synopsis: Genshin men as dads and what your family dynamic is like.
pairings: Ayato, Thoma, Alhaitham, Kaveh, Tighnari x fem!reader (separately)
tw: fluff, established relationship, mentions of pregnancy
word count: 7.2k words
a/n: I really wanted to write Diluc and Kaeya, but realized that I can't create something new since I already have a family AU with them. Here's the materlist's link if you are interested!
Also you can find the HSR version of this here!
Ayato
This man is a dad of twins - a boy and a girl. Both babies took more in their mom’s appearance, but have his soft violet eyes and honestly? This man adores you, his wife, so when he sees your kids develop more and more of your features as they grow - his heart can’t be fuller.
He is a fun and patient dad - he will teach them anything they ask him to, and offer guidance, yet still leaving space for them to learn some on their own. He also enjoys when they sneak into his study during his working hours (because mom decided to take a nap, and Thoma went out grocery shopping, and they are so-so boooooored), letting them wander around the room for the nth time, touching all the trophies and scrolls he has there (all the things that could be of danger were long removed), and when they eventually feel sleepy, crawl closer to him to nap, resting their heads on his thighs while he stays in his kneeling position, writing.
Even if they look a lot like you, it’s so easy to tell that they are his kids - the mischief babbling in their little bodies is untamable for the longest time, and Ayato loves it. Sure, sometimes it is a headache, and mostly for you, but at least they didn’t develop strange tastes in food like their father. More than once they used their similar looks to play pranks on the staff members or their parents, dressing in each other’s clothes and going about their day like that. What does their father think of it? Two words - “promising” and “entertaining”.
They are also their aunt’s absolute delight. Ayaka adores them, showering the two with gifts and attention. And even though she and Ayato are not twins like her niece and nephew - she still feels warmly nostalgic whenever she witnesses their interactions.
Best aunt - thanks to her Vision the twins experienced the joy of ice skating, lessons of etiquette became more fun (though still effective), more days off were granted to her brother to spend time with his family (she practically started stealing his paperwork at some point to fulfill it on her own). She and Thoma are making your life so much easier and for the first time Ayato truly feels at peace and like he is living his life at its fullest. The quiet rooms of the Kamisato Estate are finally filled with joyous laughter and summer warm happiness - his kids are bringing back the light to the gloomily strict atmosphere of the family house.
But sometimes the two only add the workload to his plate in the most wild ways possible.
Ayato closely observes one of his kids - presumably the son - as both the parent and the child are sitting in the room dedicated to the twins’ studying. They have the best tutors Inazuma could provide and both showed exceptional results in all their classes. Even if one of them failed an examination on the first try - the second one was always a success. That was until you walked in on your daughter rewriting her history test, only to discover your son in her place, with his sister’s clothes and blue locks tied in her manner. And that’s when the truth came to light.
Honestly it was no surprise their teachers never suspected anything - only four people could tell the twins apart easily - you, Ayato, Ayaka and Thoma, though the latter had trouble with that occasionally, and your children made sure to speak as similar as possible once the idea of replacing each other appeared. Of which you also learned that day Ayato and you sat them down and urged to tell you everything. The scolding about cheating from you and a lecture from Ayato on the topic of how important it is to do as good as you can on your own were provided, but in the end you just hugged them and said that you do not expect them to be perfect in everything, which left the kids relieved.
But from then on Ayato has been in charge of supervising the twins during their exam retakes. Just like today.
“Public diplomacy, national security, diplomatic etiquette, hm…” the head of the Kamisato clan skips across the paper with questions the tutor gave him beforehand on the latest topic of international relationships. He notices how his child doesn’t fidget and doesn’t even let the eyes run across the room - the straight posture and neutral expression etched on a thirteen-year old’s face is admirable. But he does note the uncharacteristic stiffness. Along with another major thing.
“Princess, where is your brother?”
Eyes widen slightly, but that’s enough to prove that he is correct. He watches his daughter hesitate for a moment, though there is no doubt in his mind that neither of his children would ever lie to him or their mother. And the defeated sigh shows as much.
“Sorry, father,” the girl lowers her gaze in apology. Fishing a hairpin from behind her brother’s kimono lapel, she makes quick work of collecting her hair. Then she looks into his eyes again.
“He is in my room, pretending to be me and probably stressing. Before you ask why we decided to switch - he begged me to.”
“Oh?” Ayato puts the papers to the side and rests his chin on an open palm. “Could you please elaborate?”
“Remember how we went to the Kujo residence for a playdate?” Her father hums, already getting a vague understanding of what’s going on. “And when we accidentally overheard how the oldest son was being scolded by his father for not doing enough in his studies. And brother got it into his head that if he keeps failing not once but more times, you are going to be disappointed in him. I know he studied for this retake, I helped him with that, but at the last moment he got anxious, and, well, here I am. Like all those years ago.”
“I see,” the man in front of her nods, and she doesn’t see any negative emotion painted on his face. Quite the contrary, he smiles.
“Be a dear, go get your brother and come back together. Change the clothes though. Oh, and tell him I am not mad, okay?”
“Okay, father,” she mirrors his smile and relief flashes in her eyes - the girl truly cares for her twin, and that warms Ayato’s heart.
When half an hour later both arrive there is already a table served with tea and sweets, and the head of the Kamisato family immediately invites them to take their seats. His daughter looks calm, which can’t be said about his son - the boy has the most miserable look on his face, holding onto his sister’s hand and staring at the surface of the tea in his cup. Ayato decides to speak first.
“Kujo family is the last people one should take as an example,” his firm, yet reassuring tone makes his son glance at him. “Sure, they are respected, but their methods are too old-fashioned, and the way they treat their children is no good. Do you understand, little blossoms?”
They nod and even if Ayato doesn’t see it, he knows they squeeze each other’s hand.
“You better do, because neither me nor your mother will ever push you to the point of devastation. In studies as well,” the boy bites his lip. “I am serious. I will not be disappointed in either of you if you have to retake one test again and again. Striking for perfection is a good goal, but not when you torture yourself physically and emotionally to achieve it.”
“But father…” his son lifts his eyes and stares right into Ayato’s and it shoots right through his chest how vulnerable the kid looks. “You are perfect. And I don’t want to let you down…”
“Me? Perfect? Oh, dear,” the man can’t hold a light laugh back. “Ask your mother and she’ll prove you so wrong, trust me. And none of you is letting me down - you should be proud of yourselves. At such young age you both show bright talents and knowledge - and it’s okay if it’s not the case for every possible field of studies. This is general education, later you’ll get more practice to catch up, or concentrate on your strongest abilities. Listen,” he addresses his son specifically, and the boy cocks his head to the side a little, “be more confident and trust your sister if she insists you are doing well. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and come to me if you feel unsure, alright?”
The boy glances down, letting the words sink in, and Ayato patiently waits. In his mind he admits that it's his oversight - he should've noticed earlier that one of his kids has been struggling. Now he will make sure to change that.
Eventually his son deeply sighs and looks at the adult in front of him with trust reflecting in those pretty eyes.
“Alright,” he nods with a small smile lifting the corners of his lips. Slowly standing up and letting go of his twin’s hand, he rounds the table and steps right into Ayato’s outstretched arms, wrapping his own around the man’s neck.
“Thank you, father,” he whispers right before burying his face into haori-clad shoulder. “I love you so much.”
And the man smiles, whispering those words back and soothingly patting his back, as the daughter shows him thumbs up with the tenderest look in her eyes.
Thoma
This man is such a sweet dad - nearly cried, when your first child, a girl, was delivered. Same was when a couple years later the son was born too.
Juggling his work and caring for his kids was never an issue for him. A big part of it was played by the Kamisato couple, who allowed him to bring first his daughter and then his son to work, when each of them was old enough. Which, most likely, was what prompted the Kamisatos to have their own kids - one day years ago you and Thoma wanted to have a date night - one you haven't had in a while - and Ayato's wife offered to watch your little baby girl. Does it need to be mentioned she wanted her own kids after that?
Thoma's kids are taught to be polite and respectful, but not overly reserved and quiet, no - in your own house the man would literally let them destroy the kitchen in attempts to bake something as an experiment and then turn cleaning it up into a fun game of three, or four, if you decide to join.
He is that kind of dad, who constantly falls asleep with both kids nestled on his chest and his arms wrapped around them, with a book of tales either lying on his stomach or abandoned on the floor. You literally mastered your technique of waking him up without stirring the kids, so you could bring the two to their rooms.
Your kids love walks, whether it’s in the city or admiring the scenery near the Kamisato Estate. When it’s in the city though, the four of you attract attention without a fail. Especially elders, who coo at the image of Thoma holding his daughter’s hand and you cradling your little boy to your chest. You are literally showered in little gifts and are offered many discounts, because everyone adores and respects your family. At some point for a short period of time a rumor was running around Inazuma City, that if you get to see all four members of the Kamisato retainer’s family, luck is going to follow you through the day. Thoma had to ensure it came to an end, wanting to keep you three safe and not being followed around in your leisure time.
To summarize it’s needless to say that this man is a natural when it comes to being a father. He already aced being a great husband, you never had any doubt that the same would be true about becoming a dad. And it brings you so much joy that your kids are aware of it.
Making your husband's lunch is an essential part of your morning routine. Sure, the Kamisato Estate provides its workers with meals and breaks, but knowing how much Thoma loves your home-cooked meals, you'll never refuse him this pleasure.
On days like today you pack two more lunches, for your kids - yesterday they expressed their desire to go and help their dad. But you are more than aware of the plan they've had in their mind for the longest time. That's why you turn a blind eye and chop fruits particularly loudly, when you ten- and four-year olds sneak into the kitchen and hide something in the wrapper of an already packed lunch.
And when they were leaving and every member of your family gave you kisses, you couldn’t help but notice the decreased stack of small papers you have in the hall to make notes.
Maybe next time, you’ll ask your kids to join.
Thoma bringing his kids to work is always a pleasant surprise to the Estate’s staff. Even the guards by the gates can’t keep their composure, when the girl cheerfully greets them, wishing a good day, and the boy softly chirps a little “hi” and shyly waves his hand at them. Next person they always meet is Furuta - and the old lady adores their greeting ritual and is the one who looks after the fellow housekeeper’s kids when they help or play outside. But if usually the woman just makes small compliments to the children and chides Thoma for not bringing them over more, today his daughter breaks the routine - she suddenly lets go of his hand and quickly runs to her father’s colleague and asks her to speak in the corner. A bit stunned, the blonde watches the two move farther and start quietly talking. The boy in his arms curiously watches them and then, as if realizing something claps his hands.
“What is it, cookie?” But the only answer he receives is merry giggling.
The next strange thing happens, when the three of them arrive in his room - kids, looking as suspicious as possible, start making excuses to go and play first, though they usually insist on following him around unless they get bored, and as they disappear behind the door with his daughter’s bag - Master Ayato requests his visit.
Getting out of his office only an hour later, Thoma has to rush to his duties, realizing that he’ll have to speed up if he wants to finish everything the blue-haired man has just told him to do. He even handed him a list with tasks, which never happened. What’s going on?
Not finding the children in his room, he decides to start without them, assuming they'll join him later. Okay, what’s the first thing on the list… Check all the chairs. Alright…
Luckily this piece of furniture isn’t numerous in the residence, giving the culture of Inazuma, and Thoma knows perfectly every single room where he can find them. What he wasn’t expecting to find is the folded papers on the seats of some of those. Upon unfolding each revealed a single letter. Strange… Well, at least the chairs themselves are in the required condition.
Tucking the papers in his pocket and fishing the list out of the other one, the man checks his next destination. Check all the bushes around the main building. Blinking, he looks again. No, the handwriting is definitely his master’s, but the contents? In his style, but why so sudden?
Following every single point, Thoma manages to find in total 13 papers with letters on it, before the list stops being weird and advises the housekeeper to dedicate the time before lunch to his common responsibilities. Which he, with an exhale of relief, proceeds to fulfill.
When the time for lunch rolls around, kids, as if magically, reappear at his side and innocently smile at him, asking how he spent his time. He promises to tell them over lunch.
Lunch, that brings him four more pieces of paper. And suddenly, both kids are not that interested in food.
“Make a phrase, make a phrase!” His daughter chants, holding her brother in her lap, and the little boy claps his hands, chanting ‘make! make!’. Already realizing that all of this was their meticulously crafted plan (to participate in which they managed to convince quite a few people), Thoma doesn’t oppose, putting all the papers on the table in front of him.
S V E E T S I R H E Y B T
And A P A P which he got from his lunch.
“The” is guessed immediately. “Is” as well. When he reaches for the “A P A P” to add it to the pile, the girl suddenly lunges forward, putting her hand on top of it and shaking her head. Alright, not yet.
S V E E T R Y B is left. Okay, maybe “very” and… “best”!
Moving the pieces around in utter concentration, the man puts the words in the right order. And only then the ten-year old lifts her hand. With a baited breath he moves the four remaining pieces a little more and his heart skips a beat, and the summer-green eyes widen.
PAPA IS THE VERY BEST
“Surprise!” The girl beams with the widest smile, hugging her brother. “We wrote it together! See how some of the letters are clumsy? He did it!” She proudly looks at the boy, gently ruffling his hair. “Recently he was trying to learn how to write! You are the first one who sees it, even mom didn’t! And we chose this phrase, because- dad, are you crying?”
Warm silent tears are indeed running down his cheeks and the man nods, not trusting his voice. A whirlwind of emotions overtakes him, making it a little hard to formulate his thoughts, but he reacts immediately when his kids rush to him, opening his arms and catching them in a tight embrace. He'll tell them how touched he is, he'll praise them, he'll declare his love for them again and again. A tiny bit later. Now he just needs to hold them and hear that he, for real, "is the very best papa".
Alhaitham and Kaveh
Listen, just LISTEN - imagine these men’s pure shock when their wives surprise them over a double date at Kaveh’s house with their pregnancies. Like, AT THE SAME TIME. Kaveh is gaping at his woman, but Alhaitham is no better - a glass with wine frozen in air in the middle of his attempt to put it back on the table as his eyes are not blinking, glued to his spouse. The blonde would be the first one to break from his stupor and tightly hug his wife, kissing all over her face all laughter and little jumping in place, while his junior would finally put the glass down and beckon his woman onto his lap and bury his face in her neck with arms around her body, quietly thanking her for amazing news.
The kids are not even formed in the women’s stomachs, but they already have a story to share.
Alhaitham
Despite not giving the impression the man likes the idea of being a father to a child together with you, his beloved. Of course the pregnancy was planned, but even he couldn’t predict the possibility of you and his friend’s wife being pregnant at the same time. Though he does find it a little amusing and can’t lie to himself that watching you and your female friend discuss the nursery designs, the clothes, the gender, the two babies becoming akin to siblings warms his heart.
He always loved quiet evenings with you, but later, as your bump got more and more prominent, he finds himself craving your back pressed to his chest and his palms cradling your rounding stomach. He talks to his kid in there, reads them books and soothes, when they are restless and don’t let you sleep that well. And that’s how early on you understood who’s going to be the one putting your newborn to sleep, because your persuasions didn’t work that well.
And your husband doesn’t mind. He actually loves cradling his daughter - yes, it’s a little girl! - to his chest and lull her to sleep - it gives him an unimaginable sense of fulfillment.
As your little wonder grows older, Kaveh can’t help but comment how similar her scowl is to her father’s - combined with the annoyed sharp glare of the eyes she also got from him. But that’s only when she is being capricious. Most of the time she is calm and sporting your sweet smile, voice soft and eyes lacking the mentioned above sharpness.
By the way, she is older than Kaveh’s kid, which makes the Scribe just a little bit smug.
Alhaitham is all too happy to be the one educating her. He makes sure to balance her time spending with him and her time spending with you, encouraging her to engage in your hobbies and have a mother-daughter time. But the most he loves the time the three of you spend together - be it as simple as grocery shopping, having a meal together or cuddling in the evening, or going on whole little expeditions, because his girl wants to explore something on the topic she is currently interested in.
Oh, and he is so biased when it comes to her. There is only one non-scholar kid in all of Sumeru who has her own personal access to the House of Daena, research laboratories, research data and the Scribe’s office at any working hour - and that’s your daughter.
“Look, that’s the Scribe’s wife!”
Taken aback, you stop in your way when at least a dozen students surround you. Raising an eyebrow you survey their faces thoughtfully, noting that they seem to be quite desperate. But even before you can open your mouth they interrupt.
“Tell him to let us in! We have applications to submit!”
“And I have questions why mine was declined!”
“I need his signature on my thesis papers!”
“He locked himself inside with your daughter and said not to disturb their nap! Unbelievable-”
“And how exactly can I help?” You cut through the cacophony of their voices. Students look at you as if you’ve just grown a second head.
“...you are his wife? You can influence him.”
“First of all, demanding something from a person you barely know is simply rude,” you narrow your eyes and a chill runs down some of the spines - for a moment you looked just like your husband. “Secondly, I am not involved in his work and I don’t plan to. Now, please, step aside.”
“You can’t be so cruel!”
“Oh, and you can? Let me guess, at least half of you missed deadlines, a small portion made mistakes again and the rest are not in an urgent need to see my husband, but decided to stick with others in hopes that getting to him right now will work?”
Leaving them stunned by your easy guess, you finally push your way through, holding a box with food you brought for lunch close to your chest. Once in front of the door you don’t even have the time to raise a fist for knocking, because the door unlocks and opens, revealing the tall man behind it.
Silently and quickly you step inside and the door shuts again, the key turns in the lock and then is thrown on the nearest table. The office meets you with welcomed tranquility, and dimmed lights are a nice contrast to the blindingly white walls of the Akademiya.
“So, you heard everything? They said you were napping,” you question his guess of when to open the door to let you in. Alhaitham rolls his eyes, glaring at the hindrance you left behind the door, and then takes the box from you.
“I was, but since I lent my earpieces I could hear the commotion in the corridor,” with his free hand he takes yours and leads you further into the room. There, on the sofa, you spot your daughter - wearing her dad’s device and napping, curled under his cape.
“Oh Dendro Archon, she is so adorable,” you coo in awe. “Look how big your things are on her!”
“She demanded I take a break and sit with her,” the Scribe hums, putting the food on the table and then locking both of his arms around you in an embrace. “But the more she was reading to me while sitting at my side, the sleepier she was getting, so we decided to nap.”
You listen to him, while observing your precious girl. She seems serene and content, holding onto the gold-embroidered piece of fabric, surely containing her father’s soothing scent. The earpieces are adjusted to hold onto her head and in silence you can even catch the faintest sounds of a melody. Ah, if only you had a Kamera with you…
“Let’s get her her own earpieces and cape.”
“The cape is unnecessary, but I did consider the device. I could make her her own, especially since she’s been complaining about having hard times to concentrate while she is at the Akademiya.”
“But with the cape she’d be just like you!”
“Am I alone not enough for you already?” Light turquoise eyes are hard to read, but you manage to catch a shadow of amusement.
“But matching outfits are charming! Like, remember the last time we’ve been to Kaveh’s? The whole family had matching robes!”
“Then you’ll have to dress like me too.”
“If I am to get an intricate cape and a device to block the sounds of you huffing - I don’t mind.”
Alhaitham huffs. Then stops, realizing he’s just done what you were accusing him of, and you can’t help but laugh.
“Kidding, kidding. Let’s discuss it over lunch. Can you wake her while I am setting the table?”
Your husband nods and, receiving a quick peck to his cheek, releases you from his hold, stepping closer to the sofa.
As you busy yourself with the food, you occasionally glance at the two from the corner of your eye, absolutely swooning over how gently Alhaitham takes the earpieces off, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, softly murmurs her name and coaxes her from sleep with the news that mommy came and brought delicious food with her. And when two sets of identical eyes look at you tenderly, a loving smile lights up your face.
Kaveh
Can you see this man sticking his finger in Alhaitham's direction and declaring that his kid is going to be senior to his friend's? Because I can. (Too bad he was wrong).
As well as I can see this man accidentally becoming supportive not only of you but the other man's family as well - and drawing the blueprints for both nurseries is probably only the beginning (but you were the only one whose every suggestion he took without arguing).
From day one his mind is set on being the best dad for your baby, just like he is the best husband to you. He reads books, seeks advice in Bimarstan, even writes letters to his mother in hopes she'll share her experience, that could help you. Though when it comes to shopping for your yet unborn baby, you have to physically restrain him from buying every single cute plushie or onesie he sees.
When your daughter is born though, it's getting harder, because your own desire to spoil this golden-haired angel is unmeasurable. Maybe it's because she looks so much like your husband and you are projecting your need to shower him in love and affection and give everything you possibly can, but by the end of the day you just simply love her very much.
Kaveh adores doing anything creative with his daughter. She wants a mosaic in a frame on her wall? They'll put it from the little tiles together and Kaveh would hold her in his arms so she could hang it. She wants a dollhouse? They'll spend the time drawing the draft and picking colors and materials for EVERYTHING. And then he'll be building it, while she crafts little furniture. And it doesn't matter if she did it too small or too big - papa will help her adjust it.
But even so, Kaveh doesn't expect his daughter to be some genius or follow in his steps. No, he knows he'll love her even if she stops sharing the creative approach with him. He knows better than anyone how crushing it is to have everyone's expectations to loom over you and predatory gazes watch tirelessly, anticipating the moment you fail. He gives a vow to himself, to you, to your girl, that he will be there no matter what.
Matching. Outfits. You own so many it's almost worrisome. But your daughter loves them. There were a couple occasions when she drew her own designs for the three of you and you had it tailored, which left her absolutely ecstatic.
On that note, you believe Kaveh's (tiny) fear that she'll lose interest in creativity is going to be short-lived - especially after your visit to Fontaine to let your daughter meet her granny, which the girl spent with wide open eyes and mouth, absorbing everything around her to use it later.
Also having your daughter earned you a heavy supporter in moments when Kaveh starts to overwork. He can't resist the charm of both of his girls and is easily swayed to the nearest sofa/bed to cuddle and share lots of kisses. All his life he has been the anchor for others - now he has two people to be that for him.
Kaveh is easily spooked by sudden noises, and your eleven-year old daughter knows that. That's why she makes sure to tap her feet loud enough to hear their approach through the door of his study. Balancing a small tray with a cup of tea and your special dessert in one hand, she lifts the other to gently knock on the door.
"Come in, baby!" Reaching higher she pulls the handle.
The floor littered with crumpled papers isn't a new sight to her, just as her father's hunched back over the properly lit table. But when the door closes, the architect immediately puts the pencil down and turns around, giving her a big smile.
"Hi, sweety," he is beaming, seeing her adorable face and a growing smile, complementing those precious twinkles in her eyes.
"Hi, papa!" She chirps like a little birdie - her actual nickname - and Kaveh nearly drops his head in his palms and cries. How can he be a father to someone so tender?
"Mama said you are working and made you something! I helped," she lifts the tray, showing him what she has. "We hope you will like it."
Oh, he definitely will, he doesn't doubt it. Carefully wrapping his fingers around the edges, the man takes his late afternoon snack and brings it closer to his face, inhaling the sweet smell of the desert and a soothing aroma of the tea.
"Thank you, little birdie," he puts the tray aside and bends lower to wrap his arms around her and smooch her cheek. "You and mama are the best."
"Hehe, we know," she giggles. "You are the best too."
"Awww," Kaveh can't help but nuzzle against her cheek, gaining another giggle and a cute scrunch of her nose.
"Daaaaaaaad!"
"Sorry, sorry, baby, you are just so adorable. Just like your mama."
"But mama says I am pretty like you."
"Both can work together," he assures her, but a soft blush covers his cheeks. No matter how many years have passed, he still gets shy whenever his wife uses "pretty" to describe him.
"Okay!" She simply agrees, giving him a big hug. "Sorry, but I should be going now. Mama wants to go grocery shopping and I want to help her."
Now that she says this, Kaveh pays closer attention to her outfit - the white sundress with pink roses is definitely not something she'll wear at home.
"Alright then, let me escort you downstairs."
Standing up, he easily hoists her in his arms and lets her perch on his left one, as her arms wrap around his neck.
When they reach the hall, the girl has managed to make two braids in his hair, now twisting them around each other. Kaveh finds both her and your obsession with touching his hair amusing, but sometimes it feels nice and relaxing. And you did put him to sleep by scratching his head on multiple occasions.
You, who are standing in front of the mirror, and even witnessing just your profile, the architect is in love all over again.
He should take you on a date later this week.
"Well, I definitely wouldn't mind that," you chuckle, turning to face him and offering your most teasing smile. Ah, he said the date part out loud, didn't he? "But right now I need to go and take care of our dinner's ingredients."
Your husband nods in understanding and puts your daughter down, dusting the skirt of her dress and making sure everything is intact. Getting a quick peck on the nose, he gives her one on the forehead and straightens up to immediately welcome you into his embrace and share a soft kiss.
“Be sure to take a break and enjoy the snack we made for you. And I mean it when I say taking a break. We all remember how you spilled your morning coffee over the blueprint and had to redraw everything again. You wouldn’t want that, would you?”
A wild shiver runs down Kaveh’s spine and he feverishly shakes his head. No, if there is one thing he is certain in it’s hating the repetition of this.
“You don’t have to remind me,” his heavy sigh ghosts over your skin. “And it won’t happen again.”
“I believe in you!” You cheer joyfully and it warms his heart.
“I believe in papa too!” Your daughter throws her fists in the air. “Papa can do anything!”
“Of course he can,” you gently nudge her back, ushering her to the front door. “See you soon, Kaveh. We love you.”
“I love you too.”
Waving at your leaving figures he waits until you shut the door and stick the key in the lock, before smiling to himself and returning to his study.
The tea got a little cold and the dessert’s top melted just a tiny bit, but both are still incredibly delicious. Leaning back in an armchair with a plate resting on his knee and a cup wrapped in his hands, the man feels happily at ease and two precious girls are the reason why.
Tighnari
Frankly, I don't think Tighnari has ever given much thought to becoming a dad, let alone settling down with someone. But taking care of Collei, becoming her mentor, stepping so close to becoming a parental figure, probably played its role as well.
Biggest part, of course, was you - another pretty fennec hybrid, who, due to the same biological background, could share a lot of things with him that the man couldn't and honestly didn't want to bother explaining to others, he sure has other things to fulfill.
It took years of courting from both sides, but eventually, you two settled down together, content with each other as a partner. When the talk of kids happened, the forest ranger was hesitant - he knows he can handle a kid, he can handle ten if required thanks to his immense patience and love for teaching, but since you were different from humans, the man was aware that you could be carrying more than three babies at one time. Even if your body is built to handle it by evolution, he still didn't want to make you go through with so much. Initially. However when you looked so hopeful to have a family with your beloved, swore it's going to be just one time and then you'll keep using protection like before, he was convinced and actually quite excited.
So much nuzzling during your pregnancy. So much nuzzling when the babies are born - three beautiful boys and one girl, with the prettiest fluffy tails and ears of yours or his fur. He immediately jumped to being a father, without any complaint taking care of your kids, while you were recovering. He adores them so much, but at times hardly manages to keep an eye on all four - good thing you moved into a bigger house that is closer to the ground, because little explorers did try to escape outside on multiple occasions.
What gets Tighnari's heart burst like fireworks though? Spotting you napping with all of your babies huddled in your embrace, body practically curled around them and a tail resting on top. The first time it happened - maybe a couple of weeks after you gave birth to them - Tighnari left you alone with the kids to do an examination on the work of forest rangers in his absence, and when he returned back - he nearly collapsed from how adorable the five of you looked. Definitely joined.
From their early age he taught his kids everything about the forest so they would be prepared, and, even he won't ever admit it, it stirred something in his chest when they looked up at him with wonder and fascination in their gleaming eyes. They were also taught to be independent, but at the same time to work as a team, and they are so good at that.
The circle of four is absolutely perfect. Little hands are swift and precise, and the absolute concentration is written on the seven-year olds adorable faces. You and Tighnari even stopped your own grooming of each other’s tails to observe your kids’ routine of doing the same thing, but among themselves.
With four pillows on the floor they once again made themselves comfortable, just like every evening, equipped with different kinds of brushes and safe oils.
You put your chin onto Tighnari's shoulder, still holding his tail in your lap, with yours resting under his palm, and make a soft sound, loud enough for him to recognize and not alert the kids. Your husband nods, purring in response and rubbing his cheek against your temple.
"They are so adorable, 'nari," you sigh, watching the four being so absorbed with their task that they don't even talk. The male couldn't agree more, lifting the corners of his mouth in a smile and then picking another brush to get busy with the tip of your tail.
"They absolutely got it from you, my dear. And did you notice how much progress they've made in the fur-caring routine?"
Tighnari doesn't see that, but you, still staring forward at your kids, clearly see how four pairs of ears prick up. How cute, someone wants the praise.
"That they did. And I don't know about you, but at the age of 7 I didn't even know that the fur has to be clean and taken care of anyhow. I guess, I never gave it much thought when my mom did it for me. Our little ones are so independent."
Four tails move a little, kids clearly delighted.
"You are right, they are," Tighnari hums, running his fingers through your now well-groomed fur, and your children hold their chins up proudly. "If only this independence didn't extend to trying to escape to the forest on their own against all of my warnings."
Inhumane eyes glare at the frozen bodies of the "explorers" in question, making them lower their gaze and pick up from where they stopped their routine. Oh, they know what they've done.
You can only sigh, fully understanding your husband's concerns, and finish tending to his tail.
Next is the balm you generously scoop onto your palm to rub into the rough texture of your fox-like pads. When you do the same for Tighnari, receiving a tender kiss to your nose, and then to each of your babies, as they walk to you one by one, still with guilty, pouty, but adorable faces, while your husband is putting away all the tools and products.
Soon your bed is occupied with all of your kids, snuggling to your sitting body and drowsily asking to sleep with you two tonight. Even the thought of making a dozen more steps to their own rooms is killing the last energy in them - the routine has an incredible side effect: they immediately become sleepy when they are done and you don't have much trouble with putting them to bed.
Especially when the bed is right here. The bed that became a large one not even a couple of months along their lives, because this has been a common occurrence.
"Mommy, daddy, can we sleep with you tonight, please?" Your daughter lifts her pleading eyes at you, being the one who managed to directly slide into your lap and into your embrace. Three boys, attached to your sides silently lift their eyes too, pouting in attempts to break your resolve. Which wasn't here in the first place.
"What'd you say, 'nari?" Chuckling, you look at your husband climbing onto the bed to join the five of you.
"Weren't we just discussing their independence? They can surely walk to their rooms. Come on, babies, back to your beds."
"Noooooooooo," their hold on you immediately becomes a death grip. "We want to stay with you!"
"Kids, I can't breathe-" you gasp from the crushing hug of at least two pairs of arms squeezing your middle.
"We want to stay, we want to stay, we want to stay!"
"That's what you should've told yourselves earlier this morning when you decided to get to the river with spinocrocodiles. That you want to stay. Home. Until I or your mother could go on a walk with you outside the village."
At his strict tone and at the reminder of them nearly losing their tails this morning to the sharp jaws of wild animals, four little foxes lower their eyes, ashamed. But they do relax their hold around you.
Tighnari sighs, rubbing his temples and contemplating when he's going to get his first gray hairs.
"Okay, I'll let you sleep with us tonight, BUT," he slightly raises his voice to emphasize, especially since the four immediately got in high spirits, "if something like this happens again - you are losing this privilege for a week. Are we clear?"
"Yes, daddy…"
"Yeah.."
"Mhm…"
"Sure, dad…"
And that's the only confirmation Tighnari needs before lifting the covers, because no matter how restless and disastrous your children can be - he has almost as hard a time as you do telling them "no".
“And what of it? Am I not allowed to praise my wife?”
tags: established relationship, fem!reader, fluff, reader is overworking herself and zhongli says NO MORE A THAT
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The best part of any of your days is easily when you can curl up in bed and relax for a while before you go to sleep. It wasn’t always like this, however. You used to work until it was time to go to bed and spent hours tossing and turning before sleep called your name, but Zhongli put a stop to that fairly quickly. He’ll quietly sneak up to your desk and tell you when to relinquish your work and head to bed when he notices that you’re too engrossed in it to realise the time.
“You’re still working, love?” He says quietly to you one night, glancing over your shoulder at the papers you’re working on. He knows they’re important to you, but he also knows you’ve been working on them so long that unless you take a break, you’ll be unable to pick up any inconsistencies or mistakes.
“Mmm,” you reply quietly. “I have to make sure it’s good enough.”
“I am certain it is of an impeccable standard.” he says quietly. It’s then that you notice he’s starting his nightly routine of trying to drag you away from work to get you to bed, and you begin to dig your heels in.
“It’s not enough. This needs to be perfect, otherwise my boss won’t be best pleased.”
“I assume your boss would be more displeased if they had to contend with their best employee when she’s sleep-deprived.” He says quietly. “Come to bed.”
“You’re so clearly biased.” you scoff, looking up at him as he rests his hands on your shoulders, gently kneading them.
“And what of it? Am I not allowed to praise my wife?”
“You’re not allowed to try and tempt her to sleep with honeyed words.” You sigh, putting your pen down. Zhongli smiles slightly when he notices your compliance, gently pulling you into a hug as you stand from your desk. He’s right, and you know he is, but it doesn't make it easier for you to drag your eyes away from the pages of paper strewn across your desk. As you let him lead you upstairs to your room, you notice that the sun has long since settled, and the stars are beginning to twinkle in the sky. Usually, Zhongli would have pulled you away from your work earlier than this. You wonder if he was equally busy and simply forgot, or just knew that you would want the extra time to look over your report.
Your husband is quiet as he settles himself in bed, and you change into one of his silken pyjama shirts. You pretend not to notice the shameless way he watches you as you change clothes, or as you scour the bookshelves for something to read. You could have sworn you left the book you were reading last night on the third shelf, but it’s nowhere to be found.
“Did you reorganise the shelves?” You ask, as you try to reach the fourth shelf up. “You reorganised the shelves, didn’t you?”
Zhongli’s unruffled gaze persists as he replies. “I did. I thought it might be more favourable to organise the books by last name, rather than first.”
“Did you have to put my book so high up?”
“Despite my attempts to avoid doing so, the method of organisation required it, yes. Does it displease you that much?”
You sigh at him then, having retrieved your book and being met with his faux innocence. He looks strangely regal with his hair untied, and the first few buttons of his golden embroidered shirt undone, his head cocked slightly to the side as he pretends to not understand your mild irritation at his actions. His eyes follow you as you crawl into bed beside him, opening your book to the bookmarked page. You never have any recollection of putting the bookmark in your book nor where it comes from in the first place, but you simply assume you do it without realising before you sleep.
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”
You lean against Zhongli as you prepare to read your book, and he hums lightly in response. You always assume that he isn’t following along, that he’s simply preoccupied with his thoughts, until he gently holds one side of the book’s pages for you so you can be more comfortable, and reacts to the words on the page with an affronted sniff or a preoccupied hum. When you look at him, as if to ask ‘did you see what that guy just did?’ whenever something unfavourable happens, he enthusiastically returns your incredulous stare every time. Sometimes you wonder whether he drags you to bed because he wants you to sleep early or because he wants to know what happens next.
When he feels your head slump further against his chest, and the pages of your book flutter as you release your grip on it, he carefully retrieves the bookmark from wherever you’ve stashed it, placing it a few pages back from where you’ve left it. You never remember the last few pages of what you’ve read the next night and it leaves you reasonably frustrated every time.
He gently pries the book from your fingers, waiting until you’re deeper into sleep to move you so you can sleep comfortably, and places the book by your bedside table.
꒰꒰ ✎ :: Kabukimono/ Kunikuzushi/ Scaramouche/ Wanderer x gn reader
꒰꒰ ✎ Genre: angst with a happy ending in 3rd post, im not strong enough for a full angsty one😭
꒰꒰ ✎ Summary: After losing you, Kuni decides to change his and your unfair destiny himself. In orther for that, he goes to the Irminsul, just like in the archon quest, attempting to change its archives about his life in his favour so that he could keep you safe. Thus he restarts his life, while fully remembering everything from the previous one, but it seems the cycle has to repeat itself
⚠︎ Warnings: contains spoilers for scara's story, mentions of death (it's angst tho), of violence, cursing, kinda long too
Part 1 ࿐୨୧࿐ Part 2 ࿐୨୧࿐ Part 3
INTRO
Once again, the Kabukimono finds himself alone in the darkness, not sensing anything, not even the way his heart keeps beating, which is an absurd thing to a mere puppet as himself. The same virtual heart starts now to beat faster after seeing a glimpse of you, the only source of light in such a cold place.
Reaching his hand for you to take isn't enough, so he has to move, faster, run towards you until your form gets blurry and his hopes starts to sink, losing all of them in a blink of an eye when Kabukimono figures out his dream.
The same dream he kept having every night ever since he has lost you, the only one who could accept him for who he is and most importantly made him accept his own self. Or at least you had tried. After you left, everything for the boy once destined for a great role as a leader in Inazuma seemed to have lost its meaning. You were the last person to have stayed with him, the one who never planned to betray him and yet, in face of Fate, you had no choice but to die for him. For him to keep living, to find the truth about himself, to enjoy his life. But how can he do that now, when you're not there to share the moments together and keep only plaguing his mind?
Kabukimono asked his unforgiving Fate the same, asked why does it have to be so cruel, why did it all have to be like that and he has yet to receive an aswer.
Rather than digging himself in his tomb of madness and grief after your death, he starts to seek for solutions. The answers aren't going to bring you back anyway. After all, he is not an ordinary human, he is the one the electro archon has crafted with care and tenacity, his origins keep pushing him towards his goal. But if asked what is his aim after all, no explanation could be given other than a simple whisper of your name, a murmur that would go into the air for a divinity to hear and grant him his wish.
FIRST
In his first life, Kabukimono tried to live his life as best as he could. It was not easy to accept the rejection from the one and only who gave him his entire identity, just to abandon him, as he thinks. Having to endure the loss of Katsuragi and then the ill child from Tatarasuna, the one exactly like him, "a hope for the future, a fledgling barely out of the nest" was already hard enough for him to feel like giving up but then you appeared, miraculously in a way and showed him, through small steps how to bring himself up, how to see the world again for what it is and gain the strength to move on.
Except that your small, but significant intervention was also interfering with the evil's plans. Or as it goes in this story by the name Il Dottore. He had already managed to ensure Kabukimono's association with the Fatui after all the pain he put him through. He couldn't let you mess with his plans.
"It was rather amusing watching you getting close to that puppet. And the lengths you managed to go to earn his trust" Dottore laughs pretentiously in your face, viewing your intentions of getting close tp Kabukimono as ill intented, just as how his are. "Really wished I could still watch you make a fool of yourself like that" he continues drawing his sword.
"Tasteless as always! You fatui, walking all pretentiously thinking you rule the world and yet-" you pause to smirk at your upcoming remarks "you are all a bunch of stalkers, mere pawns who think they did something, but just waisted their life " You bite back at the wretched man. "What a shame" you stop when his blade is pointing right at your throat, feeling its edge grazing your skin, perhaps even bleeding already.
"Little fox still believes to have the upper hand! Face the truth: You lost!" his patience is running low as he doesn't let you respond to him anymore, perhaps his ego having been affected. "Though I should consider: any last words?" Dottore asks with a sickly smirk.
"Eat sh*t, stupid fatui" is what you last manage to swear before he "finishes " his plan.
BEGINNING OF CHANGE
You were one of Ei's most loyal servants, a fox youkai who watched her go through the best moments in her life before the war broke out 500 years ago and through her worst moments after her twin's and friends' loss. You were there when she crafted "the puppet " and when she decided to let it free, to let it have its purpose, find its own way through life. From time to time you also kept an eye on him, out of curiosity for his destiny, for the way he is going to shape his life, for what freedom did Ei release him.
And naturally you found yourself cross paths with him. It was amusing at first, he thought of you as some sort of blessing he was being gifted since you always managed to help in some of his crises, or keep him company for short periods of time. In your perspective your help didn't seem anything considerable, but Kabukimono was truly moved by your acts of kindness. And truly embarrassed by your constant teasing.
Using your own powers and abilities, you figured out the fatui discovered about Ei's actions, implicitly her creation and you couldn't let them destroy him like that. But it seems that this time, the cards weren't in your favour.
Dottore laughed again satisfied with himself after his plan worked. Kabukimono now joined the Fatui, as the Sixth Harbinger, Scaramouche.
Still, little did the doctor know, the Balladeer only accepted just to gain the means and power for his scheme of "getting you back" to be a success. Changing his fate through the Irminsul was a forbidden act, with no need of a written law to specifically stop him. It was hard enough to simply reach it, never mind attempting to change its archives. But he was willing to try to change your fates, to try to repay you for everything you've done, to give you back the life you deserved.
With the help of traveler and Nahida, curiously enough, he did it. He re-wrote his existence, making sure that he would join the fatui, before meeting his long lost friends and his dear lover so that he won't lose anyone, so that no one would die because of him. It was the perfect plan.
❛❛Promises to keep as far as the eyes can reach
A game of luck that I would choose
A game of light that I would lose❜❜
⁺ ˖˚ Songs from which I quoted the lyrics are: "Promise keeper" by Agnes Obel and the title itself of this work is the name of one MITSKI song, "Once more to see you".
A/N: before anyone wonders "but didn't scara considered his friends' deaths as betrayals and became all cold and grumpy and stuff" YES, that is true, but in here he met READER and eith their help he was better at coping with the losses and understanding his grief
“There are simpler ways to get me to blush, you know. You needn’t compose such convoluted plans.”
tags: established relationship, fem!reader, fluff, literally no plot to this sorry
(if you have seen this before its cause i accidentally deleted it el oh el)
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You glance at Zhongli over the top of your book, trying your best to hide the fact that your interest does not lie in the pages and rather with him as he methodically dresses for work.
Despite the fact that your husband is putting his clothes on, not taking them off, the nature of your spying makes your face heat up in embarrassment and you bury your face back into your book as realisation hits.
“You do realise I can feel you watching me?” Zhongli chuckles, doing his shirt buttons up as he approaches. “You’re not very subtle, my dear.”
You feel your face heat up more, putting your face against the pages of your book, hoping that if you stay there long enough, Zhongli will let the topic drop. Of course, that’s wishful thinking—he rarely lets things go, or gets flustered by you. In fact, you’re convinced you’ve never actually seen him blush in all the time you’ve been together.
“I was not watching you.” You protest, face still in the pages of your book. Zhongli raises an eyebrow, not that you see him do it, and chuckles to himself again.
You continue talking. “What kind of pervert stares at their husband changing? That’s ridiculous.”
“You, my dear, are a prime example of the pot calling the kettle black.” He sighs, sinking down on the bed beside you. You don't look at him, still flustered from being caught in the act. But as you’re trying to ignore his presence until your face is no longer hotter than the deserts of sumeru, a thought floats into your mind. What would it take to make Zhongli as flustered as you are right now?
And thus, you make it your goal to make him blush. For you, no tactic is too low, especially since it’s for the sake of science—your first idea is to compliment him incessantly. You’re not particularly the type to declare your love for him with words, preferring to show it in other ways, so his surprise at your words should make him blush, even if the content doesn’t.
And so it begins. For the next week, you try all the compliments you can think of, waiting to see that flush on his cheeks. His reactions are varied, a slight smile some days, hearty laughter on others. But not once does he blush or show any kind of embarrassment.
“My, don’t you look ravishing today?” you grin, flopping onto the sofa beside Zhongli, who is absorbed in a novel. He looks up at you, a pleased look in his eyes, despite his somewhat neutral smile.
“Thank you, dear,” He replies, not a single tinge of pink anywhere on his face. Infuriating. “As do you, as always.” He shifts himself, making more space for you to sit comfortably.
“That’s it?” You reply incredulously. Zhongli looks at you with innocent eyes, confused at your sudden hostility. “That’s all you have for me?”
“I seem to have missed your point,” He says brightly, as you scowl at him. “Did I offend you somehow?”
You frown even deeper. “Seven days. For seven days I have been using my extensive poetisicm to flirt with you and you haven’t blushed once. Not even even a smidge. What are you? Some kind of monster? Am I not good enough for you anymore? What’s it going to take to get you just a little bit flustered?”
Zhongli looks at you in mild confusion. “So the sudden influx of compliments was just a part of testing your hypothesis?”
“Yes.”
“There are simpler ways to get me to blush, you know. You needn’t compose such convoluted plans.” He chuckles, draping his arm across your shoulders casually and stroking your hair.
“Pray, tell.” You grumble. As if you spent all that time planning compliments, only for Zhongli to tell you you were doing it all wrong. “I suppose all those years being worshipped by all of Liyue has desensitised you to compliments, huh?”
“I suppose so,” He says. “However, I much prefer the ones you came up with. I quite liked the one in relation to the Cor Lapis and the Jade.”
It’s you who hides yoru face in embarrassment, feeling it heat up. Of course he’d manage to turn your plan against you. When does he not? The silly man knows exactly when to do to have you like putty in his hands, and he enjoys it—you know he does. There’s no other explanation for his actions.
“Don’t remind me. That one took me two days to come up with, and you ruined my delivery of it.” You scowl. “When someone asks what you and a random item have in common, just say ‘what?’, okay? Don’t start listing the qualities that you and a precious stone have in common. It’s a real vibe killer.”
“Why would I do that when the alternative means you’ll respond so adorably?”
You glare at him halfheartedly. “Don’t you dare.”
Zhongli ignores you, a devious smile growing. “That said, it has been a while since I last blushed. It was our wedding night, if I remember correctly.”
You laugh at that one. “The same wedding night where Venti laced your wine with hard liquor? That flush was from the alcohol, not me.”
Zhongli shifts himself so that you’re pressed right up to his side, his face in the crook of your neck. “Venti never laced my wine. I would have tasted it.”
“So you weren’t drunk? You’re trying to tell me that you had that stupid lovestruck grin on your face whilst you were stone cold sober? That you bowed like a knight before literally carrying me home before the reception was even finished?”
“Perhaps not stone cold sober.” Zhongli amends. “I’d say lukewarm.”
“That’s not how the saying works.” You try to pull away from him, but his arms around you are firm. “What now, Zhongli? First you resist my attempts to seduce you, and now you won’t let me sulk in peace?”
He rests his head against the crook of your neck, and that’s when you realise how warm it is. “All I had to do was bring up our wedding night? Are you kidding me?”
“In hindsight,” Zhongli mutters. “It is somewhat embarrassing to think about.”
“It was hilarious. Highlight of my life. I’d do it again in a heartbeat if I was given the chance to.”
notes: heyyyy whats up y'all (no one mention that its almost been a year since i started this blog and i STILL haven't finished flufftober thank u) aine if you're seeing this i took you off the taglist this (1) one time because i know you've seen this already :3
꒰꒰ ✎ :: Genshin x reader; established relationship
꒰꒰ ✎ :: Genre: fluff, some sad descriptions here and there but nothing angst
Childe - "Glue Song" by beabadoobee (<3)
"Don't forget to kiss me or else you'll have to miss me"
Childe absolutely adores the dynamic of your relationship, the teasings and constant little bickerings, the soft lectures when one is on the wrong side or have neglected themselves that always end with much needed affection and cuddles. He loves everything about you, being with you and especially seeing you smile. If it's bc of him is a ego booster too, but his only priority is your happiness. He'll always cherish you.
"I've been stuck by glue/ Right onto you"
Call him ridiculous, too cliché or whatever, but Childe really believes in the whole Fate/ Destiny concept of a power greater than anything could be imagined uniting you two and keeping you together. And in tender moments shared in the calming presence of you, when his heart can be filled back with love, Childe can think of himself as the luckiest person alive to be granted this happiness.
Wanderer - "Compass" by The Neighbourhood
"I keep you in my pocket to use/ You're my only compass/ I might get lost without you"
Wanderer wasn't one to live a happy life or at least an easy live. He tried to fix things by himself, but it didn't seem the right way. He tried to erase his existence, along with erasing his memories, but that wasn't right either. He learned, he had to. How to do certain things, how to pay for his wrong doings and he's letting you guide him as well throughout this adventure. He thinks of you as his little compass (and of course little since his much stronger than you, as he likes to remark). You always make sure Wanderer does the good thing and not give too much in to the bad old habits and that he's happy with the way he lives, the life that he chose. It's not like a duty or in a bossy way (he still calls you that sometimes), but rather as natural as breathing or smth, it's just in your nature to want to care for him and do so. And with you on his side, for him to adore, Wanderer is sure to always be on the right path wherever life would take him this time.
"Can't help that I'm attracted to you, I am/ Could you keep on guiding me? Please"
Zhongli - "Telephones" by Vacations
"I wish I could live without you/ But you're a part of me wherever I go/ You'll always be next to me"
A confident man in himself and his abilities. Once a ruler of a great nation, an important warrior in the devastating war and now a respectful man who gained everyone's admiration in Liyue and not only, who can still show them his strength and knowledge. But beside all of this titles, Zhongli has a more important one he wants to honour, as your one and only lover. The former Archon of Contracts made sure to have one between you two, although contract is a rigid way to call it, the solemn promise of his undying love for you, of the loyalty he has and his rather selfish wish to spend (for as long as you'll have him) this lifetime together.
He also figured that he literally cannot stay apart from you. His knowledge can be both his strength and his weakness. The times when he misses you it especially shows as his greatest weakness, for he has to go to places he once remembered of its history and now keeps remembering of the shared memories you have there. Zhongli is thinking of you more than he would want to admit and a life filled with as much responsibility as his clearly left him aching for that fussy feeling of love he only gets with you.
Kaeya - "Francis Forever" by Mitski
"I don't need the world to see/ That I've been the best I can be, but/ I don't think I could stand to be/ Where you don't see me"
Kaeya, sure, enjoys the general admiration he gets from others and to use his smooth talking skills to obtain whatever he wants. He never praised himself as a considerate or trustworthy person, but he too yearns for that loving, gentle gaze of yours to be fixed on him. He yearns to have you at all times (kinda selfishly he thinks, but cannot deny it) there to see him as he is, for his true persona, although hurt and at a lost with his own emotions and thoughts. It gets exhausting to keep a laid off attitude, meet and interact with devious people and at the end of the day keep a fake smile to show to the world that he's unaffected by anything, that he's Kaeya Alberich. But in the comfort of your arms and with your tender touch all the memories that once plagued his mind finally dissipate, leaving him as the simple man he always wanted to be, a common man with the most amazing lover he could have been blessed with.
જ⁀➴ tags: fluff, pregnancy, birth, babies, domestic jjk men, they're all your husbands, them being perfect.
જ⁀➴ note: not proofread, some of these are a bit unrealistic, but keep in mind that it's fiction and i don't have a baby.
°˖➴ when your baby smiles for the first time: [nanami kento]
Birth was a blessing in itself, but having a partner as supportive as Kento made everything worth it, down to the sleepless nights you have been spending trying to get used to your baby’s constant need to be cuddled, fed and taken care of. You were frustrated, it was pretty evident by the tears welling up in your eyes every two seconds along with how you simply refused to be near anyone but your baby and Kento. Thankfully, he was always the one coaxing you to get out of the bed and sit on the balcony, have a full meal and relax while he took care of the baby.
On the outside, it seemed as though Kento had everything under control, and that nothing could affect him as long as you were okay. He never cried when you did (beside when he held the baby for the first time), and he made sure to validate your every frustration and fear, all while telling you that everything will be okay.
Which brings us to this moment, with both of you sitting on the couch with your baby on his lap. One of your favorite things about these nights was that Kento never skipped them and always made sure to play with your baby for a bit before helping you put her to bed. Even when he was incredibly exhausted.
Kento rocked your baby back and forth, enjoying the happy and curious noises leaving your daughter’s mouth. Your husband’s pointer was gently tracing her face, humming a soft tune about how adorable she was all while helping her be more aware of her body.
“And those are your eyes,” his tired voice came out. “And this is your nose,” accompanied with a boop, “and those are your precious cheeks,” a laugh escaped his lips when your daughter seemed to try to escape from the ticklish feeling of his finger and you chuckled at the scene. Your happiness was so contagious that your daughter’s lips twitched and a giggle escaped her lips.
“Oh,” Kento paused his movements but it only seemed to make your daughter giggle even more. “Look at you,” a smile broke on your husband’s face and he leans down to brush his nose against hers. “Is daddy your favorite comedian already?” And the louder her giggles got, the harder it was for your husband to contain his own laughter. He throws his head back on the couch and closes his eyes, and when he leans back down towards your baby girl, her smile only gets bigger and bigger.
You bring your legs up to your chest and watch the scene unfold with a heart full of love and adoration for your husband and the human being you both created. And when Nanami notices your silence, he supports his baby girl’s head with one hand and reaches his free hand towards your leg to caress it.
“Are you okay, darling?” To which you flash him with a smile that Kento could only describe as one that filled his heart to the brim.
“Never been better.”
°˖➴ when your baby first rolls over: [kamo choso]
You were well aware of how anxious and easily nervous your husband could get. Throughout your entire pregnancy, you were never allowed to be even a foot away from him. On a normal day, you would’ve asked for personal space, but lucky Choso, your pregnancy hormones seemed to make you even more attached to him.
Now that your baby boy was here, all of that anxiety and nervousness was doubled. Instead of worrying about one person and a bump, Choso had to make sure you and your baby were both okay all while trying not to tire himself to stay awake for you two. Night feeds were usually his favorite time of the day, despite your tired self and the sleepiness on your face, watching you try to hold your baby while feeding him always made him lean towards you and press a kiss to your forehead.
Your baby was about three months old when Choso started becoming even more involved with diaper and outfit changing. Not that he didn’t want to at the beginning, you were always far too nervous to let him do anything unsupervised. Your baby was currently on the bed while his father reached for the outfit that he laid out for him. And while Choso was always super careful, you had called out his name before walking into the room and so he turns his head to the door and is confused when you’re wide eyed and staring at the bed.
“What?”
“Look- the baby, Choso!” He turns to stare at his son and is pleasantly surprised when he notices that his son had fully rolled over and was now on his stomach. Your husband doesn’t say a thing as your baby makes noises, almost complaining to you both that he wasn’t seeing you and that his muscles were still too weak to support his head, so Choso rolls him on his back and leans down to press a kiss to his forehead.
“…don’t you think it’s too soon for him to try to leave mid-conversation?”
“Baby,” you let out a chuckle. “I’m sure that’s not what he meant.”
“He’s moving too quickly! What do you mean he was able to roll over?” Your husband complains and he slowly dresses up your son.
“It just means our baby is healthy and functioning well.”
“Yeah,” Choso says softly before picking up your baby. “Our baby.”
°˖➴ when your baby starts crawling: [fushiguro toji]
Toji always thought that he didn’t deserve a second chance at life. He simply thought it was too late to start over, that was until he met you and you made him realize that ‘too late’ didn’t really have a place in your dictionary. You made him experience everything all over again; from falling in love to raising two healthy babies along with Megumi and Tsumiki. You gave him a second chance at being a father all while helping him fix his relationship with his kids.
You always made sure to help Tsumiki and Megumi with their homework while Toji stayed with your baby boy and baby girl. He would sit on the floor and watch as they struggled to even hold up their heads and try to reach for him.
“Come on now, I know you can do it,” Toji held the toy your baby boy was whining to his father to give him, and your husband was very stubborn about what his kids were capable of. Tsumiki and Megumi were already excelling at different sports and even academically, and despite you trying to convince your husband that your babies were only six months old, he wouldn’t listen.
Shifting his attention from his son to his daughter, he reaches for the toy in her hands and slowly takes it away from her. He watches as a pout forms on her lips and her eyes get teary almost immediately, and Toji has never believed in mother instinct as much as right now, because you burst out of the study room at the same time as your baby girl crying.
“Toji,” your disappointed tone as you walked towards the scene made the man turn back towards his babies.
“I just think they should be crawling by now.”
“They need time baby,” you step behind him and look over your baby girl who was trying to rub her teary eyes. “You can try by setting it in front of her, then she can try reaching for it.”
Your husband does as he is told and completely forgets about his son’s toy. Too focused on getting your daughter to move towards her toy, he fails to notice his son slowly crawling towards him to retrieve the small item sitting next to him but you do.
“Oh!” your gasp catches your husband’s attention and he immediately notices his son. “Come on baby! Good job!” Toji doesn’t waste time and turns back towards your daughter, gently coaxing her into moving towards her toy.
“Come on baby girl, come on,” it is very rare for Toji to be smiling so softly but whenever he was with his kids, his cheeks would end up hurting him from smiling too much.
Your daughter’s attention quickly shifts towards the person that walks out of the study room, and when her eyes fall on Megumi, a giggle escapes her lips and she starts moving towards her older brother. You and Toji watch in awe as Megumi sits cross legged on the floor and talks very softly to his baby sister, words of encouragement leaving his lips as your baby girl stops a couple of times and whines at the difficult task at hand.
“Just a bit more, come on,” But once in Megumi’s arms, the boy holds her carefully before walking back towards you and his dad. Toji stands up with his younger son in his arms before patting Megumi’s head.
“Good job, boy. You did well.” To which Megumi responds to with a shy nod before handing you his baby sister.
Moments like these sure made it feel like everything in life was worth it.
°˖➴ when your baby says their first word: [geto suguru]
You never knew you could fall in love twice until you saw your husband become a father to your beautiful baby girls. Not only was he supportive, which was obviously the bare minimum, he still managed to be present for all three of his girls at the same time. The girls were obsessed with their father, and rightfully so, but something you truly admired about your husband was that he made sure to include himself during their play time.
And despite your attempts at convincing him that play time meant playing with dolls and plushies, Suguru was adamant on teaching his little girls very interesting words that had their tiny eight month old brains almost short circuit.
“Sugu, easy there. They can’t possibly know what pontificate means.” You say followed with a low chuckle, watching as the man sat down on the floor with his legs spread wide open for his two girls to sit in the space there and glance at the book their father was holding.
“My girls are smart like their parents,” your husband says with a serious look on his face. “I need their first words to be something smart, something big…”
“I need something that screams Beyoncé,” you say jokingly and your husband shoots you a playful glare.
“Be serious.”
You squat in front of your baby girls and it immediately shifts their attention from the book Suguru was holding and you smile at that. You instinctively open your arms and wait for them to crawl towards you, but instead one of the girls looks back at Suguru and waits for him to look down at her.
“Mama,” your little girl turns to her sister before staring at you and starts crawling towards you and your jaw almost touches the floor.
“Did you just say mama?”
“Mamama,” your other daughter mimics her sister and tries to escape Suguru’s hold, but he catches her in his arms and his happiness seems to be a lot more obvious than yours.
“Yeah baby, that’s mama! She said mama, did you hear that?” You grab your baby girl who was crawling towards you and grin at your husband.
“Didn’t you say you wanted their first word to be something big?”
“You’re their everything, so it is something big.” There was no doubt that you picked the right person to father your children.
°˖➴ when your baby starts walking: [gojo satoru]
You’ve always known that your baby was going to be as hyper as Satoru. Ever since he was in the womb, your baby would not stop moving and kicking, it even resulted in him almost wrapping the umbilical cord around his neck but thankfully, the birth went great and he came out as healthy as ever.
Despite being so sure that the baby would be a carbon copy of his father, your baby boy ended up taking your every facial feature. Satoru couldn’t deny that he wished his baby had his white hair, but something about having a second human looking exactly like you melted his heart. But that was literally the only thing the baby had about you, just the looks. Because God, was he an active baby.
He was holding his head up and rolling on his stomach faster than you had expected, and since Satoru loved to test his boy’s limits, your baby ended up crawling soon after. Not even two months later, your baby was saying his first words and all you could do was nod and smile as people told you how unique your baby was, and a part of you could only wish that you would shelter him from all the attention he was getting. But he was a Gojo, and stuff like this was bound to happen.
But the moment your husband noticed your discomfort, he immediately stopped accepting people when they asked to come over. He was excited to become a father, but it wouldn’t be the same if it meant robbing you of the same place that was supposed to bring you comfort.
And apparently, only he could keep up with his son’s hyper self. Crawling from corner to corner, squealing in excitement and tossing his toys around, Satoru even encouraged his son to grab onto the couch and crawl around the space that was heavily baby-proofed.
“Ah, you’re so eager to walk, aren’t you?” Satoru teases his son as he tries to hold onto the couch and stand up. With a little bit of support on his bum, your baby managed to stand up but freezes there and turns his head to the side where his father was staring at him.
“What, are you scared? It’s not so fun anymore, hm?” Your husband teases your son who seems to be taking his father’s words not very well. He pouts and rests his head on the couch, refusing to look at his dad and Satoru laughs out loud.
“Come on, I was only joking, you’re good at everything just like your dad.” You eventually walk down the stairs and you raise an eyebrow at your pouting eleven month old son.
“What did you do?” you immediately pin the blame onto your husband who gasps and puts a hand on his chest.
“I didn’t do anything!” He pats your son’s bum as your baby’s wobbly legs try to move him around the couch and towards you. “He stood up and got scared, and I found it funny.”
“Oh baby,” you squat down to your baby’s level and reach out your hands to grab him. “Papa is so mean, isn’t he?”
“Am not,” Satoru rolls his eyes but he watches as your son reaches the end of the couch and hesitates to let go. You lock eyes with your baby, and your husband thinks it’s a beautiful example of mothers and babies silently communicating, because no words were exchanged yet your baby knew to trust you completely.
He doesn’t fall into your arms but instead, he pushes himself away from the couch and takes a very small step towards you. You try not to gasp in surprise, and you wait as he takes another step—then another, and another before falling in your embrace and both you and Satoru are wide eyed and surprised at what just happened.
“He just—“
“He walked!” Your husband jumps from his spot on the ground and takes your baby in his arms. “My son is one of a kind! I’m telling you, he will win a nobel prize—“
Satoru always found a way to be excited about any of his son’s milestones.
2023 ; all works belong to @ slttygeto. do not repost my works on any other platofrm.
synopsis. the first years find old videos burned onto a dvd of you, satoru, shoko, and geto from 2005/6.
wc. 2.7k
tags. gojo x reader, you+shoko+gojo+geto being in the same year and besties, set in the present and past, fluff
"is it recording?" asked one muffled but familiar voice. the screen was black, the camera covered by something or someone. the pitch was marginally higher than they were used to but yuji and nobara grinned at each other as they recognised the voice of their teacher.
"how can anyone see when you're holding it like that?" this one was more feminine and unfamiliar to the two - but not for megumi who smiled sadly at the laptop screen.
"give it to me idiots," this was another female voice. there was some more chattering in the background but the audio hadn’t been picked up over the rustling of the camera being passed around. then, for a moment, the screen goes completely white as it focused on the figure in front: shoko ieiri.
she turned the camera around so it was looking at her three peers all wearing the same sheepish grins. "you hadn't even taken off the lens cover."
“it was satoru’s fault,” the other female sorcerer accused the white haired boy next to her.
“no it wasn’t!” gojo whined, geto on the other side of him stifling a laugh at his childish mannerisms. he looked in disbelief that his best friend was not defending him, “why am i always the scapegoat?”
yuuji paused the video to point at the unknown girl, “who is that?”
megumi hesitated for a brief second before responding, “yn.”
“you knew her?” nobara raised a brow at her dark-haired friend. he was often stoic and kept to himself but they’d been together for several months now and even she could pick up on the uncomfortable change in his demeanour.
megumi hummed, avoiding eye contact as he stared at the paused screen, “mhm.” you looked happy in the clip, always amused when it came to winding up gojo. he’d seen it with his own two eyes.
“did she leave jujutsu?” yuuji pondered aloud.
“something like that,” he swallowed thickly.
nobara gave megumi’s hand a light squeeze, but didn’t say anything. megumi had initially been against the idea of looking through the dvd to see their teacher’s teenage years at jujutsu high - this explained why.
yuuji, on the other hand, was oblivious to the interaction, more eager to see a young gojo (and nanami too, he hoped). he reached across nobara to unpause the video without another question.
"can we just do what we actually came out here to do?” geto asked in an exasperated tone, but he was clearly smiling as he spun gojo around so the two could go back to back. “who's taller, me or satoru?" the two had been arguing over the fact all morning so it had been shoko to suggest recording it so that there was actual evidence that neither could deny.
before either could stand fully straight against one another, you interrupted with no hesitation, "suguru." gojo’s eyes widened and you couldn’t stop yourself from laughing at his expression.
"you didn't even look properly!" he threw his hands out dramatically and you shrugged, dismissing his distress.
"didn't need to," you waved a finger up and down, “shorty.”
there was a brief second of back and forth between you and gojo, no actual words being said until his pout lifted into a mischievous smile. that had you spinning on your heel in a futile attempt to try and escape him but it took only three of his strides till he’s got you in his hold, fingers tickling your sides.
“can we go ten minutes without you two flirting?” shoko complained over your laughs from behind the camera, panning over to geto who was shaking his head with a similar look that she undoubtedly wore too.
yuuji’s eyes were blown wide when he paused it again, looking at megumi in disbelief (even nobara had to sneak a glance for an explanation because she’d never seen their teacher so physically close to anyone like that). “sensei had a girlfriend?”
“sort of,” megumi shrugged.
“oh my-” yuuji begun to exclaim but megumi cut him off by placing a hand over his wide mouth.
“if you ask any more questions, i will turn it off.”
instantaneously, yuuji mimicked zipping his mouth, locking it and throwing the key away, settling back into his seat. the dark-haired teenager unpaused the video.
the clip comes back to life again, gojo with his arms wrapped around your centre as he ceases his tickling in full view. his sleeves are rolled up so it’s visible on camera where you had dug your nails into his skin trying to prise his hands from you (very unsuccessfully, might you add). “that was not flirting. this is flir- ow i just wanted a kiss.”
the camera dropped as shoko laughed and the video ended several seconds later, the screen swapped back to one full of files and thumbnails. there had to be well over a hundred videos, maybe more, all ranging from a few seconds to even an hour for some.
nobara scrolled down until she came across a clip with gojo as the thumbnail. this one, she decided.
the video buffered for a brief moment before beginning. this one was outside this time, somewhere on the grounds of the high school. gojo had forgone his uniform jacket once more and his glasses were perched on the edge of his nose as he slightly bent down to hear what was being said.
shoko was the one holding the camera again – as she often was – and the one asking questions, "what's your favourite thing about being a sorcerer?"
gojo pretended to deeply ponder the question, tapping his index finger against his chin thoughtfully. just as he went to answer the question, voices came from behind both of them: two other students began walking towards them from a path on the other side of the open field.
“is that yn and geto?” gojo asked to no one in particular. he held up a finger to shoko as his feet were naturally leading him in the direction of the two people he care for most, “one second.”
shoko panned back to herself, nose scrunched up and a cigarette between her lips. she looked like she was going to complain about gojo’s inability to stay focused on one task at a time when she too got distracted by her friends in the distance.
"someone's in love," she sung as she spun around, pointing at you and gojo and then her mouth as she pretended to gag. gojo had already presumably checked in on geto and now his whole focus was on making sure you’d come back from the mission in one piece. in the footage he pressed one long kiss to your forehead, hugging you closely to his body. “i need to smoke.”
yuuji was practically squirming in his seat, itching to say something. one sharp look from nobara, however, and he thinks better of it. the orange-haired sorcerer went back to her scrolling, finding a short fifteen second clip that lasted only twenty seconds.
initially, the screen was dark once more as it was being readjusted and then a young male, no older than sixteen came into view with a wide smile. “i’m going to be japan’s strongest sorcerer one day!”
“yu!” you appeared behind him, passing him a soft drink bottle, “of course you are! best the world has ever seen.”
“after me,” geto, who was sat next to haibara, joked as he looked at his junior with a fondness that you shared. there were some more voices and haibara glancing between talking sorcerers but nothing overtly interesting in the final few seconds.
“i have no idea who that was,” megumi admitted, and yuuji nodded nonchalantly like his silence wasn’t killing him. even the dark-haired sorcerer couldn’t stop himself from being somewhat amused by his peer.
megumi was the one to scroll down this time. he was more methodical than nobara had been and looked at several thumbnails before deciding finally on one of you and gojo. he recognised the date underneath as a date gojo had scribbled on the back of a photo that he kept in his wallet.
you were holding the camera this time, pointing it at gojo who was staring up at the clear night sky. it was well past curfew and you were both going to be in for it when yaga found you but the conflict to come could not be felt in the serenity of the fireflies’ buzzing.
“look at how beautiful the stars are,” you said aloud, though you’re entire focus was on your boyfriend in front of you. he turned to agree (and probably tell you some random fact that he knew about one particular constellation) only to catch your sly smile and your heart-eyed stare.
there was a split second as his eyes darted between yours and the camera that he almost appeared… nervous? bashful? but he quickly recovered with an eye roll, “you’re literally blessed to even be in my presence.”
you panned the camera around to yourself where you stared at gojo with a raised eyebrow. “if you can’t handle my rizz just say so.” gojo snorted and you could only keep up the facade for another second before you were giggling too.
he rolled closer to you so he could lay his head on your chest and you lifted the camera higher to make sure you both stayed within the frame.
“smile toru,” you poked his cheek lightly and pointed up. it was odd for his students to be watching this – to see their powerful sensei with his guard completely down, tired, and in love. gojo did as he was told, ocean blue eyes almost illuminating under the night’s shadow.
it was that moment that he had saved as a photo; gojo smiling up at the camera with his body covering yours whilst you look down with him with more love than he thought he could ever deserve.
“hey! i was watching that,” yuuji complained after megumi pressed escape, cutting the video short.
megumi sniffed lightly, but shrugged it off by giving yuuji a distraction, “you choose the next one.” this was sufficient enough to distract the minor disappointment and yuuji was quick to find one he liked.
“yn’s crying! i wonder what happened,” yuuji hurriedly clicked onto the video, invested in the life of a sorcerer he could never know.
“guess who broke up again,” shoko said in a sing-song tone as you glared at her. she was sat at her desk and you were on her bed, a mountain of used tissues behind you. your face was red and blotchy from tears and you clearly did not want to be recorded right then.
“it’s not funny,” you sniffled, “and it’s just a break.”
you mumbled the last part and shoko deadpanned to the camera, mockingly mouthing what you had just said. “still disrupting my beauty sleep by coming in my room and crying,” she turned in her chair towards you, “believe it or not i don’t just wake up looking this flawless.”
“ha ha,” you uttered sarcastically, “it’s not my fault i love him.”
“you’re seventeen,” shoko dragged out, “there’ll be other ones.”
you stopped your pity party for a brief second to look shoko dead in the eye, “have you seen his bank account? there will not be other ones.” you both broke out into laughter almost instantly, the healing sorcerer agreeing with your argument.
shoko pointed to the camera, “gojo satoru i hope you see this. your girl is a gold digger confirmed.”
the video then gets cut off once a pillow has been launched directly at shoko’s head.
“next one! next one! they have to get back together!” nobara insisted. megumi lets her play the next video, he didn’t tell her about what he knew — that he’d seen you and gojo in love and together well after the video. that you survived the tribulations that came with being a teenager and overcame more as sorcerers than the average couple should have to deal with.
“so it’s been…” shoko held up one finger, then two, then glanced to geto for help.
“three days and six hours,” he recounted, knowing exactly what she was referring to.
“three days and six hours since gojo and yn called it quits and now here they are, making out at an official jujutsu event very not subtly,” shoko informed the camera, swapping the view so that it was in fact exposing your escapades at the formal event. it was nothing overtly raunchy, just gojo pressing you to a wall as he kissed your lips. still, there’s a time and a place.
“are you seriously recording this?” geto asked.
shoko spun the camera to him, “you want the camera on you?”
geto winked, adjusting his tie and leaning back on the bench as he manspread. “i look good right?” shoko shook the camera to say ‘no’ and he shrugged, pulling out a lighter for the cigarette he held between his lips. he lit his and then offered it to shoko.
just as she grabbed the lighter, a loud crash came from the direction that the two of you had been. somehow in the thirty seconds that she had been focused on geto, you two had stopped your kissing session, zenin naoyo had showed up and gojo was throwing punches with the zenin.
geto dropped his cigarette as he quickly raced to help out his best friend. shoko too followed after, running with the camera facing the fight as she called out, “the girls are fighting!”
“i bet sensei won,” yuuji smugly said as the video ended.
nobara scoffed, taking back control of the laptop as she tried to find their next video, “obviously. he never loses – especially not to zenin naoya.” unable to make a decision with the hundreds to choose from, nobara closed her eyes, scrolled and clicked on a random video.
you and shoko were the two on screen, sat at a table seating on the train.
“shopping haul!” you held up the bags excitedly and shoko hushed you, pointing to the seats across from you and mouthing ‘they’re sleeping’. you whispered an ‘oops’ and briefly showed a young nanami and haibara resting his head on his shoulder.
quietly lifting up the three massive bags of shopping the two of you had between yourselves (a difficult task given the rustling of the paper), you began to lay out your items on the table. the both of you took it in turns, shoko showing off the new lighters and lipsticks she’d bought followed by you presenting several tops that you’d probably never get the chance to wear given the fact you were always in uniform.
“why are we stuck so far away when those two are just sleeping?” gojo rudely interrupted your little haul from where he and geto sat. shoko laughed, grabbing the camera to point at the two who were sat facing away two rows down. the train was pretty busy so they’d been lucky to grab the table. gojo and geto were left to fend for themselves.
gojo was peering down the isle, a pout on his lips whilst geto knelt on his chair and held his hands up pleadingly for… you two to kick your two sleeping juniors out of their peaceful seats so they can disturb your peace? there was no way that was happening.
“they’re not allowed on the adult table because they almost got us kicked out of the restaurant,” shoko explained with a tut and you oh-so-solemnly shook your head in disappointment.
the white haired sorcerer rested his head back against the chair, rubbing his brow in a frustrated manner, “the old lady started it.”
geto placed a hand on gojo’s shoulder, waving a middle finger to the camera with the other. “don’t waste your breath, satoru. they probably paid her to trip over your chair.”you and shoko glanced at each other with knowing grins before both of you started mimicking two people kissing with your hands, "mwah mwah mwah, and they're both boys."
a/n. will there be subsequent parts to this? yes most definitely. this is not proofread and very messy so if you made it the whole way ty and I hoped you enjoyed this <33333 this might be my most favourite thing to write so far
in which: neuvillette doesn't understand human emotion, but a quiet night after a bustling gala with you might help him.
warnings: fluff, gn!reader, pining neuvi but he doesn't know it, quiet walks along the beach at night, gentlemanly flirting bc it's neuvillette, hand kisses lol
a/n: sacrificial fic because neuvillette is not coming home, so i poured my blood, sweat, and tears into this, even if it's not all that. ALSO, this was inspired by a wip on @gum-iie's page (hi gumiie >_<), so i hope you all enjoy !! i tried my hand at the vision i saw.
Gatherings in Fontaine are nothing short of magnificent. The nation of justice will never shy away from a party that reeks of grandeur and extraordinaire, with crystal chandeliers dripping from the ceiling, flowing gowns, and slicked-back hair. With an archon as dramatic as Furina herself, what else can the citizens of Fontaine expect?
Except for a long life such as Neuvillette himself, he has seen this scene one too many times. Gazing out amongst the sea of people, there is an ocean of unfamiliar faces, a sight that doesn’t bring him much peace. It’s not that Neuvillette does not enjoy interacting with humans- even if he’s not so good at doing so, but being amongst so many at once is the unpleasant part.
Despite his distaste for these kinds of bustling environments, he still thinks it’s good manners to attend, even if he will leave after an hour or two.
Yet, it has been half an hour past the two hour mark, and yet the Iudex still has not seen himself out because there is a particular someone that he is hoping to catch the eye of. Someone who is worth all this extra trouble and socialisation.
The melusines frequently run back to Neuvillette, concern and curiosity animated in their expressions as they ask their beloved father figure why he is still present. Their questions get brushed off by the Chief of Justice, who merely thanks them for checking up on him before telling them that there is no need to be worried, he is merely waiting for something. Or rather, someone.
Only at the third hour since the party’s commencement, does he get what he wants: your attention.
“Monsieur Neuvillette!” A voice cuts through the crowd and straight to him, causing him to turn around, eyes dancing wildly around the room to search for the source. He effortlessly finds your gaze and watches as you come closer to him, outfit flowing behind you and he decides that the crystals of the chandelier are no match against the ones that dance in your eyes. You are more radiant than the purest diamond and Neuvillette can’t find it in himself to glance away.
You are perhaps the most ethereal being he has ever seen in his long life.
What Furina promised him has arrived. Neuvillette can enjoy the night happily now.
“Y/n,” he greets, curt and polite, but the smile on his face speaks volumes. It tells a tune of subtle delight and enthusiasm mulled over for the sake of appearances and composition, and it is a melody that you are deaf to. In fact, the melusines are perhaps some of the only souls who can read his silent song of adoration but instead of meddling, they have resigned themselves to the corner of the hall, watching their beloved Chief Justice.
“I did not expect to see you tonight,” you murmur, placing your empty glass of wine onto the plate of a passing waiter. “What a pleasant surprise.”
He wants to say something charming, perhaps something like telling you how lovely you look tonight or how absolutely magnetic you are, but the words fall short and Neuvillette panics briefly, scrambling to continue the conversation. “It is important to keep up social relations, after all. Not attending would be problematic.”
“An utmost scandal for the Iudex, no less.” There is a teasing glimmer in your eye, one that most people keep away from him but you are an exception; you always have been with how you regard him. Many respect him but also fear him, he is revered but avoided by the public, people speak of him but never would do so causally to his face. It is a particular dance that Neuvillette has become accustomed to, and you have slotted yourself in a position that none usually take: right beside him.
He doesn’t completely understand human emotions just yet, but you evoke one that he cannot describe.
“How has your night been?” Neuvillette asks.
“Tiring, fleeting, boring,” you murmur, expression melting into something more fatigued. “I want to leave, monsieur, is that too frank of a confession?”
“No, not at all,” he sees an opportunity and scrambles to get the words out, “may I accompany you or will I be overstepping?”
You blink at him before a small, cheery smile pulls on your lips. “I would love your company, but I only ask that we leave at this very moment because it is getting far too stuffy in here.”
“Then time is of the essence.” Neuvillette extends his arm for you to take and he relishes in the feeling of when you do.
Leaving the venue and helping you down numerous flights of stairs, the lighting and allure outside is far more romantic than it is inside. The street lamps of Fontaine were made for functionality so that no citizen could walk around unassuming and unaware of the darkness, and never were they made with the intent of illuminating anyone’s beauty. Yet here you stand before him, radiant under the warm tones of the lamp with the evening breeze flowing through your hair.
Moreover it is quiet out here. There is no one to bother the two of you, no melusines, no meddling Archon who lives for drama, no loud music and chatter, just you and him, together. It is a contrast so stark that he fears reality will shatter any second.
Naïve to his internal turmoils, you tug at his arm gently. “Let us go for a walk along the river,” you propose. A muted feeling of enthusiasm flows through Neuvillette and he readily agrees to your suggestion, more than happy to indulge in the gentle kisses of the sea breeze on his face.
The stroll is peaceful and quiet, neither of you speak too much but it is not awkward in the slightest. Your gowns trail behind the two of you with each step, dancing in sync with the wind as your slow pace allows the two of you to bathe in the light of the moon.
Although Neuvillette does not want the night to end nor to let you go, the amount of yawns you’ve suppressed since leaving is alerting him of your fatigue, and he’ll feel bad if he keeps you from your sleep any longer.
Finally, with one long yawn that you were not able to shut away, he stops you in your tracks. “Tired?” The Iudex asks.
You look up at him with eyes forced open, wider than they usually would be. “Just a little, but the night has been lovely so far, I’d hate for it to end.”
“Please, if you need the rest then you should rest.”
“Thank you for your concern, however-”
“There will be no objections. Let me walk you home.”
The moonlight casts a shade of melancholy over your features and the last glance you give to the ocean is nothing but full of longing. You surrender reluctantly. “Alright.”
You two make it back to the last aquabus just in time, and you’re the only passengers onboard. There is occasional chatter with the conductor, as well as private conversations, but Neuvillette has no qualms just spending the ride in silence, admiring you whilst you gaze out at the beautiful landscape of Fontaine.
“There are so many stars out tonight.”
He glances away from you. “So there are.” Then he makes a brave leap. “There is one right beside me, too.”
“Me?” Your voice is strained with disbelief and your hold on his arms tightens just a little. There is momentary silence before laughter- a quiet sort of laugh, shy and not at all mocking or condescending. “Thank you,” you whisper, brushing a strand of hair away from your face. “I’m very flattered you think so highly of me.”
It becomes quiet again after that but your hand never leaves his. If anything, Neuvillette feels you even more now, your warmth pressed up against his side is addicting, he cannot help but want more of it; he cannot help but want more of you. He wants more nights like this with you, days even- just as long as he can spend some more time with you, he’ll be grateful.
Humans and the complexity of the emotions they feel are something Neuvillette still can’t get a grasp of, but you fill him with something so inherently humane. Sitting beside you on an aquabus that is minutes away from its end is a bittersweet reminder of how little time there is until the evening ends, and this mesmerising evening becomes nothing but a memory. How irrational it is to yearn for something so temporary, but that is what makes it beautiful.
The walk back to your neighbourhood is quick, too quick for Neuvillette’s liking, but the smile you give him when you stop before your door is heartwarming. “Thank you dearly for walking me home, Monsieur Neuvillette,” you begin. “You have been the best part about this lively evening.”
The Chief Justice has never had a way with words, rather, they have always been his enemy, so instead of speaking to convey what he feels, Neuvillette takes your hand instead and places a kiss on your knuckles. A gentlemanly act to many, but he holds and kisses you with such firm intention that it makes you dizzy. It makes you think deeper about whether or not there are underlying intentions to address, and it’s exhilarating questioning what exactly you are to the Chief Justice of Fontaine.
For now, you’ll find contentment in the moonlight dream that was this evening, and he’ll engrave the feeling of you so close to him into his memory.
Ooh, I loved your IL Dan Heng request where he realizes that Reader is no longer around and flips quickly trying to find them out of sheer anxiety that those who still hate Dan Feng would take out their hatred and vengeance on them.
I actually want to try and request fem!Reader getting attacked by a group who just want to hurt Dan Heng through attacking his beloved. But his beloved is no damsel in distress, and fights them off, extremely angry that they are attacking her to hurt Dan Heng for a crime he is not guilty of and finds it pathetic that they continue to hold a grudge against someone who has long passed, not adhering to the Vidyadhara laws that Dan Feng’s sins have been washed away. She tears into them, defending Dan Heng with everything as she beats their ass in an emotional rage with tears that’s only stopped because Jing Yuan has to prevent an Incident from happening even though he would gleefully let her continue beating them down.
Reader is upset that they want to hurt and cause Dan Heng pain. She could care less about them trying to torture or assassinate her.
But Reader still gets injured much to Dan Heng’s guilt and anguish and he blames himself for what happened after he arrives at the scene when he sensed that something was wrong.
Reader proceeds to reassure him that none of it is his fault.
SHOULD’VE BEEN THERE
PAIRING. dan heng x f!reader
CONTENT WARNING. swearing, reader gets slightly injured and is bleeding, mentions of blood and cut wounds
WORD COUNT. 2,317
SUMMARY. you and dan heng are exploring the xianzhou luofu and you get surrounded by a group of assassins who want to hurt you to get to dan heng. you decide to teach them not to mess with your partner.
SOF’S NOTE. hihi!! thank u for liking my something shiny this way comes fic :3 sorry this took a while to get out but i still hope u enjoy!! badass reader was fun to write ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ she a cool bean ! LOL ty for the request xx
The Imbibitor Lunae Dan Feng wasn’t exactly known for being a beloved figure. Like many infamous individuals of history, there were some who hated him, while others continued their almost unnerving worship.
At the Xianzhou Luofu, the opinions of the general public were mixed and even carried onto his reincarnation. Some would rather have Dan Heng return to the position of leadership, while others wanted him gone from the very land his past life once considered home.
And while Dan Heng thought it’d best to separate himself from his past, he did see the value in learning about the culture and history of the Xianzhou as well as the Vidyadhara. As his partner, you were simply glad he wanted you along during the times he felt the need to revisit the Xianzhou Luofu or indulge in their delicacies.
You accompanied him in enough instances that some of the vendors even knew the two of you by name and what your favorite orders were. It wouldn’t have been a surprise it some locals were familiar with the two of you as well.
Today, you both decided to explore the Xianzhou Luofu separately in the morning, and then meet up late afternoon for a meal together. You wanted to try this tea spot in Aurum Alley you hadn’t heard of before. The tea was said to, somehow, make the consumers feel really good and it intrigued you enough to want to go with Dan Heng.
However, your plans of wandering around and enjoying some time alone was cut short when a group of individuals suddenly appeared around you.
You startled at the sight. The must’ve been been using cloudhymn magic for you not to notice their presence at all until they revealed themselves. After the initial surprise, your body instantly relaxed as you prepared for a fight. Judging by the looks on their faces’, it didn’t seem like they were friendly fans of the Astral Express crew just looking for an autograph.
Plastering a smile on your face to turned to the man closest to you. “Can I help you guys?”
He scowled but remained wordless, feeling like he was too important to speak to the likes of you.
You frowned. “It’s not very nice to ignore people.”
“Since when did we say we want to be nice to you?” another group member scoffed, already drawing his blade. “Dan Feng’s whore.”
Murmurs and grunts of agreement sounded from the rest of the group.
Sighing, you placed on hand on your hip and your other on the shaft of your spear. You had many issues with that sentiment. One, you weren’t a whore— You were his partner. And two, if you were a whore, you’d for sure be one only for Dan Heng. Not this old, dead man named Dan Feng people kept going on about.
“I’m getting a little annoyed here, but I’ll give you one chance,” you said calmly, trying not to lose your patience. “Leave me alone and I’ll pretend this never happened.”
“Or what?” one lady chimed in.
With a huff, you quickly scanned the circle of people. The group wasn’t too large; there were only about four individuals around you with their weapons now at the ready. You reckoned they must’ve had some skill, given they were able to use the cloudhymn magic typically practiced by assassins, but you were confident you could hold your own and knock them out by yourself if you needed to.
You tapped your foot and pursed your lips. “You don’t want to know the or what.” There was a mocking laugh to your side and you quickly turned to him with your eyebrows raised. “Is something funny?”
He nodded. “Yeah. You’re not scary at all.”
“She’s just as pathetic as that sorry reincarnation of Dan Feng,” another snickered, nudging your back with the hilt of his sword.
The woman in front of you shook her head, looking down at you. “No one is as pathetic as that traitor.”
Anger surged through you at his words. Dan Heng was so much more than Dan Feng’s reincarnation. He was his own person— A strong, kind, intelligent person at that. And he wasn’t pathetic. In an instant, you knocked the sword out of your ambusher’s hands with a swift kick and pointed the blunt end of your polearm at the woman who insulted him next.
“You want to say that again?” you scowled, prodding her shoulder roughly in warning.
When you moved your weapon, the man behind you swung his sword at your side and you just barely managed to dodge, the blade leaving a long cut across your upper arm. You flinched at the sting but ignored it. You felt small drops of blood begin to roll down onto your elbow, but you sensed the cut wasn’t deep enough for you to be truly concerned. It was nothing compared to what you would do to them if they said one more negative thing about Dan Heng.
They could hurt you and call you names. That you didn’t care about; you could handle yourself. Sure, you might cry a little after the event took place, but when it came to it, you could hold your own. But when they continually kept insulting Dan Heng, you knew you had to put your foot down.
Your partner, your beloved, has been through enough shit without having random strangers who didn’t even know him talking behind his back. This particular group even went as far as trying to harass you simply because of your association with him.
You wouldn’t stand for it. You couldn’t— It hurt your own heart just hearing them badmouth him.
Red flooded your vision as you glared at the group with your weapon in a readied position, “You only need to look in the mirror if you want to see what pathetic truly is. No need to bring Dan Heng into this.”
The group matched your stance and you rolled your eyes before swinging your polearm in a low sweep to knock two ambushers to the floor. Before you could use your weapon correctly and strike the next assailant, a booming voice sounded from your side.
“Now, now. If we’re going to resort to violence, please do it away from the innocent civilians nearby.”
The group of assassins around you straightened up in an instant at the sound of Jing Yuan and the marching Cloud Knights behind him.
While you were half relieved to see Jing Yuan, the other half of you wanted him to go away so you could enjoy beating the shit out of these idiots who insulted Dan Heng. That would certainly teach them not to spew nonsense about things they did not know.
The group silently disbanded and disappeared as they ran away, trying to avoid the clutches of Jing Yuan’s men who were soon on their heels. You frowned at their cowardly escape. They couldn’t even stand to face the lawful consequences of their actions?
“As much as I would’ve enjoyed seeing your execution of justice, I don’t think Dan Heng would want to see you potentially get more injured,” Jing Yuan said with a small smile. “They are assassins, after all.” He examined your arm from a distance before walking up to you and offering a hand.
You accepted, looking down at your bleeding arm with a slight wince. “They barely even nicked me…”
Jing Yuan shook his head, a fond look on his face despite his chastisement. Before he could sterilize it for you, you two spotted Dan Heng running over. His spear was by his side and his expression was frantic as he ran towards you.
“Y/N! Are you alright?” called Dan Heng, his breathing heavy partly from physical exertion, but mostly from worry. “I saw Cloud Knights tracking down some people under the influence of cloudhymn magic.” His brows furrowed as he finally reached you and Jing Yuan, most likely remembering his last encounter with assassins using the same technique. “Did you see them? Are you okay?”
Jing Yuan glanced at the guilty look on your face before giving your arm a squeeze and nodding once to Dan Heng. “I shall let the two of you continue this conversation alone. Until we cross paths again.”
Your eyes widened at his quick goodbye. “Hopefully our next meeting will be for better reasons. Thanks, Jing Yuan!”
“Don’t mention it.” He turned to Dan Heng before he left. “Stay safe and vigilant, Dan Heng.”
As he walked away, you noticed Dan Heng scanning every inch of your body, eyes clouded with anxiety as he took in Jing Yuan’s words and the cut on your arm.
Silence stretched between the two of you before he finally spoke up. When he talked, his tone was unsettling. “Who did this to you? Was it the assassins?”
Your gaze softened as his fists tightened in concern. “Yes,” you admitted, gently putting his hands in yours as you ran your thumb over his knuckles. “But I’m okay, they didn’t hurt me.”
Dan Heng looked at you in disbelief.
“This just needs to be cleaned and bandaged, is all,” you reassured with a small smile. “I’m sure the bruises I left on them are worse.”
“You’re bleeding.”
“But I’m okay,” you said, soft but firm.
You gazed stubbornly at him and Dan Heng returned the look, neither of you backing down. Eventually, Dan Heng sighed, squeezing his eyes shut at the sight of the bloodstain on your shirt.
“I’m so sorry, Y/N,” he said with an almost imperceptible quiver in his voice. “I should’ve been there for you.”
“Hey, don’t say that.” You frowned, lightly cupping his jaw to lift his head that had fallen to the floor. “You’re always there for me; I know it.”
“Not enough, apparently.”
Dan Heng’s complexion was paler than normal. You could tell this was really eating him up inside.
“You couldn’t have known I was going to get ambushed by cloudhymn magic users,” you said, trying to console him. “If you did, I know you wouldn’t have left me alone. But you didn’t know, and so I did my best to handle them myself— And I would’ve kicked their sorry asses for insulting your character if Jing Yuan hadn’t stopped the fight.”
Dan Heng’s expression softened at that, a hint of an amused smile forming on his face. “They would’ve felt sorry for trying to harm you if they knew of your skill, that’s for certain.” He reached out to hold your forearm in his hand, examining the cut with a sigh. “I just hate that you got hurt because of me.”
You shook your head at his wrongful connection. “I got hurt because of the idiot assassins, not because of you.”
“Didn’t they want to harm you because of your relation to me?”
“Yes, but that just means they’re delusional and stuck in the past and wanted to hurt us both,” you reasoned, watching carefully as Dan Heng pulled a first aid kit out of your bag and began to clean you up. “You did not hurt me, Dan Heng. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
He let your words sink in as he sterilized your wound, rubbing the sensitive skin on your inner forearm soothingly as he sensed you tightening up at the sting of pain. Once he disposed of the bloodied cloth, he wrapped a bandage around your triceps and secured the ends.
You admired his work with a proud grin. “Good as new. Thank you!”
Dan Heng released a huff of laughter as he patted the top of your head before kissing it. “I wouldn’t go that far, but I hope it will heal soon.”
“As long as you kiss me daily to make the wound heal faster!”
“I’m not sure that’s how it works,” he mused. You poured and he looked at you fondly. “For you, I’ll give it a try.” Dan Heng placed three kisses on your face—one on your forehead, one on your left cheek, and one on your right—and one kiss on your bandaged arm. “If I give you multiple kisses a day then, will it heal even sooner?”
You nodded eagerly, gesturing to your mouth with a teasing glint in your eye. “Definitely! And there’s one place to kiss so it’ll heal the fastest.”
Dan Heng smiled. “I believe I know the place you are referring to, but we’ll save that for when we’re in private.”
You jutted your bottom lip out and batted your eyelashes at him. “Just a little one?”
He wasn’t much for excessive public displays of affection. You were rather embarrassed by it yourself. But in this moment, it felt as if it were just the two of you on the entire Luofu.
Unable to resist the pleasing look on your face, Dan Heng humored you with a chaste kiss on your lips. It was plush and warm and, while the two of you wanted more, it was enough to satiate you for now.
“Is that better?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“I’m glad to hear.” He took your hand in his, carefully interlacing his slender fingers with yours. “Thank you for looking after me, even when I’m not there. I’m glad you have my back. I will always have yours as well,” he vowed. “I’ll always be here for you.”
As the promise left his mouth, you knew each word was one he meant from the heart. Dan Heng meant the world to you, and you would stop at nothing to protect him. And you knew he would do the same. You saw it through his actions, and now, he told you with his words.
Your stomach warmed and your heart squeezed, feeling touched by his declaration.
“I know you will,” you stated, a confident shimmer in your eyes as you met his headstrong ones. “And I will always be here for you, too.”
cw. fluff, very chivalrious men just pampering you, ooc neuvillette? (pre-release, i haven't seen any leaks of him)
ok but zhongli and neuvillette both give me traditional gentlemanly vibes, no matter what your gender is.
they're the kind of lovers who would subtly make sure he's the one walking nearer to the roadside when he walks with you. the men who would wordlessly lift you into his arms before crossing a puddle. men who would lay a handkerchief before they allow you to sit on a public bench.
these men would kiss your hand as a greeting and as a goodbye, offer their hand to escort you down the stairs, have a hand on your back to guide you everywhere, pull out a chair for you, open doors for you and lets you get inside first, drape their jacket on your shoulder when you're cold, and if you don't stop them they would probably even hunt cut your food for you. dragons who learned chivalry because they wished to fit in with humans - for zhongli, it was an effort to learn his citizen's cultures and ways of living as morax, and for neuvillette (if he really is a hydro dragon) it would be because he saw elynas and he learned the cost of ignorance.
they might receive special treatment 24/7 because they were/are important figures ー but in their eyes, you deserve the same treatment, if not by a whole tenfold <3
summary — The Chief Justice never saw himself as the type to be in love with someone. Yet, here he is, cherishing someone.
cw — gn!reader; he’s a big softie; mentions of harassement
includes — Neuvillette
notes — I am totally simping for him without any shame
mlist
word count — 2.2k
requested ? no
. The renowned Chief Justice of Fontaine, Neuvillette, the ideal father for the Melusines and the Hydro Dragon. He is a lot of things indeed. Yet, for you he is simply your partner. Someone a bit clumsy with his own feelings and who still tries to understand human nature to be the best lover possible for you.
. Quite comical if we have to be honest. He is, without a doubt, already the lover you ever dreamed off. Gentleman by nature, there will not be a day during which he would unconsciously dote on you. Be it buying some sweets for you or your daily kiss on the forehead, no day will go but without the remembrance that this dragon does love you unconditionally.
. Yet, he still doubts himself. Is he a good lover ? Do you feel loved ? No matter how many times he holds the door for you. How many kisses and embraces you get every day. How many times he holds the door open for you or surprises you with a ticket to Lyney’s next show in the Opera Epiclese. He still doubts. So, there will be a day during which he will be even more affectionate with you, be it with words and touches. He has to give you all the love he has for you in his heart.
. You are undoubtedly going to become another parent for the Melusines. When they saw how their new father seemed so happy with you, they immediately started to view you as another parent. How could they not ? You are gentle and lovable like him. So caring and sweet and soft and warm to hug ! Now they understand why Neuvillette loves you so much.
. He is more the type to fall for someone gentle and with a bit of a soft side. Yet, he would also be extremely proud that his partner knew how to stand their ground when it is useful. Not in the stubborn way, but in the way to defend their loved ones. Even if it’s his ideal type, he would fall for anyone if he knew them enough and if he’s sure that their intentions are pure. Explosive personalities aren’t his forte, but he would work his way with it if he is truly in love.
. Forehead kisses. Just, forehead kisses. Imagine his gloved hands — or bare hands before and after sleeping — just cupping your cheeks as his thumb traces random shape alongside your skin. A small smile gracing his lips, only you had the ability to see it and you feel blessed each time he shows it to you. Then, he dives in and plants his rosy lips on your forehead, letting them linger before he brushes his nose against yours. It’s always hard to let go after he does that, your warmth is too welcoming to resist, even a dragon like him is weak in front of you.
. Ever heard of the fact that otters can’t sleep without holding hands with their partner ? Yup, same goes for our Neuvillette. He doesn’t only look like those Leisurely Otters, he is literally an otter himself. Before you, a Melusine would often enter his room and hold his hand to help him fall asleep then go back to their job. Now that you are here, you can’t leave the bed if he’s still in it. Your hands will stay in his as long as his mind is in the dream world. Holding hand is the bare minimum, most of the time or you are holding him — he loves being the little spoon. Or he is holding you.
. His favorite position while cuddling and sleeping is when you lie on your back. His face buried in your chest or the crook of your neck with your sweet scent he’s almost drugged to luring him to sleep. One of his hands is holding yours while the other arm is around your waist, under you. Play with his hair and he is yours until he dies. He is a sucker for when the tip of your fingers brush against the nape of his neck. It’s such a sensitive spot of his you were lucky to find one day.
. Not easy to fluster, but when you do, oh boy. The best way to fluster him is by coming behind him unannounced — you do it most of the time while he’s working; and hug him. Wrap your arms around his waist and give him a kiss, anywhere you want on his face. For max efficiency put a hand in his hair and play with his long white strands. Now, you just have to enjoy as the tip of his pointy ears become redder by the seconds. Kiss him there and his cheeks would become red too. But be warned, make him blush too much and he’ll hide his face behind his hands ! Simply take them and kiss his nose or lips and now you have him hugging you and hiding his face in the crook of your neck as you sit on his lap.
. Talking about sitting on his lap, he loves it. Being so close to you while also being able to continue working is just so relaxing and soothing for him. It is even better before or after a particularly hard or long trial. Most of the time, he’ll put his chin on your shoulder. He doesn’t even realize what he’s doing. If he’s distracted enough by his work, he’ll start mindlessly leaving kisses sometimes on your soft skin. He is unconsciously drawn to you to such an extent, if loving you was a crime he’ll have the death sentence.
. Onto more heartbreaking stuff. Every time he’s sad he would say nothing. No matter if it’s during the first stages of your relationship or after he grows more comfortable around you, he will stay silent. In his mind, you have your own problems to take care of. He has always been able to manage his own emotions alone and he doesn’t want to bother you with what he sees as a trivial thing. Yes, he is pushing away his own emotions.
. Please, hug him. It will do him already so much good to have you with him. He won’t force you to stay if you don’t want to, but if you do come to him by yourself he will be so heart warmed that he might cry about that too. He never imagined that there would come a day during which he would be loved even in his most messy and distressed state. He is supposed to be the model of justice for the people of Fontaine, he never thought that one day he would be laying in one of the sofas in his office, crying in the embrace of his significant other.
. He doesn’t really care if you only hold him or kiss him and reassure him too. Being in your arms is enough already and every time you come to him you swear that you can hear the rain outside softening against the windows. You are literally his safe heaven and he would trade everything he has to stay in your arms forever. Your love is too much for him, and being as thirsty as ever, he is clinging to you for dear life each time. More than once, he fell asleep on you while you were comforting him.
. Now, him comforting you is another story. He is a bit bad with dealing with others emotions and used to suppress his own before you taught him that it was okay to let it out. So, the first few times he would be totally clueless on what to do and would just hug you while hoping that you would be comforted by that alone. When he has time he would go see the Melusines and surely ask them how to help you feel better.
. By the second time you cry on him, he would already be prepared with your favorite snacks in his office’s drawers, some water for you after you finished crying, a warm blanket and an otter plushie if you want as well as a box of tissues. He is a quick learner.
. He is also a good listener. Comforting, he is still a bit clumsy with it, but giving advice he knows how to do that. If you want to share your problems he is there. He would give you advice, or at least try to, on how to deal with your problems. A strained relationship with someone ? He is ready to help you train with him to gather the courage to come see them. Someone is harassing you ? He would deal with it personally.
. On that note, he is extremely protective of you. Nobody can look at you wrongly while he is around. Firstly, not a lot dare to when seeing you with him. And if some does try he would be quick to put an end to it. He would mainly use the fact that you were uncomfortable to his advantage. Harassing someone can be considered a crime if pushed too far enough and since he is there he can very clearly arrest them if they don’t back away right this instant.
. He isn’t jealous. No, but he really isn’t. You can talk to whoever you want to. However, he does get a bit clingy when you two are in private if you were affectionate with someone. It’s not really jealousy, he’s just envious that you were hugging them and not him. He is just used to being the only one you hug since he is focused only on you and his work. If you do be affectionate with someone else he would be practically hugging you the second you enter the safety of his office or your home.
. Your relationship is kept private. It’s not that he doesn’t want anyone to know you’re together. If he was honest with himself, he would ask for another chair to be out next his during trials so you two would be close and he could grab your hand to relax himself during the parts that give him headaches. But, he knows that if anyone knows you would be practically asked questions by everyone on the streets all the time. He just wants your comfort so that’s why he’s keeping it a secret.
. You two would most likely live together after one year or two being together. He wants to give time for the relationship to become serious before actually giving his all. He also wants you to have the time to accept whether or not you want to continue what you two have. Once that’s settled you two would be moving in together. He is actually quite good with chores and you two split in both everything that needs to be done. A very skilled cook, and you can bet he’ll learn how to make your favorite snacks, pastries and meals. Everything for his beloved.
. Arguments would barely happen. He knows how to take everything you say into account and would be as careful as possible when answering you. Always listening to everything you have to say without interruptions. If it does get out of hand he’ll let you calm down a bit before talking about it with you. Always the one to apologize first.
. You two have a morning routine. No joke. Before it was the Melusines braiding his hair, now it’s you. He would let you do anything you want with it and you can even touch his horns. Talking about his horns, they are a bit sensitive so be sure to not tug on it too much or you’ll hurt him. He won’t be angry if you do but he’ll probably be a bit embarrassed cuz he would definitely help if you tug on it suddenly.
. At the start of the relationship, you won’t know he’s the Hydro Dragon. After some time however, he would trust you and tell you his true identity. He would understand if you need time to take the information and would give you as much space as you want. Of course, any question you may have will be answered by him. He will keep no secret. And if you do keep secrets from him, as long as it isn’t anything that may put you or anyone in harm then he is totally okay with you keeping it as a secret. He understands that some things can’t be said carelessly and without enough preparation mentally and emotionally speaking regarding how much it impacts you.
. Please take him to meet the otters. You two would be playing with them all day and he would most likely take a day off just to see you happily watch one of them play around with a seashell. Would probably watch you from the sidelines happily while some of them are sleeping on him. If you’re lucky enough, you will be able to catch him dozing off a bit. He’s quite adorable when he’s all sleepy.
. A lot of surprises during your relationship too. He would often take you out to restaurants, trying new things with you if you tell him to try. Also a lot of gifts weekly. Or he’ll give it to you in the morning while kissing your lips, or he’ll deliver it to you during the night right before falling asleep. It is mostly things you want or random things he saw that reminded him of you.
guess who wants to (honkai: star) rail another dragon man. there is also (un)fortunately no (star) railing in this.
written pre 1.3 so i’m making shit up for now. (this is also full of vidyadhara headcanons)
in which you find dan heng unable to sleep, you have an awkward conversation, and then he becomes somewhat dragon-brained. twice.
4.2K words (lmao this is way longer than i meant it to be)
you’re not the trailblazer, just another laddie aboard the express.
btw, i bullshited a good chunk of the dialogue and events, so apologies if this is shite. i might've also committed character vehicular manslaughter, in that he might be ooc. lol fingers crossed it's aight.
despite the quiet of the night, you had drifted from your sleep. it had been painfully light as of recent, leaving you adrift in the shallows while you’d toss and turn for a comfortable position. could you really be blamed though? yes, the looming threat of phantylia had been taken out, and everyone from the express that went aboard the luofu had been reunited after what felt like weeks. but you were still in the thick of an intricate web of chaos. the threats were far from over, not with the stellaron still active. but at least for now, you had enough time in this brief respite to be able to not fucking sleep.
you rolled over. you were more or less itching with restlessness, sighing to yourself quietly over your woes of no sleep. you rose from your mussed bed and hobbled out of the room. it was a quaint little place—where you had stayed when it was just the express crew (minus dan heng), when you'd first met tingyun. after that, everything happened like a landslide. memories of her sudden death quickly boiled their way up. with each step you took, you stamped them back down again.
out in the small hallway, you made your way towards the small courtyard out the back. as you walked past the other rooms, you were a little jealous at the sounds of others sleeping. from mr. yang's and march’s respective rooms was the odd, soft snore. from stelle’s room, there was nothing (which was to be expected, as you often found her out messing with the cycrane systems at night). as you walked past dan heng’s room, you were expecting more silence—which you were of course met with, but also a slitted door. you peered through into the darkness. from the dim hallway light, it seemed he had also tried and failed at sleep if his abandoned, nest-like sheets were anything to go by.
you continued to the courtyard. once you cracked open the door, you were met with an unexpected sight. moonlight caught on the black, silken strands that spilt down his back. a glassy, teal tail coiled around his feet, almost glinting in the light with each of its subtle movements. dan heng, wearing his simple night clothes of old, baggy slacks and a tight, black tank top. his ears twitched as you slid the door open further. when you stepped onto the stone tiles, he cast you an over-shoulder glance—a new habit he’d picked up recently.
"can’t sleep either?" you asked him softly, approaching from behind.
the only response he gave was a strained groan, dragging a hand over his face.
"i take that as a no, then," you said, moving over to sit in another stool at the small table just next to him. as you went past, his tail wound tighter around the foot of his seat.
"i take it that it’s the same for you," he muttered in reply, jade eyes cast somewhere on the ground between him and you.
"yep." you leaned against the table next to you, arm propping up your head. your eyes flickered to his face. "and not because i’ve been up playing gacha games."
he briefly met your gaze, eyebrows quirked in doubt.
"okay, i don’t do it anywhere near as much as stelle."
"right," he said with the faintest hint of a smile. the tip of his tail twitched in amusement. "her room was very quiet when i walked past, though. perhaps she’s mended her ways."
"i think she’s out screwing with the cycranes instead, actually."
"of course she is," he breathed as he raked a hand through his long hair. as you watched it pass through the delicate tresses, you stared intently at his claws. after his initial transformation, to say you were floored was an understatement. perhaps more like you were punched 50,000 feet below sea level. he could really only be described as beautiful, but even that word couldn’t quite capture his ethereality. even when he was as exhausted as he looked now, he still seemed to glow—quite literally, too. his eyes and those horns atop his head shone faintly in the dark. when someone was that pretty, how could one not be reduced to a staring fool? particularly you. as of recent, you’ve ended up forgetting you’re supposed to actually talk to him when he’s with you. and if you did remember to ever say anything, you’d make a fool of yourself.
he watched your gaze affixed to his hands. he took one look at them and then wrung them in his lap, looking off to the side with an unreadable emotion in his eyes.
"ah, i’m sorry—" you began, but he quickly cut you off.
"it’s fine," he said hurriedly, tail coiling up tighter.
"no, really. i know i’ve been acting pretty weir—"
"i said it’s fine. please, just leave it." he said again. he unwound himself just a little, but the tense line of his shoulders still had yet to dissipate. his gaze wandered a little more back towards you. "may i ask what’s keeping you up?"
you weren’t thrilled at the spontaneous topic change, but replied nonetheless. "just about everything, i guess. a lot’s been going on. it’s hard to take any time to rest with a stellaron still effectively looming overhead," you said. "though i could only imagine it’s about that, but tenfold for you, given the whole..." you gestured vaguely to his whole new look.
he dragged a hand down his face, rubbing his sleepy eyes in the process. "i don’t want to think about the stellaron for now…"
"agreed. shall we put a pin in that topic, then?"
"that would be ideal."
the two of you sat in more silence. you were (only half) guiltily back to staring at his features, eyes running over all parts of him. he seemed to shrink under your gaze, ears and tail twitching with thought. his eyes drifted up to look at you—oh, there was something new. his pupils must dilate or constrict based on what he was looking at. when his eyes met yours, you could have sworn they momentarily expanded, until his eyes flickered away again, waning right back to slits. at the same time, his ears angled themselves down just a touch.
"a—are you feeling okay?" you asked, tilting your head a little. he made a small groan and shelled further into himself. you didn’t think you had ever seen him that tense. "hey, look at me. are you alright?" your voice was as soft as you could make it. you tried to reach out to the arm he had leaning on the table, but it was in vain. he inched away moments before contact.
"i—" his tail-tip continued to flicker with apprehension.
"well, something else is definitely bothering you. can you talk to me about it?"
"m-must i?" he was almost hiding his face.
"only if you want to," you shuffled yourself a little closer to him. "but if it’s weighing this much on you, it may make you feel a little lighter. so you can sleep. y’know." while you spoke, you gestured somewhat vaguely. ever since his vidyadhara heritage was put on full display, he hadn’t quite been the same as you knew him. he was more tense than usual. on-edge and anxious, preoccupied with his own thoughts, much unlike the down-to-earth dan heng you normally knew. it worried you. he wasn’t even really speaking to mr. yang. with everything that had been going on, you could barely begin to imagine what sort of turmoils he had churning within him.
"i suppose one thing is that i’m simply not used to this form," he ran a clawed, slender finger up from the base of his horn to the tip. "there’s a strange disparity between feeling like i’ve known myself to be like this my whole existence, but also that i’m suddenly someone i’m not." as he spoke, his voice was quiet. "in a similar vein, it’s like my tail has a mind of its own. look at it," he grumbled while he picked it up into his lap. as he held it bundled in his arms, the tip hung over the side, twitching to and fro. "i’m not trying to make it do that. i can’t control it." he sighed, a slight growl in his throat.
"wouldn’t it do that because you’ve been so… frazzled, as of recent?"
"what makes you think that?"
"um…" how were you supposed to tell him that you only had that theory because you had been constantly stealing glances of him, watching his moods, watching his languid beauty. instead, you thought of some other bullshit answer. "i mean, it’d make sense, wouldn’t it? it’s like cats. their tails twitch when they’re irritated, and i’m sure they can’t quite control it."
he frowned a little, ears twitching downward. "i’m not a cat," he said, almost with a little pout.
maybe not, but he was certainly cute like one. "anyway, what you said about your new features…" you began, scratching the back of your head. to your surprise, he looked at you with eyes just a little wider than normal. "i could only imagine how weird it must be for you… who am i kidding, no i couldn’t. it’s probably downright foreign, but you’re dan heng. i’m sure you’ll have it under control in no time."
with his hands on his knees, he aimlessly grabbed at fistfuls of his loose pants. "you…" he muttered, wetting his lips as he swallowed thickly once again.
"me?" you echoed quietly.
"forgive me for asking something so asinine, but… what… do you think?" as he muttered out the words, you could have sworn his face was turning a light shade of pink. however, it was hard to tell under only the moon and the dim lights of the courtyard. what you could tell was that his tail-tip was twitching like a bundle of nerves.
you stared at him with owlish eyes. "what do i think of what?"
"what do you think of… me. as i am now?"
your breath caught in your throat for a moment as he stared at you with such apprehensive eyes. they were slitted from nerves, but they shone with the moonlight, expectation and most curiously, some sort of hope. "um…"
"i’ve noticed how much you stare at me, yet you said nothing when you first saw me, unlike mr. yang or march. now, you feel almost stilted when you’re with me, like you refuse to address what’s in front of you."
you swallowed hard at his words. "didn’t stelle also not…" you trailed off. you were doing it again, what he quite literally just said.
"i’ve spoken to her since then. i’m asking you." he seemed to have regained a little confidence, sitting up straighter and looking at you with the slightest bit more intensity.
now it was your turn to grab at fistfuls of your clothes. you fidgeted with the hem of your shirt as you spoke, heart pounding a mile a minute. "you’ve been truthful with me, so i guess i should too," you muttered. "you, ah, um…" this was really not the direction you thought this conversation would go in. "to be really honest with you, i keep staring because you’re so… pretty."
dan heng sat motionless. if it weren’t for his vidyadhara features, he almost could have gotten away with simply being frozen. upon your words, his eyes widened just a fraction, jade-white pupils dilating. his ears twitched back upwards and his tail fell still. heavy moments of silence passed while you two stared at each other. it seemed like he was waiting for you, so you kept talking. "i didn’t speak much to begin with simply because i was so surprised. i mean, we see you again after so long and there you are, just about the most beautiful thing i’d ever seen, suddenly with the power to split an ocean. after that, i didn’t trust myself to not be weird about you, so i… kind of just refused to say anything." you rubbed the back of your neck, face burning. "but i guess that plan fell flat on its face if you noticed me staring so much."
once you finished speaking, his gaze fell into his lap, gazing down at his hands that held fistfuls of fabric once again. "but… these powers aren’t me."
"of course not. they’re not you, only a fraction of the whole you," there was a slight smile on your lips. "are you worried that i don’t see you as dan heng anymore?"
he made no effort to confirm or deny anything, simply remaining as he was—a blatant yes for him.
a small smile made its way onto your face. "you’re always going to be one and only dan heng that the whole express—that i—know and love, no matter what other forms you take." you shuffled yourself closer to him once again, now finally able to reach out and brush your thumb over the back of his hand. as you sat there, your face was burning up at your words. did you really have to word it like that? if you really wanted to be honest with him, then yes.
he was still sat ramrod upright, but a blush now dusted his cheeks and his pupils were blown wide. his tail-tip was back to moving, this time wagging back and forth. he looked between you and your hand on his own, letting out a shaky breath. while he was still as nerve-wrecked as could be, a weight on his shoulders seemed to have been lifted. he looked like he was about to say something, but as soon as he opened his mouth, out came a long yawn. even though he tried to hide it with with his wrist, you still managed to catch a glimpse of his fangs.
"sorry," he muttered, rubbing one of his eyes. “also, you’re still staring."
"ah, i—i’m sorry, i’ve been acting so weird. i—that habit’s not gonna go away any time soon…" you yanked your hands back into your lap. he looked a little disappointed at the new lack of contact. "anyway, how do you think you’ll sleep now?"
"please do not worry about me. what about yourself?"
"um…" your heart is still pounding in your throat. "i—i don’t know, to be honest." whatever the answer was, it was bound to be ‘not well’.
"in the past, you’ve come to the archives when you haven’t been able to sleep. you’d place yourself on my bed and then ten minutes later, i’d find you fast asleep." his voice was soft when he spoke, almost with a faint note of mirth. "i wouldn’t mind if you…"
your eyes almost fell out of your head. "hold on, are you really—"
"you’re welcome to sleep next to me, if you’d like."
"like in your room?"
"where else?" when he stared at you, there wasn’t much obvious emotion on his face, but at the same time, he seemed so earnest with his tail-tip flicking back and forth happily.
"but i thought you found it annoying when i did that?"
"only because you'd wake me in the early hours of the morning. truly, i’ve never been opposed to it."
your face prickled with heat as you raked a hand through your hair. "are you sure you’re completely the same dan heng?"
"hey." he looked miffed.
"sorry, sorry." you were just about hiding your face in your hands by this point. "i just thought—" before you could finish, he stood up, long tail unwinding from around the seat. he took two steps and then plucked you off of your own chair. as you yelped in shock, he flopped you over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “hey, what’re you—?!"
"would you stop being so adamant if i say it will help me sleep too?"
you gave up drumming on his back, only able to hang in embarrassment as you covered your face. your head may as well have been steaming. "wh—what the fuck is this?"
he made no reply as he marched you back inside. as he walked, you watched his tail-tip as it was curled upwards, swaying from side to side. his room was close—he opened the door with his foot, stepped in and slid it closed again with his tail. as soon as you were properly enclosed, he placed you onto the bed with unexpected gentleness. in the past, if you were causing trouble, his method of dealing with you was hauling you off somewhere and simply dropping you—now, it was the opposite. you were left dazed in the middle of the sheet-nest, only back to your senses once dan heng got in next to you. but instead of settling down for sleep like you anticipated, he was shuffling about on his knees, rearranging the sheets and pillows so they were in a better formation, according to him. he was even using his tail to smooth out the sheets into circular patterns.
"are you nesting or something?" you asked, bewildered.
with no reply, he finally settled down further up against the splayed pillows. "come." he held his arms open for you, but when you made no movement, his tail roped you in instead. you were drawn into his not-very-tight vice grip, trapped in next to him. he held you loosely around the waist with clasped hands, head placed atop your leg where he seemed to be using your side like a pillow. his horns poked into your stomach every time he nuzzled... he was really nuzzling you...
"dan heng, seriously, what’s gotten into you?"
with only a hum, he ceased his movements and craned his head up, staring at you from behind thick lashes. his pupils were still blown wide open. you couldn’t help but find it mildly foreboding.
"i don’t understand why you’re… so touchy. i thought you were normally allergic to contact?"
"is it not enjoyable?" he tilted his head. his fluffy hair flopped in his face with his movement. internally, one part of you was screaming YEEEES and crushing beer cans into your forehead, while the other, larger part of you was just plain screaming. you wanted to bask in this shower of attention, but at the same time, it felt so wrong—like he wasn’t really himself. whatever dragon-brain mindfuckery was going on in his head, it was certainly potent.
"it’s not that, i just… are you sure you’re thinking straight? or do i need to spell out the situation? because you’ve hauled me back to your bed, made a nest around me and are now cuddling me like a pillow."
dan heng blinked once, twice and then his body went rigid. he pushed himself off of you and leapt to the corner of the bed, crouched with his tail once again wound around him. "wh—what was i…?" he looked down at his hands as if they were soaked in blood. his face was flaring red with a blush.
"you seemed rather convinced i was something like your treasure hoard for a moment," you said.
upon your words, he sank his head in his hands, and whatever noise he made in embarrassment sounded like a groaning sob. "forgive me, i don’t know what came over me…"
"some kinda vidyadhara instinct?” it was almost like he was trying to court you.
"something like that," he muttered from behind his hand that now covered his mouth. his gaze was fixed to a random point before him and his ears were down-turned. "i… i’ve never felt it that strong before."
"wait, you’ve felt it befo—?" right before you could finish, his tail silenced you, thwacking itself against your lips. meanwhile, he was hiding his face again. with the way his shoulders hunched, you were worried—he seemed genuinely distressed. it was a miracle he hadn’t run off somewhere by that point. with a concerned frown, you took his tail in hand and spoke again. "hey, um, this might not help whatsoever, but it was actually… rather nice when you did that." you struggled to look at him. if you called it cute like it was, you’d just be blowing whatever chance you had at keeping him in place.
he looked over at you, ears perked up. his incredulous eyes went as wide as could be, almost like two moons. a moment passed, and the tail in your hands began to sway. "really?"
"really," you nodded. "it was just shocking to begin with, but i—if you want, you can do it again."
dan heng turned his body to face you, swallowing thickly and trying to meet your gaze. he was stuck dithering for a few moments until he ultimately crashed again, flopping forward until his face was flat on the mattress. "i can’t," he muttered, voice muffled.
"oh, um, why?" your eyes went wide.
he turned his face to the side, unable to make a coherent reply beyond a strained, squeaky groan. he was still burning hot with a heavy flush, but it was soon covered by his tail that draped itself over his head. "too embarrassing.”
a small, light laugh slipped from your lips. he coiled further into himself at the sound of it, but he was soon unwound when you had your hands on him, guiding him back up next to you. he was as stiff as could be when he laid down next to you, gaze cast down the other end of the bed. you tucked a stray lock of long hair behind one of his ears. when your touch grazed past him, his pink-tipped ear twitched wildly, and he buried his face into the pillow beneath him. "why don’t you let me do something? you did say this would help you sleep, didn’t you?"
"while i was practically in a daze. i wasn’t thinking right," he complained, voice once again muffled. "this will only keep me awake, if anything."
"maybe, we’ll see." as you spoke, you took to running your fingers through his long, silky hair. you gathered it up from behind him and brought it forward, draping it over his shoulder. your fingers glided through as though they were passing through a soft mist, fluid and sleek. before long, as you gradually let your hands drift higher until they would pass over his head, he began to decompress. stuttering, held breaths became steady and soft. his nervous-contorted face was dissipating, and his heavy blush was fading to a simple dusting of pink.
when his eyes fell closed, you glanced up at his horn. beyond just staring at him, you were also tempting fate with how much you wanted to touch his new features. you couldn’t help it though—humans are such curious, tactile creatures, it was simply in your nature. one hand left his hair, which he barely seemed to notice, and inched its way to his horn that threatened to poke you. finally, your fingertip ghosted its surface. it was as smooth as glass, and just as cool to the touch. in fact, you could almost describe it as silky, like his scales. he twitched under your touch, eyes parting open. his pupils were blown wide open again.
"ah, i’m sorry, i—" you began, but he soon cut you off.
"no, keep going." he grabbed your hand and placed it back on his horn. you blinked incredulously for a moment, but soon continued as you were, running your fingertips up and down the glassy blue projections. he closed his eyes again and, making yours widen, his soft breaths were followed by a faint rumbling in his chest—a purr. he really was like a cat.
a few moments later, you felt something long wind its way around your leg. you looked down. his tail was snaking its way up your leg, until the tip draped itself happily over your lap where it laid swishing from side to side. you fell still in shock when he shuffled his body closer to yours until he laid flush against your side. he laid one of his arms across your chest and reached for your shoulder, pulling you in just a little closer to him.
"you stopped again." his voice was barely a whisper when he leaned his head in the crook of your neck. one of his horns was cool against the back of your neck.
"it’s a little hard to do anything when you’re this close," you muttered back.
"then just stay as you are." he nuzzled about with a yawn. he must have been finally settling down for sleep, but that meant using you as a body pillow. your tail-twined leg was drawn towards him, where he draped his own leg over top of it, caging it in between his calves.
“d-dan heng…” you tried to say his name as if that would do anything, but he paid you no mind. lost in his hypnagogic trance, he only muttered sweet nothings with his lips against your shoulder.
his voice was barely audible. dragon-brain must have been in full swing, because he finished off with a quiet. “you will be mine one day, my beloved…"
a/o: reader and megumi have mother-son time until someone stepped in.
he couldn't sleep.
as his sister sleeps peacefully besides him he kept staring at the ceiling hoping at some point sleep will catch him. well that went on for an almost an hour nothing successful.
that when he decided to get up as quite as possible, avoiding to wake up tsumiki on the other side, closing the door behind him. as he walked a figure of a woman ahead of him cleaning the table of the kitchen and humming a random song, she didn't seem to notice megumi for a while.
he would never admit it but he liked her a lot, ever since she stepped in both his live and tsumiki has been a lot better. he finally got someone else to help with the homework, someone carry the house of little tsumiki shoulders so that she can focus more on her studies. he got more better at school and with the delicious meals welcoming them every day. their live had never been better.
but there's only problem. her lover was the most annoying unreasonable creature to be made. satoru gojo, that man can't cook to save his live, and he mix the white laundry with the color one, and doesn't bother to get any cleaning done. and he only walks them out of school just because his dear girlfriend asked him to.
he sometimes wonders what the hell did she see in him.
as she noticed his small form she straight up walked to him, "megumi, are you okay? did you have a nightmare or something?" asking as she kneeled down to meet his eyes, did he also mention she was so kind that he sometimes gets so overwhelmed with it.
"no, just couldn't sleep." he say and she sighs with relief.
"i was wondering if i could stay up with you." she seemed hesitant for a moment but thinking about it, it wasn't a school night and she wasn't sleeping until satrou get back. maybe it's better than staying up alone all night, a little time with him wouldn't hurt.
she's the first to sat with patting the space beside her for him to sit, but instead he jumped on her lap making himself comfortable, she was surprised for a second then warped her arms around him gently.
he didn't know why he sat on her lap he just did it, and he felt an off warm thing in his chest not the feeling that make him want to throw up but the other one that brought him a small unnoticeable smile. they sat there watching a tv cartoon that little megumi enjoyed.
until the door slammed so hard that caused him to jump a little and hold tight on the arms around him, the tall white haired man stands there for a while he looked exhausted, his usual annoying smile was nowhere to be found rather a dead expression on his face, staring at nothing he closed the door and walked up to them.
"can't you knock? you could've waked up tsumiki." megumi asked annoyed with gojo's sudden behavior more annoyed that he didn't knowledge megumi's comment, but a hand gently held his shoulder and he turned to face her.
"megumi, do you mind getting a cup of water?" he hesitated for a moment, but eventually listened and got down from her warmth, mumbling how he only did it because she asked on his way.
she turned to satoru's face whose eyes were hidden behind his sunglasses, she moved aside for him to sit but instead he thrown himself on the whole couch taking all space and his head resting on her lap, his breathing normal now and muscles are resting.
she took off his sunglasses putting on the table. her hand gently brushed his hair then moved touching his face, his palm resting on her hand and his eyes are half closed like he was ready to fall asleep any moment.
"hard day?"
"you have no idea." his voice was rusty, must been a hard on.
"hey!, that's my place." the little boy stepped angrily threatening to spell the water.
"get lost brat."
"i was here first." megumi objected, trying te grab gojo, but damn was he heavy.
"my girl, my place. go sit on the other couch."
the little boy huffed angrily then looked at satour's beloved for help but she only gave him a 'sorry' smile.
he stormed off angrily to sit on the other couch, he's lucky that he was on her save arms because megumi would have smashed his head with the glass of water.
