All the Oneshots and Scenarios I've done for Nine Sols from my AO3 and Wattpad will be achieved here for the ones who read this on Tumblr
All Oneshots from AO3 will be categorized down below
Individual characters (some may overlap if it's between two characters and not reader)
YI
- Yi x Goumang
- Yi x Shy Solarian! Reader (Pt. 1) (Pt.2 coming soon)
- Yi x Childhood Friend Solarian! Reader
- Yi x Female Apprentice Solarian! Reader
- Yi x Ji (Crackfic)
KUAFU
-
RUYI/ABACUS
- Abacus x AI Reader
JI
- Ji x Solarian! Reader
- Ji x Solarian Spouse! Reader
- Ji x Yi (Crackfic)
JIEQUAN
- Jiequan x Soldier Solarian! Reader (SMUT)
CHIYOU
-
YANLAO
- Getting Decked (Crackfic)
FUXI
- Fuxi x Fiancé Solarian! Reader
NUWA
- Nuwa x Lover Solarian! Reader
LADY ETHEREAL
- Lady Ethereal x Solarian! Co-worker Reader (HURT/COMFORT)
- Lady Ethereal x Male Scientist Solarian! Reader
GOUMANG
- Yi x Goumang
- Goumang x Solarian! Reader (ANGSTY)
- Goumang x Adopted Male Solarian Child! Reader (pt.1) (pt.2) (pt.3) (pt.4) (pt.5) (pt.6 coming soon)
HENG
- Heng x Dusk Guardian! Reader
EIGONG
-
Scenarios Involving everyone will be listed down below
Sols on Some Days
All Sols x Male Solarian! Reader
All Sols x Male Ticklish Solarian! Reader (Crackfic)
Oneshots & Scenarios will involve Special Characters
"...No..." The small Solarian lowered her head, "I'm sorry"
A tight smile found its way on the older Solarian in front of her, "There's nothing to be sorry about" They gave an evidently pained chuckle. Chien heard fabric shuffling, they probably stood up from their crouching position
"You have nothing to be sorry for, kid. Take care"
Chien felt her head begin to hurt more and more. The onslaught of memories were a lot- granted, there weren't any images for her to remember- but the countless conversations they held back on New Kunlun. Them taking care of her as child along with Shanhai 9000
"Take your time- don't push yourself to remember anything if it hurts"
She remembers how they had somewhat adopted her when she had gotten separated-abandoned by her mother. Them escorting her to New Kunlun as that was their destination as she was informed- and naturally, when she thought of such a memory, it was a jumbled amalgamation of distorted voices overlapping
Thinking back on it, it was (y/n)'s with the crowd of people rushing into New Kunlun
She remembered an intense pain that overcame her moments later- which she knew now as her being trampled by the horde of people after her mother's violent rejection. From there, she didn't know what happened.
Finding her voice,
"Why didn't you stay with me? Did you want nothing to do with me anymore?"
There was a moment of silence before the Solarian gave a chuckle, "Why didn't I stay? All I wanted was to stay by your side but alas- things got complicated when you lost your memory"
"Is that it? All you have to say? You up and left me when you were so close?"
"What more is there to say? You didn't remember me, so it'd be weird for me, a grown man to keep approaching a blind child. Besides-" He let out a bitter laugh, "She provided a more secure living situation for you than I ever could-if you getting trampled on by a crowd wasn't proof enough"
'but that wasn't your fault..!' was what Chien wanted to say to him but she held her tongue
A moment of silence overtook the two before Chien opened her mouth-
"........Can I feel your face?"
A moment passed before an exhale was released from (y/n), "Sure, why not. I must warn you; I've gotten some wrinkles here and there..."
Chien paused before moving closer- only for a chuckle to fill the space
"You're a little off"
Chien felt a presence to her right and was turned to face (y/n)
"You're still as easy to maneuver as ever, kiddo"
His (sunken/plump/soft/rough) cheeks were the first thing that she came into contact with. His (fur/skin) moved with her hand as she moved to his chin- being met with a (smooth/ furry/ pointy/ dull) chin
"You're right. You have aged"
"......Is that a good thing or bad thing.....?"
"A good thing of course"
He hummed as she moved her hands from his chin, up to his cheek and to the forehead, being met with a (smooth/wrinkly/saggy) texture. She hummed before her hand moved down a bit more, coming into contact with his (chipped/cut/scarred) 'eyebrow'. She slowly inched down, feeling the edges of his eyes,
"You have some nice eye lashes, and your eyes are (sharp/ soft/ big/ small)"
"Is that all? No other thoughts or questions?"
"Well, what is your eye color?"
"(eye color)"
"Ah, like (object that matches color). I hear it's the same color"
"Maybe- but not the same shade"
She hummed, "Is your (fur/skin) a certain color?"
"(fur color)"
"...I wish I could see you. Even Shanhai 9000"
"I wish you could see yourself"
"Huh?"
"You've grown so much from the girl I helped all those hundreds of years ago. I'm not your parent or even guardian- just some random guy. I know I don't have any right to be proud or, you know, accomplished as if I did anything to help you grow"
"(y/n), if it weren't for you and Shanhai 9000, I wouldn't be here"
Ji and Reader relax in the Grotto- pay a visit to Jiequan- the usual
Fluff
Posted on my Wattpad
Laying down in a makeshift bed in the grotto, (y/n) laid on their stomach, their head in their arms as they watched their husband read up on some scrolls that have just been delivered from Yanlao's district.
"Why do you like physical scrolls so much? You could always just bring it up from the networks' collective library." (y/n) peaked at the contents before looking back at their husband. Ji tilted his head to 'look' down at (y/n) ...but his eyes were closed but the eye on his emerald lace was locked on them.
"I could but, I believe scrolls are much more my style. More my time." Ji shrugged his shoulders.
"Hm, whatever makes you comfortable."
"..."
"..."
A comfortable silence overtook the two, (y/n) laid their head in their crossed arms, eyes closed as Ji looked back to the scroll ...until-
"Better yet, why do you read stuff like this to begin with? You were there when these events occurred, right?"
(y/n) raised themselves from their laying position to sitting on their knees like their husband, looking to him with a curious tilt of their head.
"I remember it all, down to the minutiae detail." Ji gave a small smile, "I just find it interesting how these scrolls can sway people's viewpoints and opinions with blatant bias. Sympathizing and victimizing one side while condemning and demonizing the other, completely abandoning any morale complexity."
"Oh, this is your form of humor?"
"I suppose you can say that." Ji's small smile wasn't so joyful, "Not many things faze me anymore."
(y/n) didn't have to be a genius to know that he was troubled by his gifts but, he didn't need empty assurances it'll be okay, he would prefer to be confronted with reality and solutions.
"That's a shame. Maybe you should take a break from your hexagrams and live in the unknown, for a day at least." (y/n) raised their hand and placed it on his scroll, lowering it a bit as he 'looked' at them.
"I could do that but knowing that disaster will befall the Solarian race soon, it is best to know in advance to guarantee your safety."
(y/n) gave a small hum as they gave comforting rubs to his paw.
"Are you tired, darling?" Ji asked, seemingly taking notice of the little waver in their posture and very faint bags under their eyes.
"Just a little."
"Would you like to rest in our bed?"
"Nope. I'm perfectly fine here."
"If you say so, beloved."
A comfortable silence overtook them again as they basked in each other's company. Ji had placed the scroll on the ground as he guided his beloved to lay beside him. The sleek of the slabs and humid air added to the scenery and peaceful vibe. Nothing could truly ruin this moment-
"Pardon me, Prophet!"
A lowly informant stood at the entrance of the Grotto's inner chamber, a scroll held in their hands as they made their way towards Ji and (y/n).
"Please excuse my impudence but an urgent message has addressed your presence...!"
"Hm, thank you. You can take your leave." Ji didn't sound annoyed or even surprised by the sudden appearance... he probably saw it coming.
Ji took the deep red scroll into his hands, opening to read the contents inside. (y/n) looked over and the first thing their eyes caught was the Jie Kingdom sigil at the bottom. No one was allowed to engrave such a thing except-
"It appears General Jiequan requests my presence."
Ji looked from the scroll to his beloved,
"Would you like to come, dearest?"
"Eh, sure. Got nothing better to do anyways."
Ji raised himself from his sitting position and offered a hand to (y/n) to which they took without hesitance. He quickly took his signature veil and grew into his more... bigger form. Keeping their hand in his, in a flash, they disappeared from the Grotto and found themselves in Jiequan's quarters, behind a faint golden screen that only showed their outlines.
Quickly taking refuge to the ground on their knees, (y/n) hid their shadowy silhouette as they listened in... all the while, they eyed Ji's bigger form.
"Fellow Prophet, happy you could join me this fine evening. I was expecting you to be here a second earlier, but I digress." Jiequan was slouched on a golden chair...nude, as he sipped away at his concoction in his kettle, "Has my destiny changed?"
"No." Ji gave a simple reply as he moved his clawed hands to his waist. "Really? You didn't do a hexagram." Based off of Jiequan's sudden posture adjustment through the tan screen, no longer laying down but sitting with his legs on one side of the seat, (y/n) could guess an eyebrow was raised.
"I did an earlier hexagram before you summoned me."
(y/n) gave side eye-
"Is that so? You must've seen my summoning in advance, Prophet." Jiequan gave a creepy giggle, "Your ability continues to impress me."
Ji gives a shake of his head, "If that is all, and I know it is, I shall take my leave." Ji beckoned for (y/n) to take his hand and they do so, the silhouette being seen through the screen-
"Oh, before you go-"
"The answer is no." and like that, Ji and (y/n) were back in the Grotto.
(y/n) looked at Ji for a second, "I'm guessing you already knew what he was going to ask?" Ji gave a light chuckle to which (y/n) raised an eyebrow.
Goumang x Adopted Male Solarian Child! Reader (pt.5)
Things begin to go awry- the readers siblings are missing and so has Yi
Angst/PLATONIC
Posted on my Wattpad
Previous (pt.4)
Continue (Coming Soon)
"Goumang, where's Long and Gong?" (y/n) gripped at Goumang's clothes, looking up at her...well, he has grown over time, about the height of her stomach.
"...Who?"
"Long and Gong. My siblings...?"
"Oh."
Goumang looked off to the side.
"Their busy"
"With what? Can I help?"
"No, it's something only they can do"
"But-"
"Goumang"
They turned their heads to see none other than Jiequan standing in the doorway
"It is done" He gave a manical smile and cackle, "What fine hero's you've allowed to be forged!"
Any other time, Goumang would object but this is an easy out from the conversation at hand
"...We'll pick up this conversation another time, yeah?"
"...I suppose..."
With that Goumang left with Yi, leaving (y/n) standing all alone with his thoughts
"Oh, come on (y/n)! Can't you tell something fishy is going on!? Your siblings-the ape-man who you were with-surely, you think that's an indicator for something?"
"But...Surely, she wouldn't have done anything to them.... Their family."
Chien took a deep sigh, clutching the spear in her grasp, "Have you ever wondered why there were ape-man here to begin with?"
"Not really...I-does it even matter? I just want to know where Long and Gong are and yet Goumang isn't telling me anything!"
"As if she's purposefully avoiding the topic"
"I... why would she avoid it?! She doesn't have anything to hide"
"Listen, (y/n)" Chien's face became scarily serious, "There are some horrible things happening around here-things even I can't describe without endangering you"
"What...?"
"I recommend you don't let anyone know that you suspect anything-nothing at all"
"Chien, what're you talking about...? Where is this coming from?"
"(Y/N), I fear the worst has happened"
________________________________________________________________________________
"S-0145 proved to be a bit scrawnier than protocol so he's a lot smaller but that'll make him faster and more precise with his movements. S-0159 was just right! He's bigger consequently so he'll move slower but he's a heavy hitter"
A fellow intern had looked over the two pods containing the two Ape-Man, with a holographic notepad in his hands, detailing the latest results to Goumang and Jiequan
"Is it everything you wanted in bodyguards?" Jiequan looked from the tubes to Goumang
"What will be the thing that'll dictate their actions? How will they take my orders?"
Jiequan looked to the intern for elaboration at Goumang's question, "What'll be the means to control them?"
"The catalyst? We'll use an old remnant device that'll lock itself around their necks and contort their minds...for the time being, I'll work on a vessel to be the trigger for the device. Something that her lady, Sol Goumang, can use without much effort"
"How long will that take?"
The intern looked to their notes, "It'll all be ready before the next hibernation period" They looked to the two Sols, "They should be shipped to your personal chambers with everything you'll need to get them active as everything else has been set-up for your convenience"
Goumang took a breath as she looked up at S-0145 and S-0159...her mind drifted to (y/n) and how he'll feel-react to this.
'What if-No, I already know he won't like this...........what if he doesn't HAVE to see them'
"Intern" That got their attention, "Instead of dropping them off at my chambers, I want them to be transported directly to Agrarian Hall and have a Dusk Guardian stationed to not allow anyone inside"
"Ah" The intern hummed as they looked back at the two subjects, "Then I must request-"
"Yes, yes, I know, I'll have the Yellow Water temporarily turned off for the time being for your ventures through and out"
They gave a bow, "May Sols Eternal Light Shine Through Us"
In the meantime, (Y/N) had made his way to Yi's Four-Seasons Pavilion
.................
Only to find a number of robotic looking guys rummaging around, armed with spears, swords, and bows
Yi was nowhere in sight and the subtle hum of Abacus' system was completely absent
(y/n) got a bad feeling in his chest as he stood at the entrance
Watching these guys carelessly move if not throw things around, searching and confiscating things was concerning-and Yi wasn't in sight! He wouldn't have allowed something like this to happen!
Moving closer, he was immediately frozen when one of them caught his eye and moved towards him
"Halt. This is a restricted zone. Turn back or you will be forcefully removed"
"...What?"
"Young man, turn back or you will be forcefully removed"
"Why is it restricted? Did something happen?"
"Last warning, turn back or you will be forcefully removed"
"Where's Yi?! What happened to h-"
He was cut off as the robot looking Solarian grabbed him by the back of his shirt and marched to the entrance. (y/n) flailed around, trying to get loose but they never wavered in their movements or grip
"Shut it down"
(y/n)'s ear twitched at the sound of a voice. He tried and failed to crane his neck but what caught his attention was the background that showed a beautiful morning started to pixelized, hexagrams cutting into the effortless holograms before it turned black.
About everything was cloaked in darkness-
"What of the Sphere?"
"It is too valuable to destroy. Cut off most of its power reserves, put up several firewalls in its system, and block its access to the central network-be careful to not harms its core"
(y/n) didn't know what they meant but he knew it was bad-
"Gack!!"
(y/n) was thrown headfirst to the ground outside of the Pavilion, "OW!"
The robot looking Solarian couldn't be bothered to glance at him before they turned around and closed the door
Immediately getting up he tried to open the door only to find that it wouldn't budge
"Dang It! Let me in! Please!"
He banged on the door over and over and over again only to be met with silence
.....
His hands began to ache, badly before he slumped to his knees. He brought his hands to his face and let some stray tears loose-not like he could stop them
Dad
Long
Gong
Yi
Abacus
What happened to them?
Why can't he find them?
Where did they go?
Was it his fault?
Did he do something?
"Why does everyone leave...?"
........
"(Y/N)!"
He flinched but made no moves as he heard the familiar sound of Goumang's flapping getting closer
"Oh, here you are! Why did you wander off so late?! I've told you to not do so-and look at this-"
He felt her presence beside him and her feathers almost tickled as they touched at his hands
"You're bleeding! What did you do-"
Before she could finish, she felt arms wrap around her. The boy had locked his arms around her, snuggling his face into her chest
"Mom...!"
Her breath got caught in her throat at the sudden title-
"Wha-Who're you callin-"
"I want to go home...!!" He looked up at her, face a damp and snotty mess, "I want my dad! -Long, Gong, and Yi! Where did they go!?"
...........
She had nothing to say
She simply looked at him for a moment longer before she brought him into a hug, making sure his face was tucked back in her chest
Then he wouldn't see it
The way how her face was conflicted
It was pressed into a clenched jaw frown at the misery of the child in her arms, feeling for him and the upcoming despair if he ever found out the secrets, she withheld from him and yet-
A grin took its place- knowing what had become of Yi
The footage
The status reports
She made sure to lap up every detail from the monitors with Jiequan before she came across (y/n) and even backed them up for her pleasure
...Yet another secret she'll have to keep from (y/n)
Goumang x Adopted Male Solarian Child! Reader (pt.4)
The reader meets Chien, hangs out with Yi and Abacus/Ruyi (Surface-level filler for the other characters)
Angst/Fluff/PLATONIC
Posted on my Wattpad
Previous (Pt.3)
Continue (Pt.5)
"Why're your eyes white?" (y/n) took in appearance of another young Solarian as him "I've never seen eyes like this before! Their so cool looking!"
"Young man, do lower your voice. She's still recovering from her injuries"
"Oh, right" He lowered his voice and head to the ground, "Sorry Ma'am"
Eigong let out a hum as she moved to leave, "Chien, I expect you to meet a fellow Dusk Guardian later for further training. I expect you to be on time"
"Ah, r-right Lady Eigong...! I won't disappoint!"
"No stuttering, young lady"
"Right, of course, Lady Eigong"
Eigong gave another hum as she took her leave
...
"So~" He gave a giggle, "Your name is Chien...!" He moved onto the hospital bed and faced her head on, "Its nice to meet you, Chien-I'm (y/n) (l/n)!"
".... It's nice to meet you too, (y/n)"
...
"That lady was very scary"
"Yeah, we can agree on that"
________________________________________________________________________________
"Oh-and this is where I sleep sometimes!" (y/n) tugged Chien over to his vital sanctum layout. He let her take in the sight...only to remember- "Oh! My bad! It's like a cool platform where I float and then-BOOM-" Chien flinched at the sudden noise to which (y/n) apologized before continuing, "I'm in this pretty space where I dream-like, all the time...! Its super cool!"
Chien hummed as she felt around the mechanical mechanism, "Do you only float? That seems very uncomfortable if you're like that for an extended period of time" to which (y/n) shook his head-only to remember she can't see-
"Oh no, there's a place I can lay in on top of this thing. I've put in a number of pillows-although you can have some for your vital sanctum"
"I'm not sure if you should be hanging out with that blind girl"
"Huh? Why?"
"She is under Eigong's supervision, so she'll have a tight schedule to fulfil and even less free time in the future"
"But-"
"For your own sanity, (y/n), you should just keep away"
"But isn't it better to push through the hardships and turmoil for someone?"
Yi raised a brow, "Where'd you learn something like that from?"
"Abacus, he recited some poem and scrolls to me when you weren't around"
"I see"
Yi turned back to the Mystic Nymph on the desk in front of him
A comfortable silence overtook the two as the buzz of Yi's electric knife, Abacus' systems hummed and (y/n)'s shifting feet rubbed at the fabric from his clothing, filled the silence
"Isn't S-0145 and S-0159 entertainment enough? Are you getting bored of them?"
"........Who?"
"The two Ape-Man you've surrounded yourself with"
"Ah, my siblings! Um, no, that's not it. They've been disappearing here and there. When I want to hang out with them, they'd either be there or gone-they've been gone more and more lately"
"Really?"
"Yeah! I've asked Goumang about it, but she never answers me!"
Yi hummed, "Well, I'll ask her when I have the time to do so"
"Watch your fingers, don't prick yourself with the needle"
"Gentle brush strokes, be mindful of the ink bleeding through"
"Take a break from the I-pad every hour, as recommended by several reliable Solarians"
"Climbing Stork Tower? The Zhongnan Mountains? The Crying Ospreys? These are some poems I have stored that I have yet to share, would you like to hear them?"
"If you want, I can help you write your own poems-or perhaps a simple story"
(y/n) wrapped his arms around the sphere, well, as much as he could anyways, in a hug
"Thanks, Abacus"
"No problem, young (y/n)"
________________________________________________________________________________
"You wouldn't ever lie to me, right?"
"I am not permitted to obscure or lie about my intentions or belief...even then, no, I would never lie to you, young (y/n)"
"Yeah...At the very least, I can trust you won't lie to me"
"Of course, it is very freeing to speak the truth, nothing to hide or take to the grave-no burden to weigh me down"
Goumang x Adopted Male Solarian Child! Reader (pt.3)
The reader presses about their absent father, much to Goumang's frustration
Angst & Hurt/Comfort
PLATONIC
Previous (Pt.2)
Continue (Pt.4)
"When will I see my dad again?"
"(y/n)" An aggravated sigh left Goumang's lips, "We've talked about this. It'll be a long, long time until you see that man again." Goumang tried to keep her focus on the capsule of a growing root and vine in front of her, carefully monitoring and adding nutrients, additives and supplements she created herself.
"I know that's what you said but...I" (y/n) looked down at the tiled floor, wringing the end of his kimono, "I really miss him." (y/n)'s vision started blurring a bit, clouded with tears teeming on the edge of his eyes, "I miss h-him so m-much...I want my d-dad" his voice started breaking as he fought back tears.
Goumang frustratingly put down the vials and turned to the crying boy, "(y/n), what part of what I'm saying are you not understanding...?" Goumang got up from her seat and stood over the sad boy, "He. Isn't. Here." Her eyes narrowed, "And if you know what is good for you, you'd best not bother me with this repetitive nagging...!"
"But, I-"
"Do I make myself clear, little boy!?"
"..."
Before Goumang to register what was happening, (y/n) had already fled the room-to where- neither of them knows
________________________________________________________________________________
(y/n) clutched at Yi's coat, rubbing their tear and snot ridden face on it, much to Yi's discomfort.
"And I don't know what to do...-s-she was so mad...!"
"I can imagine. It doesn't take much to make her agitated"
The growing kid kept crying, having removed himself from Yi and slumped on a nearby couch. Now the couch was at the mercy of the boy's misery. Curling into himself and turning his back to the world, he tuned everything out, ears flat against his head
Yi knew there was little he could do to comfort the boy and as much as he had better things to do, he couldn't turn a blind eye to this...well, he could, but at the same time, the boys a hot mess in the middle of the pavilion so it'd be insensitive to leave the situation as is (even when he begs to differ)
Removing his bright yellow coat, he laid it over top the boy as a makeshift cover
"Was Eigong's assignment really worth it?" Yi leaned against the door. "He's in quite a lot of distress back in my domain." Goumang heaved a sigh, her already slouched figure somehow leaning even more, "Don't remind me."
"At some point, are you going to tell him the truth? He'll only buy this ruse so many times."
"Clearly, you don't know anything about kids, as if he could understand or grapple with the truth."
"And you don't seem to understand how taxing this falsehood is"
"Look, runt-"
"No, perhaps we shouldn't have been so complacent" Yi heaved a sigh, "you have to tell him the truth"
"Are you tone death? Why would I tell him something like that while he's in such a state?"
"I never said right now-"
"You're very much insinuating it"
"And what if I am?"
Goumang threw a glare his way
"You aren't the one who has to deal with the fallout so don't push your 'righteous' actions onto me, Yi" Goumang sat up straight, "Stay in your lain and STOP shoehorning yourself into this matter as if you care"
"I'm not shoehorning myself into this as much as I'm always the one he runs to when something comes up with you"
"AND LET ME GUESS-you just want him to stop being a bother to your oh-so 'important' projects...!" She stood up, towering over Yi, "You don't care for that boy or what becomes of him- so stop talking up a high game as if you know everything when you clearly don't"
"And you're any better-"
“Very much so-atleast I can stay in my lain and read the room unlike some runt I know”
Yi heaved a sigh
“I’ve had enough of this”
Goumang clapped her wings
“I bet you have, getting your ear talked off isn’t so pleasant, is it?”
“Then why do you bother with him when you can just give him away?”
“Because I won’t just sweep away any and all inconveniences to take the easy way out, unlike you?”
"I don't sweep anything away-I deal with it swiftly, so it won't be an issue later" Yi looked up at her, "Maybe you should take some notes"
"Goumang? Yi?"
They both shut their mouths as they looked towards the door, seeing (y/n) standing there, Yi's coat hanging on their shoulders. One of his hands clutched the coat and the other rubbed at his damp face
"Are you guys, okay? I-"
Before (y/n) could continue his sentence, he found himself engulfed in an embrace. Feathers ticked his face and the back of his neck.
...
It was right there-
On her tongue
I'm sorry
But Tao and Yi be damned if they'll catch her saying such submissive words-even to (y/n)
Throwing a look to Yi
He got what she was throwing down and moved to leave-not before he threw one last glare her way and she returned it ten-fold
Yi promptly took his leave seeing as he was no longer needed (...dang)
...
After the door closed behind him-
Goumang took a breath as she looked at (y/n)
"Do you trust me?"
"...yes, of course I do"
"Then I'll have to ask for you to trust that you'll see your father much later into the future ...alright?"
"I know-and you've said so every time I ask but..."
He clutched at Yi's coat still around his shoulder
"Why can't I see him now? Why can't I hear anything about him?"
Goumang heaved, feeling another vein about to pop before she eased down her blowout
"Your father is busy, (y/n)" She gave a smile, "Wouldn't you hate to bother him when he's so busy?"
.....
After a moment, he gave a slow nod before he looked to the ground
"...............okay"
"Good"
She rubbed at his head
"Good boy"
She raised herself back to her original height
"Would you like a treat? I was thinking of making something sweet-your favorite- Grass Jelly"
Now that caught (y/n)'s attention
"Yes please...!"
"Of course," She moved to start making it-
"Can Long and Gong get some?"
".......Who?"
"My siblings"
"................................Ooh, those two"
She moved closer
"Unfortunately, they'll have to abstain"
"But-"
"I know, I know-but........." After a moment "too much Mesona, starch and sugar has been bad for them, so they need to eat some proper nutrients-like Miso Soup and Steamed Fish"
"Well, if they can't eat it-then I won't either!"
"No, no, no, Young man, you will eat it. I'll put some aside for them to eat once their health is stabilized"
Goumang x Adopted Male Solarian Child! Reader (pt.2)
Goumang stresses the importance of all three children's diet so much, so Yi intervenes
Fluff & Angst/ PLATONIC
Posted on my Wattpad
Previous (Pt.1)
Continue (Pt.3)
"Oh no, no, no, no, no, where is he? Not here-and not here! Where is he!?"
Goumang looked all around the kitchen as she looked for (y/n). She took her eyes off that kid for a meager second to get a radish and he disappeared!! To make it worse, the two ape-men children she also adopted were nowhere in sight!!
She looked through the monitors of the Peach Blossom Village to see no (y/n) or her ape-men mingling with the other ape-men. She found no luck in surveying the Ape Processing Plant
Taking her search outside of her domain, she looked all over New Kunlun. She looked through the Empyrean District and asked Nuwa, but she couldn't be bothered to answer. Not like she'd know anyways.
She flew to the warehouse where Yanlao was in his vital sanctum, hibernating. He clearly doesn't know.
Reluctantly, she made her way to the Alchemy Factory. Regrettably, she saw Jiequan chilling with absolutely nothing on, sipping on whatever was in his kettle. He hadn't seen them, although he'd love to get to work on modifying the Ape-Men kids soon.
On her ventures, she never came across Ji, Kuafu or Lady Ethereal. They weren't at their designated districts.
If Goumang had hands, she would've been pulling at her fur in frustration.
"You seem to be having trouble."
Goumang looked behind her to see Yi.
"It doesn't concern the likes of you."
"I beg to differ."
Yi motioned for Goumang to follow him, and she would've ignored him however, she's grasping at straws at this point. It appears as though he was indirectly telling her, you know what.
Throughout the walk, Goumang couldn't help but notice how Yi had his hands engulfed in his sleeves...almost as if he was hiding something in his intertwined sleeves. She couldn't care to comment though.
It was a quick 5-minute walk as Yi opened the doors to his domain, the pavilion. Yi and Goumang looked around to be met with a clean and comfortable living room and no kids in sight. Looking towards Yi,
"Were you just wasting my time?! I have important things to do!"
Yi paid her absolutely no mind as he made his way farther in the room, to the center of living space and whipped out a handful of Suzhou candy from his hand underneath his sleeve. Not even a second later, a series of giggles came from around the room.
One of the ape-men kids came from under the couch, another came from the branches of a nearby tree and finally, the young solarian, (y/n), popped out from behind Abacus' giant sphere.
"Wowie! He brought candy!"
"Is it super sweet?"
"Thanks, Yi!"
All three kids gave Yi a big hug before they took the candy and sat on the floor, chowing away-
"Put the candy down!"
Goumang's voice cut through the calming atmosphere as all the kids jumped and looked at Goumang who they failed to notice. Immeditately dropping the candy, they got up from the ground and looked at Goumang,
"Greenhouse. Now."
With that, the kids escorted themselves out, looking upset. Once Goumang and Yi were alone,
"...How long has this been going on?"
Goumang looked towards Yi with a harsh glare, a glare he met head on with no visible expression,
"A while."
"Giving them candy behind my back? You know better than to mess around with their diets, Yi!"
"...I'm no parent myself but, it would do you some good to not be so strict with him. Having candy every once in a while, won't be the death of him. He's a kid, Goumang."
Without another word, Goumang left the pavilion, making double sure to slam the door as Yi just stood there, shaking his head.
Back at Goumang's domain, the three kids sat at the dining table with their heads down. They would talk amongst each other however, Goumang made her way into the room. The kids kept their heads down in shame as she looked down at them.
After a moment, she made herself situated in a highchair and released a sigh.
........
.....
...
"A compromise is in order, I suppose." Goumang all but gritted out after releasing quite the dramatic sigh.
"After you eat all your food, I'll allow you to eat..." Goumang nearly threw up, "some-gah- candy."
Goumang was sure it was her body rejecting and convulsing after having to bend to someone else's desires. Straying from her own.
...
A second went by as the kids looked between themselves before the kids cheered and rushed to hug Goumang.
"Yay!"
"...can we have some now?"
"haha, don't push it. Every other meal, you'll get some candy."
Her eyes drift to the two ape-man kids
"Especially you two. I can't have your bodies faltering too much from protocol."
"Protocol?" (y/n) chipped in,
"You don't have to worry about it. It'll be a while from now anyways."
Goumang gently pushed them away before making her way to the kitchen,
"Dongpo pork with stir-fry shrimps and pork dumplings."
"Yeah!"
She wasn't really asking but whatever.
"We love you, mam-Goumang!"
She stopped in her tracks for a second before she gave them a small smile and made her way to the kitchen.
Goumang x Adopted Male Solarian Child! Reader (pt.1)
Goumang and Yi comes across as a kid alone as New Kunlun is about to take off
Fluff & Angst/ PLATONIC
Posted on my Wattpad
Cont.
Part 2
"And enlighten me on how you even got on New Kunlun, young man."
"My dad told me to come here, and I did."
Yi looked at the young Solarian boy who was about the same height as him.
"...Where is he? He must be really irresponsible to leave a child on their own."
"Oh! He's back at home! He said I'll see him again at some point!"
"Oh."
Yi uttered as he looked at the young (f/c) solarian as he looked at them with big (e/c) eyes.
"Do you know when I'll see him again? I want to give him his bag back. It's really heavy."
"Bag?"
Yi tilted his head as he noticed the torn bag in the boy's hand,
"May I see it?"
Yi offered a hand to which the boy obliged. Yi took the bag and opened it to see bags of chips and a couple of bottles of water. Yi looked a bit deeper to see a small device at the bottom. Taking it out, he examined it, seeing it partially damaged and would need a bit of repairs.
"Who's this?"
A sudden voice came from behind him, a voice he remembers well,
"Goumang."
"Hm? Who is this little boy? Don't tell me you have a son, Yi."
"Not at all. If anything-"
Yi looks to the boy.
"What is your name?"
Goumang scoffs and folds her...wings.
"You didn't even ask the boy his name."
"I asked now."
"My name is (y/n) (l/n)...!"
Goumang moved closer to the boy and examined his form.
"(y/n), huh? How old are you?"
"11"
"For an 11-year-old, you're malnourished looking. What do you say about coming with me to get some food?"
"Yeah!"
With that Goumang escorted the boy to the closet dining area, completely forgetting Yi. In his lonesome, he overlooked the device in his hands and shrugged, he may as well see what's on it.
________________________________________________________________________________
"There's a lot of food here....!"
"Indeed, no Solarian shall experience any form of hunger with me around."
"With you around? Do you cook?"
"I do more than that, (y/n). I synthesize the food that'll supply our voyage here. You're welcome."
Goumang puffed her chest out in pride as she overlooked the young solarian fill his plate with as much food as he could fit on it before making his way to Goumang.
"We'll eat in my chambers. I'd like to get to know you a bit more. Would you like to get to know me more?"
"Yeah, you seem very nice!"
With that, Goumang led (y/n) to her chambers and had her servants set up a little dining area in front of her tall throne.
"Do you have any family here?"
"I don't think so. It was always just me and my dad."
"Hm, no mom or siblings?"
The boy shrugs as he stuffed his face with more food.
"You eat like you haven't in a long time. Did your dad ever feed you?"
"Mhm...! He'd always let me eat first."
"...You don't seem bothered by the fact you're alone here. No relatives or possibly friends."
"Huh? My dad said I'd never be alone, there'd always be others who'd look out for me."
"He seems way too hopeful of strangers looking out for his kid."
Once again, the boy shrugs again.
"Well, I guess he'd be right." Goumang muttered to herself
(y/n) finished up all of his food and looked at Goumang and she returned the look.
"...Your clothes are dirty; would you like some new ones?"
"Pajamas?"
"Yeah, sure but first, I'll have someone give you a bath."
Having put the kid down for a nap, Goumang made her way to the Pavilion, she saw Yi tinkering with the device.
"Anything?"
"Based off of the interior and roughly put together wiring, an illegal handmade communicator but, it's been reconstructed to store recordings instead of sending them."
"How is that possible?"
"Anything is possible with enough scraps and knowledge...This should be enough to download the info inside."
"Hm."
Yi hooked his mystic nymph to the small device and began the downloading process. It took a second, much to Yi's surprise. Looking over the files-
"There's only one recording."
No wonder it was quick.
Starting the recording, the sight of a decrepit household with a sickly-looking male solarian looking back at the screen.
"If you're seeing this, then my son has hopefully gotten where he needed to be. Who I am is of no importance, all that I ask is that you please look after my son, (y/n)."
Before he could say anymore, a voice came from the background. A kid's voice, who Goumang and Yi can guess was (y/n)'s. A sigh left the man as he looked back to the boy who came into frame, looking over the screen,
"What's that?"
"...Don't worry about it.... actually, you see that giant ship out there?"
The man pointed to a window that was barely in frame, to which (y/n) ran to it, looking outside to see New Kunlun.
"Yep...!"
A cough left the man's lips.
"You'll be going there as soon as I'm done with this, and I want you to take this-"
The man motions to the recording.
"With you. I want you to show this to the first...um, trustworthy solarian you see. Alright?"
"Okie Dookie! Will do...!"
"...You won't forget, will you?"
"I won't!"
"..."
The man looks back at the screen.
"To you, who'll be watching this, he's already had his scans and has his ticket. It's official and legal."
The man seemed to keel over for a split second before straightening up.
"I'm afraid I don't have much time...I beg of whoever is seeing this, he doesn't need much, he has no health issues (except Tianhuo) and he isn't demanding. I... Please, just don't leave him alone. Don't leave my son-"
Abruptly, the recording ceased.
"..."
"..."
Yi put the recording away as they stood in silence.
"As far as we know, the boy has no relations onboard. So, it'll probably be a struggle to find someone to care for the boy."
Yi gave a sigh as he pressed his hands to his face.
"I'll arrange for a dusk guardian to look after him for the time being."
"I'll look after him."
Immediate side eye was thrown Goumang's way.
"Goumang-"
"I know what it's like to be alone. Deserted, left to fend for yourself."
She looked towards Yi.
"I don't want that for another child."
Yi shook his head.
"The boy wasn't deserted and besides, we have staff onboard to look after him...you have better things to do than looking after the boy."
"I can multi-task. Who am I, to not be able to adapt to any given situation?"
"...Do whatever you will." Yi sighed.
"And I will."
Goumang moved to leave the Pavilion-
".........If you ever need any help, I'll see what I can do."
"Who're they? They look funny. Where's their fur?"
(y/n) moved closer and observed the two furless, paw-less, earless, beings. They appeared to have their eyes closed but they seemed to be taking in the sight of (y/n) as well.
Goumang let out an agitated sigh-
".... These two will be your new siblings...for the time being." She muttered the last part.
"Siblings?"
Goumang was hoping she could continue to hide these two...unfortunately, a change of plans will have to do.
(y/n) leaned in closer, nearly connecting his nose with his before he gave a wide grin.
"It's nice to meet you two! I hope we can be awesome siblings!"
(y/n) placed his hand on his puffed-out chest.
"I'll be a great older brother!"
The two didn't say anything but gave a small smile.
"...Do they have a name? What should I call you two?"
(y/n) looked to the two for a response only to get a shrug from both of them. Looking to Goumang-
"S-0145 and S-0159."
"...What...?"
(y/n)'s face cringed at the mouthful before looking towards the two again.
"I'll just call you Long and Gong! Not to be mean but your names are weird...!"
"Tch...don't name them. We can't have you being too attached to them."
"AW! Why not?!"
"...You'll learn when you're more capable to understand."
"Hey! I can understand plenty!""Mhm."
_______________________________________________________________________________
It just dawned on me that the kid looked at Yi and was like, "yeah, that's an adult"
Ji has something to confess
you can picture him as his bigger or smaller form
Fluff
Posted on my Wattpad
"I write that paragraph right here, Ji?"
"Yes, be mindful not to press too hard, the stone slab is durable but not indestructible."
"eheh, yeah, I know."
I began writing the latest of Ji's visions and observations on a stone slab in the Taoist Grotto. I looked from the stone slab to an open scroll by my legs, back to the slab. The scroll held information outlined by Ji as he knew I would forget the important details.
All the while, Ji sat beside me, humming to himself. His eyes were closed but the eye adorned in his head in an emerald lace looked at me. I found it a bit unnerving, but it was Ji, there was no need to be on edge with him. I often wondered if he could see from that eye.
His humming was alluring, I found myself swaying to the melody. Of course, I was doing it slightly, as I was still writing.
"I fear the Empyrean District shall face disaster soon. I would prefer it if you stayed here for the time being."
"Was that also in one of visions?"
"I don't need to see a vision to foresee the obvious."
"The obvious?"
"With Fuxi gone, that only leaves Nuwa to oversee the people which isn't good."
"I see, well, I trust your judgement, Ji!"
I found myself smiling at him, although I wasn't sure if he even could see my smile as his eyes were still closed.
Finally finishing up the paragraph, I put the pen in the scroll and looked towards Ji.
"Is there anything else you would like me to do?"
"...Actually, yes. I have something to confess."
?
Ji stood up from his siting position and stood at eye level with me.
"Time is a fickle and fleeting thing to most. It always passes me by. If I were to so much as blink, you may very well be a corpse."
"Wow, that's quite a morbid thought, Ji."
He places a finger to my lips, shutting me up.
"Allow me to continue."
I didn't say anything as Ji took a deep breath, preparing what he wants to say.
"I never age, and I am unable to die, an immortal. I can peer into the future as nothing is never unknown to me. Time alludes me and yet I am always planted in the present, disconnected. However, with you, I find myself anchored and harness a sense of familiarity."
"Um, Ji?"
Is this his way of some love confession?!
He moved much closer to me; any semblance of personal space was thrown out of the window. To my absolute shock, his eyes opened to reveal pure white eyes, as if he was blind and yet they peered into my eyes.
"These stone slabs will never erode, and I shall never face oblivion however, you are exempt from that. You will face oblivion like any mortal, and I find myself loathing that reality."
He placed his hand on my cheek, tiling my head up to him.
"Perhaps when the end comes for you, I could join you."
Finding my voice,
"I thought you were an immortal...unkillable, eternally youthful...?"
"I am able to remove my immortality however, I have lacked the courage to allow myself sweet release for countless decades. But with you, I could brave such a thing as I wouldn't be alone."
He let a smile grace his lips,
"Oblivion comes for everyone and everything, (y/n). It is just a matter of when. I wouldn't wish for my overdue existence to continue without you there by my side."
And with that, I felt his lips upon mine. It was a light kiss, as light as a feather.
he pulled back,
"I have spent my whole life a mere spectator, watching as the world moves on without me. I've borne witness to kingdoms rising and falling. Even armed with knowledge ahead of time, I never went against fate."
Another kiss,
"However, I feel confident to take initiative when it comes to you."
Another kiss, this time it was a bit harder, more passionate,
"(y/n), what do you say? Will you stay by my side, not as mere companion or assistant, but as my lover, my significant other?"
I found myself completely breathless from the onslaught of kisses and knowledge that was just dumped on me...I'm not going to lie to myself or Ji, I really did want to be with him but I'm not sure how to convey that without sounding reluctant or desperate.
"...Very."
Well, crap, that didn't sound needy at all!!
Ji let out a chuckle as he placed a kiss on my forehead.
"For the record, I never looked into the future. I wanted to know what you would say without any knowledge ahead of time.
A look of joy came across his face,
"The thrill of the unknown, the gamble of acceptance or rejection is almost as thrilling as knowing you reciprocate."
He looked me in the eyes with his white eyes,
"I am glad you have accepted me as your lover, (y/n)."
"...Vice versa, Ji."
I honestly don't know what to say or do in this situation except hold onto his robe. However, Ji seemed to know what to do,
"Allow us to consummate our newfound standards, our boundaries shall bleed into one."
This is shorter than most of my works, but I can only draw this out for so long, especially when I made Ji straightforward in this.
In the game, if I remember correctly, he did mention he could've gotten rid of his immortality a long time ago. (I think- it's been a while since I've played the game)
Lady Ethereal and the reader find themselves in a relationship...unfortunately tragedy and corruption drive them apart
Fluff & Angst/ No happy ending
Posted on my Wattpad
"Biometric components, check. Retour scan, check. Power thriver, che-wait."
I looked away from my biomatic synthesis tablet towards the intricate wiring and components of one of the vital sanctums. The power thriver wasn't even there. I quickly placed my biomatic synthesis tablet on the nearest surface and looked around my workspace.
I moved and looked all around my desk, drawers, and even my beloved hidden snack component but no luck. I placed my hand on my head, rubbing at my ears with a frustrated huff.
Before I could wallow in his frustration any longer, a voice came from behind me.
"(y/n), is something the matter?"
Immediately recognizing the voice, I turned around, bumping into my desk with a grunt. I looked at Lady Ethereal, trying to play off my fumble. To think THE Lady Ethereal would check on me, a fellow sol and my long-time crush! She blinked before she let out a giggle.
"You seem troubled, is there something you need help with?"
"N-no, Lady Ethereal. I'm doing just alright." I raised a paw in front of me.
She tilted her head to see behind me, more than likely to see the vital sanctum. She moved towards it, and I moved out of the way as she examined the machine. I started sweating profusely with every second, knowing I'm missing a vital component.
After a couple of seconds, she looked at me...yeah, she noticed. I let out a nervous chuckle, not knowing what to say.
"Do you need a power thriver? I have a spare."
"I'm good, L-lady Ethereal, I'm sure it's around here somewhere!"
She scanned around my desk, not finding the device.
"It doesn't appear as though it is here."
"I..."I hid my face in my hands. "Can I borrow the spare?"
I heard her let out a hum before she left. I listened as her footsteps kept getting farther and farther before I felt an abrupt force on my back. I caught myself before I could fall and looked to the culprit to find Xiaohe laughing.
"What the heck, Xiaohe!?"
"What the heck, you! Over here fumbling the bag! I could see this embarrassing display from across the room."
"I'm not fumbling! I have this completely under control."
"Uh huh, sure~"
Xiaohe moved from my back and sat on my desk, looking at the mess I created.
"How's the soul sanctum coming along?"
"Just fine, we've finished synthesizing the suspender fluid and the pods are complete. We just need to finish the simulation itself."
"Um, oh-"
?
"Here you go, (y/n)."
I jumped out of my skin as I felt cold metal touch my fur and the sudden voice that came from behind me. I turned around, hitting my hip on the desk (AGAIN!) and looked towards Lady Ethereal as she held the power thriver.
grabbed the material in my clammy hands, trying not to fumble the item too much.
She smiled at me before she waved at me and Xiaohe before taking her leave.
Xiaohe grinned at me before she took the power thriver from my hands and started pushing my weak self in the direction of Lady Ethereal, earning weird looks from the other scientists. I lowered my head in embarrassment.
"There, she's in her work corner, now's the time to get yourself some!"
"......................................"
"If you don't tell her, I'll tell Goumang you didn't eat the whole plate of Chao Chicken."
Not even a second later, I found myself in front of Lady Ethereal. It took a while for her to notice me, but she looked up from her tablet to me.......waiting for me to say something...........
Maybe I should lea-
"OH HI GOUMANG" I heard Xiaohe's voice, "Come near me and you'll no longer have any eyes" a bitter voice responded
Before I could wallow in my embarrassment, I heard a giggle from Lady Ethereal before she placed a hand on my shoulder, a smile on her face,
"I would love to have dinner this morning with you."
"WAIT, REALLY?!"
" :) "
"OH, how about sushi at the corner street?"
"Hmm, that works."
"Y-yeah..."
I probably ran a marathon back to my desk across the lab and immediately hid my face in my hands, wanting to scream so badly. I felt a tap on my shoulder-
"You did.... great on whatever you would call that. I'm proud of you (y/n)!"
....If we weren't in public, I'd probably strangle her and thank her at the same time.
________________________________________________________________________________
At the same time Lady Ethereal was silently cheering to herself!
Me and Lady Ethereal walked out of one of few restaurants that were still open nowadays with full stomachs. I looked over to her to see her looking onwards, a thoughtful look on her face.
"... so, good sushi?"
"Yes, it was tasteful."
"..."
"..."
Well, this is awkward. I whistled lowly to myself, looking from the pavements to the sky.
"(y/n)?"
"Y-yes?!"
"The Tianhuo virus will take us all one day, right?"
"...Yeah. It's still a scary thought."
"It is."
Lady Ethereal stopped walking and looked at me.
"We're running on borrowed time, so it is best to not waste any time, wouldn't you agree?"
"Yes."
"So, I wanted to ask you, (y/n)..."
She moved closer to me and took my hands into her.
"Will you stay with me?"
"....."
>/////<
OH MY GOD!!!!
"I know it is so sudden (y/n) but we mustn't waste any time and you're really nice."
She bit her lip before,
"I would like for us to be an item."
My heart can't take this...
"Over the last nine years that we've worked together on the vital sanctum, I couldn't help but always long for you."
"...."
"Please say something." I noticed her voice started to waver.
"Um......yes."
"Yes?"
"I'd like to be an 'item' with you..."
Her ears perked up at my words before she pulled me into a hug...a bone crushing hug.
To think my parents said I'd never get myself a significant other.
"Xiaohe, after 30 days, you'll be pulled out of the dreamscape. We wish you luck."
I stood beside Xiaohe as I helped her into the hibernator and began to plug her into the machine. I made sure that all the wiring were in the correct place and checked they were up to snuff in functionality. I looked towards my biomatic synthesis tablet as all internal affairs were running smoothly.
I felt greatly uncomfortable putting the restraints on her wrists. The pod she is in will encase her in suspender fluid and we don't want her body going all whack in such an enclosed space while unconscious with wiring attached to her brain and stuff.
The wiring was lined across her pod, the components ending up outside of the pod connected to all of the machinery and to ensure none of the fluid gets out. If too much fluid gets out, we risk the subjects abruptly waking from the procedure, their brains not being able to handle the sudden shift could lead to permanent brain damage.
I placed my hand on her shoulder,
"Do you feel any discomfort? Do you need any bodily readjustments?"
"Nope, I'm good to go, (Y/N)"
She threw a grin my way as she gave my hand a reassuring squeeze before she laid in the machine and looked onwards. I looked at her for a few seconds before I moved to hibernator's controls. Before I could start the machine,
"(Y/N)?"
"Yes?"
"When I leave the dreamscape, tell me all that I missed out on, yea?"
"Of course, besides, you won't be missing much anyways. I'll make sure to have some spring rolls for you as well."
I moved closer to her as I placed an oxygen mask to her face. The mask also was connected to her pod, connected to a minimum seven tanks of oxygen. Enough to last several hours a day before we have to either fill them back up or switch them out.
I messed around with the controls, prepping the life support, the brain scanners, oxygen tanks, and the very simulation she was going in. I raised the pod upwards and sealed her inside, the suspender fluid pooled in at her feet and began to rise.
"See you in 30 days, (Y/N)"
She gave me one last smile before she closed her eyes and drifted off, the suspender fluid completely filling the pod. I looked between her and the controls to make sure everything was still running smoothly.
She was in the dreamscape now.
I can only hope she's having a blissful dream.
But I can't stop this underlying dread that is prodding at me.
"How is she?"
I jumped as I turned around to see Lady Ethereal standing there, looking at Xiaohe.
"So far, everything is running smoothly. The simulation is running, the suspender fluid has rendered her unconscious, the oxygen is plentiful, and the restraints are tight."
"That's great! I knew you could do it by yourself, (Y/N)!"
She moved over to me and gave a kiss to my cheek. I blushed immediately and tried to hide my face from her. She giggled before she took my hand and led me away from Xiaohe.
"I was thinking we should get some garlic noodles for dinner. You?"
"I was thinking the exact same thing."
"No, you weren't."
"No, I wasn't."
Lady Ethereal laughed before she pats my head, playing with my ears. She looked me in the eyes before-
"For our next session, we should try out bondage."
I ran down to the lab as I heard yelling. The yelling sounded like Lady Ethereal. I quickly threw the lab door open to be met with a gruesome sight. I saw so many bodies hanging from the ceiling and based off of their gowns, they're the testers of the soul sanctums.
"Xiaohe! Please!"
I looked from the ceiling and saw Lady Ethereal surrounded by other testers. She was pinned to the ground by one of them choking her! I ran down the walkway of the lab.
"Ethereal!"
She looked from her assaulter to me, panic in her eyes.
"(Y/N)!?"
She couldn't get out another word as the person atop her gripped her throat tighter. I ran past the other testers, even pushing one out of the way as I prepared to push the assaulter off of Ethereal. However, when the person who was attacking lady ethereal turned their head towards me, I froze.
"....Xiaohe....?"
She wasn't even looking at me. She was looking upwards to the ceiling with a euphoric expression with tears in her eyes. I took cautious steps towards her however, I completely forgot about the others as they jumped me. My face crashed into the ground as I felt two testers pinning me down.
One of them had both of their hands around my neck and the other was digging their whole body into my back. I strained my neck back to them to see they were looking towards the ceiling as well, a vacant look in their tear ridden eyes.
"(Y/N)!"
Lady Ethereal's voice rung out in panic.
"Put us back........"
Xiaohe's haunting voice filled the room and for a second, she made eye contact with me ...before an arrow came between her eyes. She fell limp onto Lady Ethereal.
"XIAOHE!!"
My cries were snuffed out by an onslaught of weaponry going off. I could see the testers falling lifeless the ground, blood gushing from their bodies The two atop me weren't so lucky as they were shot too and blood splattered on me.
"Over here, we've found located Lady Ethereal!"
Armed solarians pooled into the room and scouted the room, some moved past me and over to Lady Ethereal, throwing Xiaohe's body off of her without a care. Even more pooled in and I guess they didn't notice me as I was covered by two testers.
"I found another one!"
I looked up to be met with a solarian with a bow and arrow aimed at me. He was about to shoot before another came over and pulled his weapon away.
"Wait..."
The other solarian bent down and looked me in the eyes for a second before-
"He's clear."
They got to removing the two atop me and yanked me up from the ground and moved me over to a desk where they moved Lady Ethereal as well.
I rubbed and pat at Lady Ethereal's back as she was slumped over a nearby desk, clearly still shaken up from the whole ordeal. Blood that wasn't her own stained her face and clothing.
I watched as armed solarians' patrolled the lab, some others analyzed and packed up the deceased bodies of the testers and some others were inspecting the pods. Some even had the displeasure of having to untying the hanging bodies from the ceiling.
I found my eyes drifting towards the body bag of Xiaohe. I couldn't get the image of her vacant eyes out of my head. How she sounded so dead.
What happened for things to end up this way? What went wrong? All the calculations and machinery were functioning as intended...where did we go wrong?
Before I could ponder any further, I noticed the one, the only Eigong making her way over with two armed solarians' with her. She stood tall and proud with her arms crossed behind her back.
"It's all my fault...It's all my fault...It's all my fault...."
I heard Lady Ethereal mumbling to herself. She was now tugging at her fur with an intense grip as she stared off in horror.
"Ethereal-"
"Give us privacy."
I was abruptly pulled away from her by the two-armed solarians as Eigong took my spot beside Lady Ethereal. I couldn't hear anything that was spoken but I got a bad feeling about this.
________________________________________________________________________________
"So that's it? You're going to pass this operation off as a success?! Are you insane?! We can't let anyone use this thing?!"
"I know how you feel, (Y/N) but there was nothing wrong with the soul sanctums."
Lady Ethereal has been scarily calm after she conversed with Eigong. She has been acting like the horrific incident at the lab didn't happen.
"Nothing wrong?! There had to have been, how else did something like this happen otherwise?!"
Lady Ethereal took a deep breath.
"(y/n), there was nothing wrong with soul sanctum, its perfect. Working as intended."
I grit my teeth as I thought back to Xiaohe but realized it was a losing battle. Lady Ethereal was the sol behind this operation, she had the final say on this matter.
"Are you really going to let the soul sanctums go live?"
"Do you propose a better idea? The soul sanctums are our way to prolong our lives."
"...I see."
I turned my back to her as I marched down the hall, away from Lady Ethereal.
________________________________________________________________________________
As (y/n) left Lady Ethereal alone in the halls, he failed to notice a camera watching the whole ordeal. Lady Ethereal looked towards the camera the moment (y/n) was out of sight and glared at it.
She knew better than anyone to allow to allow the soul sanctum to go live.
Ever since our last argument, I hadn't seen Lady Ethereal. It was like she had disappeared. I couldn't find her anywhere on Penglai and neither on New Kunlun.
Before New Kunlun took off, I was already registered into the soul sanctum program due to getting privileges for working on it, so I wasn't with the many unlucky people left to die on Penglai.
Don't get me wrong, I despise going in this thing, fearing I may end up like the testers, but it was for Lady Ethereal. I wanted to see her again and with the Tianhuo virus, I wouldn't live long without the soul sanctum.
I was stripped of any access into classified areas and information as my job was done, I wasn't needed anymore so I couldn't access the new lab on New Kunlun where I suspect Lady Ethereal was.
500 years have passed since that day and not a single peep or sighting of Lady Ethereal.
Of course, I finally found out what happened to her when a fellow Solarian, Yi had helped me. Not necessarily helped me, more so, our goals aligned in the moment to locate Lady Ethereal for different reasons.
We found ourselves sucked into her soul sanctum. There was pink everywhere and among the deadly haze, I saw her again. She looked so happy, completely enveloped in the simulated dream.
She didn't appear to remember me or Yi, who says they were colleagues. I had to be dragged through the dream by Yi as I refused to leave her alone. I am forever grateful as he could've left me in the dream.
Before long, I started to see the testers in her dream, all living in bliss as they bathed in the spring. However, the morbid reality started to seep through as they started looking distorted. They stared into the void with stiches going down their forehead. It was like I was seeing Xiaohe again.
I don't want to go too into detail as I'm running out of storage, but me and Yi were kicked out of the soul sanctum by Lady Ethereal herself. Even as she looked at me, she recognized me however, I wasn't spared the boot.
Once I was out of her sanctum, I was met with a gruesome sight of countless brains preserved in tanks. Lady Ethereal's brain was at the forefront of it all, pulsating.
It was clear in that moment why I couldn't ever find her or hear her. There wasn't much to find anymore.
Of course, neither me nor Yi immediately went back into her soul sanctum, refusing to leave things how they were.
After a long battle, Yi had defeated Lady Ethereal, finally freeing her from this dangerous.
Finally, being in her right mind, she looked to me and smiled. I remember her apologizing, taking all the blame. "There wasn't anything wrong with the dream...it was too perfect. No one wanted to wake up to reality."
I remember her hugging me and even placing a kiss on my lips.
I had so much to say to her and I knew she knew. However, she never let me speak.
Everything was already said and done. It was a matter of moving forward.
At the end of the whole ordeal, she even told me she loved me before she disappeared with the testers.
And as I type this, I feel as though my time is coming to an end. Lady Ethereal and Xiaohe, I'll see you within the Great Tao shortly.
________________________________________________________________________________To my surprise I had a friend read over this and he said (y/n) and Xiaohe made a better pairing.
-_-
Yi oversees and comments on readers knowledge on cooking and produce value
Fluff/Wholesome
Posted on my Wattpad
"And then I leave it to dry, right?"
"Yes, you learn quickly."
I grinned as I looked at my first catch. Yi says it's a "Silver Carp" and it was indeed pretty, it shimmered when any light would hit it. It swung in the breeze as it was hanging from a thick thread right outside ShuanShuan's house. Speaking of who, he was right beside me, marveling at the fish too.
I found ShuanShuan weird at first. He wasn't a Solarian, but Yi has classified him as an "Ape-man". Clearly, he is still developing as he's so evidently younger and smaller than the other Ape-man around. I like ShuanShuan a lot, he's a cool kid and tends to speak a lot more wise words than Yi at times. I hope he returns the same sentiment.
I felt a tug on my sleeve. I turned back around to see Yi offering me something in a wooden bowl. It was pink and pebbled size...I believe Yi told me these were called, "Sakura roots".
"ShuanShuan wanted me to give you this."
I took a peek behind Yi to see ShuanShuan lowly giggling. I threw a smile the boy's way before I ate one. I walked behind Yi to see ShuanShuan clutching Yi's robe. I took one of the Sakura roots and offered it to him. He grins as he immediately chomped on it...not minding my hand.
"Now we have the fish here, what do we do with it now?"
"...Eat it?"
"Not yet, we cut it up."
"Oh, right!"
I get to doing just that under the watchful eyes of Yi. I cut the fish up into pieces with a dull blade, making quite the mess on the dining table. Yi's eyes seemed to narrow a bit. Crud! I made a mistake! But where did I make the mistake?! I'm cutting the meat in decent sizes, keeping the length and girth of it in check so-I winced as I realized my mistake halfway through.
"I should've separated the fat."
"You should've separated the fat."
I removed the blade from my hands and picked at the meat, removing the fat from the bones and meat. Yi did tell me to always get the fat so we can give it to the village elder...I'm not sure why we give it to her. Perhaps it holds some importance to the village.
The meat was now in one corner of the table and the fat was on the other. I looked to Yi for more guidance...however, he isn't saying anything. I nudged his shoulder, but he simply kept looking over the meat. He looked between me and the food. Oh! He wanted me to do.... something.
.......
......
Oh! I quickly got up and made my way to the corner of the house to the makeshift kitchen (a metal bowl propped up on two iron poles over a space where wood is placed) we have. I quickly filled it with a couple of logs and lit it up. I made my way outside with a decently sized bowl and made my way to a nearby well. I filled it a little, dumping some back into the well and made my way back to the house. I placed the bowl on the floor at the edge of the table. I used to the knife to scrub the meat into the bowl. When all of the meat was in the bowl, I poured all of the contents into the metal bowl.
I looked over to Yi to see him nodding his head in approval.
:D
He walked over to me and before I could blink, he placed his hand atop my head. My ears twitched at his touch before he ruffled them. I fought back a blush that threatened to come past my fur. We were like this for a while before Yi removed his hand and made his way to the door.
"Follow me."
I perked up at the order and made my way over to him. I followed him outside, well, not before he handed me a cloak and put a giant hat with a veil on his head. Slipping the cloak on, we made our way outside to the resource department of the village.
The village was bustling with ape-men. Their bodies didn't have lick of fur on them, unless if I were to count the white mane on top of the heads or the strands of fur appearing on their arms and legs. As we walked, I saw some of them kneeling down to a bizarre statue of a Solarian.
Yi told me the ape-man worship Solarian's but have never really seen a Solarian in person. He always has us wear something to hide our fur and fluffy ears atop our heads to not draw any attention to ourselves. Funnily enough, it has worked for the most part.
Bringing myself back to the present, I stood by Yi as he talked to an ape-man. They were offering a handful of seasonings. Yi looked over the seasonings for a second before he looked towards me-
"(Y/N), I want you to name all of these seasonings."
WHA?! But I probably don't even know what they are!
"These are seasonings I have told you about."
...He has to be a mind reader, there's no way....am I that easy to read or something?
Pushing my thoughts aside, I moved closer to the baskets situated on the ground. There were three of them. I looked to the one on the far left to see a bunch of flaky yellow powder. The one in the middle was a bright pink. The last one was a very dark brown, nearly bordering on black.
I looked to the ape-man.
"May I smell them?"
I didn't want to be rude and touch a huge stock with my bare hands. The ape-man didn't appear to have a problem with it as they threw a smile at me.
"Thank you."
I moved very close to the seasoning and began to sniff at them. My keen sense of smell hasn't failed me before, well, it has plenty of times, but it won't fail me now. For a good couple of seconds, I pondered.
"The first one is yeast, the second is sumac and the last is cloves."
I didn't look at Yi as I proclaimed my deduction. I hope I wasn't wrong all the way through. The ape-man and Yi didn't say anything for a second.
"Correct."
I must have obtained whiplash from how fast I moved to look at Yi. If he had a mouth, I bet he would be smiling with how his eyes are upturned. He excused us before he moved us away to a more secluded spot.
"What seasoning should we get for dinner?"
Yi looked at me as if he was peering into my very soul.... Is this an interrogation?
I thought back to the options, yeast, sumac and cloves. Which would be better paired with diced fish? I'm pretty sure they'll all be good paired up with fish, but I feel as though I am only allowed to pick one.
Yeast offers a more nutty but faint taste of sweetness.
Sumac offers a spicier with a hint of lemonade
Cloves offers a strong aroma with a bitter and sweet taste.
...Honestly, Yeast and Cloves almost sound alike. Perhaps it is a trick question, and he wanted me to pick sumac since it doesn't default to bitter or sweet? Personally, I would like to pick Sumac, but I can't say the same about Yi and ShuanShuan. Maybe I could select more than one and it is a trick quest-
"Don't overthink, just go with what is right."
But would 'right' be??
"Hm, how about this?"
Yi reached into his pocket to reveal of tiny sack. He opened it to reveal a pack of star anise.
"This here is a sack of Star Anise, if we were to trade this sack for any of those seasoning, which would we get the most out of?"
"Easy! That would be Sumac!"
I puffed out my cheeks in pride. Yi chuckled before he led us back to ape-man and traded the star anise for sumac. On the way back to the house, I couldn't help but think back to Yi and his question. Was there truly only one answer that whole time or was it a way to move things along?
________________________________________________________________________________
I laid down in my makeshift between ShuanShuan and Yi. ShuanShuan had managed to wiggle himself out of bed and into mine and Yi wasn't too far off. I was unable to fall asleep as I looked at the ceiling illuminated by the 'moon light'. I still couldn't grasp why Yi did that. Did he not trust me to make the right choice? Was I taking too long?
I fiddled with my paws as my nerves ate away at me. I heard a low hum beside me and looked over to see Yi glancing at me.
"You should be asleep."
"I know."
"Sleep, (Y/N)."
Finding some semblance of confidence-
"Yi, was there a correct answer for the seasoning? Was it a trick question?"
A thick silence overtook us before Yi let out a heavy sigh. He raised from his laying position to look down at me, his eyes furrowed.
"(Y/N)"
Oh crap!
"Do you like sumac?"
"Y-yes..."
"And what did we get at the resource center?"
"Sumac."
"Exactly."
He laid himself back down in his bed and presumably went back to sleep after a while.
.... Oh!
______Bonus_______
"Eh, well the villagers aren't cruel or anything, they'd gladly hand over the stuff without trade."
I listened to ShuanShuan as he explained that.... if they didn't need trade then why did Yi...? I would ask Yi himself but I'm too much of coward.
"ShuanShuan...may I ask for a favor?"
________________________________________________________________________________
"I'm guessing (Y/N) put you up to this?"
"Wha?! How'd you know?!"
"You weren't there" Yi deadpan
"Oh, right." ShuanShuan giggled as he messed with his hair.
"If you're so inclined. She should know the means of value and trade for future use. She should always be prepared for someone asking for something in return. I should get around to teaching you as well."
"?"
Yi sighs as he took a drag of his pipe for a second. He closed his eyes, enjoying the enlightened feeling that overcame him.
"Also." Yi opened his eyes before he looked towards the house where I peered through the crack in the door.
"She should learn how to confront her own shortcomings and improve instead of waiting on my call."
(y/n) is adjusting to their new life as Fuxi's fiancé
Posted on my AO3
On a quiet evening, Nuwa and (y/n) sat on a shimmering setup of silver chairs with a high Maintenace meal in front of them, golden chalice glimmered beside them as they sat in silence, enjoying their meal. The room they were in was very spacious with just them in it, two guards stationed outside the doors. (y/n) wanted to start a conversation with the Solarian in front of them but they didn't really know what to talk about. So they kept their mouth shut, well aside from stuffing it with the food in front of them. They had to admit, the food was like nothing they ever tasted before, they guessed this is what it's like to live the highlife.
Nuwa wiped her mouth with a pristine cloth, before looking at (y/n) with narrowed eyes, "Is the food down to your standards?"
'down?" (y/n) thought to themself as they looked at Nuwa, "Yes, it is very delicious." Seeing the opportunity for conversation, "I really like the Shark Fin soup with the mushroo-" Before they could continue, "Thats good. I think it's alright, thanks for asking." A swift shutdown.
"Umm..." (y/n) didn't know how to respond to that...although it seems Nuwa wasn't interested in their likes and dislikes. "Back on your farm, what was it like there?"
Oh! This was maybe why she shut down that topic! Maybe she wanted to know about their homelife-OLD homelife instead of trivial food preferences!
Invigorated by this train of thought, "Back at home, I had some siblings, six sisters, twelve brothers...! I'm the middle child, the ninth child." Nuwa hummed, "Did you do anything there?" She was interested! "I and some of my siblings would haul the hay, salt licks, rolls of cheese from production, home or the markets a lot as some of my other siblings were responsible for producing them."
"That would explain why you have a bit of muscles, huh?" A nod and proud smile were thrown Nuwa's way before it swifty fell
(for the ladies) "For a lady, you look more like a man. Take it from me, you should slim down, maybe then our dresses will fit you a bit better."
(for the men) "For a man, you're quite scrawny, dainty like a woman. I guess all that work on your farm wasn't enough. My brother has more muscles than you and he does paperwork all the time."
(Insert Identity Here) "No wonder our tailors demand more pay. They have to cater to your...unique size...word of advice, you should eat less to size down."
Nuwa heaved a chuckle as she looked at (y/n)'s slightly crestfallen face, "Lighten up, it was a bit of constructive criticism. As nobility, you'll get used to it one way or another." She took her golden chalice as she swayed it in her grasp, "Back to your farm, can you tell me more about it? Namely, your living situation?"
Oh, constructive criticism. 'I guess she's right. I'll have to get used to being nitpicked all the time.' They puffed out their chest subtly, 'then that means I'll just have to perfect any imperfections then! Thank you, Nuwa!'
"Ahem." Snapping out of their thoughts, they looked at Nuwa to see an impatient look on her face, "Well?" Oh! "Well, we had a decently sized home. Although me and some of my siblings had to share a room, some even had to share a bed." An awkward laugh came from them as they scratched their cheek, "It was a tight squeeze, and we had to custom order a dining table that cost quite the fortune...it didn't really fit in the house since it took too much space, so our dining table is outside where we'd eat." Although now that they won't be joining for meals for some time, hopefully someone is putting their seat to good use.
"You lived like that?" Nuwa looked to (y/n), her head perched in her hands. "Well, it wasn't bad or anything. It was...how do I put it, um, strained? Cluttered?" (y/n) raised a hand to their chin, looking off into the distance. "I would suspect so. It is quite sweaty and nasty working in the fields all the time. Let alone with so many other Solarians." Nuwa smiled at (y/n), "Not to be offensive or anything but, I can faintly smell the poverty off of you...I suppose even our showers can't rid you of your natural musk."
(y/n) looked slightly taken aback by Nuwa's words as they looked off to the side in embarrassment. "Do I? I apologize, Nuwa"
Nuwa's eyes narrowed as her fingers flexed into a fist, "Nuwa? Who said you could call me by my first name, peasant?" If Nuwa could, she'd stand up to tower over the nervous Solarian in front of her however, the best she could do was have her seat float a bit over (y/n) so she could look down at them. "Ah-right, sorry, your highness...!"
Somehow, Nuwa looked even more angry, her head raised from her hands, head held high "Highness? Are you making fun of me because I can't walk?!" To this, a look of concern and confusion came across (y/n)'s face as they fell to the ground, knocking over their chair, keeping their head there pressed to the floor, "I wouldn't think of doing such a thing! I'm sorry to have offended you!"
Nuwa's teeth smacked together as she leaned over and grabbed a golden chalice and poured its contents over (y/n). The dark purple liquid stained their clothing and fur as they took it, shaking. "There. Maybe then I won't have to smell you." A cruel smile overtook her features as she took in the sight before her, "You know what, this suits you a lot more than being nobility. Graveling at my feet, as you should." Nuwa lowered herself a bit, "And to think he wanted to marry someone like you..." A bitter smile left her lips, "What does he see in a worthless peasant like you?"
A brief moment of silence overcame the two before Nuwa looked away, "I expect for you to clean up this space before you leave, do you understand?" A feeble nod came from the Solarian in front of her. The Noble Solarian took her leave, not before looking over her shoulder at them, "If I hear you breathed a word of this to Fuxi, I'll make sure you regret it...as if he'd take your words over mine, anyways."
The feeble Solarian raised their upper body, sitting on their knees as they looked down at the grape stained floor. Even with the grape beverage pooling off and around them, they could still see their reflection through the juice and shiny, glassy floor. They looked pathetic. Fighting back tears, they got off the floor and grabbed the dirty dishes and utensils and stacked them on top of each other. Looking around the room, they noticed a bucket of water and mop off in the distant corner. They made one move towards it before they immediately met the wet floor face to face again in a painful thud...this time, they didn't pick themself up.
...
...
...
.....Sage Lear could only guess how long it had been as (y/n) just laid there on that cold floor, soaking in the puddle of grape juice before someone finally came barging in the room, unfortunately for (y/n), they recognized this person's voice, "Are they-Ah! (Y/N), there you.........." An extended silence overtook them before they heard hurried footsteps get closer to them, "(y/n)! What happened!?" They felt strong arms softly take their shoulders and gently pushed them upright as he sat in front of them, not minding the mess on the floor at all.
Much to their embarrassment and shame, he took in their messy appearance with quick succession as he then looked them in the eyes, before his eyes looked above their eyes. His eyes widened in panic as he quickly maneuvered his hands under their legs and arms and hoisted them up to his chest as he ran out of the room, leaving the room in a hurry.
As he ran down the numerous halls, not at all minding some of the workers in the way, however, (y/n) tried to make themself smaller in his embrace, not wanting to be seen in such a pitiful state...unfortunately, it couldn't be helped. They could feel the stares of countless workers, sponsors, guards, etc. on them and they wished they could just disappear.
Before long, his pace slowed down as he entered a room, (y/n) taking note it was the infirmary. He quickly put them down on the bed as he scanned the cabinets in quick succession before he found some disinfectant, enhanced gauze, and a band-aid. He placed all of the items on a little tray nearby. He took their chin in his hand and raised their head and got to work on their injuries.
"What happened?" His eyes didn't stray from their head and once the disinfectant touched their head, they jumped at the seizing pain. 'I guess that's why he was panicking. I didn't even realize.' It seems as though they had busted their head when they collided with the floor. It probably was big enough and bled enough with how long they just laid there, that it was urgent to get it treated. "(Y/n)"
"Huh?" At the call of their voice, "What happened?"...it was never a good sign when someone, especially someone like Fuxi, had to repeat themselves, and yet, they didn't know what to say. Nuwa's words rang throughout their head over and over again, so they lowered it some more, "I... I spilt the juice and slipped on it, trying to clean it up...!"
Fuxi hummed in response, clearly not believing them, finally wrapping up the top of their head and swifty took them in his arms again and moved towards the bathroom in the room...it shouldn't surprise them, but it did, the bathroom was very well designed and spacious. The tub was big and circular, big enough to fit at least seven Solarians in it! He set them down on the toilet seat and began to run the tub. Now that they think about it...'Oh, I am still wet, aren't I? Oh No! That means the floor through the halls, the med bed and-' looking down at the toilet seat, 'even then toilet seat it now a mess too!' They took their head into their hands as they couldn't begin to picture how the cleaning staff will have more to do because of them-they'll all resent them for causing such a mess-such a commotion and-and
"Alright." Fuxi's voice interrupted their thoughts as they heard him move from the tub outside of the room. He came back a couple of seconds later and placed something on the sink next to them. "I take it'd you like some privacy while you undress. I'll leave you to it." Fuxi swiftly left the room and closed the door. Through their fingers, they could see the shadow of his two feet outside the door.
Heaving a sigh, they eased themself off of the seat and began to undress, trying very hard to keep it in a pile so the mess won't get in more places. Once nude, they swifty got in the very warm water, a majority of their body being covered by the sweet-smelling bubbles. They naturally relaxed in such a nice and comforting environment only to jump at the gentle knock at the door, "Are you alright? Did you undress?"
"Um, yes?" without missing a beat, the door opened and swifty came Fuxi, "Mind your eyes, (Y/n)." they were confused before they swiftly looked away with a red face. 'I-Is he UNDRESSING?!?!' with their head turned away, they could only hear the shuffling of clothing before they felt him move to sit beside them. A sigh of relief left him as he stretched and leaned on the golden rim of the tub, his arms sprawled out on them, even coming behind (y/n) and his hand grasped their shoulder. "I needed that."
They tried and failed to not have their eyes wander his figure, 'Even with the bubbles, he still stands out-AND THOSE MUSCLES!' Clearing their throat and mind, they looked at the bubbles with a red face. Before long, Fuxi grabbed a washcloth-'A washcloth?' (y/n) thought only to remember he did place something on the counter before he left out. 'I guess he grabbed them when he came in the tub.'-back to Fuxi, he soaked the washcloth in the tub and moved in front of (y/n) to wash their face of the grape juice, being mindful to not soak their bandages.
He hummed gently with a small smile on his face as he restored their (f/c) fur to its pristine condition. They'd lock eyes here and there and he'd give a smirk, and they'd give a shy smile in return. Once their face was clean, he moved down to their throat and gently scrubbed away any and all residue, then their collar and shoulders before he stopped at their chest. He stared for an extended amount of time.
"Fuxi?" His eyes moved from their chest to their eyes, "May I?"
'May he....?' A bright red blush came to their face as a stray thought came to mind, 'what if he wanted to-' they mentally shook their head as they gave Fuxi the ok. His hand, still encompassed by the washcloth, touched their chest and began to slowly-and I mean very slowly, rubbed at them. Some part of (y/n) was more than happy to keep believing it was just him simply cleaning them, the other part of them, however, was thinking more lewdly and they desperately wanted for these thoughts to go away
A small chuckle left Fuxi as he raised his other hand and placed it on their shoulder, "Don't worry, I wasn't going to do anything explicit." then a dangerous smile came on his face, "unless you want me to, of course."
...
Their face exploded on the spot as they stared at him with widened eyes, not sure what to say. They were really, REALLY, tempted to just say yes but they didn't want to seem so...what's a shameless way of saying down bad? Needy? Thirsty? They didn't know.
"haha, I'm just joking. That'll be saved for our wedding night." and just like that he went back to wiping their chest....'That Bloody Tease!'
Once he was done, he dipped his hand into the water and brought one of their legs up and he moved even closer-and just like that, they were just reminded that they were both naked! Innocently, he raised their leg a bit higher and removed his hand from their chest and began cleaning their leg. He got awfully close time and time again to their more intimate parts as he wiped up and down their legs. Of course, not wanting to embarrass themself, they let their noises die in their chest.
"Moving back to the topic at hand." His movements abruptly stopped as he looked at them, "What happened?"
....And to think they thought he'd move past this, granted how long he didn't mention it.
After a moment and a deep breath
"Nothing noteworthy-I just spilled...and slipped on my drink." They hope he wouldn't press more on the issue, maybe even buy the awful lie.
"Uh huh, then why were you just lying in it for so long?" Fuxi scooted closer to them in the tub, his eyes never leaving their figure, "Because...because it was really cool to lay in?" (y/n) fiddled with their fingers in the water, causing a couple of ripples in the water. Fuxi didn't say anything for a couple of seconds as he soaked the washcloth in the water and soap and began to wash the grape juice off of their legs in his grasp.
"You know, lying isn't your best suit...please, just be honest with me. You won't get in trouble or anything for it." Fuxi's voice was the most tender and soothing it had ever been this whole interaction, and it made (y/n)'s heart squeeze uncomfortably. "But... then they'll get in trouble." Fuxi gave a shrug, "If they didn't want trouble, then they wouldn't have messed with you." (y/n) picked up on hidden aggression in his words, "Besides, why would you care for their safety?"
"I mean, it wouldn't be worth it to cause a commotion over something so small, right?" A sudden snap of the neck as Fuxi looked at them, "I-um, I mean, I wasn't harmed by them or anything! T-the wound on my head was completely my own doing! I was too clumsy!" And yet, he didn't say anything. (y/n) looked down at the bubbles, not sure what to say or do as he just kept looking at them, 'Jeez, why does he have to keep looking at me like that?!'
After some time, a sigh left his lips, "You're too kind"
"Eh?"
They paused as they felt Fuxi eased them into a brief hug before he removed himself from it, continuing to clean their lower half.
An awkward silence overtook the two, the only sound in the bathroom was the water moving about.
All Fuxi could think of was the tears that stained his lovers face when he first found them in such a depressing state...he would believe they probably would cry for causing a mess, but they weren't so frail to wallow in self-pity in the mess they made. If anything, they'd pick themselves back up and hastily clean the mess up, leaving no evidence of what happened. Something must've happened, and he knows something did. He can't say for sure the wound on their head was accidentally self-inflicted or it was a result from some kind of scuffle...
He knows for a fact he assigned two guards to watch over (y/n) and yet they were nowhere to be seen. They should know better than to leave their side and yet they weren't there...when he gets his hands on those two...on the one who harmed (y/n)-his jaw clenched. His muscles flexed as his grip tightened on the washcloth
"Fuxi?" He looked down at his beloved, a look of concern was on their face, "You're squeezing the washcloth pretty hard there..." He looked down and saw that a majority of the water had been rung from the washcloth...dipping the washcloth into the water, "There, like nothing happened" lowering their leg, he grabbed their shoulder, easing them to turn around, washing their back now
...
...
...
"And, done" Fuxi removed himself from their back and eased them to face him, "All clean" But then a moment later, he tightly squeezed the washcloth of any water before raising it to their face. They closed their eyes as they felt him wash their face with the damp washcloth, "There"
"Hm" They hummed as they opening their eyes and advanced a bit closer to him, "Thank you" to which he gave a smile and began to wash himself..........now, they would've offered to wash him up but they were too embarrassed to make such a bold choice.........they found themselves thinking back to earlier and can already guess he's still thinking about the incident but probably isn't going to press them about it, for the moment anyways
Leaning against his side, they closed their eyes and took a breath..."Fuxi?" He hummed, "Why do you love me?" They didn't have to open their eyes to know he threw a look their way, "Pardon?" He felt tense under their head, "I'm just curious...I never really thought of what you possibly liked about me that you'd want to marry me"
They opened their eyes as they met Fuxi's eyes-before quickly looking back at the water, "Not to sound self-deprecating but, I'm sure you had much better options. For wealth, status, appearances, you know-you'd have a much easier time as the head if you had a much better partner"
"(y/n)"
They hummed before he moved to face them fully. Both of his hands made it way to their face and angled their head to look up at him-much to their confusion. Wasn't he holding the washcloth? In the corner of their eye, they noticed the washcloth was floating off in the water. 'oh'
They locked eyes with him, "I remember when me and Nuwa-" They flinched at her name, which didn't escape Fuxi's attention, but he pressed on, "had performed in a reclusive area-you were there" (y/n) failed to lower their head, "I wasn't allowed-" to which Fuxi shushed them with a smile , "There wasn't much of an audience as no one knew of it but that made your presence all the more known. Throughout the performance, I found my eyes always going back to you. I caught glances of you watching the performance with awe, taking in every single elegant move, song, and story. You weren't one of the little audiences who left in the middle of the showcase"
He let out a chuckle as he moved one of his hands to their ear
"I vividly remember after the performance; you had made your way out back to where me and Nuwa were to return home by carriage. You had hurriedly given me a slip of paper with, much to my astonishment to this day, a pristine slice of pomegranate pie. I recall re-reading the words written on the slip of paper every once in a while-'Sending all my faith from Sage Lear, may you succeed in your endeavors'"
(y/n) had to admit this was interesting. They did lock eyes here and there, but they didn't think too deeply about it, "It was the reassurance I needed to know my resolve in theater was just"
"...I'd sneak away from mother and Nuwa to mingle among everyone as I did even before the performance. When I had spotted you-you were among a huge family who sold their own product." (y/n) chimed in, "You offered to help me plant the salt licks. That was sweet of you"
"You'd take the liberty of offering me to stay over for dinner-none the wiser to my status and how insulting that'd be to any other royal-"
"Hey...! In my defense, you weren't wearing anything that gave you away nor' were you making it known" To which his smile grew a bit, "Exactly, you didn't, and you didn't put me on a pedestal or anything-but an equal-a fellow Solarian" Fuxi's smile dimmed a bit, "Some part of me is happy I made it known we were together, however some part of me wishes I had kept this relationship on the downlow so you'd keep treating me that way and you wouldn't have been pressured into marrying me."
"Oi' don't speak like that-I'm more than happy to marry you! We've been together for a good 5 years before this was arranged"
"But things haven't been the same. You've been interacting with me like everyone else and I hate it" He released a sigh, pondering his next words, "Sure, I do love the special privileges that come with my status. The responsibilities can be tolling but nothing I can't handle. I'll even admit the attention my status demands without me saying anything is privilege I both love and hate-from the commoner, the staff, the speakers and witnesses of our court-their input nulls in the face of my judgement. But you-"
He made eye contact with (y/n) as he released his hold on them, "When you found out who I actually was, you've been bowing to me, shyer and more reserved-the only thing you still do is address me as 'Fuxi'" He looked upset as he spilled this out and (y/n) couldn't help but feel bad for making him feel that
"Oh, I didn't know you felt that way. Sorry, I just thought now that you had outed yourself as a royal, you expected me to act accordingly. I-I mean, it is expected behavior, right?"
"It is, as I've seen among commoners, but I hated that you started treating me, not as your spouse but as something above you"
"I see, I see, well, I won't do so anymore-" Fuxi cut them off, "Not because I commanded you to or anything-I want you to act how you used to around me. Be yourself"
(y/n) mulled over it for a second, 'how they used to'. "I suppose I can try"
"Thats all I ask"
One day at a time. They still have a lifetime together to talk and fix any ongoing and upcoming issues
A silence overtook the two, but it was comfortable-
"Well, I'm happy we cleared this up" He cleared his throat and stood up. (y/n) quickly covered their eyes as they caught of glimpse of..."The waters getting cold. We should talk like this more often, yeah?"
He threw a more genuine smile their way as he offered his wet hand to them, "Of course" They returned the smile and took his hand, "I miss them quite a lot"
______________________________________________________________
ADDITIONAL NOTES
How'd he react if he knew it was Nuwa? I wonder...
Also'
For a moment it was a thought to have the guards standing outside so (y/n), leaving the dining area, sopping wet in grape juice would leave out to get the mop, the guards would take in their appearance and hold back their laugh. They already knew what happened in there, having heard the whole thing, they would do nothing but mock (y/n).
Also'
Another thought where (y/n) would have cleaned the mess and go back to their and Fuxi's room and as they were about to clean themselves up, Fuxi would walk in, confused and concerned over their appearance and what could've possibly happened, only for them to reply, "I spilt my juice over myself. Clumsy me."
Also;
"No matter what, even as you marry Fuxi, never forget where you come from, peasant...with how fast you rose the ranks, you can just as easily lose it."
Also;
It was a thought to simply have Nuwa be very critical and harsh to (y/n) to see if they're worthy of her brother. Not to be cruel or just bitter but to simply see if they have what it takes to be by his side and maybe, just maybe give some over the shoulder advice...the beginning can definitely be interpreted that way...
One more thing;
The story actually started from, "You lived like that?".
I just added the conversation that took place beforehand (after thought) to give more context towards (y/n)'s background
Heng is in low spirits after leaving her home Penglai and a fellow Solarian on duty notices
Posted on my AO3
A sigh left Heng's lips as she sat in silence. The hanger was a calming area. She could see the vast space, but it didn't compare to Penglai. Even if it no longer bustled with life and the streets were littered with the pink and blue flowers that arisen with every fallen Solarian, she would have preferred that over this. By some 'miracle', she had been persuaded by her beloved brother, Yi, to come to New Kunlun. She didn't wish to disappoint him. Some semblances of her thought that, finally, she could spend some time with him only to be disappointed again as her brother spent all his time on work.
Her comfortable silence was interrupted by footsteps getting closer and closer before a figure emerged from the darkness. Taking notice of her, the figure immediately jogged towards her, a weapon held in one of their hands and a stainless blanket encased in plastic in the other. "Ma'am, are you alright? Do you require any assistance or directions?" The figure straightened up as they stood in front of her sitting figure. Heng took notice of their armored uniform and concluded they were one of the guards. "No, I'm just..." Heng paused for a second, looking down the ground then out to the vast space..........."...Ma'am, is there something on your mind...?" Heng dozed off before looking back the Dusk Guardian, a tight smile on her lips, "No, no. I'm alright."
The Dusk Guardian pursed their lips together as they looked down at the lady for a second..."You...Um-I mean" They cleared their throat, "Pardon my assumptions but you don't seem alright. Would you like me to escort you back to the Heavenly people's domain?" Heng looked at them for a quick second before shaking her head, "I'm alright. I just...like to look at outside." She muttered as she looked back outside, taking in the sight of the stars. The Dusk Guardian looked at the emptiness that was space and then looked back at her. "Would you at least like this blanket? It is chilly in here."
The Dusk Guardian lowered themselves on their knees to the side of Heng, offering her the blanket encased in plastic. She shook her head in refusal, raising a hand, "No thanks. I am perfectly content here as I am." She lowered her hands, placing them in her lap, "please don't let my presence stop you from doing what you were going to do." The dusk guardian let out a sigh before raising themselves from the ground, "Well, I won't bother you anymore ma'am." The dusk guardian began to make their way to the other side of the spacious room, "I hope you feel better."
Heng watched as the dusk guardian took their leave, seemingly bothered. Heng let out a shaky sigh as she looked back outside.
"Ah, it's you again, ma'am" Heng looked up from her cup to see the same Dusk Guardian standing beside her seated figure. The Dusk Guardian, however, didn't have their armor on but instead had casual clothing on. They must be off duty. "Oh, it's you." Heng gave a small nod of acknowledgement. "May I?" The Dusk Guardian motioned to the seat across from Heng-to which she gave a reluctant nod in approval. "Thanks." They took their seat across from her and took in the sight of the small gourd bottle and sake cups-Ochoko. Tuning out everyone else around them-
"...Ochoko cups. I, um, heard they're usually for social interactions." Heng picked up on the Dusk Guardians attempts at conversation, "Were you meeting with someone?" Heng's gaze averted from the Solarian in front of her to her drink. "You can say that...although, I doubt he'll actually show up." Heng bit her lower lip as the Solarian in front of her took it upon themself to try and change the subject, inspecting the gourd bottle, turning it to inspect the characters on the label. "Cherry Plum Wine? I've haven't had some in so long." They began to remove the cork from the opening before stopping themself, looking towards Heng, "Oh! My bad-" Heng shook her head, "It's quite alright, you can have some."
"...Thank you." The Dusk Guardian removed the cork and took a cup and poured themself a drink. Putting the cork back on and putting it back beside Heng, they took a small sip. ".............Wow." They placed the drink on the table and looked towards Heng, "This is really good! The staff of this nice establishment have really gotten their hands on such authentic, almost real wine." A laugh escaped them, "I should give them my thanks."
"Actually" Heng interjected "I made the wine." That earned a wide-eyed stare from the Solarian in front of her, "Oh! Well, um, you've got quite the knack for winemaking...are you-do you work in the product synthesization district under Lady Goumang?" Heng shook her head as she looked off into the distance, absentmindedly looking at all the citizen Solarians going about their day, "I made this back on Penglai. I left it to marinate for over a year...if anything, it's been over 100 years."
The Solarian in front of her nodded their head, "Was there a reason for leaving it to marinate? Oh-is it like a part of the winemaking process??" Heng took notice of how eager the Solarian in front of her looked for answers. "Well, both. You usually, or at least back at home, I'd leave it to sit in a big jug, that I brought with me, to hopefully bring out its full potential. With how longs it's been, it's long overdue." Heng shook her head as she looked at the small gourd on the table.
"I see...ma'am-"
"You can call me Heng."
"Ah, Heng, you mentioned 'both'...was there a reason other than that?" The Solarian tilted their head at her. Heng hummed as she raised her drink to herself only to put it back down, "Well..." Heng raised a hand to scratch at her cheek, "My brother promised that he'd FINALLY-" Heng removed the hand from her cheek and coughed into her fist, "Ahem, sorry-he'd try some of the wine I made...what was I expecting?" she muttered the last part to herself.
"Well, he's missing out on some deliciously made wine." The Solarian in front of her raised an eyebrow, "Ma'am-I MEAN, Heng, have you even tried some of the wine yourself?" Heng shook her head, "It doesn't feel right to have some without him." The solarian in front of her placed down their cup and looked at her with concern, "Heng...?"
Heng found her breath get caught in her throat all of a sudden as she felt her cheeks suddenly feel wet. Raising a hand and touching her cheeks, she found her hand damp with tears. "Oh." A forced smile found its way to her face, "I apologize if I made you uncomfortable." She didn't really know what to say other than to apologize for any inconvenience. The Solarian in front of her shook their head as they lowered their voice to a whisper, "Would you like a tissue? I have some back at one of the guardian stations. It's very close."
"I'd hate to burden you any more than I have. Please-" She grabbed her cup and poured some wine in it, offering it to them, "continue." At this point, little hiccups began to bubble in her chest. They shook their head again and stood up and made their way to her side and offered her their hand, "Please, it won't take too long." Heng, already knowing they'll never let it go, gave a weak sigh and stood up and took their hand, letting them lead the way as she kept her head down. The Solarian and her began making their way through the bustling population around them.
Heng, before they left, grabbed her gourd with her free hand and hold it upright to not spill the contents inside as the cork was missing. Along the short walk, there wasn't too much conversation. There were a couple of glances and stares here and there for those who noticed her posture and tear-stained face.
They stopped moving and Heng looked up to see the Solarian facing away from her, looking into some device attached to the side of a polished door. It seemed to be scanning their face, and a compartment opened up at the bottom of it once it seemed satisfied with what the camera saw. They used their free hand to type some digits before the door opened. They looked back at her and gave a small smile before leading her inside.
"Sorry it's not all that, but we'll only be here briefly." The Solarian gave a nervous chuckle as they led her to a stiff seat and went about looking for the tissues. Heng took in her surroundings. It was a tight room, a couple of steps into the place, you'd be met with a handful of uncomfortable seats about in their own corner. To the side seemed to be a closet where the Dusk Guardian was looking through and right beside it was what she guessed was a small bathroom and right next to that was an infirmary based off of the smell. On the other side of the room was a lonely refrigerator with a door next to it with a see-through door. She could see a couple of weapons stationed in their holsters and it was locked off with the same security the Dusk Guardian did earlier.
An aggravated sigh left the Solarian as they closed the closet door before looking back at Heng, "My apologizes, it appears as though someone took the whole box of tissues." They looked around the cramped room before they stopped at the bathroom, "Would a wet towel be good?" Heng gave a small nod as she simply held the gourd to her chest. Making their way into the bathroom, the sound of water running filled the space.
Looking down at the gourd in her grasp, she shook it gently, listening to it move about. The more she looked at it through the small hole, heard it jiggle, smelled the aroma, her thoughts wandered back to Yi. She could already guess what he was doing at this moment however, she can't help but wonder if he even thought of her? Did he forget? Did he simply push it aside? Would he feel ashamed or guilty? She doubted it but some part of her was hopeful.
Maybe he had an emergency meeting
Maybe someone had pushed their workload onto him, and he couldn't refuse
Maybe he stubbed his toe and needed immediate medical attention-
Heng caught herself before she laughed at that train of thought. At the same time, The Dusk Guardian came back into the room with a damp towel, "Ah, you look a little better. That's good." They observed as they grabbed a seat with their free hand and moved it in front of Heng's chair, "Can I? Your hands are a little full there." Heng gave a simple nod as she looked up at Solarian in front of her and let them clean her face. The towel was pleasantly warm and smelled of Lavendar. Heng took a deep breath, savoring the scent before it was removed from her face.
"Aaand, there you go! No more tear streaks although your eyes are still a little puffy-that's to be expected though." They placed the towel on the floor, seeing as there's no table to place it on. "Ah, thank you." she gave a meek reply as she looked anywhere but at them. "Of course, Heng! I am always happy to make someone else feel better."
"...Why?" The solarian in front of her looked at her with widened eyes, "'why?'" Heng gave a nod, looking at them, "well, I mean..." They rubbed at their neck awkwardly, "do I need a reason to make someone else not feel bad? I-I mean, if I do-" Heng gave a shake of the head. "No, you don't need a reason to do something like that. I was just curious."
"Oh, I see." They gave a smile, "I hope I gave a satisfactory answer."
"But I doubt you put this much effort into anyone else."
"Huh? What do you mean?" The solarian looked at her, tilting their head, "You've put a lot of time and effort into cheering me up, which I am grateful for, but, why?" Heng looked for an answer
"Well, it's my duty to keep everyone safe and happy...! Although that's more of a personal thing than an obligation." Heng gave a hum before she looked up at them, "But, why're you so, not to be blunt or rude, persistent to help me?" The Solarian looked off, "Well, you looked so sad back at the hanger. I couldn't get my mind off of how...depressed you seemed." Heng eyes widened, 'did I really look that miserable? Was it that obvious-how come Yi didn't notice?'
An awkward chuckle left the Solarian in front of her, "And it must've been a stoke of Taoist luck to have seen you again."
"I see."
"ANYWAYS" they cleared their throat, "This isn't about me, this is about you." Heng gave a confused look, "it is?"
"Of course! Since we're alone, maybe you can vent or something-whatever ya' need to make yourself feel better." They gave a big smile, "Of course, you don't have to tell me, but I can appoint someone to help you. They'd probably be better at this than me...if you want me to intervene that is" A sigh left them as they looked at Heng and she looked back at them. "I'm not...I'm not sure what to say, honestly."
"Do you WANT to say something?" Heng shook her head after a moment, looking conflicted, "It would be nice to talk to someone about it, but it feels wrong-burdensome to make my problem someone else's." The Solarian hummed, "Then you don't have to say anything. Don't force yourself.'" They gave another smile.
The gourd was clutched tightly in her grasp, "No, no, I DO want to say SOMETHING, but I don't what-where to even begin." The Dusk Guardian hummed as they straightened themselves up, "Take as much time as you need"
.
..
...
A sigh left her lips as she looked down at the gourd in her hands, "As said, I was waiting for someone beforehand. My brother, Yi, promised to come and have some wine with me back on Penglai. I've had this wine marinate for over a hundred years and still, after all this time, its feels more like an empty promise..." Heng took a shaky breath, "He promised he would clear everything so he could spend the day with me...I stressed such a thing for so long before the day, and he promised. I finally opened the jug and got some for us but, as you can see, he isn't here."
The Solarian said nothing, "I just...after all this time, after losing everything, our home, our parents (may they rest in Tao eternal grace), our very planet returning as it should, I thought he'd finally at least grace me with a day...maybe a couple of hours, a minute!" A few stray tears left her eyes, "He's all I have left...!" she glared at the gourd in her hands, "I don't know what to do...! What I'll have left if he were to leave me too..." A couple of hiccups left her lips as she cried.
"Maybe he's already left me behind"
She cried harder at the thought. She would've wiped her face, but she was holding the gourd-a damp towel met her face, lightly dapping the corner of her eyes. She kept her eyes closed, as the Dusk guardian cleaned up her face as much as they could as more tears kept falling from her face. After a moment, "May I?" She peaked an eye open to see the Solarian with their arms slightly opened. A hug. After a moment, she gave a feeble nod. With her consent, they scooted their chair closer to her, and leaned towards her, gently taking her upper body in their embrace and gave soothing rubs and pets to her back.
This just insighted more sobs but they didn't seem to mind as they let her get it out of their system.
Once her sniffling and tears eased up a bit after Tao knows how long, the Dusk Guardian pulled away from her and in her slightly opened eyes, she noticed their hand tipping the gourd more in her direction, "What're you doing?" They didn't answer immediately as they put their other hand under the gourd and raised it, nearly meeting her face, "Here" they looked at her, "you should have the rest." her eyes widened a fraction before they lowered from exhaustion..."But...it doesn't feel right to do so...not without him."
They shook their head, "I understand" they tipped it a bit further, "However, it seems like I'll have to go against the grain"
"Huh?"
"I know it's not my place to have a say so on this but, it sounds like you've held out for him for so long...and even now, he still isn't here. Not to sound rude to your brother, I'm sure he has things to do outside of this, presuming he's a busy man, but why make a promise when you aren't going to keep it?"
"..."
"I can tell he means the world to you...but surely you see the pattern. Even on our borrowed time, you'd think he would at least spend a modicum of time with his (supposed) only family member."
"It'll happen eventually...! When he truly has nothing to do, he'll have time for me."
"And how long will that be? Another hundred years?"
Heng didn't have a response to that and instead broke eye contact. They cleared their throat, "Either way-"
The Solarian in front of her held the small gourd in front of Heng, "You've waited long enough." They pressed it a bit closer to Heng's face, a look of unwavering commitment on their face as Heng looked back. After a moment or two, tears let loose again as she grabbed the gourd and began to drink from it. It wasn't a small sip or anything, she had thrown her head back, guzzling it all down without a care in the world, without a thought of the hundreds of years waiting-wasted, the Dusk Guardian in front of her, and most importantly, Yi.
The only sounds that came from the isolated room was the deep gulps and shallow breathing of the Solarian in front of her. In no time, the gourd was empty and yet she didn't remove the gourd. She lapped up whatever she could from it until there weren't even droplets left...a silence overtook the two, but it wasn't awkward or uncomfortable-it was rather content. After a moment, Heng slowly removed the gourd from her face and looked down at the gourd again.
"Thank you"
It was barely audible, but the Dusk Guardian heard her loud and clear, "Of Course." They looked over her, "You seem a lot better now." Heng had to admit, she did feel better. As if an invisible weight had been removed her from her shoulders. "Much better." The Solarian gave another smile, "Good."
...
"...We should do this more often." Heng looked at the Dusk Guardian, "We should?" They gave an enthusiastic nod, "Yep! We should talk about.... things! Over a nice cup of plum wine more often...in my downtime anyways, heh" Heng gave it a moment, then another, before giving a smile, "Yeah, that sounds pleasant. I don't have anything better to do." The Dusk Guardian returned the smile, "Well, we'll have to change that. There are so many things to do-so many sights to see on New Kunlun!"
"Yata, Yata, setup this date somewhere else." All of a sudden, A tall yellow Solarian passed the (f/c) Solarian, "Ex-squeeze me~"
"Oh-JEEZ, Qiao! Knock before you enter!" Qiao chuckled as he moved towards the armory, "Fellow Dusk Guardian domain, rookie. Besides, get an actual private room next time." Qiao moved into the armory and closed the door behind him. An embarrassed sigh left their lips as they turned back to Heng, "Don't mind him, well since he's here, it's time for me to be on duty again." They got up from their chair and offered Heng a hand, "I'd like to do this again sometime-minus the whole sad bit." They gave a smile as Heng returned it and took their hand.
"No. The sad bit really added to the experience. I wouldn't change it for the world. Thank you again." Heng gave a genuine smile that reached her eyes as the Solarian in front of her returned it. "What are friends for, Heng." They gave a laugh as Heng looked at them, 'friends?' Now that she thought of it, she didn't really have anyone to call a friend-until now, it seems. She had to admit, it seemed nice to have someone to talk. "Yeah, what're friends for." She gave a bigger smile.
"Ew, gross, Puh~lease get a private room next time-anyways, Mingxien said we'll have to train some girl, uh, Chien, I think she was called." Qiao moved towards the exit, his armor gone, replaced with casual clothing, "Spear and Swords, so you better wake up on time, rookie." Qiao left out. The Solarian heaved another sigh as they moved to the armory, "Well, if you need me Heng, I'll be in the hanger and later the storage district." Before they could open the armory, they felt a hand grab their forearm and turned to see Heng looking down at the ground.
'How could I forget something so basic?' Heng mentally slapped herself as she looked up the Dusk Guardian with a shy smile.
"It feels rather awkward to ask this now but, what is your name?" The Solarian looked at Heng for a brief period of time before turning to face her with a sheepish smile, "Ah, right, it must've slipped my mind to tell you something so basic." They gave a little laugh before they jumped up, "OH, we should re-introduce ourselves! Like a proper introduction, ya' know? You should go first He-I mean Ma'am."
She let out a laugh as she removed her hand from their forearm and straightened her posture, "very well." holding her hands behind her back, "Good evening, my name is Heng. It is a blessing to have encountered you, stranger."
The Dusk Guardian gave a bow, their head to the ground, "My name is (Y/N) (L/N). It is a pleasure to meet you, Heng." They looked up towards Heng, "I look forward to hanging out with you."
______________________________________________________________
ADDITIONAL NOTES
It was a thought to have them actually be someone assigned to be Heng's friend by Yi, explaining how they coincidentally found her for a second time...
Also;
I know Heng is a very patient person, but I was leaning towards a scenario on New Kunlun where he'd push her aside more and more over the hundreds of years and she started to get more and more upset...
Also;
"Oh, right, Rookie!" Qiao peaked in, "Mingxien took the tissue box you left here earlier, I saw her, but you didn't hear it from me." Qiao left again. "Why am I not surprised."
Haoyu was a character idea for the readers older sibling, "He was my only relative back home. He was someone I looked up to. He always told me to look on the bright side of things, 'if you ever see a frown, turn it upside down." Unfortunately, he died back on Penglai due to Tianhuo and was the reason the reader was secured a spot on New Kunlun and the spot of a Dusk Guardian.
Strangled gasps echoed throughout the Agricultural area in Goumang's domain. She was forced upon her severed legs, the bone digging into the ground causing excruciating agony, her wings stung, her neck strained as the mind control band dug into it, her eyes bulged as they haven't blinked in God knows how long. She was forcefully kept conscious staring off in the distance as her two transmutated 'children' kept calling for her.
This was the gruesome sight (y/n) came across, gaping in horror. Without a second thought, they immediately made their way over to Goumang and released the control seal. The moment it came off of her, a deafening scream came from Goumang as she fell over. ear piercing wails and screeches fill the room as she flailed on the ground in agony. Quickly taking action, (y/n) crouched down beside her and took her upper half into their arms, pushing her face into the crook of their neck as they tried to soothe her, rubbing at her head and back.
"I'm here. I'm here." (y/n) kept repeating, "It's going to be alright." (y/n) wasn't sure if they believed that themselves, as they took in the damage that inflicted on Goumang and Tao forbids how long her wounds were aggravated and exposed to the elements...all the blood that was lost. Quickly snapping themselves out of it, they picked her up and bee-lined to the closest medical center.
On the run there, they noticed the two transmutated ape-men following after, calling for Goumang but (y/n) had better things to think of-would there be enough blood bags? Would they match her type? Would the tools needed be present? Needles, bandages, alcohol, and Tao knows what else! Would any pain medication ease even a fraction of the pain? What'll they do about the loss of her legs? Possible infections? Was she too far gone?.......was there even any saving her in the state she's in?
With how she's screaming her lungs out, her ruffled wings waving around with no direction...it wasn't looking too good.
Pushing that last thought aside, they finally made it to a medical center and quickly placed her down on the bed and got to inspecting the place, looking for the items that would probably be needed. Namely, something to clean and dress the wound- "Um, excuse me...?" A voice suddenly interjected. (y/n) turned around to see a nurse coming from the storage room to the side of the medical center. She was carrying a box of bandages before her attention diverted to the bloodied mess that was Goumang. The boxes she held fell to the ground as her hand raised to her mouth, "L-Lady Goumang...!"
"Ma'am, we don't have time to gawk. Can you please help her?!" The nurse quickly got herself together and moved closer, examining the state of Goumang. A couple of seconds went by before she started maneuvering around the room and got to work on Goumang. Her severed legs were the most pressing issue. Unfortunately, (y/n) had to restrain Goumang as she refused to stay still. She was completely inconsolable, more so when the nurse began to clean the wounds. She kept trying to kick away at the nurse with what was left of her bottom. Once everything was said and done, pain medication was administered via IV under one of feathers as well as restraints.
With all the tension now gone, the nurse and (y/n) took notice of the two behemoths trying to get in through the small door, failing miserably.
"Thank you so much, ma'am. I wouldn't know what to do for her." The nurse shook her head, "It's my job after all...would you happen to know what happened to her" (y/n) shook their head and looked back at a struggling Goumang, "I found her like that. She had a..." They raised their hand to their neck, "A mind control device on her neck. She was completely stationed on her severed legs as she'd gasp and stare into nothing." The nurse put a hand to her mouth, "That's horrible! Who would do something so vile to Lady Goumang?!"
(y/n) gave a feeble shrug, "I could look at the security footage but, I don't want to leave her alone." The nurse gave an understanding nod before going about her previous endeavors, apparently more bandages and pain medicine were required in Yanlao's district. Of course, she made sure to link their communicators together, just in case something was to suddenly happen to Gorumang in her absence. Minding the two outside the door, as well.
Looking back at Goumang, (y/n) coulnd't help but feel crushed to see Goumang still struggling but it was weaker, probably tired herself out.
A couple of hours would pass, (y/n) would try to showcase holograms and recordings to try and jog her memory, only to be met with her cowering away from them, shielding her face with her feathers. They'd try to feed her, check her wounds, read to her, play music, mindlessly babble to themself, jog some semblance of a conversation, only to be met with the same reaction. The towering figures of her ape-men children earned a visceral reaction, their tall stature and them invading her space put her in immediate panic.
Taking in the sight, (y/n) can't help but feel as though she'd probably never be the same, never come back to her senses. They'd need some kind of intervention, medication, therapy, brain re-wiring-SOMETHING to bring some sense back to her. Having to be restrained, fed through IV's, bandaged and drugged up 24/7 to minimize the pain, diapered up as she couldn't control her bowels...it was too much for (y/n).
If they had to be brutally honest...it was beyond pitiful. They remember how much she'd frown and grimace when they were kids, clutching at her hollow stomach. She'd always hang around outside of (y/n)'s backyard, taking any scraps (y/n) would give them as their parents didn't approve of it. It was a secret between them and one they kept well into adulthood...Goumang being a strong, smart and charismatic Solarian who demanded and earned dignity and respect through her ambitions and hard work...
Looking at her now...it's like they're looking at someone else entirely...they'd be lying if they said it would be okay, they could pull through this, all she need is time... a delusion they indulged in rarely only to look into her gaping eyes, haunted and empty and would be cruelly brought back to reality but (y/n) won't abandon her. They didn't abandon her then and they wouldn't now. She in turn could've done the same but she didn't. The very fact that they're even on New Kunlun was because of Goumang reserving a place exclusively for them. They owe so much to her, things she wouldn't even remember and things they couldn't fathom thinking of now, otherwise, that sinking feeling would appear in their chest again.
She wouldn't have to worry about being alone, (y/n) will be there through thick and thin no matter what.
"How long would it take to cook a Sean green dragon?" ShuanShuan looked towards the giant sphere known as Abacus, "Like, the whole thing, perhaps simply sear the meat and eat?" ShuanShuan raised both his hands, pointing in the direction of the dragon in the yellow water. Before Abacus could even say anything-
"It would normally take a year to remove all the scales from the meat, nearly two years to remove any unwanted diseases and bacteria as this species homes numerous ravenous and deadly invasive deadly micro-lifeforms, a couple of months to cook all of it and it'll be able to feed you for approximately 4 years. Of course, these assumptions are only accurate if it is you alone." (y/n)'s voice rung out from a much smaller cube right beside Abacus made of Taoist energy.
"Last I checked, he didn't ask you (y/n)." Abacus' voice had a hint of agitation in it. "Perhaps not but he got his desires answers, perhaps to a much more precise degree than what your dingy calculations can come up with, and in a much shorter time frame." (y/n) appears to be just as agitated.
"As if. You run on simple predictions while I run on hard computing logic and simulations."
"Hm, seems like a hassle to go after one but perhaps it could be worth it...? How does a Sean green dragon taste?" ShuanShuan raised his head to the ceiling, thinking to himself. "Why, young master, it would taste like old copper and spices far beyond what ape-man could withstand. The meat is naturally toxic so that's why it houses so many deadly lifeforms as it's a free rein to all of them." If Abacus could make it known, he'd look at (y/n) with a smirk, "(y/n), you didn't even let the master know the meat was toxic. Are you faulty in safety regulations?"
"My regulations are running just fine; it was just a matter of answering the young man's question." Abacus and (y/n), if they could, threw glares at each other.
"Wow, you guys remind me of a couple I saw back at home! They'd always bicker such with each other before they'd make up!" ShuanShuan's voice rung out as Kuafu could be heard laughing from the background, "WHAT?!" Abacus voice module and (y/n)'s tao synergy wavered as they yelled.
"I would never ever compute with Daoist ideology incarnate."
"As if I would ever connect with a synthesized personality!"
ShuanShuan not minding their bickering, it being normal in the hub, "I wish Yi were here..."ShuanShuan seemed to have been a little disheartened. "Do either of you know when Yi will come back? I want to see him." ShuanShuan looked down at the floor with a frown on his face.
Outside of Yanlao's vital sanctum, Yi stood in place, finally obtaining Yanlao's sol seal. Abruptly, Yi flinched as not one, but two calls were pinging. Reciting both calls into one, Yi closed his eyes and raised his hand to his ear, "Abacus? (y/n)? Why're you both calling me?"
"Master Yi-" before Abacus could continue, "Master Yi, ShuanShuan requests you!"
"Huh...well then, extend my voice to one of your speakers." Yi's shoulders sagged, relieved nothing has happened back at base. "As you request, Master Yi.", "Of course, Master Yi!"
Unfortunately, (y/n) lacked a speaker function, a technological feat that doesn't fit their spiritual outlets. Knowing they were beat this time, they backed down, letting Abacus redirected his audio to his speakers. "ShuanShuan, can you hear me?" Yi's voice came from the speakers, "Loud and clear, Yi!" ShuanShuan got up from his sitting position to get closer to the speakers, a grin on his face.
"...Did you need anything?"
"No, I just wanted to hear your voice...it's been some time, and I was getting worried." ShuanShuan's voice lowered to a whisper at the end. "I see......if it's any consolation, I'll be heading back soon. I got a virtual reality headset for you." ShuanShuan's face brightened at this, a huge grin at his lips, "REALLY?! That sounds amazing!" Yi hummed and bid his brief farewell before hanging up.
(y/n) knew better than anyone that Abacus was throwing a smug 'look' their way...and yet they knew they couldn't retort against him this time.
"Do you know what my parents were like? If they're happily serving our tradition?"
A heavy pause persisted between both intelligent lifeforms as they processed the young ape-man's question. It was definitely something they wouldn't have guessed but anyways, "your parents?" Abacus' voice rung out to which ShuanShuan nodded eagerly, a hopeful look on his face. "I'm afraid I can't provide an answer to that. I haven't any kind of scrap of intel." Abacus replied, tone almost disheartened.
"Oh."
ShuanShuan looked disappointed for a split second before he forced a smile, "At least I know." Before ShuanShuan could walk off, "Do you not remember them?", Abacus' voice came through. ShuanShuan looked back at Abacus with an almost offended look on his face, "I remember them, sort of. I just wanted to know if there was something that I could look into to know them more. Maybe even see them again."
"I could project an image of them.", (y/n)'s voice butted in much to the surprise to ShuanShuan and Abacus but more so what they said. "Since when could you project images?" Abacus asked, "I could always share snippets of memories and feelings preserved in and out of the Tao. All curtesy of my creator Lear from all those decades ago." (y/n)'s tone held a subtle smugness to it, "But why not mention it after all of this time?" Abacus asked, "It was never needed before-"
"You can show me my mother and father...?" ShuanShuan's voice came out as a whisper, if the two weren't listening, they wouldn't have heard him. Turning their attention away from Abacus, they 'looked' towards ShaunShuan's rather vulnerable form, clutching at his ceremonial gown. "Of course, master ShuanShuan. I can dig up any memory I can scavenge from your village as they're in close proximity of the Primordial Roots."
Taking a moment to scurry the vast memories, feelings and even the Solarians that inhabit it, (y/n) looked and looked. ShuanShuan took tiny steps towards (y/n), sitting in front of them with barely any space between them, twiddling his fingers together as he waited anxiously.
"Found some!" ShuanShuan jumped and immediately looked at (y/n) with batted breath, "You know, I was mostly fortunate that their......ascension with tradition was only two to three years ago and not a decade ago!"
Conjuring up a vast amount of energy, pieces of (y/n)'s cubical form took on the shape of two ape-men, the colors a saturated dark green and blue, the color of Tao. The shapes fluctuated a bit, adding a pulse along the image every other second "I apologize I can't make the colors accurate, and my showcasing isn't too solid. I hope this will suffice, master ShuanShuan"
ShuanShuan didn't respond as his full attention was on the image before him. The image was of his family seemingly frozen in the midst of walking, the one who he figures is his mother was holding his infant self in her small hands caringly, a big smile on her face, her hair almost reached her waist, but it covered her face. Looking at it further, he noted how his father towered over them, he was built decently, he had a bag of supposed goodies slung over his shoulder as he held a basket in one hand. The rough outline of his face was reminiscent of a faint smile, his face covered by his hair.
(y/n) didn't say anything as they watched ShuanShuan marvel at the sight, taking it all in. A sudden electric pulse beside them reminded them of Abacus who hasn't said anything in a while. If they could, they'd throw a questioning look at him, but they couldn't. It's not like he was paying attention anyways, seemingly occupying himself with something else.
"Can I see their faces? An up-close look at them?"
Without a word, (y/n) deconstructed the image they conjured and reconstructed a shot of the mother's face, doing their best to emphasis as much detail as possible. ShuanShaun took it in and even reached out a hand to touch it only for his hand to go through and mess up the image, causing a gaping hole to appear in the face. shuanShaun pulled away in panic as (y/n) pulled the image back together. He was disheartened by this but was happy to cement the memory of his family in his head.
Pushing pass this, (y/n) showcased more and more images to ShuanShuan and he happily studied them.
"Um, Yi?" He hummed, not taking his eyes off of his mystic nymph. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a copper container with green sigils engraved in it. He fully looked over to see (y/n) looking down at the floor, avoiding his eyes. "I made a pipe vial, for your, uh pipe." Yi looked from the container to (y/n), "Thank you, I was just about to create another batch. "Yi gave a faint smile as he took the pipe vial and placed it on his desk. "Oh, um, you're welcome... I'm always around to help, Y-Yi." With that, (y/n) dashed out of his workspace.
Yi looked at the door for a second before he got back to optimizing on his mystic nymph.
(y/n) found themself speeding towards the Empyrean District where they sought out their best friend. It wasn't difficult to find her as she was playing her Hulusi (Chinese calabash flute) on the grand banquet floor, surrounded by plush pillows. "Nuwa...!" she perked up at the mention of her name, looking towards (y/n) before grinning.
"(y/n)! How have you been?!" Nuwa pat the pillow beside her eagerly. (y/n) made their way around all the pillows and took the pillow right beside her. "I'm doing as good as I can be. How about you? Where's Fuxi?" (y/n) looked towards Nuwa, a small smile on their face. Nuwa let out an aggressive sigh, "I'm doing alright. Fuxi has been busy these days, doing whatever with the council, New Kunlun, blah blah blah, and I'm left all alone!"
"...I'm her-"Fuwa threw herself on (y/n), all melodramatic, "Alone!" (y/n) laughed as they playfully pushed at her, "Hey, get off!" Fuwa giggles, holding onto (y/n) with glee.
"SO..." Nuwa began to nudge (y/n), a suggestive look on her face. "About Yi..." (y/n) blushed instantly at the mention of him, hiding their face in their hands. "What about h-him?" Fuwa grinned, "You know, did you confess to him? Did he reciprocate??"
"...I gave him a pipe vial a moment ago." Fuwa huffed, "Oh My Tao! (y/n), you have to come clean at some point! If I were you, I would have confessed a long time ago." (y/n) peaked from their hands, a confused look on their face, "How would you have done so? Have you ever confessed to someone?"
"Well duh, I have a lot of suitors lining up to be with me. I couldn't care less for them though. However, when I was really young, I had my eye on a peasant solarian. He didn't reciprocate though." Fuwa's expression soured, "And to make it worse, he tried to act civil about it and settled with being friends. I had the bastard fined a lot of yuan for his insolence!" Fuwa gripped her Hulusi in a vice grip."I even had to bribe some other scoundrel to appease my mother and her persistent raving!"
(y/n) didn't know if they should wallow in self-doubt of Yi reciprocating or be concerned for what Fuwa just declared. Thankfully, they didn't have to dwell on it as the grand banquet doors opened to reveal Fuxi in all his royal glory. Fuwa immediately perked up at the sight of her brother and had her pillow float over to him, bringing him into a hug. "Fuxi! Your back!" Fuxi let out a chuckle as he gave comforting rubs to her back, a small smile on his face before he noticed (y/n) sitting in the background. "Oh, hello (y/n), it's nice to see you again." Fuxi gave a close eyed smile to them.
"You too, Fuxi." If it were any other solarian, they'd have to address him as their majesty however, (y/n) didn't have to do no such thing as they're great friends with the two. "What brings you here? I can't see you performing for one of our grand performances." Fuwa chimed in, "They're here because they need help with something." Fuxi released Fuwa from his grip as he looked at (y/n), "help? what do you need help?" (y/n) froze as Fuwa grinned, "They want to confess to a guy but isn't sure how to do so they came to me asking for my brilliant assistance" Fuxi slowly nodded and tilted his head, "And who is it that you want to confess to exactly? Do I know him?" (y/n) tried to hide in their fur, hating being put on the spotlight.
"Weirdly enough its Yi." Fuxi eyes widened a bit at his sisters' words, before he moved over to (y/n), kneeling in front of them. "I see, would you like me to ask for you?" (y/n) immediately jumped at that, "no, no, no, that'll be too obvious! He'll probably figure it out!"
"Figure out what?" Fuxi and Nuwa tilted out their heads in confusion, "Because if you think he'll be able to guess you like him, then perhaps you think too highly of him." Fuwa spoke, "He may be smart in scientist matters but he clearly isn't keen on romance." Fuxi gave a chuckle. "Have you even given him any hints or gifted him anything remotely 'romantic'?" (y/n) shook their head, hiding their face in their hands. "I want to, I really do but...I don't know, I just wouldn't know what to say to him." Fuxi gave a sympathetic look, placing his hand on their shoulder, "You can't keep beating around the bush, you have to come clean to him. Even if he rejects you, you have to push on. We don't have as much time as we used to, and it'll be a great disservice to yourself if you leave this world with such a regret." Fuxi squeezed their shouler reassuringly, "please."
With that being said, Fuxi supplied (y/n) with a bouquet of Hibiscus flowers and Fuwa pulled (y/n) to the side, wanting to share words of wisdom, "If it doesn't go well, let me know, he won't see what hit him." to which (y/n) just slowly nodded. They certainly won't be doing that. Fuxi and Nuwa gave encouraging words (as encouraging as it can get) and bid their farewells, having duties to attend.
And that's how (y/n) found themselves outside of Yi's workspace again, biting at their lips. They tried to not grip the flowers too harshly from their clammy grip. Taking a deep breath, (y/n) opened the door slowly to find Yi working on something else, his mystic nymph floating around him. Taking a breath, they gently knocked on the door, alerting Yi of their presence.
"(y/n), it's good that you're here, can you pass me the power thriver on the floor?" He was messing around with his future A.I companion, Abacus. Putting down the bouquet of flowers and moved towards Yi, looking at the multiple components before finding the power thriver, handing it to him. "Thank you." Yi stayed focused on the task at hand, holding multiple wires in one hand and trying to apply to power thriver. "I can hold t-the wires for you."
"Then come closer." (y/n) immediately blushed before walking up to him and taking the wires from his hands. Yi muttered a thank you before using both of his hands to apply the power thriver, easing it into the slot it belongs and making triple sure it was in place properly. Getting that out of the way, Yi took a wire one at a time from (y/n)'s hands, placing all of them in their appropriate places.
Taking control of his mystic nymph, he had it run a once over the giant sphere. Once everything seemed in order, Yi turned to (y/n). "Did you need something?" Now that brought them from their little daydreaming as they remembered why they came here in the first place. "I couldn't help but notice the Hibiscus flowers. Did they need any attending? If so, I cannot provide much aid." (y/n) shook their head at his words and took the flowers into their hands, trying to not squeeze the life out of them.
"I....um, actually wanted to g-gift these to you, Yi."
"Oh. Thank you." Yi took the flowers into his grasp, looking them over. "This is a nice batch of flowers; it is much appreciated." (y/n) gave a little nod, gripping at the end of their clothing. "Is something the matter?"
"N-no. I wanted to ask you something, actually."
"Then ask away, I'm all ears." At that, Yi's ears twitched. Taking a deep breath, (y/n) looked anywhere but at him. "W-would you like t-to hang out? S-see the flowers and get some food?" Yi blinked. "I'll have to look at my schedule but sure. I'll let you know when I have free time." (y/n) blinked in turn. Did he get what they were beating around the bush about, or did he only see this as platonic?
"Um...Yi?" He hummed, "They meant it as a date! My Ta-", a voice interjected before they were swiftly silenced. Gaining whiplash, (y/n) and Yi looked towards the door to see Fuxi covering Nuwa's mouth. "...Pardon us!" With that, Fuxi immediately got out of dodge with Nuwa's bobble head in tow.
An awkward silence overcame the two as (y/n) really wished the floor would just consume them. They didn't even get to do it themself...although they'd rather not in all honesty. "A date. I wouldn't have guessed you felt such a way about me.", looking over towards Yi to see him looking up/down/at them with a raised fur-brow. "May I inquire as to why?"
"Well, you're really n-nice to me and cool and smart and unique...! Y-you stood up for me when Jiequan was being cruel to me. You'd t-take the time out of your day to educate me e-even when you had better things to do-"
"What about Fuxi?" (y/n) drew a blank at the question, not sure what to think of the question. "Fuxi? What about him?"
"Weren't you two together?"
...
"What...?! No! He's like a brother to me!" Yi put the flowers down on his desk, his back turned to (y/n) "I see...well that's a relief."
"...Huh?" (y/n) looked at Yi as he seemed to be mindlessly picking at the flowers. "So, about that date, I can make room for today and tomorrow, will that work?" (y/n) nodded their head, "Y-yeah! Any day works honestly!" Yi chuckled as he finally looked over at (y/n), his usually narrowed eyes being upturned, showcasing a smile from him.
"I'll see you later. We'll meet at dawn at the grand theater." With that Yi seemed to get back to work, putting the flowers away in a vase with water. (y/n) taking that as sign to leave did so...not before moving to him and giving a chaste kiss to his cheek.
Yi stood there for what felt like an eternity, before an unexpected voice filled the silence. "Your heart has reached unprecedent levels, master Yi. Should I run a pulse treatment?" Yi jumped as he looked towards his AI companion, Abacus. "You shouldn't be on!"
"Fuxi, you'd be doing me a solid if you could arrange me and (y/n)'s marriage." Fuxi jumped out of his skin at the request, nearly knocking over the stacks of papers that littered his desk. "S-say again...?"
"Me and (y/n) would like to get married but keep it a private affair! I don't want mom or dad knowing about this." Fuxi looked at Nuwa for the hottest second, gathering his thoughts. "(y/n)? From the (l/n) family? The people who serve us and live off of our money???" Nuwa eagerly nodded as Fuxi pinched the bridge of his nose, "The (l/n) family don't have any status to benefit the fang clan, Nuwa. Mother wouldn't be pleased with such a baseless request." He let out a sigh, "I know that's why I'm asking for you to arrange it privately."
"It'll be very hard to arrange something like this and keep it private. Someone is going to figure it out, especially when you'll be inevitably betrothed to someone with more worth." Nuwa looked a little annoyed but gets where he's coming from, "I know and I'd rather cross that bridge when I get there." Fuxi looked at her again, "You should think of this now. The consequences that could befall you and (y/n) would be aggreges. They could be sentenced to death for something like this."
"They know that, and they still want to be with me, and I want to be with them." Fuxi removed his hands from his face as he took a deep breath, "...Will this make you happy? Having to live on thin ice until inevitably you'll be found out or be betrothed to someone else?"
He clenched his fist, "I'm sorry Nuwa but, I won't let you jeopardize your safety for something as nonsensical as 'love'." With that, Fuxi turned his back to Nuwa and continued his work, biting his lip harshly. He hated declining any request his sister would give him; however, this isn't something he think he could sweep under the rug like the other things his sister has asked for. Nuwa would've kept persisting however, she knew, her brothers' words were final.
"You're all dismissed, except you, (y/n)." Fuxi stood in the doorway as the other servants rushed out of the dining hall, leaving Fuxi and (y/n) alone. (y/n) kneeled to Fuxi as he made his way towards them. "Rise." and (y/n) did accordingly, keeping their head down. "I won't beat around the bush, you and Nuwa, how long has this been going on?" (y/n) froze, seeing as Fuxi knew, "three years, your majesty."
"Three years..." Fuxi had to digest such a thing. For the past three years, Nuwa hasn't acted suspiciously at all. She was as normal as every other day and to think she was being courted by a servant during that time. "Listen to me (y/n), I admire both of your abilities to feign ignorance for the past three years however, it'll only be a matter of time before one of you slip up and it'll cost you your life." Fuxi crossed his hands behind his back, "I want you to look at me."
Hesitantly, (y/n) did as she said. Meeting eye to eye with a noble was intimidating, especially given the circumstances. "I cannot allow you or Nuwa to go through with it. I cannot sabotage her safety. I can't allow her to marry someone who doesn't have a single yuan to their name. The class difference between the two of you is like the heavens and the earth...could you fathom watching her be betrothed to someone else? I hope you can understand my decision." (y/n) lowered their head a bit, looking disheartened, "I understand your majesty. "
"I'm glad you understand, I'd hate for you to lose your life or be exiled for such an action. I won't speak of this to anyone, and I need you to break it off."
"Don't listen to him, dearest. We don't have to be married to continue being together."
"I know but I don't want to tarnish your family name or have you lose what freedom you have left." Nuwa rolled her eyes, "Oh come on, we've done this for years now, we can continue...does this have to do with Fuxi? I get he's your higher classman, but I am too, and I'll command you to stay with me if I have to."
(y/n) bit their lip, avoiding eye contact with Nuwa. "Fuxi knows now, and he'll definitely keep a close eye on the both of us now. I don't want for you to get in trouble again." Nuwa let out an aggravated groan, "(y/n), we don't have to worry about that now. It's just me and you, as it's always been! Don't let what anyone says deter you from this! I surely won't. I still want to be with you." (y/n) fought off a blush as they made eye contact with Nuwa as she threw a smile their way, clinging to their arm.
"I understand if you're scared...to be honest with you, I am a little scared too."
"You are...?" Nuwa laughed, "Of course, I'd hate to disappoint my brother, but I don't want to leave you either." (y/n) looked off into the distance, "If I go along with Fuxi, I'd be disobeying you. If I go along with you, I'd be disobeying Fuxi." Nuwa tilted her head, "What would you like to do?" (y/n) shook their gently, "I want to be with you but-" "Over the years, even back when we were kids, you always kept your head down and followed instructions. Never questioning the order and doing so with efficiently. I always found your obedience detestable as I do now." Nuwa gave a small sigh, "Just this once, please, just do what you want. Don't let anyone guide your judgement, at least for this one time."
"I do want to be with you. I just can't live with myself if this somehow ruins your life." Nuwa gave a low chuckle, "Perhaps it will but this will be worth it."
Nuwa raised herself onto her mangled feet, stumbling a bit, "Who needs fancy official papers anyways?! We can just declare our love now!" (y/n) carefully got Nuwa to get back on her pillow, not before she took their hand in hers, giving them a big smile, "How about it? We give our vows to each other now?"
"Whah!?"
"I'll start! I, Nuwa Feng, will have the renowned savior of Solarian kind, Lear be my witness this night. Under the new sun and moon, I shall deem myself your wife. Within the infinite Tao and the comforting embrace of the primordial roots, my love shall never fade, shall never waver within faith."
Nuwa looked towards (y/n) before closing her eyes...waiting for (y/n) to say their vows as well. (y/n) looked at her for the hottest second, not sure if they should go along with it. They want nothing more than to be with her, even as kids, they pined for her affections and yet they found themself hesitating when presented with such an opportunity to be with her, even within the great Tao...They think Nuwa is too patient to be dealing with someone so hesitant and yet they love that about her. Well, she was never the most patient person, but she tried...every other crimson moon.
...Even if the idea of marriage was soley hers, they were never opposed to it, they even found it endearing how she was willing to go that for with them. Nuwa making the decisions for (y/n) was something they both liked and disliked. As they looked at her relaxed face, adorned with that radiant smile even the moon can't imitate, (y/n) knew what they wanted to do even knowing the consequences of doing so. Throwing away any semblance of common sense-
"I, (y/n) (l/n), will have the renowned savior of Solarian kind, Lear be my witness this night. Under the new sun and moon, I will be graced to be your wife/husband/spouse. Within the infinite Tao and the comforting embrace of the primordial roots, my affections shall never fade, shall never be fake within faith."
(y/n) closed their eyes as well and leaned forward, knowing how this is supposed to go, Nuwa was doing the same. Trusting that they wouldn't just faceplant each other, they took it slow before their lips met in a light kiss.
After a few moments, Nuwa swiftly pulled away and cheered to herself, "Yippe! We're united in heart and spirit! All that's left is connecting through bodily means!" Nuwa threw a suggestive look towards (y/n) to which they blushed heavily.
"We probably can't consummate in my chambers as my brother sleeps next door. So, we'll go to yours!"
...Oh sweet Lear, please have mercy on (y/n) this perfect night.
