Elia || 20|| she/her || posting whatever I feel like to post Don't repost my Art whitout Credit Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@elia_liendy?_t=ZN-8tIAKKGrUus&_r=1
He’d never had real tenderness directed at him, save for at the very beginning of his existence, and even those fleeting memories were overshadowed by his subsequent years of self-loathing and anger. His first instinct when shown any intimacy was to run; to shut down and lash out not only to protect himself but to intentionally drive away others- if they were too afraid of him to approach, he wouldn’t be able to hurt them.
Wanderer believed he was a curse, he believed that all he deserved was suffering.
And then came you.
Endlessly suffocating, annoying, much too pushy (was what he told himself.) You never once wavered in your love for him. You’d show up at his doorstep with armfuls of padisarahs when the weather outside was stormy so he’d have no choice to let you in, slip little boxes of his favorite tea on his doorstep with no return address, leave little handwritten letters scattered around the inside of his home for him to find.
Later, he’d ask you why you were so persistent. You simply answered that you loved him, and because no one had bothered staying for him before.
It took years of your constant affection for him to begin to accept it. Eventually, though, whenever you showed up with another bouquet, he’d just make sure there was a vase available for it, and no matter rain or shine he’d open the door for you with no questions asked.
When your landlord stopped renting and you had no place to stay, Wanderer barely batted an eye before moving your boxes into his house himself.
“Don’t mistake this for affection. You’d cling to my doorstep anyway,” he’d scoffed when you questioned him about it, and you couldn’t help but secretly agree.
The changes were slow. Your toothbrush next to his, pairs of mismatched socks laying around the corners of your (now shared) room, an extra pair of shoes every time he came home. Your friendship changed to something else, the type of connection which left you staring at the back of his neck for hours into the night, watching the way candlelight framed his features as he studied.
It wasn’t some loud, passionate confession- your love was quiet. Constant. It filled every empty corner of Wanderer’s once-empty life with you.
Once, Wanderer had sworn to never get close to another human. Now he swore that he’d never let you go (to himself, of course- verbal vulnerability was never his strong suit.)
__________________
Seasons came and went- you greeted another new year together, and a month after you received an invitation to Liyue harbor from Nahida. She was to convene with her fellow Archon, and naturally she invited her aid to attend Lantern Rite as she did. You didn’t have a chance to process it before he’d swept you with him and you were suddenly in the warm, festive streets of Liyue Harbor. Every direction you turned was filled with food stalls and people as far as the eye could see; a warm, almost nostalgic feeling filled the air.
He was beside you, clutching a stick of tanghulu in hand and wrapped in a soft silk hanfu- Nahida insisted you immerse yourself in the traditions of the area. His hand was wrapped around yours, loosely enough that he could jerk it away as soon as he felt any prying eyes.
A small, almost imperceptible expression of disgust flitted across Wanderer’s face as he bit into the tanghulu. “Horrid. Your taste is as unbearable as ever.”
With a roll of your eyes, you took the outstretched stick from his hand into yours and took a bite. “I think it’s delicious.”
“Of course you would.”
You visited a few more stalls- you bought yourself a pair of matching luck knots, as well as a little toy model of a geovishap. Your final purchase was a Xiao lantern, the panels painted with towering green mountains which reminded you of Sumeru and covered with intricate birds. You and Wanderer found a mostly secluded terrace, since you insisted on releasing the lantern.
The sky was alive with golden pinpricks of light- each speck reflecting off the dark water of the harbor like a thousand miniature suns. From here, you could see dozens of kites and festival floats. Watching everything from here, you felt like you could hold the whole world in your outstretched palm. You couldn’t recall having seen a more beautiful sight.
Wanderer watched how you leaned over the railing, hands outstretched as if you could grasp your feeling of wonder. Admittedly, the lanterns were beautiful, yet his attention wasn’t on them.
“They’re just lanterns, (Name).”
You turned to him, holding your lantern under your arm and wearing a smile that made his breath catch. “They’re wishes, Wanderer. Every one of those lanterns was released with someone praying for something different, something endlessly special. It’s beautiful.”
You looked so enraptured, smiling down at the lantern in your arms. He slid his hand across the railing until it was pressed against yours, turning his gaze when you looked at him.
“..And what do you wish for?”
Your answer was immediate.
“For us to stay together and happy.”
His response was too- biting and sharp.
“What a naive wish.”
You looked at him. Despite his harsh words, his eyes refused to meet yours, instead fixed on a tiny lantern floating in the distance. You didn’t miss the way his fingers dug into the railing slightly.
“And you?”
He scoffed. “Wishful thinking is pointless. Only fools expect the universe to give back to them.”
You cocked an eyebrow, smirking. “Come on. There has to be at least one thing you want.”
Wanderer turned to you, his hand coming up to tentatively ghost your cheekbone. The lanterns were reflected in your eyes, he noticed. “One thing. I don’t need to pray for it, though; it seems to stick to me no matter what I do.”
Your breath hitched at the implication- he didn’t seem to care. He pushed the lantern from your fingers and out into the air, watching it float for a few seconds before he closed the distance between you.
His mouth was warm against yours, sweet with traces of leftover tanghulu. Most of all, it was assured- he knew what his one wish would always be.
His mouth stayed pressed firmly against yours until you broke away to breathe, but he didn’t let you go. Your surroundings faded to background noise. For just this moment, the world shrunk to the space between your arms.
Genre: Fluff(?), Comfort, One-shot (2nd person pov)
Summary: X was walking to a 24h self service, but you're fighting with a vending machine of the self service zone, as X was about to leave you alone, you end up to notice his presence and since he could no longer leave, X engages on a talk to cheer you up.
Man, idk you can take it romantic or platonic, it's up to you. I personally take it as romantic since it's a self indulgent yume fic.🥀🥀🥀
Cw: swearing
Count: 3.7k
One hand on his pocket and the other playing with a coin in his fingers, X is walking mindlessly to the nearest self service to enjoy his favourite can of soda, sweet and sugary, that's how he loves it and that what he always drank. Just by thinking to drink it, it makes him hum eager to feel the carbonate taste on his tongue, transforming the simple desire into a need. A need to treat himself nicely after after working his 9/5 and hit big on today stream, even if he had to end it forcefully, thanks to the bothersome law enforcement that he had to deal after fighting and arresting a gang on live.
He for sure deserves a small break while sipping his favourite drink plus, it won't hurt anyone, especially not when it sound like paradise to X himself.
Hums to himself happily, thinking whenever he should continue the stream after his drink or end it here for today.
He takes the last turn to reach the awaited self service zone, but his flow of troughs stops all together whit also his walk and coin play thanks to some sudden metal noise coming from the self service zone.
He opens his eyes and he sees you, still wearing your office clothes, but untidy and your hair are frizzy. You look entirely agitated, exhausted and tired, whit a look he understood that probably it was given to you more work to do, making you walk out of office this late in the night.
You aggressively shake the vending machine, it does practically nothing but making a loud noise. Since nothing is working you decide to release your frustration to the machine,you begin to slap and kick the machine.
"Give my money back!!"
You groan frustrated, you're aware that complaining will do nothing, but you still do it to let out all your pent up energy you have gained all day from being still in the office chair even after the hours of your contract, thanks to your supervisor giving you more work than you can handle... Once again.
X stand there watching you bullying the vending machine whit such unexpected behaviour from his dear junior co-worker, and he can't help but find it rather "entertaining" seeing this new side of you.
He already finds you interesting and pleasant to be whit you on the daily 9/5 by both your little admiration for him and finding ways to always engage on a casual talk, he your chair neighbour, despite you using the same two cards: asking to eat together during lunch break or asking help to any kind of doubt you have; he find that time enjoyable, making his 9/5 all more lively.
You wear your heart on your sleeve and he find you very easy to get along and his ego always gets a boost whenever you look up at him for help and advice. You're also never prone to be anger and always try to be diplomatic... and finding you whit the how you are now: ruined formal clothes, wild hair and the exasperated behaviour; it's so opposite to your demure self, he can't help it but find it intriguing, despite feeling bad at finding curiosity in your not so happy situation.
"My money, hahahaha...."
You laugh bitterly while hitting repeatedly your head on the vending machine and when you stop, you go drag your hand slowly down to the glass, making a screeching sound that penetrates the ears of both of you.
You mumble to yourself, slowly falling into the ground whit hands your hair and a hopeless expression.
X despite finding this intriguing, seeing you like this, he knew better to leave you alone in this fragile and private moment, hoping to keep this moment for yourself only. But before he could anything, even snap his finger and teleport away, you turned around looking at him, your expression is molded to a glaring frown.
The both of you freezed for different reasons: You're completely frozen by the sight of the number one hero, X himself, looking at you. A you that is pathetically sitting in front of a vending machine whit messy clothes and hair, you feel the shame reaching to your face painting it red.
"...."
You continue to stand there quietly still looking shocked before bitterly laughing by the absurdity of such situation.
As for X, he found himself surprised by your sense, and he was frozen not knowing what to do, but hearing you laugh als made him laugh too, joining whit you... Even if you're laughing for different reason.
You use the vending machine to stand up, yet you still move wobbly, you're not considering fixing your presence in front of the number one hero, you're too tired to even find an ounce of self composure.
"the vending machine is broken. I suggest you go to another."
Your voice screeches thanks to the dry and strained vocal cords, you turn to give one last glare the vending machine while stepping away whit a pissed expression that got stamped on your face since you got out of work.
"Really? Are you sure of that?"
X begins to re-play whit the coin as he walks towards the vending machine confident of himself and that pissed you more than you're already are. Of course you're sure of that, you're fought whit this vending machine for 20 minutes.
"Oh~my, of course monsieur X, I am quite delighted to inform you that thay machine, that sells thay eatables goods is malfunctioning in upsetting ways."
You bow at him whit heavy sarcasm and false teatrism while gifting him a deadly glare. He chuckles enjoying your sarcasm that came whit this new side of yours, maybe bit too much, a side that he hardly believes that he would meet as your co-worker.
"Well you will never know till you try yourself."
X glance at you with, on your opinion, an annoying smile that's always stamped on his stupid face. His hands continue to play with coin while slowly inserting it in the coin slot and then pressing the first number.
"...."
You cross your arms, biting your lips and hold yourself back to curse at him, but containing yourself isn't helping, it's only irritating you even more. To release your frustration you decided to began tap your feet repeatedly, but the noise increased your irritation and the fact someone is near you seeing like this, is upsetting you even more.
"Whatever. I bet you're loooaaaded with of money Mister Number One. To you, one little coin means nothing."
He looks at you, aware of your unawareness about the fact you couldn't be more wrong and that makes him smile even more.
He works the same 9/5 as you, well it's true he have a bigger salary than you, by just the simple fact you just got hired three months ago. Plus he gets extra money from X streams, but he ever hardly uses them, it would be highly suspicious if he used them mindlessly as the single minded office worker he is supposed to be. So he gives most of those money in donations to little and trustworthy organisations.
You look at him and he looks at you, silence is expanding, he's smiling at you but he isn't responding.
He just stand there and you glare at him, disliking his non-reaction reaction, the silence is cutting and you dislike silence, you always feel on edge when there is silence piercing your ear; that is also why you always work whit music whit one earpod.
Tension begins to grow in your mind, slowly becoming unbearable for your already overwhelmed self, the irritation also continues to grow and it's consuming your lucidity and you hate it, your feet tapping gets faster and you begin to scratch your arms aggressively while still keeping them crossed.
You dislike being angry on itself and you defenely hate seen by others like thins whit the possibility to lash out, even passively, to the next person; even if said next person is smiling like he is enjoying your irritation whit that smug smile and keen stare...
And... He is, in fact, enjoying it. He is enjoying everything in this conversation, he is making sure to register every little reaction of yours and can you blame him? This new side is all even more interesting to him.
Whit X, you don't hold admiration and the interaction feels all more true and raw, which considering it's quite paradoxical: he is now appearing as X the number one hero, loved and trusted by the people, someone considered invincible and powerful by his followers and yet you treat such special individual like a normal person, while the admiration is reserved for your co-worker, the real him.
Is it because X first meeting happened whit you already being upset? Or is it because you don't care about X opinion of you? Either way he can hardly keep himself to smile even more in front of you, even if he doesn't want to upset you even more, truthfully said he want to calm you down, you look terrible both physically and mentally and you're also hurting yourself by scratching too hard on your arm, it's that he find this side of you unknown and he want to explore it.
You cannot take it anymore, how long this uncomfortable and long silence will continue? your fear thinks it won't stop stretching till you won't do something, because he, for sure, is doing nothing but smiling like a statue.
You look at him uncomfortable while you take a step back, hoping that such reaction will bring him to speak, look away or anything to break this unbearable silence, but it doesn't... he stand there still smiling.
You look at him bewildered and unsettled, what is happening? Did he froze? You think as you decide to try walk closer to him, even if you're high key intimidated of him right now, but you need to do something for your anxious heart.
Walking away is too rude; you consider speaking to him, but your voice was already screeching before and you can only imagine the shame you would feel when your voice breaks the silence whit a screech followed by a cough... You're cringing by just imagining it.
So the only reasonable and appropriate thing to do is tap his shoulders and see if he moves or something.... Seriously is this how the most trusted hero act? You hardly believe yourself on what you're seeing.
You take the first step and you look at him, hoping some reaction from him, but nothing he still stand there frozen, so you take another step and see if he reacts but he still does nothing, so every time he doesn't react you take a step closer.
Look and step,
Look and step,
Look and step till you were right in front of him, looking at him whit a frown
You trough he was spacing out, like you usually do, but no... that bastard, was looking at you and he even had the audacity to move down his head to still look at your face correctly as he continues to smile, how annoying and extremely humiliating. You want to say something, to get mad at him or to make fun of him, but your sense of shame is stopping you in doing so, you feel your blood rushing trough your face and your muscles remaining still yet tense.
X didn't do nothing because he was considering his actions and the possible outcome of them, like the chess nerd he is. But then seeing you slowly walk to him like a scared puppy, he decided to see what you were trying to do, yet seeing you freeze in your shame after you just came in front of his face, or better his chest, he decided it was the moment for him to ease your one sided tension.
He takes a moment to think before looking at the vending machine and to change into a different topic: he decided to see if it was truly broken, he pressed the last digit to select the soda he wanted to buy so much before meeting you... And to the surprise of both of you, the vending machine began to move as the sound of it's engine broke the silence.
X laughed satisfied by this outcome and goes to check your reaction: you're looking at the vending machine whit wide eyes and mouth with frowning eyebrow, hardly believing on what you're seeing, you stood in front of this stuck vending machine for 20 minutes. You were fighting whit it for 20 minutes. but it did nothing.
Your expression shift to one of anger and X began to laugh, upsetting you even more as you give him a middle finger, you don't like how also fate joined in to make fun of you whit X.
"Fuck you."
you avoid looking the vending machine and especially X whit his irritating smile, but also what irritated you even more, is the fact he got the same thing you failed to buy.
You don't know if it's a casual coincidence or if he knew and did it out of spite.
"I didn't do nothing."
After to reaching the can of soda he goes to rest his eyes on you once again and he easily saw that you wanted the soda since you were intensely staring at it, so he decided to give it to you.
He moved his hand and resting the can in front of your face seeing if you would take it. You look at him confused and irritated as you frown even more, not getting his hint, he could easily read that you look his actions as a mockery.
"You can take it."
He sigh, but despite his shown reaction he does appreciate the fact you're easy to read, it's rather endearing.
He pushes the end of the can into your forehead just to tease you a little, the cold aluminium of the can makes you shiver as you look at him surprised before stepping back flustered, you touch your forehead as you look the can of soda that he hold and lightly shakes in frot of your eyes, you take a moment to look at him before using the same hand that was in your forehead to get the can.
"Thank you..."
You said quietly, not expecting such little act of kindness from him, you hold the can whit both of your hands while looking at him, for once you don't find his smile irritating, but rather comforting and nice to gaze at.
But despite that you feel a sense of uneasiness and discomfort, you feel like you owe him something for the drink, unaware that your face is showing what you're feeling right now, it made X sigh, being this easy to read isn't good for you, even if it's a traits that he likes about you. He worries about the possibility of his dear co-worker being easily exploited by those whit ulterior intension.
"You don't owe me nothing, and especially you don't owe me an explanation."
You jump surprised and confused, yet still comforted by him once again, you feel a certain weight lifting you off from your shoulder.
You unconsciously smile as you eyes fall to the can, your appreciation is shown once again in your face and the way you gently hold the soda... that feel like a reward for him, seeing his dear co-worker mood finally lifting up, your smiles are warm like ray of sun he now rarely enjoys since he became a hero.
"Do you like this can of soda?"
You ask at X while you open the can, the sound of a opening can it's always something your ears appreciate, the aluminium opening and the frizziness of the soda gets louder as it interacts whit the oxygen.
"I never tried personally..."
You continue to act like you didn't ask the question, even if you did notice that X didn't answered, yet you didn't mind, you're aware that every little detail could be crucial for a hero secret identity. But that what's your mind think, in reality X was just thinking that he wish he had enough coins whit him to buy another can of soda, but he sadly ran out of coin, still he doesn't regret giving it to you, your genuine expression of appreciation are always priceless to him, that another added reason why he likes when you ask for his help.
"...I always seen my co worker drink it... So I got curious on how it tasted... But I always felt ashamed to ask him."
You explain flustered realising only after you finished speaking that you still end up over explaining yourself, you sigh and laugh to ease your nerves.
X stands there silent, aware on how much shy and hesitant you're whit him as your co-worker, he wonders if it's the admiration? Or your social anxiety? Maybe it's both? But for sure he wants to use this opportunity to know more what you think about him or to know you better.
"I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you asked him."
And since you're talking about him in front of him, he feels like that he at least owes you some moral support, the little guilt slowly dissapear as this conversation is getting too interesting for him as he doesn't want to let go of such rare and ironic opportunity.
"I think so too... It's, just... I don't know, probably my fears are covering my ears and eyes."
You're self aware of your anxiety, but you don't know how to act upon it.
You look the soda unsure if you truly want to drink it, you slowly put the can under your nose to examine the smell of the soda, unsure if you will even like it after all you're not a fan of carbonate drinks.
X knows the smell from memory, strawberry but added frizz that makes the nose itches, such smell makes him smile, yet your face frowns in disgust making you even more reluctant to drink it now.
"You know how it taste like?"
You ask X, scared even to try it. You already feel nauseous from the smell, you don't want to puke in front of him, especially out of cordiality and respect, since he is the one that gifted the can to you.
"It's a carbonate sweet soda that give an aftertaste of strawberry."
Hearing that, you decided to give back to him, holding back the gag reflex still out of respect for the nice gesture.
"It's all yours...thank you for the gesture, I really appreciate it, but I think I will for sure not like this drink."
X takes the soda watching you step back feeling nauseous by just imagining the taste.
It surprises him, he trough by the way you look and act, you would be another fan of sweets and strawberry like him,but it seem he misjudged you... Well better for him, he still uplifted your mood and still got the privilege to finally sip his awaited sugary and carbonate taste.
As he begin to chug down the soda, he can hear you taking deep breaths to forget about the smell you obviously disliked and he thinks, but his mind there is a question that is tormenting him to let it out....
"Are you scared of him?"
He says aware that his curiosity is getting the better end of him, but it's not like he is even fighting against it.
You turn around a bit surprised by his question, not expecting to be curious about such unimportant thing for the number one hero.
"..."
You take a moment as you look at X and then look to the ground as your back goes to rest on a close wall, before deciding to awnser, it's not like X gains anything from talk, you think, but only if you knew the truth you would be fuming.
"I'm not scared of him, I'm scared of shame."
You look at the sky hopeless, X looks at you, the both of you deep in the trough, making the silent full of meaning between the two of you.
"Do you think he is the type to judge?"
He ask, unsure of your awnser despite the talk it's about himself, yet when you look at him and simply move your head to signal a no whit a little smile, his heart slowed down in reassurance, happy whit your awnser.
"You shouldn't cage yourself in fear. Those fears will become reality if you let them be."
X walks up to you and flick your forehead whit a smile of reassurance, finishing his soda and perfectly throwing it in trash behind him whitout even looking.
You leans away while you touch your forehead, feeling the little sting in your forehead as you look at him between a glare of anger and a confused stare.
"Well whatever, it's not like it's the end of the world if it becomes the truth. I always been alone, and be rejected another time means nothing to me."
You slap his hands away as you couldn't stand being there anymore, you already knew that much, you didn't need anyone to tell you that especially you didn't need the hero X to tell you that.
You're tired both from this talk and the previous overload of work you had today. You just want ot take a long shower and sleep, now, because if you don't go to bed soon, tomorrow your mood will be even worse than it is now form the lack of sleep.
X watches you leave the self service zone, he is aware that you're just trying to just convince yourself that you're fine whit the fear of rejection, but he wants to change that.
He smiles, he has taken it as a challenge to prove you wrong, that you're scared of rejection and to no longer be scared him as your co worker.
You disappear he turns around to walk on his apparent, he began to flip and play with a coin he secretly stole from you while you weren't looking, his mind was already thinking how to break your walls of fear and insecurity around him and to be closer to you and your heart.
_____________________________
After notes: man I posted the draft while I thought it got deleted. That's embarrassing 🧑🦯🧑🦯🧑🦯
i reasaly like X because hes like so fun? bro is the number one hero in their verse possibly but hes ALSO an overworked salary man who steals sugar during work hours(does so fabulously if i say so myself) and can't decide between strawberry milk and carbonated drinks LIKE LIKE COME ON how can you NOT love him???
Lowkey i like him as a civilian so so much its like that one friend with an insane hobby like
"oh what do you like to do after work?"
"nothing much, you?"
"same here just being the number one hero"
"huh."
its so silly to me how hes all powerful AND GETS DOWN ON ALL FOURS FOR A SINGULAR PENNY
I know his living space is TINY!!!!!!!!!!! like he may have a room reserved in the hero tower but idk its too bland? we've seen how colourful his dimensions are so maybe that????? idkkk augh i love him sm
(I have no idea how to write X exactly since all I have is the trailers and the official TBHX website as the source material for X)
Your boyfriend is the typical office workers which you dig, you two have been together for almost four years now
But for the last two years there's always that shaking feeling that's something start to feel off about him, but who care since he spoil and doted on you!
And off course you return him the same level of affection back even if you can't spoil him much as he does for you
But there are moments where you just question the person you loved or maybe yourself
A strong sense of deja vu, a sound of a finger snap, and a few gaps in your memories
But at the end of the day, your lovely and doting boyfriend melt all of those unease away like it never exists in the first place
As long as his on your side, you don't mind any unease and cling to the life you two built together over the years
.
.
.
As long your at his side, he'll be content
No need to parade his true identity
No need to keep up with public expectations
No need to worry about the Trust Value
All he need is you. So stay, he'll spoil you, dote on you, support you. Just STAY by his side
One day he'll tell you, but not today
Of course he has to do something about your growing popularity in all of the fandom community your involved with
He wouldn't want the public expectations to strip you of who you are and change you
You had been dating X for quite some time now. 2 years to be exact and safe to say, you certainly loved the man. He was charming and intelligent, yet awkward and cute. It pulled you to him, sooner enough, he ended up asking you out to a date but not without stumbling which further endeared you to him.
Ever since he met you, X's life couldn't get any better. everything seemed brighter and happier, atleast in his view. He grew to appreciate and adore the small things about you, ones anyone could easily miss. You always brightened his day, checking up on him and making sure he doesn't overdose on sugar.
On some nights where he's particularly exhausted, he just comes over to your house before plopping on the couch. Almost passing out. You'd cuddle up next to him, with X resting his head on your chest, mumbling nonsense while you ran your fingers through his hair.
Your presence always cheered him up. And he's a sucker for your affections, whether it'd be simple kisses on the cheek or cuddles, it didn't matter. X would melt at your touch as you soothed his aching self.
You'd look after him in the times he couldn't take care of himself, always making sure he was healthy and well. If he'd eaten a proper meal other than the cheap take outs he'd get sometimes. He never hid anything from you, except for the fact thy he was a hero.
The number one ranked hero to be exact. He loves you with his entire heart, but he couldn't risk letting you know of his identity fearing for your safety. Being the most powerful hero had its perks but it also came with cons.
X ofcourse garnered enemies, and if anyone ever found out his real identity you could be hurt or worse. God knows he wouldn't forgive himself if you were ever hurt because of him. And Like always, you were headed to work Smiling happily and heading inside the building. Sitting at your own space before opening your laptop and beginning to work. Outside, your beloved Boyfriend X, was headed to work, only to be interrupted by a villain on the loose.
He quietly hid before transforming into X and dealing with the situation. a battle ensued as X snapped his fingers, smoothly dodging the perpetrators attacks All the while his fans shouted in support of him. With women fawning in the sidelines as they watched from a safe distance away from danger and as he was close to defeating said villain he suddenly heard a scream.
Not just any other cry, Your scream. He could feel his own heart stop at the sound turning around to see you floating in the sky, fearful for your life. For the first time in his career X felt genuine fear. Now completely abandoning his original objective, His first thought was to get you to safetly.
The villain used you as bait to get him to stop. X's mind was a overwhelmed now unable to think clearly. His once overconfident demeanor replaced with worry, and the pesky bastard took notice, taking advantage of the situation. Before threatening your life and carelessly dropping you. In a swift second he swooped in and caught you, relieved that you were unharmed.
In that moment, something snapped in him. His hold on you felt strange, his grip was rough and somewhat possessive(?) Which only weirded you out. As he carefully set you down, you noticed his arms lingered a bit too long when he pulled you into a half hug before focusing his attention on the perp.
Something felt wrong, the way he glared at the attacker, his eyes seethed in silent anger. A Storm brewed in his gaze. He didn't need to wiat another second before skillfully disarming and beating his target. Despite physic force being unnecessary, he felt completely enraged.
Thankfully it didn't take long for him to hand the criminal to proper authorities before a crowd of fans and reporters surrounded him, yelling his name in praises. X searched the sea of people, scanning it for your familiar silhouette. A smile graced his lips once he finally spotted you, making a salute gesture towards the crowd resulting in them swooning before snapping his fingers and proceeding to disappear.
Reappearing on the top of a building hidden from public sight as news flashed across the bill boards showcasing the earlier battle. So many people adored him, yet his gaze remained solely on you.
First of all, english is not my first language, so sorry if there are any mistakes. And I haven't written anything in so long, so it may be a bit cringe, idk.
Second, there are literally zero fanfics on this hot white haired guy, so I took it into my own hands and wrote this short fic.
Also, here is AO3 link.
Word count: 2,1k
Summary: Y/N was never a big fan of this people playing heroes game, she always found it a little sad. From my point of view, the moment you become a hero, you lose a sense of life, you lose your privacy, and mostly, your identity. People don't realise their beliefs and words shape the person they deem their "hero." I was never interested in this, until today.
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In this world, trust is everything, but so is fear. Trust is a variable thing in heroes day to day life, it gives them their power and helps them strive in their pursuit through the ranking system, and on the very top, the throne, sits the hero X.
I was never a big fan of this people playing heroes game, I always found it a little sad. From my point of view, the moment you become a hero, you lose a sense of life, you lose your privacy, and mostly, your identity. People don't realise their beliefs and words shape the person they deem their "hero." I was never interested in this, until today.
Rushed footsteps echoed on the sidewalk of a busy street of the loud city, people are either running to their jobs, waiting for their morning coffee, or just talking. Y/N was in the first category.
Having overslept a little, she had just about ten minutes to get to her job.
"Dammit, if I continue this way…I should be able to get there on time" she mumbled to herself, as she ran. But of course, luck was never on her side. She heard people screams somewhere before her. 'Another villain?..Isn't there one almost everyday?' Y/N thought.
As she finished that thought, the ground under her broke, opening into neverending darkness, swallowing her whole.
She screamed, falling in the eternal darkness lying under the almost regal city above. And as she thought her end was inevitable, sudden snap echoed in the darkness. Changing the gloomy environment to a astonishing range of colours, swirling and changing their shapes.
"What.." She said out loud, falling slowly, looking all over the beautiful phenomenon. She startled, the feeling of arms around her shoulders and legs, instantly snapping her head to the source of the feeling.
Her eyes met black ones, even with the yellow tint from the glasses on his nose, she could tell they were black. The mysterious person just looked at her, smiling slightly, almost in reassurance, but she could tell the smile was no genuine, somehow practiced.
Her eyes trailed down, noticing the eye beating X on his tie. 'So this must be the omnipotent hero X..' Y/N noted to herself. Looking up at him again.
"Thank you for saving me, but, um, could you…could you let me down now..?" She said a bit nervously, who wouldn't be in the presence of the enigma hero X is. Yes, she didn't care about heroes, but some of Y/N's coworkers could be quite loud with their argumenting about who the best hero is. And X was sometimes quite a hot topic between the office workers.
X's brows rose just a tad bit, he looked to be what, surprised, pleased, maybe something inbetween? Like it was the first time someone didn't throw themselves at him, and just asked nicely if they could be put down.
His arms loosened up, he bend over slightly, letting Y/N jump out of his arms easily onto the distorted pavement under them, or whatever it is. As her feet touched the ground, Y/N instantly brushed off her office skirt, jacket and patted down her hair, as they were all over the place from her fall.
"Pardon me for asking, but, do your powers allow for teleportation or something? Nothing against you, but I don't plan on becoming a celebrity from being seen with you." Y/N said, turning to him. hoping he doesn't take any offence in her weird question.
He just smiled and nodded at her, snapping his fingers.
The scene changed from colourful to a darker alley, by the looks they were somewhere near the initial place she goes through everyday to work. Y/N turned to X, looking up at him, just to find him already staring at her with his head tilted a little.
"Thank you again for saving me, I have to go now." She bowed slightly while saying that, them rushing out of the alley into the still busy streets, hoping to get to her work place somewhat on time.
What she didn't notice was her job ID falling out of her pocket.
X didn't even have time to call out to her to let her know her ID slipped from her pocket. He sighed, picking it up and noticing that she worked in the same building as him.
'What a coincidence.' He thought, snapping fingers on his other hand, changing into his normal persona, putting the card in the pocket of his jacket and walking out of the alley, the watch on his wrist buzzing, notifying him of his late arrival to work.
"Shit shit shit shit." Y/N kept whispering under her breath, searching through her pockets. 'Fuck, must have slipped somewhere during the attack. She sighed loudly, slumping her slouders, she will have to get a new ID tommorrow.
She walked to the reception, telling the lady about the lost ID, showing proof of her identity and filing out a questionnaire to get a new one. Y/N would have to explain to her boss why she was late, but she hoped her boss would take it okay, she was always on time, after all.
After filling up the document and giving it to the lady, she was led through the gate, going to the elevator, up to her boss's office, she knocked.
"Yes?" Came out male voice, signaling for her to go in. When she walked in, she closed the door behind her, looking at her boss. He was an average guy in his 40's, formal attire and tired face, nothing interesting.
"Good morning, I'm sorry for being late, but on my way to work I was caught in the crossfire of villain attack."
He sighed, his head propped up on his hand.
"It's fine, I heard about it. I know you are never late, so I will forgive it now, but don't let it happen again." He said.
'Huh, how am I supposed to not let it happen again, it wasn't…whatever.' Y/N thought bitterly, nodding and walking out of the office. Right to the coffee station, where she pressed the buttons on the machine, making herself a cup. As she turned to her left, Y/N noticed a guy taking all the sugar that was there, and he noticed too. Eyes widening he had nervous smile on his face, still holding all the sugar bags that come with the stationery.
Y/N just looked at him with blank stare, then held up her hand, the one not holding her coffee and made a grabby motion.
The thief still looked nervous, but gave her one of the prepackaged sugar on the palm of her hand. She still looked at him, making grabby motion again, he gave her another one. Then she smiled and happily walked to her office station.
Random office guy just looked at her retreating form, he smiled slightly, interested in her reaction to her missing ID, which now laid on the desk in her office station.
When Y/N walked up to her desk, she noticed her work ID, along with note that said.
'You forgot this ~ X' with a smiley face on the bottom.
Y/N was momentarily creeped out about how he got the adress to her work place, but then she face palmed, realising it was written on the ID. She chuckled, putting it to her inside breast pocket.
What she didn't see was the random office guy peeking around the corner, looking at your reaction, and smiling to himself while walking to his own desk.
Few days later, Y/N was sitting on the roof of her apartment complex, eating some snacks she brought with her, just overlooking the buzzling streets.
When she heard silent footsteps behind her, she looked over her shoulder at the intruder of her peace, almost choking on her food when she realised it was X walking towards her. To not choke, she downed almost half of her water bottle, coughing because of her scratched throat.
After her fit, she looked at him nervously, he was looking at her with concern in his eyes, as if asking if she is okay.
Y/N nodded her head, signaling that she was indeed fine and patted the spot next to her for him to sit. X slid down next to her, but still leaving some space between them. Neither of them said anything, just looking over the city, enjoying the silence of the other.
"You want some?" Y/N said to X, offering her snack to him, he stared at the bag for a moment, and took a piece, humming at the taste as he ate the piece. Y/N left the bag between them, letting him take as much as he wanted.
They sat there like that for maybe an hour, munching on snacks, chilling and not saying anything, for nothing had to be said between them.
Y/N then looked at her phone, noticing it was almost time for he to go sleep. She got up, breaking the tranquility, her joints cracking from the long sitting. She turned to X.
"Thank you for the ID by the way, didn't notice it was missing until I got to work." She smiled warmly.
He looked up to her, smiled, and nodded his head, still not saying anything.
'Doesn't seem like the talking type, then.' Y/N said internally. Turning to walk away she spoke over her shoulder.
"Bye bye mister X." And walked through the door to her complex, leaving X sitting alone on the roof.
X chuckled, staying there for few more minutes, then snapping his fingers and vanishing.
Two days after her rooftop sitting with the most popular hero, she found herself sitting there again. The wind blowing on her hair, the night making the city look ethereal.
Then somebody tapped her on shoulder, she yelped, her soul leaving her body, she threw her hands up, swirling around to fight off the unexpected threat.
Then she noticed it was just X, she put her hand over her beating heart, willing it to calm down. She heard him snicker, looking smug at getting her scared like that.
"Hey stop that! I could have fell off the roof!" She yelled at him, frowning, causing him to start laughing more, hiding his face from her.
Her gloomy face started to crack, leaving her laughing as well, although not as intensely as X. After he calmed down, he sat next to her again, leaving some space between them.
"What are you even doing here, aren't you supposed to patrol or whatever heroes do?" Y/N asked X, tilting her head.
X just shrugged, he still had to say his first words to her, Y/N didn't really mind, understanding the want to be quiet in this loud world.
"Have you already ended for the day, then?" She asked him. X nodded at her question.
'So just yes or no questions then, okay.' Y/N thought, turning her head ahead, again staring at the astonishing city before them.
Then she remembered something, looking at the grocery bag she had next to her, rumaging through it, she pulled out the snack she offered to X the other day, giving him the whole package.
"This is for saving me the other day." He looked genuinely surprised, as if he wasn't used to receiving gifts or anything in general.
When she thought about it, people don't usually show gratitute to their heroes, getting used to being saved by them, sometimes not even taking them as human beings. Well, somited they werent exactly humans, per se, some of them wearing masks, hiding their humanity. And some were literal furries, like the hero no. 5 The Johnnies, who looks like cosplayer you could find at comic con. And one was just straight up dog, like no. 8, Ahu.
X took the bag, lowering his head as a silent thanks, putting it on his lap, he smiled, genuinely, not the smug or practiced smile he usually wore, but real one. Y/N smiled back at him, she swears he looked a bit nervous, or maybe shy.
Y/N then looked at the city again, taking in the atmosphere, letting herself relax for few more minutes. Getting up, stretching her sore body.
"Very well, I shall be going mister hero, enjoy your night, goodnight." Y/N said as she walked away from X back through the roof door inside.
"Goodnight." X said quietly after she left. He got up from his sitting position and snapped his fingers, vanishing into thin air again, leaving no trace of his stay.
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Thanks for reading! If you have any criticism or feedback, I would be happy :>
