etiquette lessons, and so hurriedly pushed into a world so foreign. so daunting. so far from your own.

you would, most undoubtedly, fail.

you would conceivably stumble on your feet, pronounce someone's name wrong, forget their verbose title, and from which branch of their family tree they hailed, and everyone would shun you, your entire household, and you'd never be able to —

panic grips you, its icy claws digging down, down, down, into your chest. you unknowingly take a hasty step back as blood pounds in your ears and your breathing turns laborious.

you bump into someone, making you fearfully whip around, like a spooked kitten. the heavy ball of dread in your stomach is justifiable, as you recognize the person you've just slammed into with encroaching horror.

SCARAMOUCHE, bearing the 6th seat among the harbingers, stared at you icily. they were the highest-ranking diplomats from the neighboring kingdom of snezhnaya, who managed to exude power, nobility, and authority from their portraits alone.

if you had trouble breathing earlier, your lungs had definitely ceased functioning now. the air felt even more constricted now that you were face to face with one of them in person.

"you stepped on my foot," scaramouche states blandly. already, his tone was frigid enough to freeze champagne. unduly apathetic. overly superior.

you inwardly cringe. he would probably demand your own legs as recompense, and in all truth, you were quite willing to get down on your knees.

"i'm so sorry," you whispered, trying and failing to suppress the tremble in your voice.

his gaze narrows as they linger on you, long lashes framing his perfectly jeweled eyes. eager now to put as much distance as possible between you while you still had your legs, you attempt to slip away.

his arm shoots out to capture your wrist, looping your arm in his with one fluid gesture. "i have no need for formalities. come," he commanded lowly.

you find yourself unable to refuse, realizing halfway through that he was leading you across and into the middle of the ballroom floor. your entire skin felt as if it had turned green.

the orchestra began playing the first strains of a waltz. scaramouche cocks his head, arching an eyebrow.

he'd brought you here to dance. with him.

despite the discomfort in your chest for being the object of numerous curious stares, you take the hand he extends out of courtesy.

under the dim chandelier light, he looked as achingly handsome as he was intimidating; and thus, you two commenced a sequence of familiar steps.

"i expect my feet to remain unharmed after this bothersome charade," he mutters.

you tip your head down, keeping your attention trained on your feet to take careful and measured steps.

scaramouche impatiently clicks his tongue. he lifts your face with a finger under your chin, exerting the gentlest pressure possible to meet your eyes.

your lips part open, and his own eyes flit down to them, lightning-quick, before he berates, "it's basic etiquette to look at your partner."

an apology reflexively bubbles on your tongue. "i'm sorry—" you begin, but he swings you around in a graceful arc abruptly.

when he sweeps you back into his arms, and the distance between you closes again, he lazily asks, "is your vocabulary that limited?"

you swallow. your breathing, while still erratic, no longer sounded quite so panicked. perhaps you could permit yourself some consolation, seeing as he meant no harm.

"i'm terribly anxious. i ... never had any desire to be here," you admit, unsure why you found it so easy to bare such a dark corner of yourself. perhaps his uncouth manner had rubbed off on you. "the way people stare is unpleasant."

at this, the corner of his mouth lifts up the slightest, eyes gleaming with amusement, and ... something else. he'd rewarded you with a smirk, as if he was pleased with you for speaking your mind.

he tightens his grip on your waist slightly, putting his lips very close to your ear before murmuring, "let them look. it would be a pity if you denied them the sight of you."

as you keep your attention designated on him, only then do you realize how he pierces onlookers with his haughtiest stare. you hadn't even noticed since you'd been so preoccupied with ensuring you'd be a worthy enough partner for someone of his status.

he'd been shielding you, trying to soothe your distress — even if the means were a bit questionable.

when he returns his gaze to you, a satisfied smile plays on his lips to find you already looking at him.

"good," he praised in velvet tones, making your heart stutter. "keep your eyes solely on me."

kaeya *. ⋆ an unlikely twist of fate

you wiped the sweat from your brow as you finished tying all your bedsheets and drapes together into one long rope.

you had no intentions of being wed. your siblings had abdicated their titles for a myriad of reasons, leaving you the only alternative to be married off to khaenri'ah's last heir.

to describe your circumstances bluntly, your only role was to continue their lineage for the sake of peace and prosperity between your kingdom and theirs.

you've never even met or glimpsed upon a portrait of your fiancée, nor bothered to learn his name, though it wasn't as if you wished to.

right after they announced his arrival today, you excused yourself to your quarters, taking advantage of everyone causing a fuss, and decided that this would be the best time to set your plans into motion.

being forced into a contractual marriage already left a bitter taste in your mouth. it wasn't as if you hoped to find true love — as you weren't naive to believe in such tales — but to at least be given a choice in whom you'd betrothed.

so, although these were words a royal must never even think about uttering, it's what pushes you over to the edge.

fuck it all, you mutter under your breath.

you toss your makeshift ladder out the window, tugging it one last time to inspect its resilience. slinging your satchel over your shoulder, you begin your getaway.

you were already brimming to the core with excitement and the idea of being on your own. you could eat anything your heart desired, wear whatever sort of clothes you wished, and not have to mind manners and absurd rules that constantly made your skull ache.

you're halfway down when you hear a soft grunt.

you pause, eyes widening as your head frantically searches for the origins of the sound. your sight lands on the tower next to yours, and on ... a gentleman doing the exact same thing.

the two of you lock eyes for a moment. you blink.

it appeared that he, too, was in the middle of his escape. his mouth opens ajar before the two of you simultaneously race down.

he reaches the ground far quicker than you do, and you mutter a low curse. your makeshift rope turns out to be a few feet too short, a slight miscalculation on your part.

"are you in need of assistance?"

you glance beneath you to see your co-escapee, clad in a coat of royal blue, with his arms outstretched.

"keep your voice down!" you worriedly exclaimed.

"you'll have to jump."

"that's a ludicrous idea!"

he snorts. "compared to scaling down the tower?"

how ... intolerable! especially coming from him! as if he hadn't scaled one down seconds ago. left with no other choice, you huff, "you must swear you'll catch me."

"i won't be able to if you stay up there any longer. my arms are starting to ache, but yes, you have my word."

you wonder just how much his word meant. you silently count up to three before letting go. you'd half expected that he wouldn't be there, but you landed in his arms with a small oof.

he gazes down at you, looking quite ... bewildered. you're unsure as to why.

perhaps he's thought of bringing you back into the castle. as a precautionary measure, you use your most authoritative voice. "if you bring me to the guards, i shall tell them you laid a hand on me."

instead of being frightened, the man only snickers, appearing entertained. "why, i did not expect that my compassion would be repaid in such a manner."

"i'm indebted indeed, but i graciously ask that you put me down now ... sir?"

"KAEYA," he introduces. you hum. the name rang eerily familiar, though you paid no heed to it. he lowers you slowly, placing a hand on the small of your back to aid your balance.

you rearrange your satchel, before turning on your heel and walking away directly to the alleyways servants use.

to your dismay, you hear his footsteps behind you. "why are you fleeing?"

he probably was no one of great importance, and he'd not risk announcing to others of your disappearance as you'd seen him escape as well, so you decide to accept his company.

"i'd like to make my own fate," you explain. "i'm tired of having my entire life decided for me."

"is that so?" he mused, not at all mocking, but genuinely interested.

you nod fervently. "i'm being shipped off to a kingdom i've never been to, arranged to marry a man i've never met, and expected to sire his offspring!"

kaeya glances at you with a mix of amusement and mirth, walking leisurely alongside you now. "and who is the unfortunate chap?"

you pointedly ignore the insult, raising your hands. "the crown prince of khaenri'ah! can you believe it?"

a strangled sound leaves his throat, almost sputtering out his next response, "i can't fathom what's so terrible."

"he could be some old geezer for all i know!" you rant, feeling even more riled up. you had no one to share your woes with, and it was honestly quite unburdening to finally express the worries that plagued your mind. "he could likewise be perverted or enjoy strange hobbies."

the look on kaeya's face is indescribable, as if you'd personally insulted the man himself. "i think it's unfair for you to place such an impression of him if you've never met him before."

"i don't need to." you wave away his opinion. "the fact that he agreed to this entire arrangement just goes to show that he is callous, and cold, and has no empathy for the other party involved."

kaeya's feet ground to a halt. "what if he had no other choice as well?"

you pause, stopping next to him. he tips his head up to the sky, and you couldn't deny that he was devastatingly handsome.

"my heart feels for him. it truly does ... " you shift your weight from foot to foot. "but i'm choosing myself for once."

he looks at you then. "and what of him?"

"then i pray he chooses himself, as i won't fault him for it," you say in all honesty. "who knows, perhaps he's thought about abandoning this entire agreement too."

he lets out a musically charming laugh, making your eyes widen in alarm. you swiftly press a hand over his mouth.

"how many times must i tell you that you need to keep your voice down?" you chastise in a hushed voice.

you feel his mouth curve into a smile under your palm. before you're able to step away, his hand grasps yours, interlacing it with his, before dragging you along.

you gape, preparing to speak — even though you hadn't an ounce of an idea of what you'd say — but not a sound emerges. his skin on yours felt uncomfortably warm despite the evening air.

"and you? why were you leaving as well?" you ask slowly, remembering that you'd never inquired where he was from, or why he was in the castle in the first place.

"i'm choosing myself," he answers in a cryptic tone. and you, kaeya decides. he's quite determined to see if he could change your opinion of him, despite the fact that you seemed completely unaware of who he was.

you're uncertain of what he means by that. oh well, you shrugged. perhaps the two of you will learn more of each other's stories on your journeys since you've picked up a companion.

kaeya couldn't resist glancing back at you. at your eager, wide-eyed expression at the prospect of freedom, he shakes his head fondly and grins.

this will be very interesting.

✦ byeol's notes: tenses are annoying >:| i rewatched little women, and the scene where laurie and jo were dancing outside the house, while the party went on inside, got me 😫 which greatly inspired kazuha's part!

and yes, i've read an ungodly amount of historical manhwas, which only makes me want to get isekai'd to teyvat or an au.

✦ reblogs and feedback are greatly appreciated! thank you and ily <3

kaeya alberich's guide to love

pairing - kaeya alberich x gender neutral reader

word count - 5419

genre - fluff to angst, spicy

format - fic

warnings - MCD (major character death), slight descriptions of bodily injuries and gore, alcohol consumption, one (1) suggestive scene (skinship, mentions of removal of clothing, very very light description of sex, pet names (darling, sweetheart, dove, angel)

summary - kaeya alberich's foolproof guide to falling in love (based on his personal experience)

a/n - womp womp here's some angst with some slight spice and fluff :D (semi-inspired by "How To Finish Your Bucket List Before You Die- A Guide From Kaeya Alberich" by OHai_Here on AO3!)

RULE #1: FIND A BEAU THAT POSES A CHALLENGE; LOVE IS MOST FUN WHEN THERE'S AN ENTICING PURSUIT INVOLVED

his fingers gently traced the outline of the crystal goblet that contained blood red poison: safe enough for consumption but not safe enough to prevent his mind from falling prey to the tantalizing grips of drunkeness. though wine would usually be swimming, settled deep in his stomach, he opted to tease and tempt fate tonight and dance a misty waltz between the lines of a drunken stupor and agonizing consciousness.

"if you toy with that drink any longer, it's bound to get fed up and walk away."

you'd been sitting next to him for some time, quiet as a doll, but your beguiling, honey tinted voice sparked an intrigued glint in the swirls of his lilac eye. the ends of his lips quirked upwards, a sly, foxy glance perambulated your way with the upturn of his head to meet your piercing eyes and the gentle placement of his fingers to support his weighted chin.

"well now," he cooed, voice dripping with a rosy, sultry lilt yet no lighter than the soft, downy underbelly of a bird's feather, "that would make me up for grabs. now's your chance, darling, shoot your shot hm?"

pearls of crystal condensation snaked their way in races down the edge of his wine glass, still full with sweet temptation. but nothing to him was more tempting than to brush his thumb against the soft, velvety texture of your cupid's bow and see the cute scrunch of your nose in response. a new toy for him to tinker with, a prized addition to his collection should he manage to woo you.

instead, you set a bag of mora with a heavy weight on the bar's wooden counter—far too much mora for a single shot—and placed a palm on the counter, one on his stool, leaving you to lean uncomfortably close to him with a gem of a smile on your pretty lips; close enough for your noses to brush against one another, any more and your lips would slot perfectly against his.

"forgive me, captain, but i'm not interested."

your touch lingered even hours after you'd left the tavern with the sway of your hips and a teasing smile on your face—one that exuded confidence and stability, and had his heart battering against his chest.

kaeya hadn't realized that his mask had chipped away at the fibers with the burning embers of your aura until charles replaced his stale glass with a crisp, fresh one and slid a hearty laugh his way, "they've entranced you, haven't they sir kaeya?"

an impressed smirk was all kaeya offered in response: after all, he loved a challenge.

RULE #2: SUBTLY EXPRESS YOUR INTEREST IN A MANNER THAT EXUDES CONFIDENCE AND CHARM WHILE ALSO KEEPING YOURSELF A MYSTERY

an enigma is how kaeya would describe you.

like silky threads of crystal water or a fleeting, gentle breeze, you flitted through the gaps of his fingertips and skirted around the edges of his ears with the echo of your voice and the rims of his eyes with the grace of your presence at the tavern. it was almost as if you could read the grooves of his brain and feel the palpitating game he'd morphed into the invisible tango between your fleeting feet. "friends", was what you said, but enticing, addicting, intoxicating was every semblance of your being and he craved more.

but kaeya alberich was no man of desperation, no, not at all. he shall be fawned over, and never the other way around.

when the moon cast its gentle glow onto brick and cobblestone, he'd find himself sauntering over to your table, two glasses of delicious poison in his hands and a promise of a good time. the only offer you accepted was the alcohol he so kindly paid for. but no matter! to kaeya, this was all part of his game, all part of the hunt for your heart and the desire to see your eyes glow with his name etched in your irises.

kaeya's methods were...effective, one could say. but you were a true anomaly in his many years of experience. his charming one-liners had you doubling over in laughter and patting him twice on the back—most definitely not in a romantic manner. his cool, teasing touch in the subtle nudge of your arm or the manner in which he'd casually snake his arm around your waist only seemed to spur on your relentless teasing. he'd put on his fancy garbs and strutted his best in the streets, only to be called a "peacock" courtesy of your lovely voice and amused glint in your eyes. but the roses he'd bought from flora to tuck behind your ears just as you set off for another commission proved to be more effective in the slight genuine smile upon your lips and the quiet and hurried "thank you" whispered only for him.

it was proof, he knew soon that he'd see hearts in your eyes and feel your heartbeat from miles away only with the telltale click of his boots and signature laugh.

yet despite this, you ventured onwards merely being yourself. where most would be squealing and kicking up their feet at the sheer mention of capturing the captain kaeya's fancy, he was stunned to realize that you hadn't been affected in the slightest.

rather, it was him who'd begun to notice your teasing looks that often hurtled his way when he least expected them, or the sugary lilt to your voice whenever you called out to him upon seeing his figure in the streets. you were still a mystery, a puzzle he couldn't decipher, a story that his tongue struggled to wrap around, a mystic ornament whose origins he knew nothing of.

"captain kaeya! fancy a drink tonight?"

his head whipped upwards to meet your starry eyes, bound to no one and devoid of hearts, only an endless sea of light and constellations that were no one's to steal.

"my, you offend me, shouldn't you know my answer to that by now, darling?" he wriggled out of the confines of his thoughts and slung an arm around your shoulder, letting you lead him to angel's share for the night.

RULE #3: SHOULD YOU FEEL THAT YOU'RE GETTING IN TOO DEEP, ABORT MISSION

to his surprise, it wasn't in his fancy getups or the sultry dip of his voice nor the alluring musk he adorned or the frosted tips of his fingers, but rather the late night talks of your beloved hobbies and the stories in which silver linings never found their way into the conversation: these were what worked.

his previous beaus have all settled for what he was—what he presented himself to be. but you, you dug deeper into the caverns of his mind and had him dig up ridiculous childhood stories involving him, a certain redheaded wine tycoon, and a bucket of seashells, told under moonlight and over aged wine. kaeya settled for obliging your requests for more embarrassing childhood stories of the charming and suave captain kaeya, and he indulged in your tales of adventuring and mystical stories of scholars and monsters; if possible, he'd love to hear your voice forever and ever on repeat in his ears.

but once you uprooted the vines and twiny branches tangling his heart and revealed the tender muscle and flesh underneath, panic began to course through his veins. this wasn't supposed to happen, you were a challenge, a game to bide his time with, a mere toy to satiate the curiosity within him.

so why was he the one whose heart couldn't sit still around you anymore?

kaeya alberich is not a desperate man, and so he runs as far away as he can. no more lingering touches, sultry remarks, or roses tucked behind your ears. no more rooftop conversations shared between a bottle of vodka or embarrassing childhood stories. no more teasing dares or battle of wits when dusk kissed the top of your heads. no more: all that remained within him was barren of life and ice cold. kaeya alberich is not a desperate man, and yet his heart still longed for you. his soul cried out when you approached with bounded steps and a gleeful smile on your face, only for him to greet you with a stiff nod saved for politics and family dinners and a strained, professional smile reserved for placement when he detested using it most.

the boiling hatred for himself began to rise and build up in the thin confines of his esophagus upon the smile disintegrating from your face, leaving behind a crestfallen nod of understanding in his wake. what stung more was the fact that upon looking into your eyes, they still swirled with vibrant stars and bands of constellations, but among the barrage of light were tiny, dotted hearts that thrummed with every single second your eyes gazed into his.

but he knew and he knew well, there was no going back once he'd pushed you away well and good, even if you had begun to take a true liking to him.

he was in too deep once he realized that it hurt to push you far, far away where he could never hurt you, and you him.

RULE #4: RULE #3 CAN BE NULL AND VOID IF YOUR BEAU HELPS YOU REALIZE THAT YOU'RE AN IDIOT

satisfaction and stability is all he has ever sought out for, but such things are a luxury in a world that conspires against him. any semblance of those principles must be treated as you would a spy or a criminal: dangerous, conniving, untrustworthy. good things can't happen to kaeya—if they do, they either last a fleeting moment or are lies wrapped in glittery present paper and tied neatly with a little bow.

what were you to him? a fleeting moment? or a lie dressed in fancy clothing? the meaning didn't matter any more, he'd push and push and push until you were far away from him and he could finally breath and revel in the calmness that he no longer feared having to get hurt.

except, he already was.

his heart ached and burned in his chest upon a mere glance at your face: sullen and lacking its usual charming mirth—the same charm that persuaded him to begin pursuing you in the first place. despite his airy, fouette lined steps and the musical cadence to his voice, the emptiness where your late night chats and clinks of alcohol to celebrate nothing in particular used to sit, felt so void of the warmth that encompassed him in your company.

perhaps fate was mocking him when your knuckles knocked heavy against the wood of his door one night, and your constellation ridden eyes still contained hearts that begun to warble in his presence.

"have i upset you in some way, captain?"

his carefully constructed mask remained pristine in place, yet jostled slightly at the hammer of his heart as he fought the urge to retreat backwards and hide under the covers like a small child.

"not at all."

your arms folded themselves across your chest in a guarded manner, a frown settling on your lips. "you're not calling me pet names anymore."

like a mechanical doll, his lips curved upwards to mimic the charming smile he'd given you so many nights ago, back when it was all just a simple game to him, "oh? i wasn't aware that you liked the pet names so much-"

"it's not just the pet names, kaeya!" the rest of his teasing remarks died in his throat upon the reveal of glistening tears that threatened to fall from your lashes. "you've been ignoring me, avoiding me like the plague. if i've truly done nothing wrong, why am i being treated as though i have? i thought we were friends?"

kaeya supposed you were much like a siren, with your bated beauty and alluring voice, you'd have him jumping ship and swimming towards a false reality lest his guard be let down. even with tears rolling down your face, he'd be damned if he wouldn't test the murky waters that surrounded your archipelago.

that is: if he were brave enough to enter the tempest of waves and secure his spot among your rocky shorelines.

"is it because i fancy you?"

at the tune of your timid void, his blood ran colder than ice in his veins, stilling for a minute before proceeds onwards languidly in a stark contrast to the rapid palpitations of his heart in his throat.

his silence seemed to be enough a reply for you, "i-i see, i'm sorry, i wasn't aware that you were so disgusted with me. i thought there was a chance...but it seems i was too hopeful." his eye found yours and the galaxies and constellations within began to dim and fade with light, leaving behind the burned remnants of dull and faded hearts that littered the spaces in between.

your heels turned to walk away but a sudden surge of strength found its way into his arms and his hand caught your elbow, grip fueled by emotions he couldn't decipher.

"i'm...far from disgusted with you, angel." his mind was screaming at him to let you go, to increase the distance between desire and temptation. but his heart had taken the reigns and there appeared to be no stopping. he was completely enraptured by your siren's song.

"angel, huh?" you sniffled, dragging your sleeve across your eyes with a strained smile, "that's a new one."

"reserved for you and you alone, darling."

the familiar, teasing atmosphere felt so welcome in his arms, as did you.

"come here," he cooed, voice lacking its usual teasing lilt and full of only genuinely concern as he gently tugged you forward and let you melt into his body. so warm, so tender, and ever so soft, your body melted against the thundering flames of his heart and merged into his chest. it was a feeling he'd dreamed about for so long, and if he were still dreaming, he wished to never wake up.

"i don't understand, i can't tell if you like me or dislike me." you laughed incredulously and pressed the heel of your palm to your head, still wrapped up in his embrace.

kaeya couldn't understand either, why his mind ushered him to release you from his grip and shove your memories of warmth and sunlight to the corners of his brain to never see daylight again. in contrast, why was it that his heart demanded to shower you in affection and let you know every second of every minute just how wrapped around your finger he was.

"well, i am a man of many mysteries. this is just one more i have to decipher." upon the playful smack of your palm to his chest and the frustrated smile you sent him, his worry dissipated into thin air and joined the stars above.

"i got in too deep, you're quite enticing, you know?" his heart soared upon finally seeing the scrunch of your noise and letting your giggles weave their way through the gaps in his heart, "but that's the thing, you're my biggest weakness and i was...terrified, because let's face it, sweetheart: nothing good ever happens to me."

his last words were uttered directly into your scalp, the high and mighty, confident captain kaeya too afraid to stare into your eyes and realize how weak of a man he truly was. his arms locked so tight around your waist in fear that moving would mean time would restart again, and he was more than happy to relive this moment forever and ever.

instead, your hands found their way around his torso, and those velvety lips that he'd spent so many hours fawning over and daydreaming of what they'd feel like upon his, gently pressed themselves to the line of his jaw.

"you should've told me how you felt, you're a big idiot, you know that?" if possible, he might have sagged in relief and went completely limp in your arms right then and there, but the loving gaze in which you tangled him up in had him staying upright just to see the stars reignite in your irises,

"but you don't have to worry. i promise you," he watched with bated breath as your hands moved to hold his face, thumb gentle tracing under the fabric of his charcoal eyepatch, "you deserve genuine, good things, even if they aren't me. you deserve them."

it turns out that kaeya alberich was in fact, a desperate man. desperate in the way his hands came to cup your cheeks and tilt your head to the side, allowing him perfect access to the lips he'd dreamed of kissing for so long. you fit into him like a puzzle piece, the warmth he'd be devoid of for so long began to fill up with your scent and your name began to etch itself into the white of his irises all while your lips molded so perfectly against his.

"you are something good," he broke away, panting for air to say those few words, pressing one more chaste kiss to your lips before continuing, "you're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

and he'd never let go again, not when you so readily dove back in to capture his lips just like you'd done his heart.

RULE #5: TREASURE EVERY MOMENT WITH THEM; LET YOUR WALLS DOWN

kaeya hadn't felt this light since he was a mere child with no weight on his shoulders or chains wrapped around his waist.

the simple slip of your hand into his had him seeing stars and breathing in a nose full of fresh roses and sparkling carnations doused in sugar and honey. you were so addicting, a new type of craving where his liver would no longer have to fight nightly battles or scream at him to cease his indulgences.

you were a drug that so easily coursed through his system and had him on a constant high with your gentle fragrance that wrapped itself in silky ribbons around his heart and your feather light touch upon his icy skin.

everything with you was an adventure to him, whether you babysat klee and played pirates for the afternoon, or stole necklaces and jewels from treasure hoarders to give back to their rightful owners, any time spent with you was time that he wished he could scoop up into a box to place in his pocket.

everything about you was so tantalizing and genuine. the minute his eyepatch fell off to reveal the hidden stories underneath, your arms found their way around his shoulders, and your hushed whispered reassured him over and over that no matter what you'd be right by his side: and that was all he ever needed. you embraced him whether he has tears running down his face, or was covered in dirt and grime from a day of fighting, you cared not for surface level appearances as you did the kind soul that laid beneath his charming layer.

but kaeya felt more inclined to look beyond the physical layers of your body in a manner of his hands skidding upwards under your shirt: cool fingertips gliding across searing hot skin eager for his touch. your hands traced the outlines of the numerous scars on his bare upper body. he watched with sheer adoration in his eyes as you covered a certain willowy patch of burnt skin rooting outwards from his shoulder with your kisses and affectionate, gentle strokes of your hands.

he fumbled with the elaborate buckles of his clothes, hands shaking despite having danced this tango numerous times. but this particular time felt so vulnerable, with each article of clothing he removed he felt his charismatic layers come undone until he was nothing but the timid, shy boy he once was. in your arms he breathlessly stole kiss after kiss from your air deprived lips and sought to take hold of all the love you could give. he traversed through the grooves of your skin up to the crook of your neck, where his eyes met yours for a brief moment before sliding shut and letting the gap be filled with your intertwined love.

with the final removal of his eyepatch, he was bare for you to see with both of your eyes for the monster he truly believed himself to be. and yet, you looped your arms around his neck and tugged him downwards, trapping him in a tender, slow, and riveting kiss.

"i love you, (y/n)," kaeya whispered against your lips, forehead pressed tightly against yours. you responded in kind with the gentle scrape of your nails against his bare, scarred back and the words he drank from your lips.

the minute you became one with him was when he finally understood what it meant to love someone with all your heart.

RULE #6: BE PATIENT, AND UNDERSTANDING

you were an enigma, truly enthralling and incomprehensibly thrilling. but perhaps too incomprehensible for him to understand at points. to yell at you with indignance in his voice would mean to surrender his right to ever be called yours, but the minute your accusing voice comes barreling through his bedroom doors, he's retreating into his shell and immediately considering the "what if's".

"kaeya, you can't be serious! you're injured, you can't possibly even think that you're in fit enough shape to be leading squadrons right now!"

he watched as you tried a gentle method of persuasion at first, only for it to escalate until you were practically begging him with a hoarse voice to please just lay back down and get some rest.

"i told you, dove," he paused, wincing to avoid any strain seeping into his voice as he shifted on the bed, "i'm perfectly fine. they need me there, i can't just say no. you know how it is, don't you, sweetheart?"

left alone to bare the barrage of a hilichurl attack, it was a miracle he managed to make it out with only moderate injuries. his shoulders were bandaged, left arm put in a brace and shin patched up for scrapes and bruises.

"please, kaeya..." he tried to catch your arm as you sank to the floor, words caught on the thorny edges of your muffled cries and choked sobs. your hands gripped onto his like a lifeline and squeezed with all your might, "you're not expendable, please, you need to get better first."

the expendable line played over and over again in his head, for years even. the guilt began to seep its way into his heart and he found himself ceding to your prayers.

"alright, dove, i promise you no more fighting for now," kaeya's large palm gently stroked the top of your head and silently rubbed away your worries, "but i am expecting entertainment while i'm bed ridden, some kisses would suffice wouldn't you say?" he broke out into a charming grin upon seeing the defeated smile on your face.

it was worth it if it meant he got to feel your lips on his. he'd take any chance to cherish this feeling.

RULE #7: SPEND YOUR MORNINGS TOGETHER IN COMPLETE BLISS

"leaving already?" kaeya's sleep ridden eyes registered the bleary image of you tugging your attire on for the day.

"yep! it'll be a short mission, i'll be back in time for lunch. should we eat at good hunter today?" beaming, you turned your eyes to him while your fingers busied themselves with lacing up the boots on your feet.

kaeya shifted to sitting upwards in bed and propped his chin up on his fist, "y'know, you'd look really good in a corset." he mused out loud, a dreamy smile on his face.

"hey, mister, you're getting distracted! good hunter for lunch today?" despite the chiding phrasing and the snapping of your fingers in front of his delirious face, it seemed just like him, you couldn't stop the smile from creeping onto your face.

"anywhere you want, darling. i'm good as long as it's with you." he watched as you padded over and sat on his side of the bed, stretching your hand out to cup his cheek only for his head to turn inwards and press a kiss to your palm.

"alright, good hunter it is."

he was sure it was a pain to get him to loosen his grip from around your waist, even as you trudged down the stairs and tried to convince him at the front door that you didn't need a kaeya-shaped utility belt.

now he wishes he never let go.

RULE #8: ALWAYS KISS THEM GOODBYE—YOU NEVER TRULY KNOW WHEN IT'LL BE YOUR LAST

even with the passage of so much time, your lips never failed to make him weak in the knees. still in the doorway of your shared home, he loathed the idea of letting you go, even if your mission was to be quick and easy and you'd be back in his arms in time for lunch at good hunter.

"can this mission be rescheduled? i don't recall the last time i had a proper day off, and i can't even spend it with you." like a kicked puppy, he pouted into the crook of your neck and swayed your intertwined bodies in the archway of the front door.

"unfortunately not," you stifled a giggle and brought his face downwards for another tender kiss, "but i promise that you'll have all of me as soon as i come back."

"you better keep your promise, darling." a kiss to your nose, a kiss to both your cheeks, eyelids, temples, neck, and one more chaste kiss to your smiling lips.

"you know i'm one to keep my word."

he never expected to be able to so freely say such weighted words without a barrage of weighted emotions clinging to his heart, but now he utters them so freely, so truthfully, and so wholly that he can hardly believe that it's his voice.

"i love you, (y/n)." with one more, lingering, tender, and gentle kiss, he could never be satisfied but it was enough to last him until lunch.

"and i love you, kaeya. i'll see you later!"

RULE #9: COME RUNNING WHEN THEY NEED YOU MOST

"s-sir kaeya..."

kaeya watched impatiently as the young knight caught his breath, dressed in his city clothes in preparation for lunch at good hunter.

"that's me, can i help-"

"it's master (y/n), t-they've been injured-!"

kaeya felt his heart still.

"send a healer after me!" he muttered lowly, grabbing his sword and coat.

the knight needed to say nothing more.

adrenaline carried kaeya's feet to where he knew you'd be, sword floating ferociously behind his back. this world couldn't take you from him, not the one good thing that's ever happened to him. anything but you.

images of your smile, sounds of your laugh, the feel of your soft, warm skin against his and the feelings that erupted in his heart when you held him so tenderly and pressed kiss after kiss to his lips...he pleaded with whatever archon, whatever deity was out there to spare your life.

but upon arriving at your mission site, it was clear that no archons nor deities cared for his mortal desires.

it was such a beautiful day: sun poured from the heavens and a gentle breeze complimented the beaming sun. but the thick pool of blood that surrounded your limp body and the mitachurl about to finish you off had him rushing forwards and impaling his sword straight into the monster's heart with a strangled cry, blood swishing in his ears once he got a proper look at you.

"no no no no no (y/n) look at me, come on, open your eyes-!" he cried out desperately, dropping to his knees. all he could see was the red that soaked your clothes from the open wound in your chest, eyes shut and rolling around in the back of your skull.

his hands clumsily fumbled with his silky, periwinkle cape, taking great care to press it to the large gash that lined your chest. "come on darling, we're gonna have lunch at good hunter's, y-yeah?" his eyes frantically searched for any signs of consciousness, and he sagged in relief upon seeing the beautiful, gem like color of your eyes peeping back at him.

"that's it, that's good, sweetheart. keep looking at me, darling, don't shut your pretty eyes, okay? the medic will be here soon, i promise." blood spattered up from your lips in a horrid cough and he felt the familiar dread and putrid stink of death come up to haunt him from behind his shoulders.

but not you, you wouldn't fall prey to the clutches of death.

"hey, hey, you're gonna be okay, i promise." but it seemed like he was trying to convince himself of something that could never be, not with the amount of blood that seeped through the thin material of his cape nor the paling of your skin and droopiness of your eyes.

"kae-ya..." your supple palm, coated in blood, staggered upwards to cup his cheek and swipe away at the tears that pooled from his exposed eyes.

when had he started crying?

RULE #10: MAKE SURE THEY KNOW THEY ARE LOVED

"no, darling, this isn't goodbye. you're going to be okay, you're going-" it was as if his words had grown thorns and impaled the thin walls of his neck: nothing came out despite his growing pleads and dwindling reassurances. the medic was nowhere in sight and his cape was soaked through with irony, sticky blood.

"kaeya..." he hardly recognized the hoarse, exhausted voice that crept out from your lips—lips that he adored so much.

his hand pressed itself against yours that firmly placed itself against his cheek, "what is it darling? what's wrong?"

the tears that had collected in your eyes finally began to trickle down the sides of your face as you struggled to raise your other hand to hold his tear soaked face in your hands.

"i love you, please don't forget that."

the mirrored world of rosy tints and honey glows began to shatter around him once he realized the true implications behind your loving words.

"i know, i know, sweetheart, and you can tell me tonight, and tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, and forever onwards," there was a manic desperate tone to his voice as he scrambled to put pressure on the wound and keep your warmth intact. he was sure if his knees were to dig any further into the earth, he'd become one with the dirt and perhaps that'd be a better fate than losing you forever.

"no...need to tell you...now...kaeya..." even on death's door, your stubbornness reigned supreme as your bloodied hand placed itself over the hand he'd been using to put pressure on your wound.

you arms silently stretched out towards him and he took your body into his gratefully, cradling your head to his chest as if you were constructed of fragile glass or thin marble.

his cries were ceaseless and of a man who was desperate for a miracle, for anything, just for your brevity and a moment longer where he can hold your face and kiss you without tasting the tang of blood on his tongue. even as your lips dried and breaths began to slow, his lips lingered all over your skin and left tingles in his wake, followed by strangled "i love you"s strung together with broken cries and warbled sobs.

"you deserve...good...things..." you quietly mumbled, taking great care to brush aside the locks from his face.

your words only elicited a mangled cry from his lips as his thumbs ran their soft pads over the plump of your cheeks, covered in both a mix of your tears and his, "but you are my good thing," and he repeats the words he said so many nights ago with heavy breaths and choked cries, "you're the best thing that's ever happened to me." and like so many nights, he pressed his forehead against yours and takes in the last sight of your beautiful eyes, aglow with love and satisfaction.

just as the medic arrives on scene, the wispy winds of your last breath fall against his lips and his world begins to crumble to dust.

RULE #11: NEVER FALL IN LOVE

date published: september 3rd, 2021