My bio? 20s; Was gone for a few months, but please let me know if there's anything I need to know about posting on Tumblr 🙏 I like writing, but I'm not very good at it 🫶
MDNI, 18+ blogs only please (I'm trusting you guys ⊂(・﹏・⊂))
Hello ( ╹▽╹ )/ You can call me Misami if you'd like (it's what I named my MC in-game on LaDs).
Sorry, I just realized all my links broke because I changed my name T^T so now I've reverted the name and all seems to be fine? Hopefully?
Making a masterlist makes me feel like I'm actually a proper Tumblr poster even though I'm nowhere near that level (((;ꏿ_ꏿ;))). I didn't have many posts before so I put off making this. Also 'cause I don't know how to make it look nice (I use the mobile app the majority of the time so I hope the formatting looks okay). Uh, well, thanks for visiting my page and here's what I've written (it's only lads so far 😅). Plus random things no one asked for because sometimes I like to babble.
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Love and Deepspace
Xavier (I actually misspelled his name as 'Xaviar' when I first started playing and didn't realize 'til my friend said she thinks of caviar when she sees it (-_-;)・・・)
- Realizing Something You Shouldn't Have
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
Part 9 | Part 10
Zayne (I've seen so many saying autocorrect changed 'Sylus' to 'Stylus' but have you guys had yours change 'Zayne' to 'Wayne' or 'Maybe'? (ꏿ﹏ꏿ;))
- Claiming Something That's Not Yours
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
Part 9
Alternative unhappy ending:
Alt Part 6 | Alt Part 7 | Alt Part 8
Rafayel
Sylus
Caleb (Who told Tumblr to make it automatically go back to "Post" when I save a draft T-T)
May be OOC. Canon divergence. Reader is an old friend of Caleb and MC, who becomes a protocore weapons engineer working for Ever Group and ends up placed in the Farspace Fleet to assist the Colonel. 18+ just in case. Contains an OC I named as NonMC's ex-boyfriend.
Content warning: Undiagnosed mental health issues (because disastrous mental health comes with the territory when it involves Caleb (＠_＠;)), suicidal ideation, mentions of smoking (disclaimer: I'm not a medical professional so take any depictions of poor mental/physical health with a grain of salt since my main source is the Internet (^～^;)ゞ) If you're feeling unwell, please talk to a healthcare professional. Please take care of yourselves! o((*^▽^*))o
A/N: I'm adding this content warning for some themes that will most likely be recurring throughout the chapters. So, on a very serious note, please talk to someone or contact a helpline if you ever feel like everything is too overwhelming for you or you're having thoughts about suicide. With that said, thanks to everyone who has been enjoying my fics 🧡 I might end up not updating for another month or two but I don't want to keep things unfinished...
Part 1 | Part 2
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Part 2
A soldier found you as soon as you arrived at the base the next afternoon.
“Lieutenant! I was just about to call you because the system said you're on sick leave. Are you alright now? Colonel Xia is waiting for you in your office.” She reports to you.
“Okay, thanks.” You continue on your way, heading in the opposite direction of your office.
“Lieutenant! Your office—”
“Don't worry about it.” You wave her off, “Get on with your duties.”
She salutes you with a frown, but obliges, leaving to continue whatever she was supposed to be doing.
You head to the infirmary, needing to have your bandages changed by the nurses there. You'd tried to do it yourself but there was an injury on your back that you couldn't reach no matter how hard you tried. It didn't help that stretching your arm backwards also hurt because of the injury on your shoulder. It was not worth risking an infection. If you were gonna die you'd much rather die a quick death than a slow painful one.
You head into the staff room searching for the nurse from yesterday, but you're met with the annoyed gaze of the Colonel.
“You’re being careless.” He's sitting on a chair with his arms crossed.
You turn on your heels, prepared to sprint off, but really, how were you expecting to get away from someone with a gravity Evol?
You sigh as you feel the familiar weight of his Evol restricting you. “You stalker…”
He holds up his tablet, showing you the surveillance footage of your empty office. “You usually would've checked as well.” He's right, you always checked his location when you were trying to avoid him. This time, you hadn't thought to check because you had expected him to be where he said he would be. It wouldn't be the first time he tried waiting in your office for you to show up.
“Colonel,” You bat your eyelashes at him, changing your tone into something sweet. “You’ve found me. Can you let me go now?”
His face remains sour as he pulls up something else on his tablet. “You submitted your report late and falsified information. Your report shows rather extensive injuries on your body, but...” He casts a quick glance over you, “if that's the case, why haven't you been asked to stay here overnight?” He pulls up the files on his tablet. “Large gashes on the back, a deep stab wound on the left shoulder, fractures on both legs, and a broken wrist.” He raises his eyebrows.
“We just got back from months away in the Tunnel and we're still expected to report to work the next morning?” You carefully try to slide yourself away by flowing water under your feet. It's tricky to do but after years with your Evol, you've almost mastered it. Not that you can budge much against the flow of his gravity though.
“You’re going to make someone slip.” Caleb watches you mess around with your Evol. “And yeah, I expected you to be here this morning to make your report in person.”
“Colonel! I found the copy of the Lieutenant's medical report on my computer and sent it to you!” The nurse who was helping you yesterday rushed in, out of breath. He startles when he sees you, “Lieutenant! You're he—” He goes sliding across the floor and you swear you see the inkling of an amused smirk on Caleb's face as his Evol activates to catch him.
“Nurse…” You squint a little to catch the name on his ID badge, “Lawrence, you sent what to the Colonel?”
The nurse steadies himself, thanking Caleb, and then turning to face you in confusion, “A copy of your medical report. I thought I already sent you the file yesterday, did you not turn it in to the Colonel?”
“I have reason to believe the information on the report she sent in was inaccurate.” Caleb swipes away at the screen of the device. “And I was correct. Long surface scratches on the back, a shallow stab wound on the shoulder, slight bruising on the legs, and mild sprains on both wrists. I don't think these require 6 months to heal.” Caleb taps his fingers against the back of the tablet.
“Fine, you caught me. How would you like to discipline me, Colonel?”
Caleb gets up and drags you along behind him with his Evol, “Let's talk in my office.”
“Ooo, how scandalous. What are we going to do in your office?”
“Greetings, Colonel Xia, Lieutenant L/N.” A new voice greets Caleb and you. You immediately tense. Caleb glances at you before looking at your ex boyfriend, Cain. “I need to speak with the Lieutenant. Hope you don't mind if I borrow her for a moment?” He watches you as he speaks, but you ignore him.
“Professor Robinson, I’m afraid you'll have to wait until I'm done speaking with her.” Caleb answers in that cold tone he uses with everyone in the Fleet, carrying the emotionlessness expected of him having the chip inside of him, regulating his feelings.
Cain raises an eyebrow and finally looks at him. “Is that so? Well, no matter,” his gaze catches yours, “Come find me when you're done.”
“May I ask what you need the Lieutenant for? Professor Lucius didn't mention anything to me about needing her assistance.”
Cain eyes Caleb again, “It's related to some weapons the lab has been developing. It's unrelated to Professor Lucius, so you don't have to worry about it.”
“Alright. Have a nice day, Professor.” Caleb turns and continues walking with you in tow.
“Yes, you too.” Cain smiles at you, “And I'll see you later, Lieutenant.”
You smile back insincerely, dropping some water along his path that he steadily avoids with an amused smile.
Caleb finally releases his Evol once he moves you into his office.
Taking a seat on his office chair, you casually login to his computer, “I was expecting you to take the day off since your precious sister is here.” His screen is filled with the hospital’s surveillance feed where you find MC talking to the Fleet’s latest subject of interest.
“I've still got some things to take care of and MC has her own things to get done. Having to deal with you is a hassle too. Choosing now to act like a rebellious teenager is kinda bonkers, don't you think? What is the use of your foolish behaviour?”
“For my own satisfaction. Don't you think there's something cathartic about disobeying authority and destroying things?”
“No. Find something less disobedient and destructive unless you're hoping to be sent to Atley Island.” He clenches his teeth, “I really don't get why you're acting like this. You've really changed. I was expecting more discipline from you.”
“Then you must not know me well enough.” You sarcastically answer, “And you haven't changed at all. Still that kid with a massive sister complex. I'm sure if MC was the one acting like a rebellious teenager, you'd indulge her all she wants.”
“It's not a sister complex.” He snaps back.
“Right, of course. It's just your undying love for the girl you had the ill fated fortune of being the brother of by law and societal structure.”
“Your late rebellious phase didn't change how much you liked acting like a know-it-all. Haven't you been acting defiant for long enough? It's been half a year.”
You purse your lips. You actually hated that part of your personality. It wasn't like you thought you knew everything, but against Caleb, he always brought out that side of you. You just couldn't help but feel a bit defensive around him and felt the need to go against his every word. Half the time, it's within reason. The other times? …Maybe you just weren't meant to get along.
A hand snatched the item in your hand away from you and you raised your gaze to meet the culprit.
“Our resident Fallen Angel… smoking?” Caleb examined the rolled joint in his hand with a frown. “These aren't doing your health any favours.” His eyes met yours and you turned your gaze away.
The fallen angel nickname was one you had earned when you had a wardrobe malfunction with your angel wings on Halloween a long time ago and, of course, Caleb just wouldn't let it go.
“I don't remember needing your permission to make bad decisions regarding my body.” You held out your hand. “Give it back.”
“I’ll trade it for whatever's on your mind right now.” He raised his arm above his head with a smug smile as you tried to snatch it back.
You frowned. He knew you wouldn't share your feelings with him even if it killed you, so you weren't getting your joint back. Not that you particularly cared about that. In fact, that joint wasn't even yours, a classmate you'd worked on a project with had offered it to you and you'd just taken it without much thought. You didn't even have a lighter. Except… you had been a bit tempted to try it, to take your mind off things for a short while… So you were slightly relieved to have it taken away from you because you didn't want to fall into a hole that you might not be able to climb out of. Your mom and grandmother were both smokers so you could probably say it was in your genes.
“Keep it then.” You narrowed your eyes at him. “What are you even doing here? You may be the golden boy of campus, but you've never attended any of the parties.”
The music blared from the house behind you. The scene of a rowdy house party hosted by the share house's students. This house was famous on campus for being a party house, so the students that moved in tended to be those looking to have fun while attending Skyhaven University. This wasn't typically your favourite nighttime escapade, but some classmates you were on friendly terms with invited you and since you didn't have class tomorrow, you thought you'd join them, for the science. You're sure some people found this fun, considering the laughter and chatter that reached your ears despite the loud music, but you weren't feeling particularly entertained.
He shrugged as he pocketed the joint, leaning against the wall with you. “I was bored.”
“Would’ve expected you to be on call with MC or, I don't know, building your model planes.”
“She's been busy with her studies.” He used his EVOL to stack random pieces of gravel on the path which you annoyingly knocked over with some water. He glared in your direction, to which you responded by acting nonchalant and he shook his head, but stopped messing with the stones.
You guys fell into a strange silence, it wasn't awkward, but it wasn't exactly comfortable either. The two of you never had much to talk about despite having some similar interests, you only ever addressed him when you were hanging out with MC or other classmates.
“MC won't tell me what you guys fought about.” Caleb broke the silence.
You raised an eyebrow. “Why does that matter?”
“She’s always trying to resolve things between us when we fight.”
You scoffed, “I’m surprised that she did.” You pushed off the wall and started to head down the path to the side door of the house, intending to go back in and find your friends. “She told me to stay away. You see, she's got the protective girlfriend act down pat. And what else would a girlfriend do when they encounter someone who they consider a threat? Not that she had anything to worry about.”
“So, why didn’t you talk it out with her?” Caleb said to your back.
Without looking at him, you turned your head to speak over your shoulder, “Why should I?”
You take a glance at him as he raises his eyebrows. Changing the subject, you point at his monitor, “MC’s chatting with Mia, shouldn't you be taking care of this? She'll only get in the way. The professor's orders were to leave her alone for now but at this rate… MC will get swept up in everything. That's what you were trying to avoid, wasn't it?”
He sighs, “I helped her get in.”
“Wow, autonomy! I didn't know you were capable of that.” You clap your hands before wincing as you move your shoulder.
“I…” He shakes his head, “I couldn't be there for her these past few months. A lot has happened since then. She… doesn't need me…” His hand clenches into a fist at his side.
You hold up a hand, “I don't care. I don't know if you've made some deal with the professor or whatever, but don't drag me into whatever this is. I don't have the mental capacity for it.”
“Mental capacity?”
You roll your eyes, “Yes. I don't have the energy to care about you two. Ever is always interested in the Protocore Syndrome, so I’m sure MC would be a subject of interest. But I have nothing to do with that, so don't bother telling me anything. I just follow whatever the Professor tells me to do.”
“So, you're just going to submit to them? Who was the one who just said they enjoy disobeying authority?” His gaze is fiery but you could barely feel the heat.
“Haven't you seen that I'm the biggest hypocrite on Earth?” You smile and get up. “So, I'll be taking my leave now. I can at the most take a day off for my injuries, no?” Your movements are restrained once again as you start heading for the door. “What is it now?”
“Show me your shoulder.”
“I'm not interested in getting kinky in your office.”
“You know that's not what I meant. Your wound has reopened, you're bleeding through your shirt.” Caleb shakes his head and crosses his arms.
“Why would I need you to help me with that? I'll just go to the infirmary again.” His hold on you is released and you take that as your cue to leave.
Hello, I adore your writings soo much. I just finished readbinge (if that's even a word) them a few minutes ago. I don't mean to be rude, and this is just a bit of suggestions... Maybe you could separate the alt. chapters and combine them?
For example with your Zayne fic, instead of [part 7 | part 7 alt] you can try organizing it like this:
part 1 | (cont. parts here!)
But, what if it goes differently? (or you can just title it "alternative plot")
part 7 alt | (cont.)
I'm really sorry for coming across as demanding and being really rude. I have a bit of problems with needing to put things in order and make it look aesthetically pleasing (my fault, not yours). Of course, it's totally understandable and okay if you're not going to rearrange your way of putting chapters. This is purely just a suggestion on my side(I'm fully aware that if such small things disturb me I can just click off of your blog, too.) So, no pressure at all. Thanks for your writings!
Hello! 🤗
I'm willing to accept readbinge as a word lol Thank you for your suggestion and I don't think you sound rude at all (◍•ᴗ•◍). I'm so happy you enjoyed my writing despite how off-putting my arrangement was for you 💗⊂(・﹏・⊂).
I understand needing to put things in order, I think that's why I ended up arranging it like that since it's in numerical order 😅. But I do think what you said makes more sense reading order wise. It'll probably take some time for me to correct it on each part, but I will slowly fix it up!
May be OOC. Canon divergence. Reader is a Backtracker who went with Xavier and Jeremiah. Spoilers for Xavier’s Lightseeker and Lumiere myths if you haven't read it. 18+ just in case.
A/N: The conclusion of this fic. If I said I was aiming to finish this for Xavier's birthday, would you believe me? (>0<；) No, I actually forgot his birthday was in October. I'm sorry Xavier (；^ω^). But I thought the timing was good, so I did end up trying to aim to release this for his birthday. Good thing that there's still some time left in my time zone before his birthday is over 😅. I still don't feel like I've captured Xavier well throughout the fic, but I've enjoyed writing it. Thank you to everyone who's read this far and I hope you will enjoy this part.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
Part 9 | Part 10
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Part 10
After careful deliberation, Xavier and you had decided you'll find a house on Philos to move into together. So, you went house viewing with him to find a place the two of you would like after checking the postings online. The two of you picked a cozy looking detached house with an upper floor that had a nice terrace. The neighbourhood was also quiet and not too far from the palace so you could still work as a knight.
“Hmm, a balcony or a terrace would be nice…” You had mumbled as you checked out the exterior of the first house. You weren't sure what kind of house you were looking for exactly. But you figured something would appeal to you as you searched.
Xavier had turned to you, overhearing your quiet comment, “A balcony? Are you planning to fatten all the birds in Philos too?”
You hadn't been able to help the giggle that escaped at that question. “I'm just making sure you have your preferred choice of entry available. How else will you be able to get into the house?”
“I see,” Xavier had brought a hand up to his chin, “that is a good point. And you'll need the space to enact your secret rendezvous scenes for your novels.”
Yes, you were writing again. You had sent an old unpublished draft to a publisher on Philos. The editor that asked to work with you seemed to be a fan of your previous works. She didn't know you wrote them, but she found your style of writing to be similar so she wanted to work with you.
“I don't use the terrace or the balcony as a meet up spot that often…” At least you hoped not, that'd mean you're overusing it.
“Out of your 8 published books…” Xavier thought for a moment. “Your second one had 3 scenes on the terrace of the palace. In your series consisting of 3 books, there was at least one scene in each of those that involved a balcony. Then…”
“Stop!” You held up a hand, “I get it. I use them as a setting a lot. But why did you feel the need to keep track?” Why does he seem to note such irrelevant things?
“I keep track of everything relevant to you. And I thought maybe we should meet up on the palace’s terrace again sometime.” Xavier stated in his usual gentle and calm way, lacing his fingers through yours on the hand you raised.
Frowning, you swung his hand absently, “I see I need to keep better track of things related to you.”
Xavier smiled, “I'll remind you if needed. Just ask me if there's anything you want to know.”
“Hmm… Then what about you? What are some places you'd like to go?”
“I'd go anywhere as long as you're there.” He pulled you into his embrace, cradling your head in his arms as he kissed you. It wasn't a promise, it was a simple fact. With no other pressing responsibilities descending upon his shoulders, he was free to enjoy his time with you.
You stare at the decorations you hung up in the house. It wasn't anything extravagant, but you'd thought it would be a nice grand gesture to formally invite Xavier to go to Queen MC’s engagement party. Because, even though it was pretty much expected that you two would go together, isn't there something romantic about asking and hearing positive confirmation from your significant other?
You had hung up fairy lights and plastered glow in the dark stars and bunnies all over the walls and ceiling of the living room in your new house. It was still bare of most furniture but you had Jeremiah connect the holographic screen so that you and Xavier could watch some movies. Then you had spread a big picnic blanket on the floor and arranged some cushions and pillows on it. It would be a comfy movie night with some snacks.
“I'm home.” Xavier’s voice sounds from the entryway and you grin as you go to greet him, briefly touching your pocket to make sure your gift hasn't dropped out.
“Welcome back.” You plant a kiss on his cheek before you swiftly cover his eyes with a blindfold.
“What's this?” His hand found yours as you finished tying the cloth in place.
“I decorated the living room a little while you were out shopping so I wanted to surprise you a little.” It was actually pretty tough to surprise him, so you were sure he wouldn't really be surprised by the decorations and it wasn't anything much anyway, but it was still fun for you to do.
He slides his other hand up your arms and promptly wraps his arms around your waist, his breath caressing your ear. “Okay, lead the way.”
You tug at his stupidly strong arms, “This makes it hard to walk, Xayxay.”
“Then let's do this.” He lifts you up and you yelp in surprise.
“Wha! You can't see! It's dangerous so put me down.” Yet you still wrap your arms around his neck as he carries you confidently walking through the hall. It wasn't a complicated path, so you weren't too worried, though it still is quite dangerous.
“Turn right here… Wait! You'll crash into the doorframe, walk a bit more forward… Now turn.” You huff out a sigh of relief as you safely reach the living room. “Okay, put me down slowly.”
“Got it.”
Your feet touch the ground and you turn to him, “I'm taking off the blindfold now.”
He takes in the living room with a smile, “I like how you've decorated the place, but how come the lights aren't on?” He gestures at the fairy lights.
“I was waiting for someone to do the honours.”
His eyes meet yours and the overhead light turns off as his EVOL instead lights up the fairy lights. You look around with a smile, the glow casting a soft purple light around the room.
“Okay, I have a gift for you too. Close your eyes.”
He nods and you wait as he shuts his eyes. Then you place the item into his palm. His head tilts as he feels the item in his hand. “It's soft… and it's dangling from a string…”
“Did you want to guess what it is?” You ask him.
“Is it some new plushie keychain you won at the arcade or something?”
“Something like that.”
“It has rather floppy and flat legs,” He flicks the item’s ‘legs’. “And it seems to be rather plump too,” Xavier squeezes its body, “Is it an alien?”
“No.”
“Hmm… a frog?”
“No…”
“A two tailed mouse?”
“What? No.” You pout. Was he messing with you? “Just open your eyes.”
Xavier opens his eyes, glances down at the item in his palm before chuckling, “It's a cute bunny. Is it eating bread…?” He dangles the pastel purple bunny in front of him.
“It's an egg tart!” You admit it's a bit raggedly done, and you hadn't made anything so detailed while sewing together simple cushions. You take another matching yellow bunny typing on a laptop to show him. “I made two.”
“Then I'll take that one. It represents you, so I'll have you with me all the time, right? And you keep this one safe.” Xavier holds out the purple bunny. You smile and exchange bunnies with him, attaching yours to your set of house keys.
“Oh! One more thing.” You hold out a decorated envelope for him to take.
“?” He opens the envelope and pulls out a folded piece of paper inside that contrasts the pretty envelope. “Will you accompany me to Queen MC’s engagement party?”
“So…?” He folds the note back up and takes your hand, slipping something into your wrist. You glance at it and your heart squeezes at the blue flower corsage adorning your bare wrist.
He places a kiss on the back of your hand, “Does this answer your question? I'd be delighted to accompany you.”
“Thank you.” You finger the corsage contentedly.
On the evening of the engagement party, you wore a lovely galaxy themed evening gown, the skirt covered in a shimmery lace reminiscent of a starry night. You arrived with Xavier. His suit matched your dress, clearly indicating that you're a pair.
“You made it!” Queen MC runs over to greet you with a hug, Kiro trailing behind her with a grin. Her dress is a stunning silver gown with gold adornments.
“Congratulations again.” You say to her and Kiro.
“Thank you!” She points at some tables at the back filled with bite sized food. “I had the chefs make some of your favourite snacks, so make sure to eat some.”
You nod, “Will do.”
“I'm off to greet every single person I see.” She sighs, “Why is there an unspoken rule in society that we must have parties for big events?”
“I don't envy you.” You laugh.
She glares at you before she suddenly turns suspiciously chipper. “It's best not to be too envious, otherwise you'll end up like her.”
You turn in the direction she nods in and find the source of the heated gaze you'd felt on you when Queen MC greeted you. It was a lady in a beautiful floral gown, but her expression was twisted, scaring away anyone who wanted to talk to her.
“Who's that?”
“Well, you know, just the lady who would've become the fiancee of my superstar had it not been for my intervention.” She smiles darkly. “I should greet her.”
“My ring pop… I don't think you should approach her…” Kiro grabs her hand. “It'd be best if it didn't end up like last time.”
“Last time…?” You ask curiously.
Kiro shakes his head as Queen MC drags him off to greet the lady whose face creases even more as she sees them walking towards her. “You can get the story from her another time.”
You glance at Xavier who shrugs, so you decide to leave it at that and walk further into the ballroom. The music playing brings back memories of all the previous balls you'd attended at the palace.
But it's different this time.
Xavier tugs your hand, turning you around. Then he holds out his other hand, “May I have this dance?” He looks at you earnestly.
His figure overlaps with a memory of the past, but that time, it was of his figure turning away.
You had told Xavier you didn't want to go through with the arranged marriage so it shouldn't have surprised you when he didn't ask you to dance during the kingdom’s annual celebration ball, or the king's birthday ball, or the harvest ball, and the many other ones you hadn't bothered to count. But it still hurts to be rejected, even if you weren't the one directly asking.
“Prince Xavier!” Your father greeted him. You were actually quite surprised he managed to find Xavier. “Why are you standing alone here? My daughter doesn't have a partner for the ball, how about you have one dance with her?”
Xavier barely glanced at you, “My apologies, my father has called for me.”
You briefly felt a pat on your shoulder as he quickly walked away. You smiled with chagrin as the whispers started from the other attendees.
“There he goes again.”
“Does he really think Prince Xavier would give his daughter the time of day just because he's friends with the King?”
“Commoners truly have no shame, do they?”
You would find Xavier’s peace offering in your room later, he left a snack and a note saying, “You looked exhausted - Xavier”
“Prince Xavier!” Your father called out to him at another ball. “Why don't you join the festivities and dance with the ladies attending?”
“Please excuse me, I'm feeling rather tired today from training with Master.”
“That damned prince!” Your father mumbled under his breath.
More loud whispers reach your ears.
“Prince Xavier!” Your father raised his glass when he passed by. “I haven't seen you these past few days, have you been well? Are you planning to dance with anyone this time?”
“I've been well, thank you. And no, I'm retiring for the night. My father has given me permission to leave early.”
“Prince Xavier!”
“Ah, Sir L/N, I believe my father was looking for you earlier. Well, since I've told you that, please attend to him. Have a great evening.”
“Prince Xavi—”
With a flash of light, he disappeared before your father could continue.
It would have been funny if not for the earful you'd get from your father, comments ranging from insulting Xavier for being rude to ones about you not making an effort to woo the prince. You ended up just blocking his words out, letting his rant go in one ear and out the other. It was the only way you could protect yourself from getting hurt by his words and the whispers of those behind you.
But this time, your father isn't getting angry at you and there were no snide comments (well, maybe there were a few from people who couldn't help themselves due to pride or jealousy or whatnot), but you heard some compliments about your dress and some others saying you and Xavier make a gorgeous couple. And somehow that made some of the past pain and embarrassment go away.
“You know, Queen MC said you're a bad dance partner.” You teasingly tell him. “Apparently you wouldn't budge at all.”
Xavier tilts his head, “Are you doubting my dancing ability?”
“No, of course not. We had the same dance teacher.”
“Then you want me to tell you I only want to dance with you and that's why I didn't move an inch when she dragged me to her dance practice?”
“Bingo!” You follow as he leads you somewhere else. “I happen to have been told you're a great albeit unenthusiastic dancer.”
“Well, I've been told you like stepping on feet.”
“It's not my fault that some of my dance partners weren't exactly polite.”
He leads you out to the terrace and the setting sun casts a golden glow on the two of you. The music of the party grows faint but still audible through the doors.
“I hope you won't step on my feet during this dance.”
You narrow your eyes, “Are you doubting my dancing ability?”
“I'm inclined to think I'm a much better partner compared to those others.” He holds out a hand once again with a smile, “So… may I have this dance, my duchess?”
You smile as you place your hand in his. It'll take more than one dance to rewrite the memories of those times, but you are happy to finally get the chance to dance with him. “Yes, you may.”
Xavier moves your hand onto his shoulder and then places his on your waist, his other clasps your hand, mimicking the dance positions for the waltz. He dips you and your eyes widen, but you know he won't let you fall. Your steps fall together in an elegant dance in tune with the dusk sky, the moon shines in the distance and you're lost in Xavier's eyes.
There was a reason you liked using the terrace so much, and while a common romantic meetup spot, it mostly had to do with Xavier. He often showed up on your terrace back at your family's house so he could visit you without your father seeing him. At balls, you'd also often walk out onto the terrace alone, only to find Xavier there too. When you'd told him you didn't want to get married, it was also on your house’s terrace, right after you'd had the conversation with your father. You could say it was a significant spot for the two of you.
Once the night settles and the moon hangs high up in the sky, you're surprised once again as words appear over Xavier's shoulder.
“Will you marry me?” The light dances as Xavier reads the words out loud, dropping to one knee. Sei appears as well, holding out a pen made of light. “I want to spend the rest of time exploring things with you. It doesn't matter what we do because the thing I look forward to most is being with you. Time has never been on our side, but I hope you'll let me have the rest of yours.”
Tears fill your eyes as you watch Xavier hold out an elegant ring, patiently waiting. You take the imaginary pen from Sei with a watery smile and write in the air with the light, Xavier's eyes carefully following your strokes.
“Yes.” You say as you finish writing the word and place your hand in Xavier's, letting him slip the ring onto your finger solemnly. The light dances in his eyes as he looks at you and you reach out first to pull him in.
It's safe to say that the gravestone in your heart has now been replaced with a small tree. A symbol of how your relationship with Xavier will continue to grow.
--------------------------------------
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
Part 9 | Part 10
User tag list: @animegamerfox, @leftpoetrymoon, @reiofsuns2001, @loreleis-world, @girlwith-kalei-do-scope-eyes, @plzdonutpercieveme, @yellowxiaotae, @young-adult-summer, @am-drawings, @sillyfreakfanparty, @jadedrogue3, @mysticcauldronspire, @misakicchi
May be OOC. Canon divergence. Reader is an old friend of Caleb and MC, who becomes a protocore weapons engineer working for Ever Group and ends up placed in the Farspace Fleet to assist the Colonel. 18+ just in case.
A/N: Was going for an enemies to lovers trope with this one. I decided to post this first since I had this part completed. Sorry to everyone waiting on the Xavier fic update (;ŏ﹏ŏ). It might take a few more days or weeks...
Part 1 | Part 2
---------------------------------
Part 1
You clench your teeth, letting the nurse patch up your injuries.
“Just a bit longer. Your injuries are rather severe.”
You sigh and glance at the gashes all over your body. You should've just stuck to your guns. You shouldn't have tried to test out the new sword in such an intense battle when you aren't even much of a swordswoman. Though to be fair, the signal had mentioned they were low rank wanderers so it shouldn't have been that difficult. But the sheer number had been overwhelming, resulting in quite a few injuries.
The Fleet was just coming back from navigating the Deepspace Tunnel and landed back in Skyhaven. It was just your luck that your team was tasked with dealing with a nearby wanderer outbreak as soon as you touched ground.
Taking a glance at the progress of the nurse, you note it'll probably be another 10 minutes. He was working relatively slow. You assume he might be new since you hadn't seen him before the Fleet left on their expedition. You needed to get back to the Fleet and report to the Colonel. You're a lieutenant assigned to be the Colonel’s Aide-de-champ, their personal assistant. That had only meant one thing. The Fleet wanted you and the Colonel to keep each other in check.
“He is an important test subject,” You scoff.
“Sorry?” The nurse tilts their head.
“It's nothing.”
You'd been an engineer of protocore technology at one of Ever Group’s labs, you'd had low clearance so you've never been involved in Ever’s more secret projects. But Ever took their privacy very seriously. When you'd accidentally stumbled upon stolen data and materials from one of their secret projects, they’d almost cut your funding and withheld your research, putting strict monitoring on you. You were then forced to work with Professor Lucius and follow whatever orders were given to you. You didn't obey quietly though the Toring chip did pose some challenges. You managed to overwrite its code a bit thankfully.
You knew you were actually insignificant to them even though your research is still important to them and that they wanted to be able to make use of your ability to control water. They mostly ignored your slight disruptions during tests: Destroying lab equipment, messing with test results, inciting other test subjects into fights, you made yourself a handful and you were quite enjoying it. Water is very versatile, it changes according to the container. It can be as calm as a quiet library but it also gets as violent as a war zone. Though you couldn't be sure how long it'll be before they decide they just want a mindless robot to follow their orders and completely erase your consciousness.
The nurse finally finishes wrapping the bandages. “All done! You're good to go!” He gets up and leaves.
You check the time again. You'll be late to meet the Colonel, but that's what you had wanted, not willing to give up your small acts of rebellion.
He'll probably have his hands full with paperwork because of that traitor and the new recruits anyway. You pull on your uniform coat and walk out of the lab, taking a car across the base to where the Colonel’s office is. The airspace was already clear of the Fleet’s ship since it was moved to the hangar for maintenance.
You didn't expect to hear about another mole who'd snuck in though. And the Colonel personally interrogating them? Usually, the Colonel wouldn't bother to deal with traitors themselves; they'd just assign someone. You thought he'd be in his office after greeting the new recruits, but instead you find him in the interrogation room.
With MC.
So, that's why he had to deal with it personally. You cross your arms and lean against the desk, watching through the one way glass.
He was interrogating her, but he was clearly making sure she didn't say anything. Directly telling her that there are cameras spying on them.
“Remember, the camera is watching. You must tell the truth.”
The interrogation finishes and you watch as his demeanour changes.
“It is you!” MC exclaims, “Caleb… I must be dreaming.”
“It's me.” Caleb holds the hand she had on his cheek, “It’s okay. I'm back.”
The two embrace each other and you can't help but scoff. Nothing is truly okay, but Caleb is ever the protector, making sure to keep this illusion of security around her.
A medical officer walks into the room and you stop him.
“What are you doing?”
“The Captain of the Third Squadron had a suggestion relating to the traitor the Colonel captured.”
“A suggestion for the traitor…?” You smirk as you get an idea, “The Captain failed the Colonel’s test yet he still wants to give his input? I think you'd best be careful now, Colonel Xia didn't seem happy.”
“T-test?” The officer stutters.
“The traitor he currently has in custody was planted by the Colonel. He wanted to see how well the Fleet could identify moles. But clearly everyone has failed since this ‘traitor’ managed to get into the barracks for the new recruits without anyone suspecting a thing.”
The officer shivers. Everyone under Caleb’s command is familiar with his cruelty in dealing out discipline to the officers.
“I-I apologize for my insolence, Lieutenant L/N! I'll relay this to the Captain!” The officer salutes you and quickly exits the room.
You yawn as you glance at the clock. “Time to clock out.” You take one last glance at the two in the interrogation room and then leave.
You think back to a sunny summer day in Linkon. You sat under the shade of a tree, just watching the other kids run around under the scorching sun. You just weren't feeling up to socializing with the other kids that day. Several had already come up to you to ask you to join but it was too hot to do anything.
“Hey! Do you want to play with us?” A girl came up to you and asked. She was MC. All the kids knew her for her brother Caleb, many admired him because to the boys, he was cool, and to the girls, he was a crush.
Caleb follows behind her, inviting you as well since MC had decided to, “Yeah, we're playing house. You could be the child.”
You thought about it, “Okay.” You were rather curious about this duo. And Caleb was glaring at you as if daring you to say no because MC looked a bit too eager to get you to join. It was probably best not to upset her and incur Caleb's wrath.
It was fun as you got to know them and you enjoyed their banter. Except you'd get annoyed with Caleb for being so overbearing with MC, not letting her go out much. It wasn't often you'd raise your voice, but it was a common occurrence with him, especially when you found out that he'd locked MC in the attic.
“Is there something wrong with your head, Caleb?! Locking her in the attic? Do you know how scary that'd be for a young girl?! What exactly did you think that'd do?”
“I was just trying to protect her,” he countered.
You huffed, “That's nonsense! What kind of protection is it to lock someone away?”
“The kind that doesn't let anything touch her!” Caleb fumed.
“That's stupid! She's not a baby, she doesn't need to be sheltered like that!”
“She's not strong enough to handle all those kids if they gang up on her! Of course, it's safer if she was locked in!”
“She's not going to be able to deal with things by herself!” You were getting frustrated too. Nothing you say seemed to get through to him. “Besides, you saw how scared she was when you finally let her out! Is that what you want? Someone who'll always come crying to you whenever there's a problem?!”
“I get it! I got carried away then and forgot she was locked in there! I feel guilty enough about that as it is! But that's why I'll always be there to help her! She doesn't need to do anything by herself!”
“It doesn't matter how hard you try, there's going to be a time when you might not be there! It's better to prepare her for unforeseen circumstances than to hide everything from her!”
“It won't happen!”
“Ugh! It's useless trying to reason with you! Whatever. I'm not going to bother anymore!”
“Yeah, just mind your own business! It's not like she ever needed you!”
That had hurt. Sure, neither of them probably needed you. They had each other. You were just intruding on the two’s lala land. You were stupid to think that they were your best friends.
“Caleb didn't know what he was saying!” MC was standing at your doorstep. Caleb, as usual, was towering behind her. “Please continue to be our friend! Caleb will apologize!”
“I'm sorry,” The words were muttered under his breath, just barely coherent.
“Caleb! You've got to say it properly!”
“Why do you always think I was the one in the wrong, pipsqueak?! She was the one that started yelling at me!”
“She wouldn't yell unless she had good reason to! Now apologize properly!”
Like a scolded puppy, he turned to look at you. “I'm. Sorry.” This time he enunciated the phrase clearly, but robotically.
You crossed your arms, “I'll forgive you for MC’s sake.” You turned to address MC, “Your guard dog can wait outside. I was just blending up a smoothie, you should try some.”
“Okay!”
“Hey!”
When MC’s back was turned, you stuck your tongue out at him.
“You—”
You'd only separated ways when you went to university. You stayed on campus even during the holidays because you didn't want to go home. Though really, it wasn’t home, just some place where you had to live with your mother and her boyfriend because there was nowhere else you could go.
But it was fine. People come and go. You were used to it by now. You always had the good luck of meeting friends who moved away soon after or found new friends to hang out with. You, yourself always moved from group to group, never a stable friend in your life. That's just how it ended up. You didn't need them and they didn't need you.
Though of all people, in some weird twists of fate… Caleb is somehow always showing up wherever you go.
May be OOC. Canon divergence. Reader is a Backtracker who went with Xavier and Jeremiah. Spoilers for Xavier’s Lightseeker and Lumiere myths if you haven't read it. 18+ just in case.
A/N: This part gets a bit more suggestive. I'm still kind of embarrassed to write a full on smut (>/////<), but I'll probably try. Probably. 🫣 I don't know. I'm also bouncing around in my drafts as ideas for the other LIs pop up in my head, so another fic might be posted (• ▽ •;) So I have been trying to wrap this up somehow (I'm clearly really bad with writing endings 🙃). I've been sitting on this draft for weeks... So I hope you'll enjoy reading it 💚
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
Part 9
---------------------------------
Part 9
It's a bit late for you to be having cold feet about dating Xavier.
The past few days had been a whirlwind. It's all been happening so fast. It'd been decades of holding back, not letting yourself feel… and trying not to be so selfish because you'd thought he couldn't be yours… Now that everything's resolved, somehow… you felt it was going too well and that you didn't deserve this.
Xavier sacrificed a lot due to love, but what have you done? It was like he's willing to move mountains for the one he loves, but all you'd been doing was hiding at the bottom of those mountains, not even attempting to climb it. Though, it already felt like a big leap that you'd told Xavier how you felt. You never would have been able to do that if you hadn't left home and witnessed Xavier's journey.
“Love?” Your father scoffs. “Love is not a necessity for the strong. It'll only make you falter when you need strength the most. So, make yourself useful and marry the prince. You'll have all the power to get everything you could ever want after that.”
“Do I love your father?” Your mother's expression is unreadable. “Of course, it's my duty to love him. Don’t worry so much about affection, sweetie. Not everyone is lucky enough to find someone that loves them like in the novels you like to read. If you're not lucky and you aren't useful, you'll just be discarded. Therefore, you just need to play your role well, honey.”
You wrote novels with romance in them, but you actually hadn't written anything about the relationship after they got together. You didn't have to focus much on writing out them having a date or anything, the other plots in the story kept them busy. So… you had no references and you're not sure if you even trust your feelings. Were you sure you could love Xavier in the way he deserves? Were you of any use to Xavier? Now that you couldn't use your Evol, you didn't feel particularly helpful to anyone. You hadn't let go of those words in your heart, even when you weren't bending to your father's will anymore. So, you have been focused on training lately. Your strength was the last thing you could cling to, so that you could fight alongside Xavier.
“Congratulations on your engagement,” You raise your teacup and Queen MC raises hers.
“Thank you,” She says with a goofy smile. “Have you seen my candy ring?”
“Yeah, it's gigantic.” For some reason, she'd decided to put it on display in the grand hall for a few days.
“I've got a normal ring too,” She holds up her hand to show you the beautiful silver ring shining in the sunlight.
The two of you were having a tea party. The official announcement of Queen MC’s engagement to Kiro had just been announced, so you'd invited her out for afternoon tea to congratulate her.
“You should've told me.” You lean forward on the table and smile softly.
Queen MC flushes, “I'm sorry.”
“You don't need to be sorry.”
“No,” She shakes her head. “I want to apologize for something else. I could see the way you and Xavier looked at each other changed. You guys kept looking longingly at each other from across the room, like lovers forced to separate.”
“Huh?” Had you really been staring at him like that?
“And… I took up his time on purpose. I was just trying to tease you guys, and I was feeling a bit spiteful, but you were too dense to realize anything! Since, for some reason, you apparently thought he liked me! But you should've seen the way he always turned in your direction when he heard your voice during our academy days. And how he'd leave a spot for you all the time during lunch.”
“You did?” You can't believe she did that. “And Xavier did what?” You are still in disbelief that Xavier had actually liked you all this time.
“Yeah! Oh! I just thought of another one. He would always ask me how you were doing. Every chance I got to see him, he'd be sure to ask if you were alright… And he had the audacity to think he liked me!”
“He told you everything?”
“He got annoyed with me for dragging him into random things like dance practice all the time so he made it clear to me. I don't think I've ever seen him so mad. Though he was also apologetic for leading me on. So, I finally told him I have a boyfriend.” Queen MC awkwardly laughs, then leans in as if to tell a secret, "Xavier's a terrible dance partner, he refused to budge at all. I'm beginning to suspect he even knows how to dance at all.”
“I'm sorry…”
She shakes her head, “I'm sorry too. I thought you'd known he liked you but were being considerate of me. I also purposely sent you with him, you know? Do you know how hard it was for me to come to terms with the fact that two of my best friends were in love with each other… and if I wanted you both to be happy, I should let you both go?” Queen MC smiles sadly.
You place a hand on top of hers, “I understand how you feel… I had thought he was in love with you…”
“You're both idiots!” She exclaims.
You sigh, “We are, aren't we?”
She stares into your eyes, grabbing your hands, “Please tell me you guys are together now… in a real relationship, and not whatever you were apparently doing!”
“Xavier told you that too?” You awkwardly scratch your neck.
“Yes.” Then she shakes her head, “No, I'm just guessing. Jeremiah told me all about your adventures and the hunter who looks like me. That's unbelievable, by the way, a person who looks exactly like me? And apparently she called you Xavier’s girlfriend, so Jeremiah was wondering if he was missing something. He was so confused!”
“Yeah, we might have secretly ‘trial dated’ for a few months.”
“You guys are ridiculous…” She looks at you in disbelief. “I'm glad my superstar is more straightforward.”
You smile at the endearment, happy to see how enamored Queen MC and Kiro are with each other. “If he ever hurts you, I'll beat him up for you.”
Queen MC nods, “I won't spare him either.”
The two of you laugh.
“Anyway, you haven't answered if you're officially together!”
“Yes,” You don't stop the grin from creeping onto your face, “We're officially together.”
“Good. That means I can give you guys more work now. I’d been giving you both less so you two could resolve whatever was going on. But, I have the right to take some revenge for the grief I went through, no?” Queen MC has an evil glint in her eyes.
“Please go easy on us.”
Queen MC just smiles. “But with how dense you both are, have you guys even kissed…?” She frowns at you.
You turn red, shrinking back, “We have.”
“Woah, you're suddenly all shy!” Queen MC giggles, then whispers, “I want to hear all the details after you first make love. Like is he packing under all those layers?”
“Queen MC! Why would you want to know that?!” You're scandalized and you only relax when you don't see anyone within earshot.
“I'm just curious,” She laughs, “It's nice to see you more expressive though. Just do what feels right. You guys set your own pace.”
Just do what feels right… Somehow she'd said just what you needed to hear. And her confirming Xavier's and your feelings made it feel all the more true.
You'd had quite a bit of time to reflect on this before. If your feelings for him weren't real… would you have felt so many emotions related to him? Sadness, anger, guilt, relief, happiness? Would you have written a character based on him and had that character end up with a character based on you? Would you have followed him on his journey and stuck by his side this whole time if your feelings weren't that strong?
As for all he's done with you in mind, all the hardships he's endured… it was all the more reason you should embrace your feelings for him and cherish him. At this moment when your feelings are reciprocated, you shouldn't leave behind regrets for the future. As Queen MC said, you should just do what feels right. And you felt you shouldn't keep holding back your desire for him. Xavier had been surprisingly patient with you. Though, he was always subtly giving you hints he wanted to take the relationship further.
You shake your head, “I see you've gotten more bold. I'll bet that's Kiro's influence.”
She looks into the distance fondly, “Yeah. I was probably rather cold to him at first, but he has this cheerful, sunny charm that you just get drawn into. The nobles wanted me to have a partner and they all agreed that the neighbouring kingdom was the best choice. We've also been allies with them for a long time so I wrote a letter to King Zhou, and he sent Kiro over as the prospective groom. We thought we'd treat it as a blind date, even though the decision was pretty much set. Once we got to know each other better, we ended up falling for each other. Though… why does he call you Miss Chocolate! Where's my cute nickname!” Queen MC suddenly slams the table, causing you to jump.
“Hmm? If you'd like a cute nickname, how about I call you… my ring pop?” Kiro wraps his arms around Queen MC from behind.
She pretends to think, then stretches up to bite his ear before whispering loudly into it, “I’d love that.” Your eyes widen.
“You should tell me the story behind the ring pop next time.” You hold up your hand naturally and feeling the familiar warmth envelop it, you pull him to sit down beside you at the table. You'd been wondering how his hands aren't calloused by all the sword practice, and are rather soft instead, but maybe it's because his sword is made of light?
“Kiro only calls me Miss Chocolate because I gave him some chocolate a few times. You've probably seen how strict his family is. Anyway,” You look at Kiro, “you should probably just call me by name now. Otherwise, I don't know what someone will do with their jealousy.” At the increased weight on your shoulder from Xavier, you add, “Make that some people.” You shiver as a kiss is placed on your neck.
Queen MC is unamused, “If you're going to do that, please go back to your room.”
“You're talking as if you didn't just do something similar.” You raise an eyebrow.
She's unashamed, “We're engaged and in the honeymoon phase of our relationship. It's natural.”
“If anyone should be getting a room, it's definitely you two then.”
“Good idea,” Queen MC stands up quickly, “I'll see you later. Remember that we're going dress shopping later this week!” She is planning to host an engagement party in 2 weeks to celebrate, so you guys decided to go out shopping for dresses together. Kiro and Xavier would have their suits tailored after you guys chose your dresses so they could get matching suits.
You watch in shock as she immediately gets up and leaves, dragging Kiro who waves cheerfully, “I'll catch you guys another time.”
“Did she really just leave to go…” You flush.
“Shall we do the same?” Xavier turns your face towards him with a teasing smile.
“Don't even think about it!” You cover his eyes.
He pulls your hand onto his chest. Even with his uniform on, you could still feel how firm it is. You tense up, palm flat on his muscles. “You were very enthusiastic about feeling me up when you were drunk… why are you holding back now?”
Your hand on his chest curls into a fist.
“I…”
He looks at you intensely and you cave.
“Xavier… are you sure you want to be with me? Even though I thought you liked Queen MC, I still selfishly followed you and tried to stay by your side… And now that I can't use my Evol… I won't be of much use to you. Sure, Queen MC gave me a title that holds power, but you refused yours, so clearly you don't care much for titles…”
Xavier looks at you in astonishment then takes your hands in his. “You can be as selfish as you want. I don't mind. I want you to stick to my side like glue. I don't care for titles or how useful you are, I just want— no, I need you by my side.”
“But there's nothing I can do for you. I mean, I can cook. But you also know how to do that now.” You had occasionally stumbled upon the cooks trying to chase him out of the kitchen, but one chef had told you that Xavier's skills had improved compared to when he first came back to Philos.
“I can't cook,” He immediately says, “I burned the soup I was making yesterday.”
“...You can't burn soup.”
“You can.”
“No…”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
You huff out a laugh. “Okay, fine. I can be your cook.”
Xavier shakes his head, “You're more than that. I enjoy your company and it's fun spending time with you,” Xavier frowns, “Do you only love me because I'm useful to you in some way? I'm not the crown prince anymore so I can't offer you power. In fact, I'm your subordinate in the order of knights. Without the titles and everything, I only have my skills as a knight. Is that why you're with me? Because I’m strong? Because my Evol is powerful?”
You quickly protest, “No! I do like how strong you are, but that's not the only reason I love you! You've offered me comfort and let me be myself. You didn't complain when I dragged you along on my little adventures around the palace and you always stuck by me when I was upset even though I wouldn't tell you why. It was usually because I was scolded by my father though… You'd cheer me up with cute light shows back then too. I remember when Sei was a much smaller bunny and fit in our little palms…”
Xavier conjures up the bunny with his Evol as you say that, making it hop over to you. You had named it Sei a long time ago. Sei’s paw smacks your palm.
“Sei is saying you're an idiot,” Xavier makes it look like the bunny is scolding you now, pitching his voice higher than normal, “She says, Xavier was very happy to keep you company and didn't want to see you upset. And you are useful, but if you really need it spelled out for you, here it is: You're useful for keeping Xavier company. You're useful for lighting up Xavier's world with your fun adventures. You're useful for helping Xavier do all the things he's not good at. You're useful for being a great sparring partner. You're useful for taking up all of Xavier's free time so he won't be bored. You're useful… just being you. Xavier loves you for you. He doesn't want you to change for him. He doesn't need your titles or your Evol. He needs you… just you.”
You plant a kiss on the bunny in your palm, “Thank you, Sei.” The bunny points its paw in Xavier's direction.
“Sei says you should also thank the big bunny too.” You turn to him to see bunny ears made of light on his head and a pout on his face.
Grinning, you reach up to ruffle his hair, “Aw, Xayxay deserves a thank you too,” You suddenly straddle his lap, placing your hands on his shoulders, “I wonder how I should show my gratitude?”
His eyes widen before darkening as they look at you, “I wonder what do you want to do?”
“Hmm…” You shyly glance around first before boldly trailing your hand down his cheek to his biceps, giving them a strong squeeze, “What does this adorable… strong… and… handsome bunny want…?”
Xavier just smiles, “What else would he want…?” He nuzzles his nose with yours, “You… you're all this bunny needs…” His voice whispers.
You pull him into a kiss. It was a good thing you'd dismissed your knights for the day. They've probably had enough of your public displays of affection from the sword training earlier that week.
“May we… go all the way this time?” Xavier asks with his forehead against yours, his gaze filled with love and desire mirroring your own.
You smile as you wrap your arms around him, “I'll allow it.”
Xavier softly breathes out, “I've been waiting for this.” He plants another soft kiss to your neck before teleporting the two of you to your room.
It wasn't even dusk yet, and from the way Xavier is looking at you, you knew it'll be a long, long day. Not that you were particularly opposed.
---------------------------------
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
Part 9
User tag list: @animegamerfox, @leftpoetrymoon, @reiofsuns2001, @loreleis-world, @girlwith-kalei-do-scope-eyes, @plzdonutpercieveme, @yellowxiaotae, @young-adult-summer, @am-drawings, @sillyfreakfanparty, @jadedrogue3, @mysticcauldronspire, @misakicchi
May be OOC. Canon divergence. Reader is a Backtracker who went with Xavier and Jeremiah. Spoilers for Xavier’s Lightseeker and Lumiere myths if you haven't read it. 18+ just in case.
A/N: I have no excuses for my inconsistent update schedule haha (• ▽ •;). I hope everyone got the wedding cards they wanted 💕 and did you guys see the new Xavier myth 😶?
Content warning: physical abuse, verbal abuse (edited this post to add this b/c I do briefly mention getting hit by a cane and verbal abuse is still abuse)
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
Part 9
---------------------------------
Part 8
Xavier led you, still stunned from his confession, to the room with the balcony. He sits you down on the couch and hands you a teacup.
You gulp down the tea and face him, “Say that again.”
He looks you in the eyes and says it again, “I'm in love with you.”
“Since when?” Your eyes search his, not quite willing to believe this was real, but you almost want to look away as his eyes burn with sincerity.
“Since… since way back when,” He brings a hand to his chin, “Perhaps since you showed me this room with the view of the garden.”
You feel the heat in your eyes as tears well up. You've been back barely 2 weeks and you've already cried twice. You're not a crybaby, this shouldn't be affecting you this much. You're not supposed to be this weak.
He looks startled, “What's wrong?!”
“I felt so guilty towards Queen MC! I was ready to let the Starfall Forest consume me for energy since I could just regenerate!”
Xavier immediately pulls you into a hug, “I'm sorry I didn't realize sooner.”
You try to hold back your sobs. You hadn't been planning on crying, but they were probably tears of relief. You'd felt such self-reproach for so long.
“I was going to go back in time so I wouldn't have to see you two together.” Your voice is a little muffled by his shirt, but he heard you clearly. “It looked like the two of you were getting along really well… and I didn't want to see it because I couldn't pretend to be happy for you and Queen MC. I thought I had stopped thinking about wanting something more until you suggested we try going out and I realized how selfish I could be—”
“...I'm sorry…” He pulls away and grabs a tissue to lightly wipe the tears from your eyes, “But you can't leave now. If there's one thing you're guilty of… it's stealing my heart. You need to take responsibility for that.” Xavier brings your hand up to his heart. You felt like it was beating faster than usual, and he usually had a rather slow heartbeat.
“I…” You clear your throat, your voice shaky as you tell him, “I love you too.”
He is positively glowing when he hears those words from you, his entire face seems to light up with his smile. “I can finally hear those words from you and not when you're drunk.”
“You said I didn't say anything!” Your eyes are wide as you look at him.
“You didn't tell me outright. You asked me why you had to fall for me and why it couldn’t have been Jeremiah or someone else…”
You feel your face heat up, “And…?”
“And you called me a cheater and a playboy.”
You cover your face with your hands.
He chuckles, “You should call me Xayxay again though.”
You grab his face with a serious look, “Never let me drink until I get drunk again.”
“But you were really cute. You pushed me down onto the couch, whined about me not contacting you, you clearly told me how you felt, punching me, and calling me names—” You cover his mouth with your hands.
“Alright! I get it! I'll do those things without alcohol!”
You feel his lips curl up under your hands and then the softness of them as he kisses your hand. You quickly pull your hands away, but he grabs them and looks into your eyes again.
“So, will you be my girlfriend?” He brings your hand up to cup his cheek, his eyes pleading. “For real this time?”
Pinching his cheek, you smile menacingly as a blush rises on your cheeks, “Why are you giving me puppy dog eyes…? You should already know I'd say yes without those…”
He smiles happily, “I thought you might've needed extra convincing.”
“Foul! You get a red card for playing dirty.” You hold up an imaginary card.
“Does that mean I can't kiss you?” Xavier glances down at your lips.
Your cheeks are on fire, "It's a free kick, so if you're lucky, you might score.”
“But I'm supposed to be ejected after a red card.” He leans back, “I guess that means I'm out.”
You pull him back by the collar and plant your mouth on his, missing the smirk that appeared briefly on his lips. It is not a short peck, he pulls you into his embrace, firmly pressing his lips against yours, not letting you go as if to make up for lost time.
Your hand slides up his neck and into his soft hair, and you might've accidentally knocked your teeth against his. You were going to apologize, but the thought slips from your mind as his tongue traced yours exploratively, and his hand brushes through your hair, tangling himself in it. When you try to catch your breath, he only lets you go for a second before attaching himself to you again.
“Mmh! Xav—” You slap his chest, out of air.
He finally pulls away, chest heaving, but not struggling as much as you. He presses his forehead against yours, eyes closed. You run your thumb over his swollen lips, and they turn up in a smile as you do. Yours are also upturned, feeling the giddy, butterflies fluttering, heart bursting love you'd write in your books. His eyes open to stare into yours, and you let your gaze catch his, not turning away from it anymore.
“That's 32 more to go.” Xavier’s calm voice reaches your ears, soothing if not for the confusion that follows as you register what he said.
“32 more to go?” You blink at him.
“32 kisses.” His gaze flutters down briefly for a moment before looking into yours again with a smile. “All the times when you'd glance at me like you wanted to kiss me but didn't. And adding all the times I wanted to kiss you but couldn't. There were a total of 33 times.”
“You counted?! Wait, no. You could tell I wanted to kiss you?!” You slam on his chest again, it's become a reflex already.
“Yes.” You swear he's teasing you. But he sounds serious about making up for all those kisses.
Especially when he pulls you close in the middle of one of your training sessions and does just that. Out of the blue. At the most random of times.
You draw in close with your sword, intending to strike him from the side. The two of you are alone on the training grounds, the knights having just finished their practice session. Swords that hadn't been put back properly littering the field. You'd left them there as obstacles to avoid while you fought against Xavier to work on your situational awareness. But he easily evades your attack, trapping you in his arms.
“Xavie—mphm.” This sneaky guy. It's happened a few times during your session and you always fail to guess when he'd surprise attack you with a kiss. How are you supposed to train properly with this guy…? You glance around, cheeks heated, embarrassed by all the displays of affection.
“I think we should change the training regimen. Instead of getting hit with the sword, you should try to land a kiss on me instead.” Xavier says. “Or there's always other things we can do to train your stamina and strength.”
You move your fist to hit his chest in embarrassment, but he catches it, placing a kiss on the back of it. “You missed again.” You don't know whether to be embarrassed or angry with him.
But then you catch sight of a familiar figure hobbling down the path, his face red with anger. Your mood immediately plunges and you involuntarily flinch at the sight of the cane in his hand. Your father rarely ever used his cane to walk, his knee cap had been fractured from when he was a knight, but he never liked to show weakness. But his knee must've been acting up, or he was just trying to intimidate you. It wouldn't be the first time he threatened to hit you with it. There was only one time he did, other times he'd just slam it against the ground, but you still felt a hint of fear seeing it. Though, you knew he probably only stopped because your mother had threatened to report him, it's against the law to use corporal punishment.
Xavier catches the slight flinch and follows your gaze with a frown. He's never seen your father so angry, he always kept his composure in the palace.
“You!!” Your father points his cane at you. You just look at him coldly. “I finally found you! I told you to come home when you got discharged and instead you frolic around the palace?!”
Xavier quietly steps in front of you.
“I don't have to listen to you.”
“You run off with the Backtracers or whatever without telling me and then you don't even come back to see me?! What did I raise you for?! Do you think you would've gotten to your position without my help—” The last of his questions gets warbled as a practice sword goes skidding between your father's feet, causing him to stumble and land on his butt.
You turn to look at Xavier standing with several swords on the ground around him.
“My bad, my foot slipped. The knights earlier didn't put away their swords.” Xavier bends down to pick up the sword. “But Sir L/N, we're having a training session right now. Unless you'd like to join? I’d be happy to oblige. And if you'd like to talk to the Captain, you’re going to need to book an appointment, she's a busy person.”
Your father struggles a little to get up, a wince on his face as he places weight on his knee. “Xavier! Don't think I'll be as courteous to you as when you were crown prince. You have no power here!”
“I might not. But a duchess does.”
“What?!” Your father looks at you.
You cross your arms, “It seems you missed the memo. Queen MC gave me a title as part of my reward for saving Philos. I kindly request that you leave of your own accord unless you'd like to be escorted by my knights.” Knights who had been standing in the shadows stepped out once you said that.
Outnumbered, your father gives you one last glare and leaves. The knights step back into the shadows.
You sigh. “Thanks.”
Xavier holds your arms, “You flinched when he showed up. Has he been mistreating you?”
“He's mostly just really verbal… the laws prevented him from doing much, so don't worry. He couldn't afford to lose his reputation.” Your father had only been a knight, he only managed to get a higher title as he was able to befriend the king and get an arranged marriage into your mother's family who held the title of Marquess. He probably did try to get the title of Duke, but knowing the dukes and duchesses, they probably wouldn't settle for a commoner turned knight, even if it was arranged by the King. You could vividly imagine the objections if they had officially announced your arranged marriage to Xavier back then.
Xavier pulls you into a hug, “It's alright now. You're strong, but you can be weak with me. I won't fault you for it. Not everyone can be strong all the time, it's only human to have weak moments.”
You hug him tightly, “Yeah.” He places a kiss on the top of your head and you smile.
“If he bothers you again, I could challenge him to a duel.”
You laugh, “That'd be a grand spectacle. He hates being humiliated, though it'd be hard for him to turn it down if there's other people watching.”
“Exactly, he can't refuse.”
“It's okay.”
“Alright, but the offer still stands.” Xavier brushes your hair away from your face, “Did you want to continue practicing?”
“Sure. I could use the stress relief.”
“If you can beat me that is.” He pulls out his light sword and you catch a glimpse of it again. You saw it briefly when he pulled you in for a kiss earlier, but now you could see it more clearly.
“Hey… isn't that…?” You grab the star dangling from his sword. “This is mine!” You could see your initials and signature etched onto the star shaped badge.
“I took it from your apartment when I went to grab your things. It was stuffed in your drawer, so I figured you wouldn't mind if I used it.”
“What? Why did you switch it?”
He tilts his head in confusion, “Why wouldn't I switch it?”
“Oh…” You grip the badge you'd discarded. It was strange seeing it on his sword. Something that he always had with him… “Can I… make you a new tassel for your sword?”
Xavier’s eyes shine, “Of course.”
“I'll make it an egg tart.”
“But you don't like egg tarts.”
“I like them a bit more now.”
He looks confused and you take the chance to plant a kiss on his down turned lips. “!” A smile immediately appears on his face. “You've got one point.”
You lift your sword, “I'll definitely get all those points back!”
The two of you exchange blows again, getting into the rhythm, when a voice calls out.
“Captain Y/N! Sir Xavier!” It was that knight from before who had wanted Xavier to teach him some sword technique. “The two of you were amazing! It's great that I'll be working alongside both of you!”
“And your name is…?” You ask the knight.
“Oh! I'm Javier! Javier Hernandez!”
You nod with a smile, “Nice to meet you, Sir Javier.” Xavier beside you looks irritated.
“It's an honour! I failed to pass the knight exam when you were captain, so I'm glad you're coming back! I look forward to training with you!” He grabs your hand, “In fact, can we start right now?”
“No, we’re done training for today.” Xavier takes your hand back from Javier and teleports you away. You think you hear him mutter, “Who the heck named him Javier…?”
You steady yourself, placing your hands on his forearms. You can feel the flex of his arms and you blush as you let go.
“Why do you keep avoiding Javier? He just wants to train with us.”
“I don't want to train anymore.” Xavier looks annoyed.
You're quite baffled. “Why? You were fine earlier.”
“I’m fine. Let's just avoid the training area for now. We could go on a date outside the palace. There's an arcade in the city. We should visit it.”
You pause as something occurs to you. It's far-fetched but Xavier sometimes was a bit petty, “Do you have a problem with Javier just because he's named Javier?”
“Why? Are you interested in getting to know Javier just because he's named Javier?” Xavier looks at you with a serious expression. “You used that name in one of your books. He also had a lot of praise for you. Practically every sentence he said had Captain this and Captain that.”
“What? No, it's just a random name that came up. It was your suggestion—”
“I take it back.” He takes a step towards you, “In fact, you should just name all the main characters in your books Xavier from now on.” He takes another step, “My name should be the only one on your mind.”
You back up, “That's impossible. There's still Queen MC, Jeremiah…” The back of your knees hit the bed and you fall onto it.
Xavier leans over you, “Are they more important… or me…?”
You blink up at him. You're attracted to his intimidating side as much as his gentleness. “You're cute,” You smile as you pinch his cheeks and he frowns. “Alright, let's go on a date. Maybe tomorrow though, we should return to our posts now. It's time for our patrol shift.”
You hurry off with a blush on your cheeks, grabbing your uniform and heading to the bathroom to shower and change.
---------------------------------
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
Part 9
User tag list: @animegamerfox, @leftpoetrymoon, @reiofsuns2001, @loreleis-world, @girlwith-kalei-do-scope-eyes, @plzdonutpercieveme, @yellowxiaotae, @young-adult-summer, @am-drawings, @sillyfreakfanparty, @jadedrogue3, @mysticcauldronspire, @misakicchi
May be OOC. Canon divergence. Reader is a Backtracker who went with Xavier and Jeremiah. Spoilers for Xavier’s Lightseeker and Lumiere myths if you haven't read it. 18+ just in case.
A/N: This part is my attempt at a Xavier POV (ꏿ﹏ꏿ;). I can't seem to bring myself to write MC, nonMC or the LIs in a bad light 😅, but I think I'll work on changing that and I want to try exploring into some tougher themes that I wasn't comfortable with tackling because I didn't want to misrepresent it, crossing my fingers🤞 (not sure if that'll be in this fic though)
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
Part 9
---------------------------------
Part 7
It was Xavier who should have felt guilty towards Queen MC, not you. You told him he'd been seeing you as Queen MC, but it was actually the other way around. He'd just been a bit blind to see it until he'd suggested the two of you try dating. He thought it was just him being a little whimsical, worn out from being a hero, and having built a camaraderie with you over the many years. Now he knows, it was because he was and is in love with you.
He couldn't pinpoint the exact moment he’d developed feelings for you. Maybe it was all those years ago when you'd actually acknowledge his existence, before things got complicated, and the two of you had nothing to worry about.
“Xayxay,” Your child self took his hand, dragging him up the stairs.
His child self followed curiously, “Where are we going?”
Your parents had dropped you off at the palace, they had to travel to a neighbouring country and it was a rather treacherous journey that your mother didn't want to take you along on. Since they're high ranking nobles, the king gave them the courtesy of letting you stay in the palace. You're adventurous, so the first thing you did once the maids tucked you into bed was sneak off to explore. When you found something cool, you'd drag Xavier along to show him. Even though he'd lived in the palace all his life, he'd never been allowed to wander freely around, but you'd somehow managed to find the secret passageways leading around the palace and to his room.
“Shh! There's a guard around the corner here.” You push on the wall beside you, “I found this hidden passage though. This will take us there.”
He nods and lets you take his hand again.
“Ta da!” You spread your hands when the two of you climb out of the passage.
He stares in awe. You were at the very top of the castle, the room has a balcony which overlooks the garden. The full moon shone brightly, reflected in the small pond in the garden. Soft lights from the lamps illuminated the hedges that made up the small maze, forming a star in the middle. The flowers looked beautiful in the dim lighting, their vibrant colours aglow. But to him, the prettiest thing was you and your smile.
As you guys got older, studies and duties took over. His father had him in lessons all day and he was accompanied by knights everywhere he went. He became rather unmoved by anything, forced to comply with whatever his father told him to do. He wouldn't say he was bored, listless maybe, nothing really interesting him much. Everyday was the same routine until you introduced him to the first MC. He liked that she didn't know that he was the crown prince and had made him feel like he was a shining light in her world. But his determination to save her? He realized it stemmed from the sad look on your face every time you looked at her. You cried a lot when she died.
Queen MC was different from the previous MC, stronger and really dedicated to the throne. A strength and dedication that was similar to you. You'd always worked hard in training and that helped you become one of the strongest knights at the academy. As her best friend, a lot of your mannerisms and your favourite things overlapped too. To the point he'd forget you weren't exactly a huge fan of cats because you and Queen MC would often feed a stray cat that wanders around the academy grounds.
It felt inevitable that he'd meet MC again in Linkon. He'd tried a bit to stay away, but he couldn't avoid her, especially when she's in danger by nature of her occupation. He didn't feel any particular pull towards her though. When Hunter MC mentioned that if you hug someone during the first snow they'll be blessed, he'd thought of you. On the first day of snow while you were dating, you had hugged him and he hoped to return that blessing now that he knows. Another time, he found Hunter MC checking things off her bucket list of stuff she'd do after finding the person she likes, and he wondered if you had one, wishing to do them with you.
His feelings became clear to him when he realized he was mesmerized by your carefree smile, something he hadn't seen in a long time. He'd always known you were an attractive person, having seen you reject a few guys back on Philos, but he didn't think much of the irritation he'd subconsciously felt when that happened, assuming he was just being protective over a friend he'd known for a long time.
“Xavier, Do you know how to drive?” You'd asked him all of a sudden during a cozy afternoon in your apartment.
“Yes. Why?”
“How good are you at racing?”
“I haven't tried racing, but I can drive pretty well I guess?”
“Then let's go to a race track.”
“Right now?” He asks.
You nod, a twinkle in your eyes that he used to see when you'd lead him around his own palace.
He finds out that you're a regular at this race track in the neighbouring city and that you occasionally come here to race the team members of their team.
“She's beaten several of our members. To me, as the coach, it's a bit discouraging. Imagine some random lady comes asking if she can race the track for fun and then she wins over all the members here that day even though they've been training for months. Years even! But it’s been great motivation to them since they're all quite competitive. Being beaten by someone who does competitive racing for fun starts a fire in their spirits since they're all professional racers. They're all saying they can't lose to some layman.” The coach of the local team chuckles.
Xavier nods, “I see.”
“Oh, I'm not racing today. Today I just want to enjoy the race on the side. I'll just ride beside this guy.” You point at him.
Xavier’s eyes widened. “I've never raced before though.”
“With the way you drive spaceships, I'm sure you'll have no trouble.” You whisper to him, your breath tickling his ear.
His ear tingles with the lingering feeling of your breath on it when you pull away, “Okay.”
You smile and the two of you prepare for the race. The members at the track treat it as practice and wave from their cars when you approach. Xavier watches as they all seem very familiar with you. One even gives you a hug and he feels the urge to pull you away from them. But he holds himself back as you come back to him with keys in hand.
“Ready?” You ask him.
He nods, taking the keys from you. “Let's go.”
The two of you climb into the car with your helmets on. He was at a bit of a disadvantage since this was home ground for the racers, but he didn't really feel any pressure. Completely at ease, he checks everything in the car at your instruction.
“Okay, everything seems good.” You give a thumbs up and he hears you from the speaker on his helmet.
He nods and places a hand on the wheel, the other on the stick shift. Right after the horn sounds to signal the start of the race, he's zooming off. The car a blur as it tears off on the track, already passing several cars. He slips between cars, a hair's breath away from knocking into them.
“Woop!” You cheer from beside him.
He smiles, but concentrates as he smoothly drifts through several curves, putting another car behind him. He hears you clapping from beside him.
On the final lap, the first place car is only a few meters ahead of him and he moves in close from the inner side of the track. It’s a battle of wills to see who lets up first, the two cars getting close enough to scratch the paint off each other. The other car finally backs off as sparks fly, probably intimidated by how close Xavier got. Xavier crosses the finish line first and throws the car in a quick spin for fun. You laugh and he smiles again.
When the car comes to a stop and you both get out, you run over to him with a huge smile and he feels like he glitches. The sun low in the sky as it's about to set, casting a light on you, your helmet hair shining, the light dancing in your eyes… he couldn't take his eyes off you.
“You did great! That was so fun! We should do this again, and I'll race you next time.” It seems you were a bit of a thrill seeker, he hadn't expected that. Though he had noticed you always seemed to be having fun every time he pilots the spaceship while everyone else would be motion sick. Jeremiah had called him out several times for reckless driving, but it seems you rather enjoy it.
You might have thought he didn't realize when you were fake dating that you deliberately avoided kissing his lips, but he did. The both of you had treated it as if you were dating normally, so everything couples did was okay, but both of you knew you'd ask the other before initiating anything beyond a hug. You'd sometimes even ask him first for just a hug, which he found adorable because you were always shy when it comes to intimacy. He wanted to hold you in his arms and never let go.
At some point he had found himself glancing at your lips, wondering how it'd feel to kiss them, if you'd kissed anyone before, and if so, who had been your first kiss. Though he felt a tad annoyed when thinking of the latter two questions. It's not like he had any particular fantasies about being someone's first kiss or anything, and the two of you had lived quite a few years, so he couldn't expect that you hadn't already been intimate with someone. Although it'd have been even better if he was your first. It would be his first after all (not that he’d been saving it, but if he was going to kiss and make love to someone, he wanted it to be with someone he is truly attracted to and can see a long term relationship with).
He had felt the heat in his cheeks when he thought that. So every time you leaned in and glanced at his lips only to plant a kiss at the corner of his lips, he had been disappointed. His expression might not have changed, but he was actually feeling quite let down each time. It's true he could have just asked if you would let him kiss you, but he didn't know if you felt the same.
Xavier got his answer when he'd found you drunk that night at the bar. He was at the bar to have a casual drink by himself when he saw your familiar figure walking with difficulty back towards the bar, apologizing as you bump into people along the way. He heads towards you and overhears the bartender telling you she can't keep serving you.
“Sorry, miss. I think it's best if you stopped ordering more alcoholic drinks. Here's a glass of water instead,” She places a glass of water in front of you, “Is there anyone I could call for you to pick you up? Or I could dial a ride service for you?”
“N-no,” Your words come out in stutters. “I-I'll be fine… Jusst givvee me a moment…” He speeds up his pace over to you as he sees your head drop into your arms, clearly intoxicated.
“I'll take her. I know her.” He hears you giggle a second after he speaks.
“I thought I saw you! Why are you here?” Your arm is wobbly as you point a finger in his general direction, but you're really pointing somewhere behind him, “Xavier…”
“You're drunk…” He reaches out, intending to help you up.
“Riiight? Eeeverythiing iis shinyy, like wh–en yoouu usee your E–vol!” You jump up from your seat suddenly and grab his hands. “Leeet's dance! You neever da–anced with meee befoore…” It was a simple line said while drunk, but for some reason it struck a cord in him.
He’s dragged by you to the dance floor and you try to lead him to dance, but you sway side to side, unstable. He catches you as you're about to fall, and this happens several times.
“I'll take you home…” He’s had enough of you trying to dance while drunk and tries to guide you off the dance floor, but you don't make it easy for him, roughly pulling away. He sighs a bit as he watches you now just randomly shaking your body to the upbeat song.
You attract attention from other people having fun on the floor and a few approach you, one of them holding you in a slight embrace as they dance behind you. You frown and put some distance between you and them, “Who are you?” Xavier pushes through the crowd to get to you.
“Just a guy having some fun. Come on, dance for me, baby.” A male's voice rasps too close to your ear, hands pulling you by the waist.
Xavier’s eyes flash and he pulls you away from the stranger, draping his jacket over you in the process. You weren't wearing anything revealing, in fact, you were in a simple hoodie and jeans, so you probably weren't cold, but Xavier still draped his jacket over you.
“We're leaving,” He tells you, his tone cold.
“Hey! Who are you?” The guy from before grabs onto Xavier's shoulder.
“I'm her boyfriend.”
“She wasn't with anyone before. I saw her alone at the bar the whole time! You just approached her after she got drunk, isn't that right?”
Xavier ignores him and manages to drag you away. The guy mumbles under his breath, but he didn't catch what he said over the loud music. If he did, the guy might've woken up in the hospital the next morning.
Xavier teleports you home, so you didn't have a chance to sober up. You stumble around your living room in confusion.
“Huh? I'm home?” You spin, making yourself dizzy and you crash into him. You look up at Xavier’s annoyed face. “It's Xavier again! Am I missing him so much I'm hallucinating him while drunk now?” You patted his chest, and you were kind of molesting him at this point, feeling all over his upper body.
He lets you grope at his chest, “You missed me? Then how come you haven't contacted me at all?”
“Hm? Imaginary Xayxay wants to have a serious conversation? I guess this is the only way we can talk… I have a great imagination after all.” You push him onto your sofa in frustration, straddling his lap. His eyes widened a little at the force. “You didn't contact me either!” Your voice is super whiny, and you would surely die of embarrassment if your sober self heard you right now.
“That's… that's because I wasn't sure you wanted me to.”
“I wanted you to! You're the one who said we should try going out for a while! Leaving me all confused.” You pouted and he swore he was being serious, but he found that cute. “And then I had to end it because… because it'd be unfair to Queen MC!”
He chuckles a little at you acting childish as you squish his cheeks in annoyance.
You punch his chest, “It's not funny! Have you even thought of what you're doing! You let me date you! We’re betraying Queen MC!”
He turns serious, “We haven't… She's already declared me dead. She's probably not expecting me to come back anyway.”
“No! She likes you! You've got to go back to her.”
“But I'm in love with someone else…” He says softly.
“What! You're an idiot. Stupid.” You punctuate each word with a punch to his chest, “Annoying! Irritating! Cheater!”
“I'm not a cheater. Queen MC and I weren't dating…”
“Then you're a player! Playboy Xavier!” You cry against his chest. “You can't do this to Queen MC…” Your voice falls as you quietly say, “And I'm the worst friend, why did I agree to try dating you? Why couldn't I have just fallen for someone else?!” You grab his collar, “Why couldn't it have been Jeremiah or some other guy at the academy?!” Your eyes are a bit teary and it tugs at his heart.
He looks at you calmly, however, his heart is beating faster than usual. “My heart has made its decision. I know I've dedicated my life to saving MC. But I've finally realized it's not MC. It's always been you. My father had been planning to use you in the first place… and I was glad when you decided to tag along with the Backtrackers. With me…” He caught you as you fell, having exhausted your energy hitting and yelling at him. “Did you fall asleep…? That's my job…”
But even though he said that, he didn't know how to begin. So he'd started off with finally contacting you and he was disappointed to know you couldn't remember anything about that day. He gave you his spare key, hoping you'd come over more often, but you hadn't. Then you started avoiding him again and he had to get called out for an urgent mission by Hunter MC when you finally visited him.
So eventually he decided to use Lumiere as an excuse since you'd said you would stop dating him once he stops being Lumiere. So if he's Lumiere again, does that mean you'd go out with him again? He knows you see him as just Xavier, who might be a bright star in the sky, but is also a star who'd get covered by clouds and doesn't always shine brightly. Xavier believes you see him beyond the hero that is Lumiere, but he just gets told by you that he's been treating you as if you're Queen MC?
He didn't even have much time to ponder about what to do next between helping with filming, all the Metaflux explosions happening around the city, and needing to rest after dealing with them. Then when he finally sees you, he has to rush off again to save the city.
When he loses you during the Metaflux explosions, he doesn't think. He'd lost many people he considered friends during his many years away from Philos, but he couldn't accept losing you. He just knew he needed to bring you back to Philos so he could use the serum on you. That was all that was on his mind when he found out your heart stopped. Xavier stayed by your side most of the time while you were unconscious in the hospital. He only left when someone else visited or the doctor or nurses were making their rounds.
He had braced himself to feel something when he saw Queen MC again, but he didn't feel any longing in his chest. Even when Queen MC asked him to do dance practice with her, his heart didn't react. In fact, he had been relieved to know she was dating Kiro. It was a weight off his shoulders to know she hadn't been waiting for him. He would've only disappointed her because he knows he's in love with you. And now that the planet was saved, he was finally free of all obligations. The only thing left on his mind was you.
---------------------------------
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
User tag list: @animegamerfox, @leftpoetrymoon, @reiofsuns2001, @loreleis-world, @girlwith-kalei-do-scope-eyes, @plzdonutpercieveme, @yellowxiaotae, @young-adult-summer, @am-drawings, @sillyfreakfanparty
May be OOC. Canon divergence. Reader is a Backtracker who went with Xavier and Jeremiah. Spoilers for Xavier’s Lightseeker and Lumiere myths if you haven't read it. 18+ just in case.
A/N: A bit rushed but I wanted to get another part out since it's been a while and the next part is quite tough going too haha (・–・;)ゞ
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
Part 9
---------------------------------
Part 6
After you were discharged from the hospital, you'd decided to stay at the palace. You informed your mother that you planned to travel back in time again and to not expect you to visit. She ultimately understood your decision, but you did promise her you'd have lunch with her. You had originally planned to take Queen MC’s place as Queen and let her join Xavier in searching for the aether core, but now that you've found it, you weren't really sure what to do now.
You were glad Xavier didn't show up to help with your discharge though, not that there's really anything to help with. But you were hoping to avoid him as much as possible.
“You can stay in this room. Xavier actually went back and got some of your stuff… but I guess you'll just be taking them back again.” Queen MC gestures at a guest room. “...So when do you plan to leave?” You'd already told Queen MC about your plans to go back. You were just trying to run away, but that's what you do best, run away from your problems until they can't be avoided anymore.
“I don't know yet.”
“Can't you stay?” Queen MC looks into your eyes, her gaze seems to pierce your soul and you look away.
“I… I'll think about it.”
“I need my best friend here.” She grabs your hands. “And I want my best knight to be here too.”
“Your best knight is Xavier.”
She shakes her head, “I made you captain. You're the knight I trust the most in the world.”
You swallow thickly, “I don't deserve your trust.”
“You do. You brought back the aether core and saved our planet. If that's not worthy of my trust, I don't know what is.”
You shake your head. “I'll think about it.”
“Alright…” Queen MC gives you some space, “Do you want to—”
“Queen MC! I finally found you!” Her aide comes running over, “It's time for the strategy meeting with the merchants!”
Queen MC sighs, “Duty calls.”
You nod, “Go.”
She reluctantly follows after her aide.
For the next few days, you tried your best to avoid Xavier and Queen MC. It shouldn't have been hard since you figured Xavier would be busy napping and Queen MC is usually busy with work. But it was difficult. Everywhere you go, you manage to catch either Xavier or Queen MC or them together and you'd quickly turn the other way before they spotted you. You'd be walking past the ballroom and then you’d spot Queen MC and Xavier dancing together, smiling. It brought a pang to your heart.
As for Xavier, one time, he pops up in the guest room you're staying in with a box of your things he'd helped you grab from your apartment in Linkon. But he got called away before he had time to speak to you. Another time, you're walking around town, window shopping when Xavier appears. You spot Jeremiah by coincidence (you actually texted him to come when you saw Xavier) and the three of you hung out. You refused to be alone with Xavier, though you got a lot of questioning looks from Jeremiah.
“Why are you avoiding Xavier? Aren't you guys dating?” Jeremiah finally asks you.
“Pardon? Xavier and I aren't dating.”
“But Hunter MC called you Xavier’s girlfriend.”
“What?” You blink. “What gave her that impression?”
“You tell me.” Jeremiah scrutinizes your expression.
“I don't know, how am I supposed to know why she thinks Xavier and I are dating? You should ask Xavier.”
“I did.” Jeremiah sighs.
“And?”
“He was like ‘Why do you want to know?’ and then walked off without telling me anything! I also feel like he's been a bit cold to me lately. Did I do something wrong?!”
“Don't worry about it then.”
Jeremiah sighs again, “Alright. By the way, have you heard the rumours that Queen MC is dating someone?”
Another throb of pain takes over your heart. “No, I hadn't heard. Have you found out who it is?”
“Nope, I thought she'd have told you so I was hoping you knew. Since you're not dating Xavier, could they have finally gotten together?”
“Maybe. You didn't ask Xavier about this?”
“I did ask actually. All I got was a ‘You’ll find out soon’. He loves giving me non-answers!” Jeremiah shrugs helplessly.
It was kind of funny, but you couldn't even laugh because all you felt was your beating heart, anxious to find out what he meant.
You head to the palace gardens to clear your head. You anticipated that Xavier would be in the library so you felt it was safe to be in the gardens. You sit down in the gazebo, resting your chin in your hands.
“Look who's back! Miss Chocolate!” A cheerful voice sounds from behind you.
You whirl around to come face to face with sparkling blue eyes, clear as the blue sky, his golden hair blinding in the afternoon sun. He walks into the gazebo and sits across from you.
You smile, “Kiro! What are you doing here?” He was the crown prince of a neighbouring kingdom, your father's backup plan if your engagement with Xavier had fallen through so you'd gotten to know him quite well. His family was quite strict and didn't allow him to eat sweets, so when you offered him chocolates, he started calling you ‘Miss Chocolate'.
“I'll be here a lot now. Haven't you heard yet?” He grins.
“Heard what?”
“That—”
“Your highness Kiro!”
“Oops, I've got to run.” Kiro winks and runs off, “We'll catch up some other time!”
“Get back here! You're supposed to be at the strategy meeting with Queen MC! Where are you running off to?!”
“Hello, Savin.” You wave at Kiro’s advisor.
“Hello, I hope you're feeling better,” He nods at you in acknowledgement, then continues running after Kiro, “Where did he go?!”
You giggle at the familiar scene, often subject to helping Kiro when he hides from Savin.
“You're having fun,” a voice whispers close to your ear.
You jolted up in surprise, “Ah!”
“You're always so easily startled.” Xavier slides into the abandoned seat across from you.
You frown, “Why is it so hard to avoid you?”
He narrows his eyes, “Because I'm not letting you.”
“We're back in Philos now. Don't you have other people to bother? You know, like Queen MC?” You say bitterly.
“We need to talk.” Xavier leans his arms on the table. Your eyes follow the flex of his muscles before you tear your eyes away.
“No, we don't.” You get up and walk back to the palace. He follows you. “There's a strategy meeting isn't there? Hasn't Queen MC reinstated your post as her knight? You don't need to be there?”
“I don't. It's not a strategy meeting about the country’s defense or anything.”
You walk in silence for a bit, entering the palace.
Heading past the sitting room, you casually bring up what Jeremiah told you. “Jeremiah mentioned Queen MC is dating someone, do you know who it is?”
“I do.”
“I see.” You can feel your heart racing again, but you don't want to ask the next question.
Xavier grabs your hand, “Aren't you going to ask me who it is?”
“Nope, I'll find out soon, no?” You don't turn to face him, continuing to stride down the hallway.
“Ask me.”
“Fine.” You stop in your tracks and turn to look at him. “Tell me who she's dating.”
“It's not me.”
“Pardon?”
“It's not me.”
“It's not… you?”
Xavier nods.
“Sir Xavier!” A flash of annoyance crosses Xavier’s face. A young man jogs over with an excited expression. “I finally found you! Will you teach me that move again, please? I still can't do it!” The young knight turns over to you, “You're! You're the former captain of the guard! It's so nice to meet you! Would you mind sparring with me too? I'm—”
“Let's go to the training ground.” Xavier teleports with the knight, leaving you dumbfounded.
Who was it that Queen MC was dating then? Is she even dating anyone? You tried asking Jeremiah but he still had no idea and you didn't really want to have this conversation with Queen MC, so left with no other person to talk to, you finally start looking for Xavier.
You find him in a secret room that you had to enter through a hidden passage. You had a feeling he might be here because you'd accidentally stumbled upon him here when you'd run off from your parents when you were younger. You ignored each other's presence, so up until you realized you might like him, you went there to pass time, but afterwards you avoided it like the plague.
“I think you're the only one outside of the servants in the palace who knows about this place.” Xavier’s lying down on the couch in the room with his eyes closed.
“How'd you even know it was me?” You sit down on an armchair. The room was furnished like a library, bookshelves lining the walls and a comfortable area to sit and read.
Xavier sits up and shrugs, “Your footsteps?”
“So… who is it?”
Xavier blinks, “Who is who?”
“The one Queen MC is in a relationship with!” You exclaim.
Xavier smirks, “So, I finally got you to talk to me with that.”
“So you were lying?! I'm leaving!” You walk to the entrance of the secret passageway.
Xavier follows you out of the passageway, “It's true she's dating someone though. I can prove it right now.” Xavier glances over your shoulder and then tugs you behind one of the big pillars.
You furrow your brows and look over your shoulder, “What’s the matter? Why are we hiding?”
“Shh.”
You cross your arms and wait. Echoing off the massive walls is a familiar giggle and then rapid footsteps.
“Where are we going?!” Queen MC is giggling as she asks.
“Shh! Just past this area and then we'll be there!” The familiar cheerful voice answers. It's Kiro.
You peek out from behind the pillar as their footsteps get closer.
“Close your eyes,” Kiro covers Queen MC’s eyes and she giggles again. They enter the ballroom beside where you and Xavier are hiding.
“Why does it feel like we're catching our lovers in a secret tryst while having an affair ourselves…?”
“You're not a cheater. …Unless you're telling me you dated him?” Xavier’s grip on your hand tightens.
You hear Queen MC gasp, “What's all this?!”
Xavier pulls you towards the door of the ballroom as well and the two of you look inside. Your eyes widen as you see the ballroom has been decorated with flowers, petals adorning the floor and a red carpet leading up to a heart formed by candles. A gigantic teddy bear sits inside the heart holding a big box. You watch as Kiro takes the box from the bear and gets down on one knee.
Queen MC gasps again, hands over her mouth as Kiro lifts the box's lid. You couldn't see what was inside, but you were so shocked you didn't even think about it.
“We were introduced to each other as representatives of our respective countries. But over these few years together, I can say that we've gotten to know each other a lot better. I believe that even though at first this wasn't a marriage of our choice, we have shared a lot together and I've fallen in love with you during this time. That's why I'd like to formally ask. Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?”
Queen MC nods as tears fall down her cheeks, a grin spreading across her cheeks, “Yes! I will!”
Kiro smiles widely as well and jumps to his feet, slipping a ring onto her hand. He reaches into the box again and pulls out a larger candy ring in the shape of a teddy, it fits over her hand and she laughs.
“That's huge! It'll take a week to finish!”
“I'll finish it with you.” Kiro lifts her up and twirls her around.
For some reason, as they lean in to kiss, you reach up to cover Xavier’s eyes.
He laughs, “What are you doing?”
“I–I don't know…”
He lifts your hands from his eyes and smiles at you, “I'm fine."
“You are?”
He nods. “I've known for a while. I helped him with the setup too.”
“Huh?” Your brain seems to have overloaded. “Why would you help your rival?”
“He's not my rival.” He leans in close to your ear, “To be clear, I'm in love with you.”
“Huh?”
You can't seem to wrap your head around what's happening.
---------------------------------
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
User tag list: @animegamerfox, @leftpoetrymoon, @reiofsuns2001, @loreleis-world, @girlwith-kalei-do-scope-eyes, @plzdonutpercieveme, @yellowxiaotae, @young-adult-summer, @am-drawings
May be OOC. Canon divergence. Reader is a Backtracker who went with Xavier and Jeremiah. Spoilers for Xavier’s Lightseeker and Lumiere myths if you haven't read it. 18+ just in case.
A/N: I have to admit I haven't been completely satisfied with this whole series, so I have to thank everyone who's been sticking with me in this <3 I appreciate everyone who's been reblogging, liking and commenting on my posts, I do read every comment (っ.❛ ᴗ ❛.)っ
- I was considering naming MC since she's mentioned so much in this fic and there's 3 different ones, but it was mainly personal preference that I kept her unnamed (and because idk what to name her). I call MC on Philos Queen MC and use just MC for the one in the current timeline and I'd usually just say first MC for the MC that Xavier first met. But perhaps I'll refer to the present/Linkon timeline MC as Hunter MC? If that helps?
- I'm also not sure how you guys feel about the use of Y/N, but this part has a lot more uses of it though and I do use Y/N in my fics, I'm pretty used to slotting my own name whenever I see it, but I am trying not to use it too much
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
Part 9
---------------------------------
Part 5
“Y/N,” Queen MC gestures at you to follow her. She leads you to a guest room in the palace. Glancing around, you can see her things scattered about. It seems she's been using this guest room for now. But soon she'll be moved to the master bedroom since she's been crowned Queen. She shuts the door and turns to you, “I want you to go with them.”
“Go with who?” You ask in confusion.
“Xa— With the Backtrackers.” She stops herself from saying Xavier’s name.
“Pardon? Why?”
“I want you to keep an eye on them for me. People have labelled them as traitors, it would only make sense if I send someone I trust and is loyal to me to investigate.”
“Xav—”
“I know he wouldn't betray us like that. It's mainly an excuse for the regents,” Queen MC puts a hand on your shoulder, “You want to go, don't you? You've always been adventurous. You want to explore beyond our planet, right? So go.”
“But—”
“No, buts,” Queen MC gives you a rare teasing smile, “If I keep you here, you'll just nag me to death. Besides, I have the other knights here to help me. I'll be fine. I know you also want to help him find a way to save Philos.” She gives you a knowing look.
You freeze. Did she know?
“You look shocked.” She sighs, “When I took over as queen, the regents told me everything.” You grit your teeth, you could only assume it must've been your father. She doesn't look upset as she looks at you, “You're the rumoured betrothed of his.”
“Xavier and I have already discussed this!” You rush to explain, “We don't plan to get married to each other.”
Queen MC shakes her head, “I guessed that. You guys have never shown any indication that there's something happening between the two of you. But that made it obvious, why you always looked uncomfortable when I brought up his betrothal, why you always avoided letting me come over, and why you always abruptly left whenever he approached.”
You stare at her, waiting for her to be mad, yell at you, or, you don't know, slap you? But her anger doesn't come.
“You like him too.” She doesn't say it like it's a question and you neither confirm nor deny. The answer is already obvious to the both of you. She faces the window, the light of dusk casting her shadow along the floor and onto you standing behind her.
Her silence seemed like a testament to her confidence in you. You're not sure what she expected of you, and you couldn't begin to guess what was going through her mind now that she suddenly had a whole kingdom on her shoulders, but it was probably not that you'd date someone she likes behind her back. You didn't deserve her faith in you when you couldn't even let go of your feelings for the man she is most likely in love with. You'd always strategically retreat to give Xavier and Queen MC alone time, often having to grab a chatty Jeremiah with you, because he couldn't take a hint back then. But here you suddenly caused a ripple in her potential relationship with Xavier and left her alone to deal with a whole kingdom of people. A responsibility that technically should have been yours as the betrothed to the throne.
You stare at the star on your old uniform from your days as a knight, a matching one to the one Queen MC had given to Xavier. You really had believed you’d come along for Queen MC, but for a while now… you have admitted to yourself that a part of you also wanted to be with Xavier. You remove the star, stuffing it in a drawer before heading out with your sword sheathed at your waist. What you had done was not exactly worthy of the merit of a knight. It was time to set things right.
“I still don't think it's a good idea…” Jeremiah has a death grip on your ID. You had been planning to try to get back to Philos through the Deepspace Tunnel, so you were plotting to steal a jet from the DAA and had asked Jeremiah to reactivate your old pilot ID. You only manage to wrestle it from him when he's momentarily distracted by something on his phone. “...Hunter MC just sent me a message… that Xavier's in some sleeping pod beside a crashed spaceship and she's gone to deal with the Metaflux explosions…” His head shoots up to look at you, “Did he use his EVOL too much?!”
You were already heading out the door after hearing the contents of the message. Jeremiah follows you into your car and is barely able to click his seatbelt in place before you're tearing through the streets to the forest where the spaceship crash site is. Beside you, you hear multiple beeps.
“This doesn't look good… there's so many Metaflux warnings popping up!” Jeremiah tells you, checking a device similar to the Hunter’s watch. “The grade level… We probably need Xavier to help! The Hunters alone won't be enough!”
The two of you rush out to the spaceship and quickly find the pod with Xavier inside. Jeremiah does a quick scan and nods at you, you nod back and activate your EVOL, replenishing Xavier’s energy.
“There's more and more Metaflux warnings at Azure Square! The Hunter’s Association has already called for a retreat!” Jeremiah exclaims in a panic, the holographic screen on his watch flashing many exclamation marks.
“This is as fast as my EVOL gets!” You maintain the flow of energy into Xavier, helping him recover from his injuries and exhaustion.
“Y/N?” He blinks at you in confusion when he finally wakes up.
“There's no time! Xavier, get to Azure Square! Hunter MC needs help!” He snaps out of the pod and with a flash of light he's gone. You rush back to the car Jeremiah and you had taken to get to where Xavier was. “I’m going to go help.”
“Why didn't you just have Xavier teleport us?!”
“He'll have his hands full dealing with Hunter MC and the wanderers.” You slip into the driver's seat and buckle up.
Jeremiah just shakes his head and hurries after you. He clutches the handle above the door with both hands as you start the ignition. You floor the accelerator and speed through traffic to get to the square where the Metaflux warnings continued to blink.
There was pandemonium at the site, collapsed buildings and bodies everywhere in sight and people rushing to get to shelters, many with visible wounds bleeding. Jeremiah is quick to pull up a map with the shelter locations and starts gesturing to people to go in the right direction. You head deeper into the square, fighting off several wanderers when you feel a strange pull in front of you.
You keep heading in the direction in front of you, trying to locate the source of the pull, chest heaving and drained from the endless waves of wanderers and constant use of EVOL to heal random passerbys. A sudden pain wracks through your body as you spot a few black crystals forming on your chest. You're quick to use your EVOL to revert your body to its normal state and continue forward, following your gut telling you to find the source of the pull.
It wasn't long before you face a wanderer that towers a few feet above you and somehow you know that wanderer contains an aether core. The wanderer lunges at you with a powerful strike. You manage to jump back and bring your sword down, leaving it with a shallow gash. It hurls itself at you again with its arm extended, aimed at your head. You dodge to the left and complete multiple slashes in succession, slicing off its arm. It remains unaffected, coming at you with piercing sharp shards, you defend against them with a few swings, though one manages to lodge itself in your arm. You yank it out with difficulty, grimacing at the pain.
You know you're only running on adrenaline at this point, your body ready to collapse as you use your EVOL again on your arm to heal it. The green glow runs slowly up your arm, your EVOL energy running out. Another few attacks land on you before you finally manage to defeat it and you grab the protocore that emerges from it. It didn't seem different from other protocores except the strong power it emitted. You could feel that it's on a different level from other protocores. The relief from finally finding the aether core washes the adrenaline away and you fall to your knees clutching the protocore to your chest.
“...!” Your vision is fuzzy and you think you hear someone shouting your name, but you're too exhausted to answer and the waves of wanderers start closing in, drawn to the power of the aether core.
“Xavier…” You weakly call out before you're hit with a lot of pain and there's a burst of light before everything fades to black.
When you come to, you're staring at a distantly familiar ceiling design. One that you haven't seen in decades. It was dark and silent around you, only the steady beeping of the monitor to be heard. You strain to glance around.
“Take it easy. You were in quite a terrifying state when Xavier brought you back.” MC sits with a straight back, her aura regal, and you stare. She had the air of Queen MC. But how could you be back on Philos?
“Queen MC?”
“Looks like you haven't lost your memories,” Queen MC jokes with a smile, the aura around her softening back to the familiar woman you know. “Welcome back.” She says softly.
You wince as you move to sit up, Queen MC supporting your back. You turn your gaze away from her, “I'm lucid. What time is it? How am I back on Philos?”
“It’s 7am. Xavier and Jeremiah came back with you. You should've seen how frantic they were, Xavier demanding that I open the royal vault for him.” Queen MC gives you a hug, “But I've got to thank you guys. The core you guys brought back has been analyzed and the researchers think it'll keep Philos running for a long while to come.”
You don't know why but you almost start to cry, overwhelming emotions welling up in your chest, “I’m sorry.”
Queen MC squeezes you tighter, “About what? You scared me, you know? Your heart had stopped beating, these weird black crystals were growing on you, and I couldn't do anything to help! Then Xavier injects you with something and you start breathing again, but you wouldn't wake up. It's been a week! I didn't think I'd miss your nagging these past few years… but I want to hear it again.”
“I'm sorry,” A sob chokes out of you and you lean your head on her shoulder as tears start to fall.
Queen MC pats your back, “Why do you keep apologizing? You guys came back with a solution. That's all I ever hoped for.”
You shake your head, unable to say more.
Queen MC wipes your tears away, “I should go inform the doctor you're awake so they can give you a check up. Xavier and Jeremiah would want to know you're awake too.”
“Can I request no visitors for now?” You keep your head down, eyes blurry with tears.
Queen MC grasps your hands, “If that's what you want, I'll let the nurses know.”
“Yes. Thank you.” You take the tissues she hands you next and wipe your eyes.
“No problem.” She pauses, “Wait, does that include me too?”
“Yes, you're going to nag me with what I can or can't eat. I can forsee it all! You'll probably even micromanage my activities just to get back at me for all those times I nagged you to practice!” You put a fake playful tone in your voice.
“But I'm the Queen!” She exclaims in shock.
“Patients need rest!” You protest.
“Alright…” She reluctantly leaves.
A few moments later, the doctor comes in to check on you and you soon hear the commotion before they even reach your room.
“What do you mean the patient has requested no visitors?! I'm her father!” A loud voice booms through the hall, reaching your room.
You sigh. You were hoping with Queen MC’s authority, even your parents would be stopped but your father just barrels in as usual.
“How could you not even let your parents visit you?!” Your father yells the moment he enters.
The doctor adjusts her glasses, “Excuse me, please lower your voice and be mindful of the other patients.”
“Ahem,” Your father coughs, lowering his voice slightly, “How could you come back all injured while Xavier and Jeremiah are both fine? Didn't I raise you to be stronger than this?”
Your mother sits at your bedside and grabs your hand, “Ignore him sweetie. You did well.”
“And you just continue to spoil her! She's a knight for Astra’s sake. She shouldn't need this coddling! And have you forgotten what her EVOL is? There's no way she should've been reduced to this state with such a great power!”
“How long are you going to keep yelling?” You mutter.
“What did you say?!” Your father’s voice raises again and you flinch. “You think you can talk back to me now? You've been gone for too long! I'll have you discharged this instant, you’re completely fine since you can heal yourself! And once we get home you're going to practice those sword swings for me and you won't get to rest until you defeat every knight in the academy!”
“Dear!” Your mother yells. “That's ridiculous!”
“Father, that's unreasonable.” You glare at him.
“You see this behaviour?” Your father points at you.
“That's enough.” You look up to see Queen MC. You can see the furrow in her brows.
“Queen MC!” Your parents give her a bow.
“Why are you making such a fuss in a patient's room? I'm going to have to forbid the both of you from stepping foot into this room until I decide it's alright.” Her tone is icy as she speaks.
“What?! You can't do that, Queen MC,” Your father is trying not to have an outburst.
“Guards! Please escort the regent and his wife out.”
“We'll finish this when you get home.” Your father gives you one last look before storming out.
“I'll have your favourite foods prepared when you're discharged.” Your mother gives your hand a squeeze before leaving as well.
“Then I'll take my leave as well. You better rest,” Queen MC points at you with narrowed eyes.
“Thank you,” You wave at her then turn to the doctor. “Sorry about them.”
She shakes her head, “Take care of yourself. You shouldn't use your EVOL anymore so don't go using your body as a shield.”
“What did Xavier inject me with?” You ask.
“It's technically a royal family secret, but I'll tell you. It's a revival serum, it's like your EVOL that can regenerate, but this serum can even restart a stopped heart. The previous king used it to prolong his rule but it only works so many times before his body can't handle it anymore. It's actually a banned substance, the natural order of life and death, you know. But the king makes his own rules.” The doctor shakes her head again and mutters to herself, “And his next of kin is no better. Had he even thought that there could be side effects?!” She turns to you again, “Don't worry, your body is completely healthy, there have been no side effects so far," then under her breath, “But it was still a big risk.” She composes herself, “Anyway, you should refrain from using your EVOL as much as possible otherwise…”
“Otherwise I'll turn into a wanderer?”
The doctor nods, “Yes, and your EVOL might not be able to reverse it next time. You can be discharged tomorrow, we want to keep you here one more night for observation.”
“Alright, thank you doctor.” She nods and leaves you to rest.
You lie back down on the bed. You had black crystals show up on your body before, but you hadn't realized it was that serious. You sigh and turn on your side, promptly falling asleep, too tired to dwell on it. It shouldn't be a problem if you didn't use your EVOL much, so it didn't bother you too much. Though Xavier using a banned serum on you is probably something to worry about, but you'll think about it later.
It was midday when you woke up again. You watch as a familiar little bunny hops over a moon on the ceiling.
“I thought I requested no visitors.” You softly say, voice almost a whisper.
The bunny pauses and hops over to you instead. You hold out a hand and it hops into it, the light warm in your palm.
“It's not visiting hours.” Xavier’s voice says matter of factly. The bunny is nuzzling your palm.
A smile tugs on your lips, “Leave it to you to completely disregard the hospital’s rules.”
“How are you feeling?” His voice is more gentle now.
“Better.”
Silence falls over the room but the bunny continues to lie down in your palm.
“I—” You and Xavier both start to speak at the same time.
“Go ahead.” You gesture at him without looking at him. You've just been staring at the bunny the whole time, unable to meet his gaze.
“No, you can go first.”
A phone rings before either of you can decide who's going to speak first. You glance at your phone on the table but it doesn't light up. It's Xavier's phone ringing.
“You can answer it.” You tell him as you continue to hear the ringing.
He presses the end call button, but it rings again and again. He sighs and finally picks up the phone, “Hello?”
“Xavier? Ah yes, I'll be there soon.” Queen MC’s voice rings loudly through the phone. Then a bit muffled, “Sorry, I'm busy right now. It's important matters relating to the kingdom so I can't attend the court meeting today.”
“But you've already had to take the morning off—” Another voice tries to say.
Xavier frowns, “Did you just use me as an excuse to play hooky?”
“It’s payback for all those times you used me as an excuse. Your ‘duels’. So, where are you? We should have our ‘important meeting'.”
Xavier glances at you, “I'm busy…”
“What could you be busy with? You've got nothing to do now that you're back. You're technically still my knight, so I expect you to be at work.”
“I'm visiting Y/N—”
“She asked for no visitors so you might as well wait until tomorrow, she'll be discharged then. …Wait, are you at the hospital right now? Visiting hours are over!”
“...” Xavier doesn't say anything.
“You are! All of you keep disturbing her rest time!” Queen MC exclaims.
“All of us?”
“Her parents, then I bump into Jeremiah on my way out. I stopped him from visiting of course. But you—how did you even get in? I posted guards outside her door.”
“...Where should I meet you?”
“Wait there.”
“?” Queen MC hangs up the phone.
You groan and pull the blanket over your head. “Pretend I'm asleep.”
“Oh, uh. Okay.”
The door clicks open and Queen MC walks in before closing the door again.
“She's asleep?” Queen MC whispers.
“Yup.” Xavier whispers back.
“If she's not awake, what are you still doing here then? Let's go.”
“But—”
“No buts, I'm hungry. We should have our ‘meeting’ over lunch.” Queen MC drags Xavier out.
“She's gotten more bold.” You smile sadly to yourself, “Now they can finally be together.”
---------------------------------
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
User tag list: @animegamerfox, @leftpoetrymoon, @reiofsuns2001, @loreleis-world, @girlwith-kalei-do-scope-eyes, @plzdonutpercieveme, @yellowxiaotae, @young-adult-summer, @am-drawings
May be OOC. Canon divergence. Reader is a Backtracker who went with Xavier and Jeremiah. Spoilers for Xavier’s Lightseeker and Lumiere myths if you haven't read it. 18+ just in case.
A/N: Not sure if this needed to be addressed and sorry if this spoils the fun (• ▽ •;), but I've been trying to keep other LIs out of the story when I'm focusing on one specific LI (the mafia story wasn't actually meant to refer to Sylus >.<, it's a popular Wattpad trope and I envisioned nonMC being a Wattpad writer before getting published 🤣). So spoiler, but nonMC isn't going to end up with any of the other LIs 😅
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
Part 9
---------------------------------
Part 4
Xavier comes over and tugs your arms, “All you do is nag… I haven't forgotten… You're one of the strongest knights there is.”
You let your arms fall to your sides with a sigh and walk over to your fridge, pulling out a few side dishes you had made for dinner.
He wraps his arms around you as you stand at the stove, heating them up for him. “I missed you.” He whispers.
Tensing up, you awkwardly laugh it off, slipping out of his arms. You reach up to the cupboard to grab some bowls, he beats you to it, passing them to you. “You mean you missed my food right? It's been a while since I've cooked for you and here you are raiding my fridge. I just happened to have made some of your favourite braised beef.” You hurriedly change the subject as you turn back to the stovetop, “What's up with the fancy outfit anyway?”
“I was asked to be the reference for a movie featuring Lumiere. The crew thought I was the best fit. I just came from filming.”
You knew about the movie. Your colleague had mentioned how he'd been commissioned to write a script for a movie about Lumiere following a comic series he'd made on him. He'd excitedly announced to everyone about the popular actor that got casted as the role. You weren't surprised Xavier's been asked to be the reference. There couldn't be anyone more perfect to get inspiration from.
“This late? And you got hurt while filming?” You’ve put space between the two of you again, letting the kitchen island separate you. The stove continues to heat the food in the steamer.
“Lately there have been a lot of metaflux explosions, so I didn't have the time to change.” He approaches you again, like a hunter on the prowl, “Did you have a lover back on Philos? Why'd you leave him and come with us then?”
You back away from him, his aura slightly intimidating. It was like when he'd played the role of a mafia boss for your book. His voice sounded rather casual, but with an edge to it, his steps falling down with a slight heaviness to it.
“...” You don't say anything. Xavier was referring to your newest book that'd become really popular. It was loosely based on the events in Philos, a sci-fi about the planet with a dying core and the undying human who the governing had wanted to sacrifice to power it. You had written yourself in as a second main lead. The government’s backup plan, because that's what you were in reality too. A fallback if sacrificing Queen MC didn't work, because you had the power to regenerate. Your book ends on a happy note though, with the main couple getting together and saving the planet. You'd written the second lead to have a partner too because you wanted the second lead to be happy. You didn't actually have anyone like that back on Philos, and if Xavier couldn't see how similar the second male lead was to him, then you weren't going to tell him that.
“How come you never told me about him? We've discussed our lives on Philos quite a bit, yet I've never heard you mention him.” Xavier’s gaze bores into yours. It sends shivers down your spine that was half fear and half something that you had tried not to entertain the thought of.
“I don't know what you're talking about.” Your back hits something, probably your fridge as you'd circled the kitchen trying to stay away from Xavier. You should've been more spatially aware because now you're cornered. “Even if I did, why does it matter to you?”
He comes in close, “It matters.”
Your arms cross over your chest again, maintaining as much distance as possible. “Are you acting jealous? I thought I made it clear that we were just going to continue being friends?”
“I'm not acting,” His eyes are clear as they look at you from behind the mask, “And you've said as long as I'm Lumiere, you'd be my girlfriend.”
“Have you thought of what that implies, Xavier?” You deliberately don't call him Lumiere. Not that you've actually ever separated his two identities. You'd just used it as an excuse to stop your silly little play pretend.
“I have,” He nods.
“Then you should know you should stop.”
“Why? I thought you would've realized that I have feelings for you by now.” His voice is a bit sad.
You didn't react with surprise because you'd had a suspicion all along. But you’d also realized he'd been fooling himself all along. He didn't like you, he truly loves Queen MC. It took you a while to figure it out. You didn't expect him to remember everything about you, so when he'd give you something you didn't like, you just accepted it. When he thought you'd like a certain food, you just told him you actually didn't. But when he had you help him with something that he should be used to doing one too many times, a memory long buried resurfaced.
Your general impression of Xavier was that he could do anything with ease, so you were surprised when he'd failed to patch up the holes in his own clothes. You weren't particularly handy at it either, so instead you'd suggested going through tutorial videos together. You got the hang of it after a few days, but Xavier still somehow failed to properly sew up his clothes, the holes reopening soon after. You could only look on in disbelief.
“You should really have learned how to sew by now. How many times have you seen me do this? What if your girlfriend doesn't know how to sew either?”
“Then we’ll just try to figure it out together. She can also do better at it than me—”
“Ow!” You wince as you accidentally poke the needle into your finger. You examine it and conclude it's not bleeding, so you grab the needle and continue.
“She could also still mess up and prick her finger while trying…”
“That's bound to happen to any person who does sewing…”
But there was a feeling that this exchange felt really familiar and you suddenly remembered when you went to bed in the early morning. You're not sure why this conversation stuck with you, you could only assume it's because Xavier had mentioned the original MC.
Your father had sent you to escort Xavier because he'd announced that he was finally going to come back to see the King. You'd been directed to Xavier's room by the housekeeper and you were about to knock when you heard Xavier and Queen MC’s voices.
Queen MC spoke with fake cheerful curiosity, “Who gave you that tassel with the star-shaped charm? Your lover?”
“...” There is a short pause before Xavier cheerfully said, “At long last, the time has come. Yes, it's from the person I like.”
You leaned against the doorframe with your arms crossed as you listened in.
“Then… She… is she truly someone you like?”
“Yes.”
“Are you very fond of her?”
“Unlike any other, her brilliance holds a special place in my heart.”
“You fancy her…”
“She deserted me years ago. I've sought after her ever since.”
“For such a reason you accompany the expedition team? To seek her out?”
“Ah? No, not at all…”
“Do you keep the tassel to remember her?”
“I've never forgotten her. She was the one who forgot me.”
Although your time with the original MC was fleeting, she really did seem to have captured your hearts. As did Queen MC, though you'd spent more time with her.
“How could she?”
“We've crossed paths, but she has no memory of me. She can't even recall the time she gifted me this tassel.” He didn’t sound upset as he said this. “There’s a certain expression she uses whenever we meet.” There is a slight displeasure in his voice as he continued, “It is one of blissful ignorance and wonder.”
“How dare she??” Queen MC sounded indignant, “Xavier, I need to tell you something.”
“What is it?”
She exclaimed with vigor, “You… should give up on her!”
You almost laughed out loud. The irony of knowing that Xavier was talking about her but here she is telling him to give up on her was funny.
The next part of their conversation was just Queen MC recommending girls and Xavier subtly hinting at her, but of course she's too dense to realize.
You tuned back in when Queen MC mentioned you. Not you specifically, but Xavier’s fiancée. “I heard Jeremiah say your betrothed had been selected… Have you met her?”
“I don't know.”
“But Jeremiah also said…” Jeremiah couldn't keep a secret, could he? He just had to tell her even though both you and Xavier had told him not to say anything when he'd accidentally found out. You and Xavier had agreed that you weren't going through with a wedding back then.
“Do you fancy Jeremiah?”
It was funny to hear Xavier be jealous of Jeremiah of all people. He wasn't even a threat and it was clear his and Queen MC’s relationship was platonic.
“He’s not a bad person. He's foolish and always needs my help. Of course I'd be concerned if…”
“So you fancy fools who request your aid.”
“What makes you say that?”
You heard the creak of the bed and what you think was the sound of a clasp being opened.
“Put this on for me.”
“You were wearing it seconds ago.”
“I believe it was crooked. I'm not capable of putting it on properly by myself. I need your assistance.”
“...Don't move.” You heard some rustling sounds.
“Is it on?”
“Yes.” The rustling continued.
“You can't put it on either.” Xavier sounded amused.
“You… and I aren't the same… What if your betrothed dislikes your inability to wear your own brooch?”
“My betrothed could be as much of a fool as I am. She'll be incapable of putting on a brooch for me.”
“Ah!” Queen MC screamed and you jumped.
You were about to check in on them, but stopped when Xavier said, “She could even prick her finger in the attempt.” You shook your head, so MC had pricked her finger on the brooch.
After remembering that, you couldn't help but be a bit wary of Xavier whenever he makes a silly mistake. You kept wondering if he was perhaps faking a lot of them to fit this role of a fool who needed help because it'd gain MC’s attention. And yet, you choose to provide him with your assistance. You still accept his gifts and sometimes even pretend to enjoy food you don't even like. You told yourself you would endure it for Queen MC’s sake. Because it meant he was still thinking of Queen MC. You couldn't accept it if he forgot about her. Even at the cost of your own feelings... Who is really the fool here? You were being a hypocrite, stuck between wanting him to be with Queen MC yet also wanting him to live his life without being bound to her (and be with you), but it was time to stop.
“Xavier…” You don't look him in the eyes, “I’m not Queen MC and I’m not too familiar with MC here since I only met her once during that fan sign… But I don't like cats or like egg tarts enough to have learned how to make them, but I pretended to and I practiced making them for you. You can't tell me you haven't just been thinking of Queen MC this whole time. I know we share a lot of the same favorites. However… there's a lot of things she likes that I don't. I'm sorry I've been fooling you by going along with everything. So, I'm making this clear now that I won't continue doing that and… I think we should stop seeing each other. You have MC here, you don't need to bother yourself with me.”
Xavier never interrupted you, he seemed to be frozen in shock. Perhaps he just came to realize he'd been placing the image of Queen MC on you. He'd be calling your name, but all he thought about was how Queen MC reacts, what she likes to do, and things she enjoys eating.
He falls back and you finish heating up the food for him silently, leaving it for him to eat if he wants to while you climb back into bed. He can deal with the dishes when he's done.
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
User tag list: @animegamerfox, @leftpoetrymoon, @reiofsuns2001, @loreleis-world, @girlwith-kalei-do-scope-eyes
May be OOC. Canon divergence. Reader is a Backtracker who went with Xavier and Jeremiah. Spoilers for Xavier’s Lightseeker and Lumiere myths if you haven't read it. 18+ just in case.
A/N: Hope everyone's been doing well! Finally finished writing up this part, sorry it's been so long, hopefully I won't take as long with the next part (´-﹏-`；)
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
Part 9
---------------------------------
Part 3
When you ended things, you were a bit resentful how easy it seemed for Xavier. Living a long life meant years tended to blur together, even more so when you passed each day passively, simply going through the motions to survive. Whenever you did see Xavier, he’d always seemed as usual, while you were sure you were a bit of a mess.
“Always sleeping anywhere…” You noticed him asleep in a meadow a few times. The weather was relatively warm but you still placed a blanket over him. A habit you gained from fake dating him, you now carried a blanket with you everywhere in case he decided to take a nap during an outing. You then sit a distance away and read a book or pull out your notebook to jot ideas down for your books as you wait til he stirs just to make sure he doesn't get into any trouble while he's asleep. This happens every so often, you'd never wake him up and you'd never allow him to catch your presence, though he probably knew anyway, since your blanket is always returned to your balcony a day later.
You were a writer now, taking odd jobs here and there, surviving off your savings mostly, so you hadn't bothered much with your appearance those days. You had avoided Xavier completely the first few years, only occasionally catching a glimpse of him at restaurants, in the street, and even at a bar.
During a drinking session you weren't exactly proud of, drowning your woes in more alcohol than you'd had before (you usually drank in moderation, like one or two glasses of wine to go with a meal once in awhile), you only felt the itch for more and more glasses when you thought you saw Xavier. The bartender finally cut you off when she saw you stumbling into people on your way back from the bathroom.
“Sorry, miss. I think it's best if you stopped ordering more alcoholic drinks. Here's a glass of water instead,” She places the glass down, “Is there anyone I could call for you to pick you up? Or I could dial a ride service for you?”
“N-no,” You felt like your tongue was swollen in your mouth, even a simple ‘no’ came out with great difficulty. “I-I'll be fine… Jusst givvee me a moment…” Your head dropped into your arms as a headache settled in, your vision blurred.
“I'll take her. I know her.” You hear the gentle voice and giggle.
“I thought I saw you! Why are you here?” You clumsily point at him, “Xavier… There’ss two of you… No, three...?”
“You're drunk…” His voice sounded far away.
“Amm I? Eeeverythiing iis shinyy, like wh–en yoouu usee your E–vol!” You jump up from your seat suddenly and grab his hands. “Leeet's dance! You neever danced with meee befoore…” You drag him with you to the dance floor and your muscle memory leads you to dance the waltz you'd learned as a noble. Stumbling over your steps severely, Xavier catches you everytime you're about to fall.
You couldn't remember anything much about the night, having drunk too much, only vaguely remembering seeing Xavier. But when you woke up the next morning with a throbbing headache, you were alone at home. You’d grabbed your phone, hoping that'd give you some clues… Sitting there was a message from Xavier after years of silence. That zapped you awake better than coffee.
“Would you like to meet up for some coffee?”
You stare at the message in shock. He hadn't contacted you once since you told him you wanted to stop fake dating.
More messages ping on your phone.
“When I went to the bar last night I ended up having to take care of this drunk girl”
“She kept beating me up and calling me an idiot”
“What?!” You shout into your empty apartment. You'd never been drunk before so you had no clue how you acted when you were. You'd been sleepy after 2 glasses of wine before, so maybe he's messing with you and you really just fell asleep?
You quickly typed a reply, “What happened last night??”
“I might tell U if U come out for coffee”
“Im at the cafe under ur apartment”
You quickly make yourself presentable, brushing your teeth and washing your face, throwing on another one of your hoodies and a pair of jeans, you rush downstairs.
“Surely, I just fell asleep, right? No way I threw a tantrum. What if I said something wrong though?” You hold your throbbing head as you walk inside the cafe. You spot Xavier sitting in a corner, two mugs and some sandwiches already on the table.
He looks up as you approach, “I finally get to see you in person.”
“You saw me last night…” You sit down on the chair with some force.
He studies you for a moment, “You don't remember anything?”
You shake your head, “Not a thing. All I remember is going to the bar and seeing you briefly…”
He frowns, “Why did you drink so much? That's dangerous. What if I hadn't happened to be there?”
“The bar's staff would've just sent me home in a taxi or something.”
“That still doesn't mean you should've gone drinking alone…” He doesn’t hesitate as he makes a suggestion, looking deep into your eyes, “Invite me next time. I can at least make sure you're okay. It'll be safer.”
Invite the reason you had the urge to drink out to accompany you? That's one way to face your problems, you suppose.
“It won't happen again,” You quickly say, it really wasn't something you'd done before and you were sure you didn't want to experience this again. You hold your head again as the throbbing pain comes back.
“Here,” Xavier passes you a cup and a sandwich, “You should drink some water and eat something. That might help. I think.”
“Thanks,” Sipping the water, you finally ask, “So what happened last night?”
He shakes his head, “Nothing much. I saw you at the bar counter and overhead the bartender saying she couldn't give you anymore drinks and asking who she should call. You didn't want to leave, so I had to drag you out and then I just teleported you home.”
“I didn't do or say anything… weird?” You look at him anxiously.
“No,” He smiles, “Just called me some names and punched me a few times.”
“That's not nothing! Why did I hit you? Are you hurt?”
“Don't worry, your punches were weak.”
“You—”
He giggles at your reaction and you watch him, annoyed. Was your reaction that funny?! You suppose you were still a bit sensitive about your strength but you've been keeping up with training, so you'd felt like your arms were stronger than previously.
“I suppose you were angry with me for keeping you from your drinks, but you passed out after you exhausted your energy punching me.” His face is serious as he tells you this.
“Really? I don't even like drinking that much, what is my drunk self thinking?!”
“Well alcohol can make you lose your inhibitions, so maybe you secretly really like alcohol?”
A disgusted look falls upon your face and Xavier laughs again, but then a serious look takes over.
“Were you that bothered when I didn't dance with you?” He looks at you.
“Pardon? When you didn't dance with me?”
“At the balls my family held.”
“That was so long ago. Why are you bringing that up now?” You bite the sandwich and a content smile finally graces your features. “You should eat too.” You nod at him, mouth full.
With a gentle expression, Xavier uses a napkin and wipes your mouth. You pause in surprise, but quickly continue eating, fighting to look unaffected.
“You mentioned it last night,” He drinks from his cup, “that I've never danced with you before.”
You look down at your sandwich and chew slowly, contemplative. Swallowing, you shake your head, “No, it doesn't bother me. At least… not anymore. At the time, my parents… well, you can guess what they're like. I'm sure the King didn't give you an easy time either.”
“That's true…” Xavier doesn't push further, instead he hands you a key.
You pick it up, “What's this?”
“My apartment key,” He nods at it, “So you can visit me if you want to.”
“Pardon? Why?”
“So, we can hang out sometimes and you can get your blanket back.”
“You're not going to drop it off at my place anymore?”
“I still will, but this way it's more equal.”
“Alright, I'll accept this. Warn me in advance if you have someone over though,” You smirk, “Like if you ever get a girlfriend or want to bring someone over for the night.”
Xavier looks at you in shock, “Bring someone over for the night? Why would I do that?”
“You're telling me you've never had a one night stand or anything?” You say as if you had, but really it was just a popular trope in some books the authors you got to know recommended.
“A one night stand? Like… I stand for the whole night…?” He furrows his brows.
“Never mind,” You giggle, forgetting that he's just as innocent as he looks. Or at least that had been your impression of him so far. Little did you know…
The two of you started hanging out again and you dug a grave in your heart for your feelings, mentally adding a flower there everyday until you could finally let go. And maybe you'd stop imagining this headstone with your and Xavier’s initials in a heart on it one day.
“Hmm… Dominic… Elias…” You tap your pen against the table.
“Why are you calling out random names?” Xavier appears beside you and you jump. “Sorry, did I scare you?”
“How did you get in here?!” You exclaim.
He points towards your balcony doors, “You left them open. Are you inviting birds in?”
“What?” You glance at the door and sure enough, a bird was there, pecking at your floorboards as if there were food. “There's no food, why did it fly in here?” You get up and fetch a bird feeder, pouring some seeds you had on hand into it and hanging it outside your balcony, hoping to lure the bird out.
“That's because you feed it. I'm pretty sure I saw this same bird last time. You must be the reason the birds are so fat in the city.”
You watch as he naturally takes the bag of chips you offer him, having reflexively grabbed it from the snack cabinet, “Aren't you like the little birdy too?”
He looks at you in confusion then glances down at the chips in his hands. “See? You're luring us with the temptation of food.”
You're about to protest, but he stuffs a chip in between your parted lips, preventing you from speaking. You glare at him as you chew on the chip aggressively.
“So who's Damian and Eric?”
You furrow your brows, “I said Dominic and Elias, not Damian and Eric.”
“That's what I said.”
“No, they're different names— Anyway, that's not important. I'm just trying to figure out a good name for this character.”
“What kind of names are those? They're so… tasteless.” You can hear the rustle of the bag as he grabs another chip.
“They're quite popular names though,” You sit back down at your desktop, scrolling through a list of names you pulled up.
“What kind of story are you even writing this time?” Xavier leans in close as he looks at your split screen. You tense up at his proximity. “Pulling the Shots on My Mafia Boss?” Xavier’s breath tickles your ear, “He grabs me by the chin roughly, making me face him, ‘Don’t test my patience, this isn’t worth my time.’ I gasp as he shoots once at the man behind me and I hear the pained scream as it hits, ‘Were you really craving the attention that much?’ His gaze never leaves mine, ‘When you know you’re mine? Greedy, aren't you?’ Do people actually like reading this?”
He read it in his normal calm tone, but somehow that hit you deeper than the gritty, deep tone you imagined the scene in. You blink in shock and compose yourself to answer his question.
“It’s a romance between the mafia boss and a civilian woman. I think I'll change the title though... The boss is the typical cold type who only shows his sweet side with the one he loves. At first he doesn't trust the female lead, but he falls in love with her without realizing. He claims she's his because he'd purchased her from this slave auction on a whim, but she technically came from a rival mafia family. The rival boss’s business is human trafficking and she was one of the people the rival mafia sold, so he suspected her of being a spy for a while. The female lead actually hates mafias because the rival boss had killed off her family in order to abduct her to traffic her, so she'd never work for the mafia. She's been working at a restaurant and a bar to pay off the debt to the boss who purchased her from the auction. She's basically been seducing rich customers to get them to tip her more. But this time she bit off more than she could chew and she was kidnapped by one of the customers and taken to a hotel. The mafia boss found out and went to save her.
“I was given the story half written already. The previous author said they couldn't finish it because they had another project lined up so they asked me to. Though I admit this really isn't my style.” You frown at the page, “I was trying to find an appropriate name for the boss since the previous author had left it blank, so I just searched popular mafia names.”
“Just pick a random one then.” Xavier scans the list.
“I want a nice sounding one.”
“You like Diego and Elijah?”
“It was Dominic and Elias…” You lean back in the chair with your arms crossed, “And I don't exactly like them, but I felt like those might fit more. Though maybe they're too mainstream,” You mumble more to yourself than to him. You scroll through the list, “How about Ezra…? Or Fabian? …Guillermo? Ignacio? Javier?”
“Javier sounds good.” His voice sounds way too close.
You cover your ear, “Xavier, can you back up a little? Your breath’s tickling my ear.”
“Oh.” His head drops to your shoulder.
“What are you doing?”
“Moving back.”
“You moved down.”
“I moved.”
You bring your hand up and push his face lightly, “I said move back.”
“And I moved.” He lets you push his forehead back as you turn to face him. He looks at you innocently.
You sigh, “Forget it. Since you're here, help me come up with the next part,” You point to the screen.
He turns your computer chair to face him and uses one hand to grab your chin with a little force.
You raise an eyebrow and your hand comes up to grab his arm, tugging on it, “What are you doing now?”
“Shush,” His eyes glare at you, “Don't test my patience, this isn't worth my time.” The indifference in his tone made the line more unnerving.
“Xavier…?” You stare up at him with wide eyes, feeling the danger in the aura he was giving off. The lights in the room dim. You are slow to realize those are the lines he just read out loud from the novel you were working on.
“Were you really craving the attention that much?” His gaze bores into yours and you gulp, “When you know you’re mine? Greedy, aren't you?” His voice comes out low and his gaze is sharp.
“I wasn't telling you to act it out.”
“Still playing dumb?” He leans in closer, a dangerous glint in his eyes. “Do all those tools you lured in with your sweet words have to die first before you understand?”
You glare up at him, getting into your role. “You wouldn't dare…”
“I wouldn't dare?” He scoffs, “There aren't many things I'd be scared of doing.” His hand drops to cup your neck, “Or have you forgotten who I am?”
Your other hand comes up to grab his arm as well, even though he wasn't putting any strength into his hold, there was a certain pressure. “Of course not. The almighty boss of the Valenti family. How could I forget?” You say sarcastically.
“So you do know. Then why have you been playing these tiring games? Does it look like I enjoy cleaning up after your messes?” He adds a slight pressure to his grip, but not enough to cut off your airways.
You pretend to gasp, pulse running a mile a minute under his fingers, “I'm just trying to repay you for your kindness,” You spit out in contempt, “I don't want to be in your debt.”
“You cost a pretty penny, did you think I'd let you go that easily?” The dim lighting cast shadows over his face as he leans in closer.
“What else could you possibly want from me? I have nothing to give you!” You tug on his arm.
“I don't need your money. But you do have something else to give, don't you?” His eyes trail slowly over your body.
You reacted before you could even think, slapping him across the face. His face turns to the side with the force. You gasp, and break character, “Sorry! I didn't mean to.”
The corner of Xavier’s lip curls up, and he slowly turns back to face you, “It seems I've given you too much freedom,” He grabs your arms, “Quit your jobs. You'll be coming back to work for me.” He lets go and turns to walk off, giving one last order to imaginary men, “Clean this up and bring her back to the house.”
You spring up from your seat and grab his face, turning it to the side to inspect his cheek. Besides a bit of redness, he didn't seem particularly hurt. “Are you okay? Sorry, my hand reacted before I could think.”
He smiles gently at you, cradling the hand you had on his cheek, “I'm fine. Did that help you a bit? I wasn't too rough, was I?”
You nod, “Yup. I'm fine, you weren't too rough. You're more merciless when sword fighting.” You chuckle, “You make a surprisingly good mafia boss.”
He chuckles as well, “It's not that different from your prince characters.” You forgot that he'd read your other works, you had been so embarrassed at the time when you found out. He pauses in contemplation, “Come to think of it, why are they all aloof, indifferent types? Is that your type?”
“Huh?” You consider it for a moment, “I think that's just been what's popular. The only being sweet to their significant other kind of person. My type… I think I’d prefer someone more warm and gentle. I want them to be good to me, but I wouldn't want them to be cold and cruel to people who don't deserve it.”
He nods, “I see. That's good to hear.”
“?”
Xavier doesn't elaborate further, and you had nothing to say, so you just walk back to your chair and sit down.
“Are you just going to continue working?” Xavier is too close again.
“Xavier, do you not understand personal space or something?” You gently push him again.
“You’ve let me get this close before though.” He's crouching near you now, his chin on your arm resting on the chair.
“That's different!”
“How so?” He tilts his head.
“...That's when we…”
“We?”
“You and I were pretending to be lovers. The personal space between lovers is different from between friends.”
“That makes sense.”
“Then why are you still so close?!”
“I like being this close, can't I?”
“You can't.” You turn your head back to your screen because you knew if you looked into his eyes you'd get weak.
“Why not?”
“I just explained that to you.”
“Alright…” He pulls away and you almost regret it, but you couldn't do it. You couldn't let him get close like that again.
You didn't catch his slightly frustrated look as you concentrated on your work again, used to Xavier just doing whatever when over at your place. Probably browsing your rather extensive collection of books. A lot of which you haven't actually read but you just liked the cover of. You tried not to, but you did tend to judge based on the cover, not that you had much art sense, mostly if they weren't those books with the blocky text and looked like preprints, you'd generally pick it up.
You're not actually sure when Xavier met MC here. Just one day, you happened to be out grocery shopping and caught them together.
You had stopped in shock.
She looked exactly like you remembered. A person who could easily blend into the crowd, but when she needed to, she commanded attention. In this moment she blended in, you had first caught sight of Xavier. MC only coming into view when you'd walked closer, intending to say hi to him. But you stayed back, quietly observing them in silence from afar. In your mind, you could picture a scene: a second lead with an unrequited love for the main lead cast in dim lighting as spotlights highlight the main couple, happily doing something mundane together.
After that, you felt like you were seeing changes in Xavier. He was always a rather quiet, gentle person, but it felt like he grew softer and a bit more unguarded. He was still a sleepy person, but you felt like MC here brought him back to life. A presence that alleviated some of that burden he placed on himself to revive Philos and save Queen MC. MC here didn't need him to save her like that. He could be more carefree, and as much as you hated it… You wanted him to be free too. He'd suffered for so long, the guilt, the duty, his will tied to his love for Queen MC and the MC before her weighing him down. You couldn't imagine how he endured it alone. So you could see how MC here is his respite.
So, you have taken a step back. Showing up less often at his apartment. You lived rather far from him anyway, he just tended to be in the most unexpected places, resulting in you somehow bumping into him rather often. It was the first time in a month that you'd stopped by for lunch and he just happened to be out with MC. You hadn't expected him to show up at your apartment after, much less dressed like Lumiere.
i looooovvveee “claiming something that’s not yours” it’s definitely the best zayne fic i’ve read so far! i especially love how you characterized reader!! i’m definitely not as kind or giving as her, but it was so easy to empathize with her anyway because of how you wrote her. she was just the perfect amount of fool and martyr in love (and honestly, it’s reasonable she’s like that since she /knows/ she’s technically the intruder)
also, thank you so so much for writing angsty alternative chapters!! i felt so spoiled enjoying hurting myself with the angst first and then reading the fluff parts to soothe the ache after. it’s all so good!!!!!
Sorry, I meant to reply to this earlier, but I've just been sitting with my writer's block and uh, trying to figure out life haha. I appreciate you taking the time to write this message 💗 It was so nice to open my Tumblr app and find this message waiting for me. (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤ I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I was worried my reader/non-MC wouldn't come off as relatable enough or I guess, annoying? In way. I didn't want her to be completely like "he'd never love me" kind of mentality but still have a degree of that in her because of what she knows of the game. Anyway, I think I'll start to rant, so I'll stop. And really just thank you for your kind words! 🥰
Reader is a Backtracker who went with Xavier and Jeremiah. Spoilers for Xavier’s Lightseeker and Lumiere myths if you haven't read it. 18+ just in case.
A/N: Writing this was harder than I thought, the progression, how to deal with Xavier and MC and nonMC's relationships, I thought I knew how I wanted it to play out, but then I didn't like it after reading it again x.x This is giving me a bit of writer's block (>.<;)
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
Part 9
---------------------------------
Part 2
Okay, you can't really call it Lumiere’s secret when Lumiere is so secretive in the first place. But it had turned into something unspoken between the two of you. A temporary escape from worrying about Philos since you're stuck here for now anyway. Some semblance of a normal life since landing here. However, you had only let it last as long as he took up the mantle as Lumiere.
You remember how it'd started. You'd just wanted to blow off some steam, pulling out your old sword and heading into a No Hunt Zone, wanting to reconnect with who'd you been on Philos.
“Maybe I'll stumble upon the aether core while I'm at it…” You had stubbornly reasoned with yourself. Knowing the risks and the fact that you haven't fought in awhile, it probably wasn't a good idea to just jump into such a dangerous zone with no backup. But you weren't that worried. Your Evol is regeneration. As long as the blow wasn't fatal, you could reverse it.
The results were many close calls and your stamina was laughable, having been living an idle life for too many years now. You're already out of breath and it's barely been 5 minutes. You decide to try to retreat while you still have some energy. Unfortunately, your Evol did not reverse exhaustion. When you're out of the zone, do you finally stab your sword into the dirt, collapsing on one knee. Training is definitely back on your to do list, this is pathetic. You used to rival Xavier and Queen MC as a knight, now you couldn't even hold your own for 5 minutes.
A flash of light cuts through your peripheral vision and you hear the sound of a growl as a wanderer who'd been creeping up on you is sliced apart, protocore fragments dissipating in the air.
“You're rusty.” The familiar voice sounds from beside you, offering you a hand.
You glance up, “What's with the mask?”
He feels the mask on his face, “Just… you know. A mask seems cool.”
“Hm? Wait, your whole get up…” He was in a rather nice suit, less fancy than the media liked to depict it, but, standing in front of you is the legendary Lumiere. “I should've known. You're Lumiere.”
He shakes his head, “I didn't come up with that name.”
“Yeah, but with the amount of light you produce, I get why you're named that.” You finally take his outstretched hand and let him help you up. “And you're right. I'm rusty.” You yank your sword out, “Care for a spar? I could use the practice.”
“Not going to start with sword swings first?” His light sword vanishes and you only catch a glimpse of the metal badge dangling from it.
“Nope. That's no fun. Come at me.” You fix your posture and stand in a defensive position.
“Not today,” he sighs, “You’re clearly at your limit. I'll train with you another day.” He crouches down with his back to you. Turning his head back, he taps his shoulder, “Get on.”
You scowl, “I can still walk.”
“We're not walking.” You realize he plans to just teleport you home, so you reluctantly climb onto his back, careful to keep your chest elevated as you loop your arms around his neck.
“Thanks.” You mumble.
“Mm.”
After a few weeks of some light jogging, sword swings, and sparring with Xavier as he promised, you felt confident in your skills again. You even managed to get a hit in on Xavier. Even if it was a fluke, it felt great.
For that day's training, he came dressed as Lumiere again.
“When you're dressed like this… it's like I'm seeing the old Xavier again.” You comment, striking at his shoulder.
“Old Xavier?” His blue eyes show confusion behind his mask as he simply raises his sword to block your hit.
“The aloof and perfect crown prince of Philos.” You chuckle as he pauses in surprise, not expecting you to mention that. This opening allows you to land the hit on his leg. After that, you plop down on the field the two of you were practicing on, “The one no one dares to approach because of his indifferent aura. Everyone except for his rival, a stubborn girl who likes to pick fights with him.”
“Queen MC…”
“Yes, the two of you'd fight just like this. And it was clear to people who knew how to fight well that you weren't just barely keeping up with Queen MC’s strikes. You'd clearly known every move she planned to make, easily parrying her while she struggled to get a hit on you. Because you kept provoking her, I don't think Queen MC really realized just how much you led her attacks, exposing fake weak points for her to target. She is undeniably a good knight to catch those weak points and actively target them, but she wouldn't have been able to hit you if you didn't let her. Though keeping up with you is already more impressive than what I can say about over half the academy.”
“...You saw it that clearly, huh?”
“You weren't doing that good of a job faking it.”
“Did you like the old Xavier?” He whispers.
You understood what he was really asking, but that didn't stop your traitorous heart from beating faster.
“Yes, he did his best. He spared no effort to do what he thought was right at the moment.”
He exhales, “Do you think she's still mad at me?”
You’re blunt, “Yes. She probably hates you for leaving her to rule the kingdom alone.”
Xavier doesn't shy away from your anger, “I thought so too…”
“But… if she knew exactly why, she'd understand and I'm sure she would've sacrificed herself for Philos if she knew…” Your voice softens and you look into Xavier's eyes, “That's why I stand by your decision.”
Xavier's eyes widen a fraction and then he gives you a small smile. “Thank you.”
You nod.
That was the start of Xavier showing up on your balcony after he'd been fighting for the city as Lumiere. Zipping around to destroy wanderers in every corner, ending up battered and bruised. He'd show you his wounds, his vulnerability that he wouldn't normally. You got to see a side of Xavier you never could've imagined you'd get to witness. When he wasn't strong, when he wasn't living up to the expectations of a hero, when he was just simply a young man who'd suffered tragedy after tragedy.
It was a detrimental situation for the feelings you'd harboured. From your envy of the lengths someone could go for someone they like, to the disbelief at the pain someone could bear for the one they love. It was straight out of a novel, a love story of tragedy that you wouldn't want for yourself, except for the way they loved. That was the level of love you wish someone would dedicate to you.
Xavier let you in on some of his secrets. The spaceship with a sleeping pod and syringes, the glowing collar around his neck, he didn't hide those from you. Even though he never explained what they were for. You could only see that the collar seemed to limit his power and the syringes and sleeping pod helped him recharge.
While tending to his wounds, the two of you had accidentally discovered that you could replenish his exhausted Evol and get rid of the tiredness without the help of the pod. Maybe it was because Light Evol is so special, because you'd never been able to replenish anyone else's energy. This led to him relying on you even more, coming to you when he'd reached his limit protecting the city.
It was one night when he'd been wounded worse than usual that you'd let your own vulnerabilities show. Concern about him, thoughts of Queen MC alone on Philos, and your own selfish desires leaking through. “Have you ever thought that you want to just give up on this mission and live a normal life here? Even just for a few weeks, since we have time given our longer lifespans… I don't mean to think like this… and I feel bad every time the thought comes up… But I can't help it…” You step back as you finish healing his wounds. “I admire you a lot, Xavier, for being so strong and committed.”
Xavier doesn't say anything at first. Then, “What kind of life do you want to live?”
“I’d wanted to be a writer… To bring the fantasies I'd imagined to life… And seeing all the other members leave one by one, some of them for love…, Jeremiah falling for that girl in the bakery… I kept telling myself I shouldn't date anyone here because I don't know when I'd leave… and if I don't end up leaving, I wouldn't grow old with them... But I want to experience that feeling of being in love and going on fun dates with a significant other. I'd been so caught up in following what my parents had wanted on Philos and then trying to save Queen MC…, that it feels like I've never lived for myself.”
You were ready for Xavier to just leave. His sole purpose in life right now has been saving MC. A wish that you had and still share with him. But it'd been weighing you down more than you thought. Feeling chained by something greater than you could handle.
“Then…” Xavier hesitates for a moment before stepping closer, reaching out a hand to you, “Should we give it a try?”
“Give it a try?” You ask in confusion, not expecting him to stay.
“I don't blame you for thinking that way. I can't say there haven't been a few times when I'd considered slowing down a bit and settling down.” You look into his eyes in shock. His smile holds a little pain, “Just for a short while. So, why don't we try it for just a bit? Dating and experiencing love like a normal couple, and you could start a career in writing. I'll support you until you publish your first book.” He nods toward his hand, still outreached towards you.
Your hand comes up, a bit dazed by his suggestion. But you liked the sound of it. It'll just be for a short few weeks maybe, a way to cleanse him out of your system, to get rid of your infatuation before you guys found the aether core and returned to save Philos. It's not like Queen MC and Xavier had explicitly started a relationship and Xavier had only saved the teen MC here, he wasn't dating her either (and this was a whole other can of worms you probably didn't want to think about yet), so you weren't betraying anyone, right? So, you took his hand.
“Then it's settled,” Xavier grips your hand with a smile. “What would my girlfriend like to do first?”
It was nice while it lasted. But you couldn't stop the guilt. You came along on this mission for Queen MC and then you'd gone behind her back to date the one she has feelings for… who she’d basically been in some weird situationship with (you actually hated this word, because what even is that?). But you guessed that Xavier probably couldn't let himself truly be with Queen MC until he solved the planet’s problems and saved her. And you'd fall back into place as their best friend and right hand (or maybe left depending on where Jeremiah falls).
Once he'd decided to stop being Lumiere, it had already been over half a year that you've spent together. And you've had your fill. The feeling of betraying Queen MC weighing too heavily on your conscience that you couldn't take it anymore.
Every time you fell into his arms, you thought of how MC hadn't had this chance. Every moment you leaned in for a kiss only to just plant it on the corner of his lips because you couldn't claim him as yours. It wasn't exactly a proper dating experience, because you'd never let yourself kiss him on the lips. Though you'd placed kisses elsewhere… He didn't question you or try to kiss you on the lips either. So the two of you had continued in this weird song and dance, pretending to be dating, but not truly letting each other in. It was fun though, you'd find yourself letting out genuine laughter when he'd make a silly mistake or a pouty face when he'd lose to you in a game. You enjoyed his company and seeing these new expressions, and you found out what he was like when he truly relaxed. This was a side you've only ever spotted glimpses of when you happened to see him and Queen MC together. However, each new memory only made you realize how this wasn't supposed to be yours.
“Xavier…” You let go of his hand, giving him a cheerful smile. “Thank you for accompanying me these past few months. I think it's time we stopped and returned to being just friends. I've published my first book like I wanted, and you've decided to stop being Lumiere. So, let's bury this with him. It has been really fun, and I'm grateful to you for giving me this chance to escape for just a while.” You hope you didn't sound as stiff as you felt.
His hand was about to grab yours again when he heard your whole monologue. He blinks a few times as if he couldn't quite process what you were saying, then nods slowly, “...You're welcome. I had fun too, and it was a good way to relax for a while.”
Lumiere was the hero of Linkon, but with you, he showed his vulnerability. He allowed himself to rest, to show you his wounds. This was the piece of Xavier you kept to yourself. That no one else knew. That you'd thought would be yours to keep forever, because once Linkon recovered from the Chronorift, he'd stopped becoming Lumiere.
Lumiere was merely taking shelter in a safe space when he came to you, it never meant anything more, even if you held these memories as something precious. So you weren't going to hope for anything more even if he showed up in the mask again.
May be OOC. Reader is isekai'd into L&Ds, following her heart, she studies medicine to get closer to Zayne. MDNI. Contains explicit sexual content. 18+ Not proofread >.<
Warnings: Oral sex, vaginal sex
A/N: This was supposed to be my fluffy part, but I got kinda bold and added smut ⁄(⁄ ⁄•⁄-⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄ Also, mentions of another otome Mr. Love: Queen's Choice, I played that before L&D's and that's where the name Gavin came from 😅 (so slight spoilers for Gavin's Mind's Quest 'Inseparable'?). I've also started other fics (yes, I do have a habit of starting fics while in the middle of other ones >.< But I genuinely don't think I can write wedding vows properly if I were to do a wedding part, but I'll get back to it if inspo strikes, for now, please make do with this part 🩵).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
Part 9
Alternative unhappy ending:
Alt Part 6 | Alt Part 7 | Alt Part 8
---------------------------------
Part 9
You’ve been moving your things into Zayne’s house for a few days now, many of your items starting to permeate his space. Looking at your… generous collection of plushies (because who could resist a cute plushie) and the endless boxes of who knows what, you realize you had more stuff than you thought. It was mostly because your parents had been doing some spring cleaning and when they found out you'd moved in with Zayne, they'd decided to ship all your old things over.
Zayne had looked at the mountain of boxes and said, “When I told you to move in, I didn't expect you'd make my house your storage unit.”
You hid your face, “I'm sorry…”
“It’s alright, there's plenty of room. My house is looking more lively already.” He pulled your hand off your face with a smile and placed a kiss on the back of it.
You sigh as you look at all the boxes. Putting on some music, you decide to start with the boxes that contain your winter clothes. You brought them last since winter just passed so you wouldn't be wearing them anytime soon.
Zayne arrives home as you finish assembling all your clothes in his closet, bent over placing down a spare pair of sneakers you weren't planning to wear yet. He had even fewer outfits than you'd expected. You wanted to go out shopping with him sometime. The urge to dress him up takes over as you look at his monochrome closet. You don't hear his footsteps over your background music as he approaches, straightening up to put your hands on your hips.
A yelp escapes you as you feel a smack on your butt, “Ah!” You whirl around with wide eyes.
He looks at you with amusement, “I'm home.”
You just blink at him. You don't know what happened, but it was like a dam had broken between the two of you. The two of you have been very intimate. Astronomically affectionate. Though your threshold of intimacy might still be lower than other couples. You’ve definitely exceeded it more than before. Of course, you were still mindful of others, usually glancing around to make sure no one was around when you'd tackle Zayne in a hug or any other action that'd put you in proximity to him when in public. You felt embarrassed enough with the one time.
You'd finished work and were planning to head to Zayne's office to see if he had arrived when you saw him standing in the hallway. You had glanced around and saw no one, so you'd called out to him as you sprinted over, excited to see him. He'd been away in another city for the past few days for a conference so you missed him.
“Zayne!”
He'd turned at the sound of your voice and quickly caught you as you flew into his arms, taking a step back to steady himself. “Are you that happy to see me?”
You hugged him tighter. “Yes.”
“So, she's why you can't marry me?” A little girl's voice sounded from behind Zayne.
You quickly let him go and peeked behind him in surprise.
Zayne grabbed your hand, “Yes, she's my fiancée.”
“You could always break up with her,” The little girl was bold, “I'll grow up to be much prettier than her, and my parents are rich, so I can definitely support you.”
You blink at the girl. She was dressed in fancy looking clothes, and the little handbag she held displayed a luxury brand logo. “Zayne, she makes a lot of good points. You might want to consider it seriously.”
He shakes his head, “I'm sorry, Dorothy. There's nothing to consider. To me, my fiancée is the most beautiful in the universe. And she makes quite a lot of money as a psychiatrist, she can support me just fine.”
Dorothy lets out a sigh, “It's your loss, Dr. Li. I'll be off now, toodle-oo.”
You wait until she's out of earshot before you giggle. “She's cute.”
“She's arrogant.”
“That too… Not many people like it when you're not very humble.”
“She knows. She just likes to act like that.” Zayne sighs.
“Was she proposing to you?”
“She was,” Greyson appeared from down the hall and you jumped a little, startled from his sudden appearance. “She went directly up to Zayne and was like ‘When I grow up, marry me, Dr. Li.’ Zayne was just telling her he couldn't when you ran up and tackled him in a hug. You didn't have to make me feel doubly as single.” He shook his head, “Welcome back, Zayne.” He then turned on his heel and muttered under his breath, “Why haven't I been proposed to?”
You had then heard a whistle from a passing patient of yours. “So the renowned Dr. Li is your fiancé, huh? Congratulations, Dr. L/N.”
“Thank you.” You tell her with a blush then rush to drag Zayne away, not wanting to deal with more people who were drawn in by the whistle. There were already a few more whistles from some other patients that had magically appeared in what you swore was an empty hallway earlier.
Zayne just chuckled, “This is why you should've waited until we got home, my love.”
“I–” You sped up, “Is it a crime to miss you?”
“Nope, I love it,” The two of you reach your car, and when you are both inside does he continue, “But you can wait until we get home to show me how much you missed me.” He gives you a smile that has your whole body tingling before he quickly (and safely) speeds the two of you home.
At home, your affection has no limits. Almost any chance you got, you'd be doing things like placing your feet in his lap, curling up under his arm, putting a hand on his chest, or resting a chin on his shoulder. Zayne would also do the same, pulling your hand into his lap and holding it, resting his chin on your head, or even resting his head in your lap. You're sure that wasn't a flattering angle of you, but he seems to like it when you brush your fingers through his hair, resting with his eyes closed in the comfortable silence. You enjoy feeling him brush your hair too, having him tie your hair every morning now before you leave the house.
There are other habits you've developed too. Like planting a kiss on his neck with your tinted lip balm, a subtle mark of possession on your part that would be easy to remove when he needed to go to work. You'd first done it while he was asleep so it wasn't until he went to the bathroom in the morning that he saw it on his neck. The outline of your lips in reds, pinks or whatever other colour you felt like wearing that night. Though all your colours are relatively basic.
“My love…” He'd gently shaken you awake.
“Hmm…?” You tried to blink the sleep out of your eyes, adjusting to the morning sunlight peeking through the curtains.
“What is this?” His words were spoken in a slight lilt, an indulging tone as he shows you the lip balm stain on his neck. You're a bit surprised it hasn't been rubbed off during the night.
“My lip balm…”
“I can see that, but why?”
He was leaning over you with a knee on the bed, so you used his shoulders to pull yourself up. He places a hand on your back to help you, and you take the chance to place a kiss over the mark, “Leaving my mark in a way that doesn't require a bandaid.”
“How unique,” He had chuckled, “How should I leave my mark?” His lips trailed over your neck and you shivered.
“Don't you dare bite me. I've got work,” You tried to reason, but you're enjoying the feeling, pressing yourself closer to him to feel his warmth.
One of his hands tugged on one side of your oversized tee, the neckline big enough that your shoulder becomes exposed. He continues to travel across your collar before you gasp as his teeth sink into your shoulder. “This should be fine, no?”
You sighed in false reluctance, “Fine…” He caught you trying to bite back a grin though.
“You're enjoying this.” He then gave you a kiss on the lips, “Time to get up, my love.”
You nodded, shuffling your body out of bed.
Your habit would come back to bite you though, because Zayne can be quite the tease.
It was when the two of you had MC over for a casual day of gaming and lunch at home.
MC had looked at Zayne with concern, “Zayne, your neck is kind of red. Did you scratch it?” She reached out and pointed to the left side of his neck.
Your eyes had widened. Red and on the left side of his neck? You'd quickly put your hand over his neck, pulling him towards you and he'd just looked at you with amusement, enjoying you panicking over the ‘mark’ you'd left. You had tried to rub it off with your thumb, but unfortunately your lip balm wasn't so easily wiped off, it only smudged it.
You frowned at him and whispered, “Why didn't you wipe this off as usual this morning?”
He leans closer, “I was letting you leave your mark. Wasn't this what you wanted?”
Glaring at him, you reach over to the coffee table to grab a wet wipe.
“It was only for us to see.” Your face is heated from anger and embarrassment.
“I'll keep that in mind next time.”
You turn back to MC after, “I think he just got some sauce on him from earlier. Don't worry, it's not a wound.”
His arms come around you, “Yeah.”
MC raises an eyebrow in suspicion, but lets it slide. She had gradually gotten used to the two of you being more affectionate than usual, even laughing at some of your antics. You'd been worried that it'd hurt her to see the one she likes being lovey-dovey with someone else, but surprisingly, she didn't make a big deal of it. Not that you and Zayne would do anything too extreme in front of her. That'd be too awkward.
However, Zayne hadn't smacked your butt before though. You can still feel the impact as you suddenly charge at him. His eyes widen a little and he quickly runs away.
“Don't run! You— I can't believe you!” You shout after him, stomping your foot. It seems regression is part of getting closer, because you feel more childish each day.
You hear him laughing from somewhere in the house.
“I admit I couldn't resist the urge!” He calls from downstairs. “Your backside is lovely, my dear!”
If you were a cartoon character, your face would probably be animated with smoke as a blush explodes on your cheeks. The images of another intimate night creeping into your mind.
And it was how you found out Zayne could even get jealous of pixels on your screen. You were playing an otome game, Mr. Love: Queen’s Choice. You'd started a while ago, so you had quite the collection of cards. You were especially proud of some, rather risque, cards you'd managed to pull. It was as you're reading one such particular card with a hand over your face in shambles at what's happening, that your phone is suddenly plucked out of your hands. You gasp and quickly reach for it, but Zayne is quick to pull it out of reach.
Zayne had been working in his home office. You hadn't expected him to be done so soon. But it had actually been quite some time already, you just hadn't noticed due to being so consumed by the card’s story in the game. He'd finished up his work and found you all excited over something on your phone.
He was quick to pluck it out of your hands as he heard a male’s voice breathlessly say, “...Still not enough.”
He frowned at the screen, “Him again… Is he your type? Light brown hair, golden eyes…”
You didn't know what to say. Your friends knew about your small (really slight) obsession with otomes and who your favourite character was in this game. But you'd never mentioned it to Zayne. He probably thought it was another one of your manga characters. And you'd never really had a specific type per say. You just liked who you liked.
“I saw the big screen playing some videos of him while in town today,” Zayne was tapping through the lines on the screen.
“It's so hot…” Panted the voice from your phone speaker.
Your eyes widened and you tried to reach for your phone again, but Zayne froze you in place.
“Zayne!”
“Yes, that's my name. And his name is… huh, how interesting… It's Gavin.” Zayne’s frown deepened and he turned his gaze to you. A stormy look in his eyes that made you gulp.
“It's just a coincidence. Gavin doesn't even look like this character.”
“You're on a first name basis.”
You feel that you might have made it worse as the air felt chillier.
“And what is so great about this, Gavin?” His hand clasped both your wrists in his, his other shoving the phone in your face and you flush, the card was of the MC and Gavin having sex… in a car… And it was animated… so it suggested that he was thrusting into the MC from behind, pressing her into the door of the car…
You tugged on your wrists, but Zayne just held them tighter. You watched as he put your phone down on the bedside table, freeing his hand to undo the knot of his tie. The sight had you clenching your thighs in anticipation. He slowly pulled it off then smoothly tied your wrists over your head with it. Pulling at it, you realized he's got you tied to the headboard too, making it impossible to move.
“So?” You're trapped while his hands are now free to explore. He trailed them teasingly down your sides, slowly inching his fingers under the waistband of your shorts. “Was reading that really so arousing?”
“N-no…”
“Liar.” His fingers felt the wet spot on your underwear. “All this because of this character in a game? Who is he?” His hands trailed back up and slipped under the hem of your shirt.
Maybe you are a bit too eager to share the story of one of your favourite otome characters, used to talking about your favourite webcomics with him, “W-well, Gavin's a police officer… though he was also part of the military for some parts of the story—“ You cut yourself off as you arched a little into his touch, feeling him nibble near your collarbone.
“Are officers allowed to have ear piercings?” His lips came down on your now exposed nipples and you whimpered.
“Zayne…”
“Keep going.” He tweaked one while he sucked on the other. Your thighs clenched together tightly.
“Mmh… Gavin's— Ah!” You yelped as you felt a harsh pinch on the bud of your left breast.
“Don’t mind me,” Zayne whispered, “I still want to hear what you like about him. So much so that you had him as your wallpaper instead of me. Start from the beginning of the story.”
You gasped as you felt a bite, you had a feeling no inch of your skin will be left unmarked today.
“Gavin’s—” Another bite. “H-he was the main character’s senior in high school.” Your words are peppered in harsh breaths and whimpers as Zayne continued to plant kisses and suck on your skin, occasionally giving your nipples a tug. You could also sometimes feel the frame of his glasses touch your skin. “They…”
“Who's they?”
“MC and Gavin—” He sunk his teeth near your belly button. “They met again when the MC took over her father's media company… He's part of the Special Task Force—”
“Her father?”
“N-no, Gavin…” Your waist was bitten. You were starting to sense a pattern. “The Special Task Force deals with Evolvers. EVOL isn't as—mmh, as common in their world. Some had used their powers to commit crimes—ah, s-so the police had a specific team dedicated to dealing with Evolvers.”
Zayne had moved to pull off your shorts and undies, discarding them on the floor. You struggled a little to keep your legs closed, scared for the sensations that'll come next, but he managed to keep them open, eyes taking in the fluid you're sure is coating your folds. You had felt it gushing out of you.
“Why'd you stop?” Zayne had looked at you with a fiery gaze, bent your leg to start planting kisses on it, trailing upwards, keeping eye contact with you the whole way. Your body trembled. “What happens when they meet again?”
“Well… they get into all kinds of dangerous situations… Gavin saves her—” A nibble on a spot on your calf. “Saves her a lot… It's—been awhile… since I read the beginning of the main story…”
“Just tell me what you remember then.” He was slowly kissing and sucking his way up your other leg.
“I remember… Gavin—” This bite landed on your inner thigh. But you ached to have him touch you where you needed it the most. “Zayne… please…”
“I'm not part of the story. Try again.” He was back to your breasts. You felt you might come just from him playing with them at this point. They were so sensitive.
“Gavin—” Your right breast now bore his mark. Your hips came off the bed, needing some friction. “Zayne… stop teasing me already!” You exclaimed in frustration.
“You still haven't explained why you like him so much.”
“He's—”
“Who?”
“Gavin's—” Another mark is left of your body. “You're just trying to get me to say his name because you've set some hidden rule that you'll leave a mark when I do!”
“Is that a problem?” Zayne raised an eyebrow.
“No, but—”
“No buts, unless you want me to spank it.”
You shivered as your pussy clenches in response.
“Hmm… seems like I should try that sometime.” His hands settle at your hips, rounding them to give your butt cheeks a firm squeeze that has you bucking your hips. “Lovely… I should take you from behind in the car too.”
“Zayne…” You whined his name.
His darkened eyes looked at you with amusement.
“Zayne—”
“It’s good that you seem to have forgotten his name. But I haven't forgotten that you still owe me that explanation.”
“He's—”
“Name?”
“Gavin's—” He was down between your legs, the bite landed on your thigh again. “H-he’s dedicated to his job and is always doing his best to save people and make sure the world is at peace! He can be a bit awkward, but it's endearing and, mmh!” You roughly tugged on the tie as he licked up your folds. You looked at him in shock, not expecting him to go down on you. It was the first time he'd done this, not that there are a lot of times to count yet.
“You taste sweet.” His eyes caught yours again. “So… what else were you saying?”
“H-he—” A pinch to your clit as a reminder, “Gavin,” The bite came high up on your inner thigh. “He… Y-you could say his personality is kind of like yours in some ways!”
“So now you're trying to equate him to me? He looks and sounds nothing like me… and he wouldn't be able to do this to you.”
You could only say that Zayne was devouring your pussy, he sucked on your clit before licking another strip up your folds. Dipping his tongue inside, your hips twitch violently, forcing him to grip your thighs tighter to keep you still. The sensations took over you and you can't think anymore. Left only with the intense pleasure and Zayne's name on your lips. His tongue rapidly slid across your folds, the friction immensely satisfying.
You couldn't describe the feelings. Just that they felt so good. The thought did pass your mind wondering how he could be so skilled at this, but the pleasure consumed every other thought and feeling.
He rolled your clit between his fingers, then swapped it with his mouth. Sucking on the nub as he inserted his fingers into you, pumping them in and out vigorously. His fingers curled in you, having already memorized which spot drove you up the wall even further. Zayne's teeth lightly grazed your clit, sucking, then flicking his tongue over it.
“Zayne!” You screamed his name as you're taken over the edge when he gave your clit a hard suck, clenching around his fingers. He continued to lap up all the fluid that flowed out of you.
He gave you a taste of yourself as he kissed you next. You eagerly kissed him back, surprisingly not minding the taste of yourself.
“My type… is you, Zayne.”
“You’d do your best to remember that.” He untied you. “Though I'm rather surprised. I guess I should've expected it given the fan service in animes… But for you to be playing something so naught—”
You clamped a hand over his mouth, “Don't say it.” You're embarrassed. Even in front of your friends, you get all flustered when seeing spicy content.
“Why not? You don't want to hear how you're a naughty girl?” His voice is amused.
“Why is that the first thing you think of?”
“Because you have been naughty, haven't you?”
“Wha-what do you mean?” You were confused.
“Have you seen the length of your shorts? And then you have the audacity to lie on your stomach on the couch with your butt in the air? Or how thin your shirts are and you just walk around with your nipples poking through? Are you telling me you haven't been deliberately teasing me?” He crossed his arms.
Your mouth dropped open, “You're the naughty one…” You climbed into his lap, and pulled his arms above his head, leaning down to kiss him. He had let you, kissing you back in the process. You tied his wrists to the bed this time. “You didn't forget I studied med too, right? I may not be a surgeon, but I can tie knots.”
“Are you sure I'm the naughty one?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Positive,” You nodded seriously as you unbuttoned his dress shirt, your hands trailing under his tank top. Feeling up his abs, which you were sure to grope a few times in appreciation before heading up to his pectorals. Playing with his nipples, he groaned under you as you grind in his lap.
“Your actions indicate otherwise.”
You gave him an innocent smile, “Okay, maybe I was teasing you a little.”
“I knew it… You've never worn such short shorts before and you're not wearing a tank top under your shirts anymore either.” His voice was more breathless now as you planted kisses all over his body, leaving a few bites of your own.
“Should I give you a reward for being so observant?” You unbuckled his belt next.
He watched you with hooded eyes as you slid off his pants and underwear, letting his cock spring free. It's heavy as it stood tall against his abs. He watched as you licked your lips, using your hand to slide his precum all over his erection. He whimpered a little at the sensation, leaving you feeling prideful to have him at your mercy.
“Darling… you don't have—” A moan escaped him as your lips took the tip of him inside. The warmth enveloped his length and you suck, his hips shot up at the sensation. You looked up at him and his eyes were hungry, sending chills through you. “Untie me.” He had demanded.
You slowly dragged your lips off him, his breath leaving him in short spurts. “I refuse.” Your mouth was back on him, your hands enveloped the remaining length of his cock, your hand barely able to completely wrap around him. You pumped your hands up and down, using the pre-ejaculatory fluid and your saliva as lubrication. His hips thrusted up slowly, losing himself to the sensations. You took one hand off him to knead his balls, sliding his erection further into your mouth.
“Are you trying to—?” His words are cut off as you deepthroat him suddenly. He saw as you gagged a little and then adjusted, his length bulging in your throat. He tugged on his wrists and groaned louder. “You're a little minx.”
You just continued to suck on him, using your tongue and playing with his balls. One of his hands suddenly grabbed your hair and you gasped, he pushed your head a bit roughly to have you take him down your throat again. “You didn't do a great job of tying, my love. Seems like you still need some more practice.” You let him take charge, tugging your head up and down his cock. His thrusts into your mouth became more erratic, and your breath choked out of you.
“Do you want me to come in your mouth?” He dragged you completely off him and you caught your breath.
“Yes,” You breathed out and opened your mouth to take him in again.
“Good girl,” He pushed his length back into your throat, frantically chasing his release.
His roughness triggered something in you, it aroused you. You were embarrassed to admit it, but it did things to you. Getting called a ‘good girl' had also never really appealed to you, but hearing it from Zayne… You finally understood why so many go feral over it.
You moaned around him when one of his hands found its way to your clit. The vibrations sent him over the edge, and he came down your throat, leaving his taste on your tongue. He pulled you up and hungrily kissed you. “I better not hear that you've done this for someone else… because there's no way that's your first time… You did so well...” He said against your lips, his erection sliding across your folds now. He was still hard after coming once.
“I've never done that before. I've never wanted to do that for someone before…” You struggled to breathe, “And you? You must have eaten a girl out before. There's no way you're just naturally that skilled…”
He looked at you with a smirk, “Feeling insecure again? Do I need to fuck that out of you?”
You sharply inhaled, “Language!”
“Yes, and you're such a good girl, watching Gavin and the game's MC in such a compromising position.” He swiftly slid his erection into you, pulling you down by the hips into his lap and you arched into him with a yelp. “There has never been anyone else I've done this with, my love. You can rest assured that I really am just that skilled.”
He ground into you, and you moaned, “That's—” He cut you off as he lifted you and slammed you onto his length again, hitting you deep inside. You whimpered and clung to his shoulders, gripping tightly. You felt strangely addicted to this feeling of fullness, almost wanting him to stay there forever.
“Go on, fuck yourself on me.”
You couldn't get used to him swearing, “S-shit, darling.” You rose to your knees and bounced on his cock.
“Language, my little minx.” He gave your ass a harsh squeeze and you arched further, your breasts in his face. Zayne grabbed one in his hand and sucked on it, heightening your sensations.
“You cursed first…”
You continued to lift yourself up and slam back down rapidly into his lap, chasing your release. His hands returned to your waist to aid you as well as putting pressure on the sensitive nub between your legs. Your body twitched and your bounces faltered.
“Zayne…”
“Mm. Let me take care of you.” He held your hips down and he thrust up in quick succession. The slapping sounds echoed around the room mixing with the sounds coming from you and Zayne. Your pussy clenched around him. “Come for me, my love.”
You did, you tightened around him as your release took over. He held still as you came down from your high, then flipped you over, pushing your chest into the bed and lifting your hips up. He kneeled behind you.
“I have no will power left to resist you,” Zayne’s voice softly said next to your ear as he slid into you from behind. You both moaned at the feeling. He gave your hips another squeeze. “Taking you from behind is another new, breathtaking view.”
This time, he started off with a steady pace that drove you insane, and you thought you had patience, but Zayne’s is on another level. You're overstimulated having just orgasmed, so this slow pace dragged out the feeling.
“You take me so well.” Zayne squeezed your breasts, kneading them as he thrust harshly and deeply into you for a few strokes before returning to his steady pace. Your mind blanked, only focused on the pleasure he's causing you. “Does it feel good?”
“Yes…” You breathed out, “S-so good.” You pushed your hips back into him, following his rhythm, bringing you to the brink again.
He slammed his hips into you faster and faster. You could feel him twitching inside you, getting close to his release as well.
“I'm getting close.” You only moaned in response. He called out your name as his cock released inside you, the streams of come triggering your third orgasm.
“Zayne!” He massaged your hips as your body shuddered in release, milking him.
You finally shake the thought. Now's not the time to be thinking about having sex with him. You take the next chance you could to give him back a nice slap on his butt cheek. He was standing with his back to you when you got downstairs, focused on something on his phone. His whole body tenses up as he jumps and you can't help it, you burst out laughing.
He takes a moment to turn around, “You…” He shakes his head in resignation. “Come here.” He holds out a hand.
You shake your head, “No way. That's an obvious trap.” You step further away. “I'm sure you were busy with something. I'll leave you to it now.”
His arms wrap around you before you could get away, never standing a chance against his long strides.
“What are you going to do?!” You struggle against him futilely.
“Nothing. For now,” He lifts you and then sits down on the couch having you straddle him. “Your period came.” He sounds almost disappointed as he massages your stomach.
You didn't get cramps, which had made you think you'd miss out on being taken care of during your period. Not that he didn't do that almost every second, but you felt like it was a different kind of tenderness to be taken care of while having cramps. However, that didn't stop him from doing what he could for you and you feel all fuzzy inside when he nuzzles against you.
“You'll have to try harder once my period passes.” You knew people could have sex during menstruation, but you always felt gross on your period, and definitely not in the mood to make love.
His look gives you the shivers, “That's a given. You'll have trouble thinking straight when I'm done.”
“I'd like to keep my clarity, thank you very much.”
“Hmm. That might be hard.” Your lips are already on his in the next second. The kiss lasts a while before you pull away, the air charged between the two of you. To think you'd been worried about chemistry.
You turn serious and look Zayne in the eyes. “Zayne, have you thought about what you'd like our wedding to be like?”
He nods, “Of course.”
“I was thinking a winter wedding would be nice.”
“Okay.”
“Are you just going to agree to everything I say? I expected some objections to this at least.”
“You don't have to be conventional to fit in to everyone's expectations. I know you love the snow, so a winter wedding has always been on my agenda.”
You smile, “Good because I'm feeling a little unconventional.”
“Just a little?”
“Fine, very unconventional.”
“Shall we start looking at some wedding catalogues then? I already have some bookmarked, as well as a few venues I thought would be nice. Though that depends if you wanted to have our wedding in Linkon or somewhere else.”
“I should've known you'd be more prepared than me.” You curl into his side. “If you're not busy, show me what you've saved.”
He reaches over and grabs his tablet. “Then let's take a look. I happen to have no work right now. The institute messaged me earlier that the journal has approved our paper for publication.”
“Congratulations.” You smile.
“Thank you,” He gives you a peck on the cheek, then grabs your hand, placing it in his lap as he uses the other to scroll through his tablet. “Here.”
The two of you start planning, and suffice to say, you're glad Zayne is there to do this with you, because you hated planning things. You did it when you had to, but you weren't as meticulous unless it was for work.
Reader is a Backtracker who went with Xavier and Jeremiah. Spoilers for Xavier’s Lightseeker and Lumiere myths if you haven't read it. 18+ just in case.
A/N: Xavier centric fic this time. Not entirely sure how it'll go, so I'll leave an 18+ warning for now. I have a general idea of where this story will go, and just to keep things similar I'm thinking I'll do an alt sad ending again (right now my ideas are too similar to the Zayne fic though and I'd want something different for the sad ending >.<)
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
Part 9
---------------------------------
Part 1
“Xavier?” You call out into his apartment.
He'd entrusted you with his key so you could stop by to check on him. He knew you were a bit worried because he spends most of his time sleeping, so he gave you permission to come by when you wanted to. You still made sure to send him advance notice though, and he'd always acknowledge you with an okay.
You are a member of the Backtrackers and Queen MC is your best friend back on Philos. You'd overheard that the royal family planned to use Queen MC’s special power to be reborn when she dies (it didn't seem like she knew about it and she still has no idea), so you'd volunteered to go with Xavier back in time to find a solution to Philos’ dying core. You hoped to save your best friend from being used to power your planet for her lives to come.
“He didn't go out, did he? I sent him a text and he replied ‘okay’ as usual… I was going to drag him out for hotpot while I was here.” You frown as you begin searching for him around his apartment. You didn't find him anywhere so you sent him another text.
“Where are you? I told you I was stopping by for lunch.”
“Sorry, I got called out by MC.” He responds fairly quickly. “Can we take a raincheck on lunch?”
You stare at his text. MC…
“No worries. It was spontaneous anyway since I was nearby. Have fun with MC.”
“Thanks :)”
You shove your phone back in your pocket and pull back on your shoes, heading out of his apartment. You decided you'd find Jeremiah next, maybe he'd be up for lunch.
You only turn back as you remember his door needed to be locked. “Ugh, why does he still use a physical key?” Grumbling to yourself, you pull out a key attached to a cute rabbit keychain to lock his door, turning the handle to make sure.
The storefront was empty when you reached Philo, so you head to the back and find Jeremiah scrutinizing a bouquet of flowers.
You lean against the doorframe, “Don't you know complimentary colours? You should pair some yellows, oranges, and greens with that purple. Also, are those purple flowers supposed to be the centerpiece? They're nice… but don't they clash a bit too much with those red flowers you're holding?”
Jeremiah jumps a little hearing your voice, “You scared me! When did you get here?”
“Just now.”
He takes a look at the red flowers in his hand and frowns. “The client wanted both the purple and the red flowers. Though, yeah, the colours don't exactly compliment each other. They're both quite eye-catching so they both steal the spotlight…”
You shrug, “The customer is always right, no?”
Jeremiah sighs, “I'll try a few combinations, take some pictures, and send the client the samples so they can decide. Maybe they'll change their mind when they see it.” He puts down the flowers and turns to you, “So? What are you doing here?”
“Xavier's out with MC, so I came to ask if you wanted to have lunch with me.”
“I'm your go-to backup plan, huh? Why don't you just ask to join them?”
“You know Xavier would hate that.” You cross your arms.
Jeremiah shivers, “That's true. I try to keep away as much as possible when the two of them are hanging out. But…” Jeremiah hesitates as he looks at you, “Aren't you jealous?”
You frown, “Why would I be jealous?”
“You're his fiancée.” Jeremiah gives you a bit of a pitying look.
On Philos, you were a noble who was arranged to marry Xavier, the crown prince. It was something decided by your parents and his so you'd never thought much about it. You and Xavier had never mentioned it to each other either. Plus, you knew Xavier only had eyes for MC. Philos MC that is. The current queen of Philos. You could never see the MC here as your MC. They were different people even though they looked exactly the same. The fact that Xavier fell for that MC felt like a betrayal to Queen MC and you hated that. You wanted Queen MC to be happy, but here Xavier's frolicking with another MC.
You sigh, “That's just something our parents decided. It's not like we have feelings for each other.”
“You don't?” Jeremiah looks skeptical. “You're always looking after him. You cook for him when you're free. You clean his house when it's a mess. You buy him clothes because he's always wearing his worn out sweater or that white hoodie. Heck, you even help him sew up that sweater when it tears!”
“How do you know that?” You purse your lips.
“I can't see Xavier doing that himself.” Jeremiah shakes his head. “You can be honest with me, I swear I won't tell him.”
“I really am just concerned about him. And you should know that I'm mainly concerned about Queen MC. I'm helping her by helping Xavier. Though I don't know if he's even got a plan for what to do next, and he never wants to tell us anything!”
Jeremiah pauses as he contemplated what you just said, “Alright, if you say so.”
“It's true.”
“I'm still not convinced. I know you care for Queen MC a lot, but it still feels like you're doing too much for Xavier to just be ‘helping’ him.”
“Think whatever you want. I just hope we find what we're looking for soon and can get back. I hate that we left her all alone.”
“You could've stayed.” Jeremiah crosses his arms now, “See? Another reason why I feel like you're just here for Xavier.”
“That’s not valid. You could've stayed behind as well. Are you telling me you're in love with Xavier too? Besides, when have I been one to sit and wait?”
You'd even joined Ever once as a researcher to try to help out, but you were too low clearance to know anything about Ever’s more secretive projects. You finally had to quit after a few years so you could avoid questions about your age.
“Too?” It seems he's only hearing things that confirm his suspicions.
You roll your eyes, “I didn't mean to imply me. If anything, you know there's at least one of our former members that had hoped Xavier would notice them.”
“Ah, that's true.” Jeremiah cleans up the flowers. “Anyway, since you made the trip here, I'll take you up on your lunch offer. Are you paying?”
“You can pay for your own food.”
“If I was Xavier, you would've paid for me…”
“No I wouldn't. I’d make Xavier pay. I don't know how, but he's rich, I swear.”
Jeremiah nods, “Wise.”
“I live off a measly writer's salary. Can't expect me to be paying for your meals.”
“A writer's salary that's become quite lucrative from what I've seen. Your books are all over the place.” Jeremiah sounds unimpressed by your fib.
“Ah, didn't realize you paid that much attention to things.” You consider it for a moment. “Fine, since you did help me make my ID for this job. I'll treat you. Celebrate my success.”
“Thanks.” Jeremiah smiles.
You give him a smile back. “Since I'm being generous, I'll let you choose the place.”
“Wow, I think I should be scared now. What's the catch?”
“You have to post on Moments about your love for Xavier.” You smirk. “And make it poetic.”
“Seriously? For one lunch meal that I get to choose?” Jeremiah considers it for a moment then shrugs, “Okay, deal.”
You have him draft his post over lunch.
“Xavier, oh, Xavier! Wherefore art thou, Xavier? The stars doth fail to be as bright compared to thy light. When will thou cometh to see the love that burns through mine heart for thee?”
You comment on it with a shocked emoji, “😱 How did I not realize you felt that way about Xavier? So that's why all those times…”
Jeremiah responds back, “There's no times.”
MC leaves a response as well, “Oh my… 🫢”
Xavier comments too, “Y/N… This is really unoriginal.”
You frown. Why is he so quick to point at you? Couldn't it have been that Jeremiah was drunk posting or something? You ignore it and proceed to capture a screenshot of Jeremiah’s post for future reference.
You lean back against the headboard. In the quiet of your apartment, you are left with your thoughts.
You knew. You knew that what Jeremiah said is true. You knew you've been caring about Xavier too much. You knew you were slightly jealous of MC. You knew you didn't come along solely for Queen MC. You knew it wouldn't have been like this if you'd stayed behind. You knew… you fell in love with Xavier.
It hadn't always been that way. You had become friends with MC on Philos. The MC before Queen MC that is. She was the one that gave you the rabbit keychain. She never told you she was ill, but you could tell from her behaviour that she seemed like someone with no time left. She seemed to take an interest in Xavier, so you'd encouraged her to take a chance and talk to him. They had hit it off.
There were already talks about arranging you to marry him at this point, but you were young and really hadn't wanted an arranged marriage. Besides, when you found out your friend liked him, you were happy for her. She finally gained some light in her life. But then she passed, and a new MC took her place. It was strange at first, how could she look exactly the same? Her personality was different though. She was strong compared to the previous who had a weak constitution. She quickly befriended you though, you training alongside her to be a knight at the academy.
You knew Xavier was drawn to her too. Having witnessed his attempt to save the first MC, you could tell he had an attachment to her. That attachment turned into something more, and when the revelation came… the betrayal and devastation he felt was surely incomparable. You watched as he disappeared, once again desperate to find something while Queen MC patiently waits. Always patient, hoping he'll come back to her. He does. Everytime. But a few days turns to months, to years. He coronates her as queen only to leave again. You couldn't take it, so you went along on their trips.
You learn that they're looking for a special protocore. The aether core… You connected the dots. From what Xavier said about the planet being powered by human sacrifices, and the girl who could be reborn. You could only assume that's what was inside MC’s heart that causes her to be reborn again and again. But you couldn't tell her that. Queen MC has always been driven by duty. She was trained to be the crown prince’s knight and was taught to always follow him. She has sworn loyalty to Philos, and that's why she has decided to be its queen. You knew if you told her she was the solution to Philo’s dying core, she would willingly give herself up to power it.
Xavier knew that too. He'd only ever given her subtle hints that she could never seem to figure out after all. He could have told her outright, but he didn't. Couldn't. He didn't want to lose her again. What you couldn't understand was how he kept thinking of all the MC’s as being the same person. You suppose her body is the same, but without the memories, you didn't think of her as the same. Sure, Queen MC had grown on you and become your friend too, and perhaps she could regain those memories, but that hasn't happened, so you wouldn't equate her to your first MC. And definitely not to the hunter here. This hunter MC hasn't even experienced Philos yet. You suppose she'll one day become that MC, but it's still not the same.
Xavier probably knew that deep down, but her circumstances couldn't be more similar. An aether core in her heart and people after her because of it. Besides, she looks the same, so that must be Xavier’s type. Her personality is more mischievous, and you could tell Xavier wasn't quite used to that, but he must've enjoyed it because you didn't see him complaining. At some point, he must've fallen for this version of MC too. You knew there was a chance the Backtrackers wouldn't be returning to Philos, being branded as traitors and Queen MC declaring Xavier dead. And as hard as Xavier tried, it was hard to get your hands on another aether core. A lot of leads were fake, and other powerful people all had an eye out for it.
At first, you only admired his persistence in saving MC, but then…
Knock knock.
You jump, the knock startling you and interrupting your thoughts. The sound came from your balcony. There was only one person that could be. You get up and open the glass doors, letting him come in.
You stand with your arms crossed, “Haven't I told you many times to enter through the proper door? I'm really not going to let you in next time.”
“You wouldn't.” His EVOL lights up the small lamp on your desk, casting light onto his masked face. “I brought you a snack.”
You snatch it from him quickly and hold it up in disbelief. They were an old rice cracker snack that you thought had been discontinued because you couldn't find it anywhere. “You actually found them!” You can feel the grin pulling at your lips, so you quickly force a frown. “This doesn't make up for you showing up this late at night.”
“As if you were asleep.” He leaves his shoes on your balcony and then walks in as if he owns the place.
“I could've been.” You huff.
“Not since you've started writing, you haven't been.”
You couldn't argue with him, he'd already caught you multiple times writing late at night on his untimely visits.
“It's been awhile since you've worn that mask,” Placing the snack in your cupboard, you turn back to find him raiding your fridge. “...Really?” You then notice a gash on his back, “You got hurt again…” The gash on his back glows a faint green as your EVOL heals it, “I’ve also told you to just take me with you on your night escapades. I could've healed wounds like this right away. You're just risking an infection at this point.”
He feels the back of his shoulder where the injury had been, “Thanks. I'll… think about it. It's dangerous.”
“Dangerous? I have the ability to regenerate so nothing's truly dangerous. I can't reverse fatal blows, but you've got to remember I trained as a knight too.” You cross your arms again.
He comes over and tugs your arms, “All you do is nag… I haven't forgotten… You're one of the strongest knights there is.”
You let your arms fall to your sides with a sigh and walk over to your fridge, pulling out a few side dishes you had made for dinner.
He wraps his arms around you as you stand at the stove, heating them up for him. “I missed you.” He whispers.
This was your little secret. Another one of Lumiere’s secrets.
---------------------------------
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
A/N: Don't mind the weird talk about complimentary colours, this was me trying to have NonMC be knowledgeable about flower arrangement as a noble despite me having no knowledge of it (^^;).
May be OOC. Reader is isekai'd into L&Ds, following her heart, she studies medicine to get closer to Zayne. MDNI. 18+ Not proofread >.<
A/N: So, this is the conclusion to the sad ending I envisioned for nonMC and Zayne... I don't know how you guys will react to this haha. Though I hope this didn't feel too rushed. It was only after posting Alt Part 7 where I was like 'Maybe I should've added a few more Zayne and MC date moments to build up the angst (;ŏ﹏ŏ)'.
Song rec(s): LMLY by Jackson Wang
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
Part 9
Alternative unhappy ending:
Alt Part 6 | Alt Part 7 | Alt Part 8
---------------------------------
Alt Part 8
Zayne wakes up to a strange feeling of loss. Similar to when he fails an operation, a little helpless, burdened by inadequacy, but more intense. As if his world may collapse.
But he continues on with his day, going on a morning run, eating breakfast, and grabbing a file from his desk before heading to the hospital for a weekend shift. He couldn't shake the feeling from this morning and it leaves him a little uneasy.
When lunch rolls around, he checks the shift schedule by habit, but doesn't find who he's looking for. He stands there for a moment in confusion. Who was he even looking for? He takes a short break for lunch and then goes back to work.
Opening the file he brought from home, a letter falls out. He picks it up in confusion and feels his heart speed up as he sees his name written in familiar, but yet also foreign handwriting. It's strange, he feels like he should know who's writing it is, but he couldn't place a name to it. He pulls out the letter, but then changes his mind. He'll read it after work.
Surprisingly, he was able to leave work once his shift ended, no emergencies to take care of. He checks his phone to find a message about his package being delivered and he smiles. Then frowns. What package? Perhaps it was a scam message. He ignores it and heads home.
As he prepared dinner for himself, he remembers the letter he'd found earlier in the day. Pulling it out of his bag, he brings the letter to the dining table to read.
“Dear Zayne Li,
‘Being with the wrong kind of person is a new kind of death’.”
He remembers overhearing this line while out with MC. Did MC write this?
“I agree, and I'm sorry if that's how you feel about being with me. And yes, I overheard you with MC.”
Not MC, then. He hears his heart beating loudly in his ears as he quickly reads through the rest of the letter.
“I probably didn't see it clearly, but it looked like you kissed her. You told me I was free to interrupt… but I let my insecurity get the best of me.”
“Of course, you should've interrupted,” he finds himself muttering.
“It's not your fault. I know. I've heard it before. ‘People won't know how you're feeling unless you tell them.’ I'm sorry I kept wanting you to realize something was wrong when I could've and should've just gone to you myself and let you know. I trust that you wouldn't just carelessly brush off my worries because I wouldn't do that to you. You're always welcome to come to me for anything.”
“I'm sorry I didn't realize…”
“Anyway, it's really my fault. I knew I wasn't exactly emotionally ready to be in a relationship, but I liked you. I thought I could do it, express myself properly, love you properly… But it doesn't seem like I did that too well… I knew I probably wasn't the one you needed, but I still pursued you. I didn't believe I could be the one beside you, but you gave me hope. And so, I started to believe, believe that we could make this work and that I could be someone who stands beside you.”
“You can…” He whispers, gripping the letter. “But who…?” He is feeling all these emotions reading this, his subconscious clearly knows who it is, but he struggles to consciously name her. It's like when the word is on the tip of your tongue, but it just doesn't come out.
“Lately, you've been spending quite a bit of time with MC and you'd answer her late night calls often. So I couldn't help feeling a little unsettled. But I know you're just trying to help her and you're also her doctor besides being her friend, so it's unreasonable of me to expect you not to spend any time with her. But you're not the only doctor in the world and not her only friend, can't you not go out of your way to take care of her? I understand she's got a heart condition and her occupation is dangerous, but you spend so much of your time worrying about her, can't I get even a tiny fraction of that?”
“Yes… you deserve all of it.” Cracks are forming in his usual expressionless face.
“I also know I’m not the most affectionate person, so it was pretty obvious when you started avoiding my touches. Every time I reached out, you seemed to pull away. Just tell me if you don't want to be touched, it hurts more to see you blatantly avoid it. If you don't want to be with me anymore, just tell me. You should know I wouldn't cling to you. All I ever want is for you to be happy. If I was able to make you happy and relaxed during our time together, that's enough for me. I told myself I wouldn't regret it when I tried to break up with you. And I really thought I wouldn't as long as you found happiness after leaving me. My only regret is I wish I had told you “I love you” more. I know I wasn't always able to say it, but I do love you, Zayne. I hope it's not too late to tell you that.”
Warmth floods his eyes, but his heart runs cold. “No… Tell me… Don't leave me…”
“But, if being with MC will make you happy, then do it. I want you to be happy, Zayne. It's really only to cheer myself up, but I'd like to imagine you started distancing yourself because you didn't want to see me hurt. So you couldn't bring yourself to tell me you like MC and you couldn't ask to break up because you would see the hurt in my eyes. Because you must have liked me at some point too. Otherwise why would you waste your precious time on me?”
It's as if the clouds part to let the sun in as he reads that. He can finally see that it's not being with MC that will make him happy, it feels like his heart will never recover if he loses whoever's writing this letter. The paper starts to crumple in his tight grip.
“I'd like to thank you too. Thank you for liking me and making the past few years some of the happiest for me. I'd been comforted by you and I felt safe with you. Don't let me stop you from being with who you want. You know I'd never do that to you.” The letter isn't signed. Why is it not signed? Zayne is a bit frantic as he searches the letter, the envelope, and then around his personal belongings where he would be sure to keep information or pictures of people important to him.
But nothing turns up.
Someone important… His fiancée… But his fiancée is MC? No, that can't be right. His memories vaguely remember someone from before he met MC again. Why can't he remember?! He slams a fist down on his desk.
His phone chimes with a message and he unlocks it to read it. The message is from MC.
“Zayne, I got your package?”
“Package?” He finally seems to remember ordering a gift for someone… "I'll come over to get it." Rushing out the door, he climbs in his car. As he buckles his seatbelt, his head shoots up to look at the macaron dangling from his rearview mirror. He races back into his house and pulls out a macaron shaped box, prying it open. Inside sits an engagement ring, a diamond sitting in the centre and encrusted with tiny crystals.
The sight of the ring brings back memories of a friend, a girlfriend, his fiancée… But the face in his memories is fuzzy, and try as he might, he still can't come up with a name… Why didn't he have at least her initials engraved on the ring...?
He puts the box in his pocket then heads straight to MC’s apartment. The package should've been sent to his fiancée’s… no girlfriend’s? Since he still has the ring… When he arrives at MC’s floor though, muscle memory takes him down the hall to another apartment.
By reflex, he pushes a passcode in. It doesn't work. He frowns a bit. He pushes the doorbell next, anticipation setting in.
A woman opens the door, but he doesn't recognize her.
“Can I help you?” She looks at him in confusion. There is no recognition in her eyes.
“Sorry to bother you. My name is Zayne. I'm looking for a person who lives in this apartment…”
“And their name is?”
“I-I don't remember… But I know this is her apartment number,” He points at the door.
“But I've been living here for a couple months now. Did she move and not tell you?” A suspicious look passes across the woman's face.
He exhales, deciding to take a chance and tell her anyway, despite not feeling any familiarity with the woman. “This will sound strange, but I… I woke up with no memories of my fiancée. As in I can remember I have a fiancée and the time we spent together, but I can’t remember her face or her name.”
“Prosopagnosia?” She raises an eyebrow.
“No. It doesn’t make sense, but those are the only two things I don't remember. I can remember everything else just fine.” He looks into her eyes.
A sudden spark of electricity hits the ground between them and he jumps back, startled. He looks up to find a grimace on the woman's face, her body curled up in pain.
“Are you alright?”
“Sorry, my EVOL...” She says through clenched teeth.
“No worries.” He didn't know many people who lost control of their EVOL so he is a bit intrigued.
“Zayne?” MC's voice calls from down the hall. She was coming out to throw out some trash, but then she saw his familiar figure down the hall.
“Would she happen to be your fiancée? It seems you've mixed up our apartments.” The woman in the doorway smiles with sad eyes and he feels his heart beating faster.
He opens his mouth to say something, anything to keep talking to her, but the woman merely gives him a quiet “Have a nice night,” then closes the door. He stares at the door number. This is her apartment number and he'd clearly written this address down for the package. He checks his phone again, but the number displayed as the delivery address was MC’s, whose apartment is down the hall. He also recalls being at this apartment just here a few days ago, taking his girlfriend out for her birthday dinner. But suddenly it's as if she doesn't exist.
On the other side of the door, you slide down to the floor.
“Zayne…” You whisper, sparks lightly crackling around you once again. The name didn't ring any bells, but why did it hurt you so much to hear it? When you heard that female’s voice call out to him, even though it felt right to hear that voice calling his name…, why did it feel like something was clawing your heart out?
Zayne turns and walks over to MC’s apartment. “Sorry, it seems that I accidentally had this sent to your apartment. It's supposed to be for my girlfriend's birthday…”
“Your girlfriend? Zayne, she left you. Why are you still buying presents for her?” MC frowns.
Zayne’s brows furrow. “What do you mean? Her birthday was yesterday, so I prepared the gift a while ago.”
“Right,” MC nods her head, “And it was just yesterday when you called to tell me she broke up with you and then left. How did you forget?”
“What?” Zayne feels his heart drop.
“And,” Looking shyly away, she continues to tell him, “she told me you like me and wanted to go out with me.”
“What?” Face turning pale, he looks as if he's seen a ghost.
MC frowns, “I thought so too. Was that not it? You'd been hanging out with me more lately.”
Zayne shakes his head, dread sinking into his bones, “I never said that.”
MC blushes in embarrassment, shrinking back behind the door, “Oh! I'm sorry for making assumptions then.”
“Do you remember her name or have a picture?” Zayne looks at MC like she's his last hope.
MC’s face scrunches up in concentration, but then she shakes her head, “That's weird… I can't seem to recall… and I deleted all her pictures yesterday. Anyway, it's not important. I think you should try to move on, it didn't seem like she had any intention of coming back.”
“That can't be true…” Zayne mutters, he clutches his heart. A wave of pain washes over him as he feels his chest tighten.
“Zayne!” MC grabs him as he stumbles.
“This isn't right…” Zayne whispers. “Why…?” A tear falls from his eye, but he barely feels it as an emptiness consumes his entire being.
What you'd never know is that by breaking the curse on Zayne… it severs the bond connecting Zayne and MC’s souls. Because if you think about it, souls get reincarnated but each reincarnation comes with a new person that goes through different experiences. So the only way that two souls could continue to fall for each other through every new life is if there were some supernatural forces at work. Zayne falling for MC each lifetime was only because of the curse placed upon him, the one that forever forces him to fall in love with the same soul, but never lets him be with her. Sure, it does seem like it's as you thought, you're the obstacle preventing them from getting together. But at the same time, you're someone Zayne fell for and chose on his own accord despite the curse.
But it isn't all for naught. After all, Zayne is free from the curse and can choose his own happiness now.
Except his choice in this life was you. And you'd taken that choice away from him forever. You'd also taken away your own chances to ever be with him, cursing your souls to never be allowed to be together. If your reincarnations were to ever fall for each other, the world would stop at nothing to come between them. That is the result of your wish with the witch.
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
Part 9
Alternative unhappy ending:
A/N: Well, hope this satisfies your angsty hearts 🥰 I think I need a fluff break... 😅
