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Confessions in the Moonlight (Love and Deepspace)

Back with another Mortality's Tenderness fic because I recently went back through these cards (I just love them so much) Xavier and MC in this AU were so peak.

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(Mortality’s Tenderness AU) Xavier seems to have no regard for Ariadne’s feelings. Every time she thinks she understands him he goes and makes her mad again. But ignoring him becomes difficult when he comes down with a wound fever.

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Ariadne marched through Zuiyue Pavilion, a restless energy sparking under her skin, brow furrowed in annoyance. Xavier had already disappeared on her, likely running away from her intent to tend to his wound. She had been unsuccessful in finding him in his room when she had brought him medical supplies.

She decided to go fetch food instead, knowing Xavier would likely be hungry if he hadn’t already sought out dinner. Running into Ms. Liu on the way, she inquired of the woman if she knew where Xavier might be.

“I believe some of the girls are tending to his injuries,” the proprietress told her. Supper became a second thought as Ariadne decided it was time to go track him down.

She hated the feeling of the women from the establishment watching her as she made her way through the halls, whispering under their breath and shooting patronizing smiles at her from behind their fans. After the giggling answer she got from the dancer she asked Xavier’s whereabouts from, she was just about ready to drag him outside and kick him down the street, injured or not.

She had been against coming back to the Pavilion at all, had begged Xavier to find an inn instead, but he had insisted that it would be the best place and they would get a good discount on their rooms because he knew the proprietress.

Of course he’s getting a good discount on a room if he’s sharing it with someone, Ariadne bitterly snapped to herself, her fists clenching tighter around the tray of food. She doubted Xavier would be so lucky for her to find him in the presence of a rabbit this time.

She made her way to the room that had been indicated to her. She reached out to knock when she heard surprised gasps and titters coming from within, punctuated by Xavier’s soft, slightly hesitant voice.

“Here, we’ll help you with your clothes!”

“Ah…it’s alright, I can do it myself.”

“No, no! You’re hurt.”

“Lay down, Xavier, we’ll take care of you.”

“That’s quite unnecessary—oh…”

“My, my, what a fine form you have, Xavier!”

“Built like a man who wields a sword!”

“And I bet he wields it well indeed!”

“Oh, undoubtedly!—Both swords…”

The accompanying giggles had Ariadne pushing the door open without preamble, stopping in the doorway to cast a disparaging look at the scene in front of her.

Xavier lay against a pile of luxurious pillows, surrounded by no less than five of Ms. Liu’s beautiful girls. His outer robes had been taken and cast aside, while his undershirt had been opened and pulled down to his waist. One girl was holding a bowl of water, another was applying a cloth to his wound, while yet another tore bandages. One held his hand tenderly, and other braided his hair back, stroking the luxuriously locks—a sight which made Ariadne’s fingers twitch in envy. Fury boiled up inside of her.

They all looked up as Ariadne came in, anger obvious on her face. The girls’ heckles raised and Xavier stared at her with an astonishingly pitiable look as if he were begging her to come help him.

Ariadne swallowed hard, wetting her lips. She hated to admit how much the sight of his bare torso was affecting her. Her eyes trailed briefly down his—indeed—finely formed chest and abdomen before dragging back up to his face as her resolve returned.

He could perish for all she cared.

She stepped forward and set the tray of food down on a nearby table so hard that some of the soup spilled and the clatter echoed pointedly through the room.

“I brought you supper,” she said shortly. “But I see you already have enough attendants to make sure you have what you need, so I’ll take my leave.”

She spun on her heel, not wanting to see another second of this ridiculous scene.

A rustling and sharp breath from Xavier came behind her. “Ariadne—mmph.”

“Lay down, Xavier!”

“Don’t move, we need to finish cleaning the wound.”

“You poor thing, here, let me feed you.”

The sound of the women fussing made Ariadne see red and she shut the door a little hard behind her. She stood there for a long moment before heading back to her chambers. Xavier could suffer the consequences of his own actions. She would give him no aid. It’s what he deserved for allowing those woman to fawn over him like that.

It had already been bad enough when he had been injured in another one of his ridiculous duels that she had warned him against engaging in, aware the opponent was a man known for tricks. And sure enough, Xavier’s skills and confidence had only gotten him so far, leaving him with sand in his eyes and a gash across the ribs.

The injury had indeed been shocking in the moment, Ariadne had rarely seen Xavier injured since he was so skilled with the blade, but her worry had been blown away in the wind as Xavier shook off her attempted care, insisting they return to the town instead. And then he only made it worse by insisting they stay at Ms. Liu’s.

Why am I so upset? Ariadne wondered in annoyance, splashing cold water on her face once she got back to her room before angrily throwing her sword belt and outer clothing to one side, planning to dress for bed. Her eye caught on the trunk sitting against the side of the wall and her stomach twisted slightly. She recalled the beautiful dresses Xavier bought her last time they were here. She turned her nose up at it. She’d never let him see her in something like that again. He could eat dirt if all he wanted to do was pay attentions to women like Ms. Liu’s girls.

But her clothes were dirty from travel and she felt grimy. The temptation to wear something clean overcame her anger, and she opened the trunk, rummaging around the fine materials until she pulled out a delicate nightgown. Her fingers slid across the silky material and with a sigh, she set it on the bed, washing up a little before slipping into it.

The silk felt luxurious against her skin and she briefly caught sight of herself in the mirror, barely recognizing the young woman standing there. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw the delicate purple nightgown on her body—she actually looked…pretty.

Would Xavier think so too?

She instantly flushed, turning away, wanting to take the nightgown off again at the very thought of him seeing her in it. She knew she still wasn’t as pretty as any of Ms. Liu’s girls. Her skin had been touched by the sun from her travels and her hands were rough from years of practice with the sword; she was sure Xavier would find their tending to his wounds much more pleasant.

She huffed as she slumped down onto her bed, punching the pillow rather violently before yanking the covers over herself.

She hoped he would recover swiftly so she could beat him for all the annoyance he put her through.

Despite her tumultuous feelings, she was quite exhausted and fell asleep easily. The moonlight shining on her face through the window.

***

Xavier watched as Ariadne stormed out of the room, an odd feeling settling in his gut before he was instantly swarmed again.

“Here, your wound is clean—does it hurt?”

“It’s fine,” he tried to reassure them, glancing at the bloody water smeared across his skin with little skill as his wound was gently dabbed. He made to push himself up, only to have his hair tugged.

“Careful! You’ll hurt him!”

“Xavier, I’m still braiding your hair! Stay still!”

He squirmed, flushing as one of them approached with bandages, practically embracing him as she began to wrap them around his torso, hands connecting with his skin far too often.

“You poor thing, you’re so brave, Xavier, enduring this injury with the utmost manliness.”

“Well, it’s not so bad…”

“Here, please drink some of this for the pain.”

“Oh, no, I—”

Before he could finish his protest, a small cup of strong wine was pressed to his lips and he was forced to drink it down or choke. The liquid burned down his throat, settling into his stomach.

“Have another glass, wine is medicinal!”

“I really—”

Delicate hands grabbed his chin, holding him still as he was forced to drink yet more wine to the light giggles of his captors.

The girls made it impossible for him to get up, fingers tangled in his hair, rubbing his shoulders and arms, one practically sitting in his lap as she fed him the food Ariadne had brought him.

Ariadne…he needed to go find her.

“I’m terribly sorry, but I need to go find my junior…”

“Oh, she’s fine,” one of the girls said quickly. “I’m sure she’s already asleep.”

“Yes, you wouldn’t want to disturb her, would you?”

“Besides, Xavier, you need to rest! Your wound won’t heal if you don’t!”

“Here, have some more wine to help you sleep.”

Another cup forced on him. His head was starting to feel fuzzy.

“How about a bath?”

“Oh yes! We can bathe you right here so you don’t even have to move!”

“No, thank you, I…would rather rest.”

He yet again tried to get up only to be pushed back against the cushions.

“Rest here, Xavier, you shouldn’t be getting up.”

“No, please, sleep here. We’ll look after you tonight.”

Another cup of wine was forced between his lips as he decided laying down was the only option. His body did hurt anyway, and Ariadne was mad at him. She wouldn’t be any less mad if he went to find her tonight. Best to wait for tomorrow morning.

His eyelids fluttered as he felt warm bodies press close to him. Part of him wished it was just one woman, but he had made Ariadne mad and would be unlikely to get this kind of treatment from her, ever. He would have to make it up to her somehow, but for tonight, he would rest.

***

Ariadne slept deeply despite her tumultuous mind. Yet something woke her in the dead of night when the rest of the Pavillion was silent.

A fumbling at her door, accompanied by heavy, shuffling steps.

Her hand reached unconsciously for her sword where it rested beside her mattress and as she felt, rather than saw, the figure looming over her, she rolled over, about to brandish the blade when…

“Ah!”

The figure simply collapsed onto her mattress, familiar silvery hair glowing in the moonlight as the heavy figure wrapped his arms around her legs, nuzzling his face into her knees like a pillow.

“Xavier!”

“Mm, found you—was looking everywhere.”

His words were slightly slurred—was he sleep walking? But no, the telltale scent of wine drifted up to her.

“Are you drunk?” she demanded in disgust.

“Hm? Oh, yes…the girls made me drink.”

Ariadne huffed and shoved him off her legs. He sprawled to the side and let out a small, pained grunt.

Brief guilt washed over her as she remembered his wound. “You should go back to bed,” she said, starting to get up. “Come here, I’ll help you.”

She threw back the covers, and only as Xavier’s eyes fell on her figure with slight, drunken surprise, did she remember what she was wearing.

“It looks nice on you,” Xavier said softly, suddenly not sounding drunk enough.

She snatched the blanket back up to her neck. “I-I didn’t have anything else clean!”

Xavier swayed closer, practically crawling on top of her. “Please don’ make me leave,” he murmured. “Too tired to…”

His head drooped dangerously close to her chest and she reached out to grab his shoulders before he made a soft landing against her breasts.

“Xavier, you…” she trailed off as she felt the heat pouring off of him. She reached up to press a hand to his forehead, finding him indeed fevered.

“Xavier, you have a fever,” she murmured.

“Mmm,” he moaned a little, trying to chase her hand as she pulled it away and shifted so she could lay him down on the mattress, giving up the idea of getting him back to his room at the moment.

“Stay here.”

She got up to light some lanterns, finally illuminating the room. It revealed how flushed Xavier’s face was, and she knew it wasn’t all from the wine now. Sweat beaded on his brow and he curled slightly onto his uninjured side.

“I’m going to go get some things for you. Stay here.”

He looked forlorn lying there, and it was almost enough to make her sorry for her feelings toward him earlier. Almost. She wouldn’t forget that he only bothered to seek her out second.

She was quick to fetch what she needed, coming back to the room with bandages, cloths, a bowl of water as well as some salves and a brewing cup of tea that would help reduce his fever.

“Let me see it,” she said.

Xavier’s brow furrowed but he dutifully rolled onto his back. Ariadne carefully undid the ties on his loose undershirt and opened it up, revealing the haphazard bandages, blood already soaking through them.

She clicked her tongue. “Those girls did nothing for you.”

“They were only trying to help,” Xavier murmured.

“The only thing they did was get you drunk,” Ariadne snapped.

She reached out to undo the bandages and Xavier hissed as the dried blood stuck to the bandage from a lack of proper cleaning, leaving the little scabbing that had occurred to be ripped off, causing the wound to bleed again.

Ariadne lips formed a thin line as she pressed a cloth to the wound once she had finally freed it of the soiled bandages.

“You must have a wound fever,” she said, brows pinching in slight worry. “You should have let me tend to this first thing!”

Xavier looked away, avoidant. Ariadne ignored him and reached for a wet cloth, wringing it out before she cleaned the wound properly. Xavier flinched and whined, the wine making him more honest.

“It stings…can you be more gentle?”

“No,” Ariadne replied. “You might have gotten gentler ministrations from those girls, but they didn’t do you any favors. A wound needs to be cleaned properly.”

His brows scrunched as she refused to stop and coddle him. Ariadne ignored him for the most part, but she couldn’t deny his pain hurt her. The wound was a lot worse than she had thought too. It stretched about five inches across his left ribcage and was quite deep. Not deep enough to need stitches, she thought, but enough that it would need tending and proper care.

She reached for a salve and started to spread it on before bandaging him again and he flinched and grabbed her wrist.

“Hurts.”

“Yes, I know. That means it’s healing.”

He frowned and turned his face away as she continued. When she was finally done, she set a clean cloth over the wound and reached for the bandages.

“I need you to sit up for a moment.”

He sighed and tried to push himself up. Ariadne helped him, getting him into a sitting position and started to wrap the bandages around his torso when Xavier slumped against her.

She froze in shock at the sudden proximity, his hot, bare chest pressed against her as he nuzzled his nose into the crook of her neck, seeming to be completely shameless at the moment.

She swallowed hard, reminding herself that he was drunk, and it was better to just get this over with. She easily wrapped the bandages around him, trying to ignore the touch of his bare skin. Why was she just thinking of it now when she didn’t have his wound to occupy her?

Finally, the agonizing event was over and she let him slump back against the pillows, quickly tying his shirt up again so she didn’t have to be tormented by his well-formed figure.

“Okay, now I have some medicine for your fever. You need to drink all of it.”

He moaned, trying to turn his head away as she picked up the teacup and pressed it to his lips.

“Don’t be difficult.”

He cringed and coughed as he swallowed the first mouthful. “It’s bitter.”

She was unrelenting though, making him drink the rest of it. “You drank their wine, now you have to drink my tea.”

He coughed again, pulling a face, but she was satisfied that he swallowed it.

“May I have some sugar now?”

“No, you’re a grown man. You don’t been to be pampered like a child,” Ariadne told him firmly.

“My Junior is indeed cruel,” he sighed, settling back against the pillows.

Ariadne pressed her lips into an angry line as she tossed the soiled cloths back onto the tray. “You need to rest.”

“You’re angry with me. Why?”

Ariadne scoffed. “You don’t know?”

“I’m sorry I fought the duel when you told me not to.”

She spun around to face him. “You think that’s the only reason?”

He stared at her with those wide, too-innocent eyes in the darkness.

“It was bad enough you didn’t explain to me who Lady Rong was when we first came here, but this time, you ended up precisely where I thought you would be then!”

He looked away slightly, eyes flicking to watch the flame dancing in one of the lanterns.

“I thought I would give you time to cool off.”

“Cool off!” Ariadne demanded, suddenly incensed. “And let me see you with a bunch of random women fawning over you and touching you like that?”

“I see it really bothered you,” Xavier said slowly.

She loomed over him. “I just don’t understand what you want from me, Xavier! I never have. You’re so incredibly infuriating that I—”

He tugged on her arm and she suddenly found himself pulled toward him. She barely caught herself before she fell on him and injured him further, but Xavier’s hand was already on the back of her neck, pulling her in.

“What are you—”

His lips met hers. All breath left her body, as she stared at his closed lids, her own eyes wide. She was too much in shock to pull away, the soft, warm press of his lips with the lingering taste of the tea and wine were all she knew for what felt like an eternity.

Xavier finally pulled back, opening his eyes halfway. “The taste is less bitter now,” he whispered.

Heat flushed through Ariadne like a tidal wave. How could he just say something like that?

“Wha—are you—are you trying to seduce me to make me less angry?”

He looked genuinely confused this time. “No. I’ve just wanted to do that for a while.”

An embarrassing sound left her throat. She had to remind herself that he was drunk and fevered, that this was a result of that combination. She should certainly not be thinking too much about it. But before she could reprimand him further (or say anything to make this worse) his eyes fluttered and he let out a genuine sound of discomfort.

“Xavier?”

She pressed the back of her hand to his forehead and found his fever still rather hot. It would take a while for the tea to work.

She fetched a clean cloth and wrung it out in the fresh bowl of water before pressing it to his forehead, bathing his face and neck.

He seemed to relax slightly and reached up to take her hand. “Thank you for taking care of me anyway. Even if you’re mad.”

Her resolve wavered. She refused to admit that it was partly due to the kiss. At the end of the day, she just hated seeing him hurt like this.

She sighed and resigned herself to letting him have her bed that night, pulling the blanket up over his shivering figure.

“Don’t worry about it, Xavier. Just rest.”

She was about to get up, but his hand was still clutched around her wrist.

“Stay,” he murmured.

She shouldn’t allow this. It was highly inappropriate. And yet, he shouldn’t be left alone that night, in case his fever took a turn for the worst.

Either way, he was already tugging her down onto the mattress, and Ariadne ended up allowing it, despite her better judgement.

She curled slightly awkwardly onto her side, facing away from him as Xavier settled in, cuddling against her back as he wrapped his arms around her waist. His breathing evened out quickly into deep sleep.

It should have been uncomfortable, it should have been awkward, but all she could think of was how warm and nice it felt to be like this.

His warmth and breathing lulled her to sleep before she could even fight the urge.

***

Ariadne slept deeply, and woke to an impossibly warm blanket and sunlight filtered through the window, accompanied by singing birds.

She blinked a few times, before fully realizing that Xavier was sleeping with his head on her chest. Her stomach flipped slightly as all the memories of the previous night filtered in. Particularly the kiss. Had that even happened? It was too real to be a dream, she decided. The memory of how his lips felt…

But reality crept in and she reached a hand to his face to check his fever. His brow and neck were damp, and she was relieved to see that he was less warm, his fever had finally broken.

Taking advantage of his sleeping state, she brushed his hair away from his face, stroking the silky strands between her fingers. There were several mussed braids left in from the girls’ ministrations the night before and Ariadne spitefully started to undo all of them, smoothing Xavier’s hair against his back.

A soft murmur came from him as he nuzzled closer to her, pressing his nose against her collarbone. Ariadne froze instinctively, heart flipping as an unbidden affection rose up, stronger than she had ever allowed herself to feel before.

Xavier blinked his eyes open and shifted so that he could stare at her blearily. “Good morning,” he said hoarsely.

It took everything in Ariadne to keep her cheeks from heating. “Good morning. How do you feel?’

“Mm, tired, my wound aches a little and my head…” he cringed.

“Well, you drank a lot last night, apparently, so that’s understandable.”

He furrowed his brow as Ariadne reluctantly got up, shifting him back against the mattress.

Xavier frowned at the loss of warmth as she got up to get him a cup of water.

“I’ll check your wound in a moment,” she told him, handing him the cup.

Xavier downed the water thirstily as Ariadne gathered fresh bandages and salve.

When he set the empty cup aside, she knelt beside him. “Okay, let me look at the wound.”

He nodded and pushed the blankets down, fumbling to untie his shirt.

Ariadne glanced away briefly. This was not the same as it had been last night when he was drunk and fevered. When he had…

She bit the inside of her cheek to stop thinking about the kiss. Xavier probably didn’t even remember that. He hadn’t been in a clear state of mind anyway.

When she turned back to him, she was glad to see that he hadn’t bled through the bandages again. But the fever breaking had left them damp so she decided it best to change them.

She braced herself for the close proximity, trying to be ambivalent about Xavier’s muscled chest and stomach, especially as she felt those lean muscles shift under her fingers as he flinched at her application of the salve.

She was sure her face was red all the same by the time she had finished bandaging him up.

“There…it’s looking good.”

“That’s good,” Xavier replied simply.

Before she could help him tie his shirt back up, voices could be heard in the hallway outside, leaving them both to freeze.

“I don’t know where he is! He was gone when we got up.”

“Why would he wander off?”

“What if he’s lying hurt in a dark closet somewhere!”

“Xavier! Where are you?”

Ariadne swore and one desperate look from Xavier had her shoving him onto her mattress and yanking the covers up over his head as she slid in next to him.

It was hot under the blanket with his shared warmth, his breath grazing her chin, hair tickling her cheek. Her heart pounded impossibly fast and it had nothing to do with the possibility of being found out.

The footsteps stopped outside the door, whispering ensued until finally a knock came on Ariadne’s door.

Her and Xavier both jumped. Xavier grabbed her wrist, as if begging her not to give him up.

Ariadne waited for another knock before she called out, “What is it?”

“Miss Ariadne, have you seen Xavier anywhere?”

“No,” she replied simply.

“Ah…never mind.”

Their footsteps retreated, leaving Ariadne and Xavier to both sag in relief.

“Ugh, we should get out of here today, they’re not going to leave you alone—”

Her words were halted as Xavier pulled her back under the blankets and pressed his lips to hers. She was just as shocked as she was the night before, staring at him blankly as he pulled away, eyes slightly shadowed underneath the blanket.

“Xavier—”

“Sorry,” he said in a way that made it clear he wasn’t sorry at all. “I just wanted you to know that I remembered last night, but figured you thought it didn’t count since I was drunk and fevered. I wanted to make sure you understood my true feelings.”

Ariadne flushed, covering her face with her hands as Xavier’s lips curled up.

“You’re impossible,” she said.

“You didn’t like it?”

“I didn’t say that!”

“Mm,” he hummed and snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. “Then let us stay like this for a while longer? I’m tired and injured. I don’t want to face those girls again right now. I didn’t intend to get caught by them originally, you know. I would always rather have you tend to my injuries—even if you aren’t the most gentle.”

Ariadne laughed despite herself. “Then make sure I’m the first one you ask to tend your injuries in the future. No more seeking attention from other women.”

“Don’t worry,” Xavier said, pressing his forehead against hers. “I only want the attention of one. Nothing will ever change that.”

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