Hello, dreamerγΌthis is a place where thousands of stories were born, yet none are forgotten ! My name is Jade, and i'm a wandering auteur and artist! in any case, its a pleasure to meet you :>
Some important things to consider before following and interacting:
Gender is an important and sensitive topic for me, so please do be mindful that my pronouns are they/them, and I am agender/nonbinary ace.
I am a suffering university student (with a pursuing degree in business management!) so updates may be sporadic.
I'm also 21 years old, an adult, so if that bothers you, you may choose not to interact with me at all :> though this blog will remain, and will always be, sfw. Some of my works may contain suggestive themes, but nothing that borders n.sfw and dark content so minors are free to browse around here safely!
I can generally speak in four languages so feel free to message me via themγΌFilipino, English (my second language), and French (a minor subject of mine). Though I can speak and understand Italian, my skills are now rusty and I'm not confident with it π¦ so if you don't want to suffer from my almost non-existent Italian, better talk to me in English xD
I love a certain fictional alchemist and a botanist a normal amount :3
I'm AR60 on Europe server, AR59 on Asia server and AR58 on America server, but I'm afraid I'm not currently open to co-op rn since I have a very...personal reasons as to why heh. I won't be able to give you my UID in public as well (unless ur a moot! If so, feel free to ask me!) because my family plays Genshin with me and they certainly know what's my account π I'd rather not have them know I write fanfics afγΌ
I main Albedo (he's C4 now! and planning to c6 him soon!), but I usually switch to my C6 Diluc π. My team mostly consists/rotates between Xiao, Tighnari, Ayato, Kazuha, Hu Tao, Venti, Raiden and Zhongli. Not so proud of their builds though and I'm dumb when it comes to meta stuff so I won't be able to help you much if you ask me xD
Not so fun fact: I benched my Ayaka and C2 Keqing because they're poorly built π¦ did I mention that the rascal ginger dude didn't come home to me in ALL of his banners? π
Tbh, i was still writing in ao3 in the past months im away at tumblr xD so im probably gonna transfer some of my writings from there here so you all can read it too :>
MAEEEE OMG HELLLOOO!!! I MISS TALKING TO YOU OMFG!!! π₯Ίπ₯Ίπ₯Ίπ₯Ίπ
I DIDNT MEAN TO LEAVE π i just have been slumped by my uni works for the whole semester than i have no choice but to take a break πΏ when they say third year in college is the busiest and frankly, the most costly year, they werent joking shsnagakhsjs see ive just vanished in my grave for seven months-
Hi again Jade! For me everything is fine! Uni was a bit stressful (especially exams) but everything went smoothly and now I enjoy my summer break!
Oh and now I also fell into another abyss called honkai star rail (I'm married to Jing Yuan, he is so handsome, amazing, his design is just *chef kiss* like look at him )
so yeah... I kind of burned out for genshin, but I still play it... new Kaeya skin is *chef kiss*
What about you? I hope everything was ans is great for you!
QIN!!! I HOPE YOU GET A LOT OF REST FROM ALL THAT EXAMS THEN!! YOURE DOING GREAT COMRADE IM PROUD OF U EHE *pats pats*
Tbh, I also fell in that hole of hsr since its release. Tho i played it for a month before dipping out bc of my terrible luck π (even more terrible than my genshin luck dhsjsg) like bronya and bailu cant stop coming home to me i just want jing yuan or luocha πΏπΏ SO I AGREED THAT MAN IS A FINE ART, IF ONLY I HADNT LOST TO E1 BAILU OTL
I'm still going strong for genshin tbh! I just hit ar60 on main and ar58 on my asia and ar56 on america where i continue to grind primos for my bbgurl scarapookie. I want to c6r5 him (and i decided to make my america account a wanderer dedicated account oop) even as a f2p (cause damn it i wont spend a single penny on this game mark my words eusjeg) im so ready for him and plus im on guaranteed at soft pity so his c2 (or c3 if im lucky) is coming home whether he likes it or not ππ
ANW, I HOPE YOURE DOING GREAT QIN!! ITS BEEN SUCH A PLEASURE TO SEE YOURE STILL HERE OMG I WANT TO PLATONICALLY HUG YOU-
(Btw, if anyone wants to play with me/or friend me in genshin, you can ask for my uid in dms or asks! ^^)
Tbh, i was still writing in ao3 in the past months im away at tumblr xD so im probably gonna transfer some of my writings from there here so you all can read it too :>
I manage to survive our hellweek of exams and I want to believe I did a good job to it LMAO hopefully lol. Thank you for being patient with me!
And one more thing, even though I'm generally free now of any responsibilities in uni till February, I actually had decided on doing something else so fanfiction updates will be more sporadic than before. I'm sorry about that!
That something else was actually, if anyone was interested, is me writing my own original fiction π₯΄ I was in the planning stages of my novel and writing bits here and there so my interest are align with it for now (I haven't found a good place to publish it yet but I was thinking of using Dreame or...idk, anyone has suggestions?) But yes...thats the gist of it! I am very interested in writing my own original novels now that my time writing fanfics are cut short!
BUT fret not, I will never abandon this blog nor would my love for genshin (cough albedo cough wanderer cough tighnari) would ever fade so I'll still publish fanfics every now and then when inspiration strikes! :>
And ill still be online most of the time! So if u want to talk and interact with me, feel free to do so via ask or dms i dont mind either! π
Hnggg. My radio silence will last until next week on friday, comrades π i might've said this in another post but my finals is approaching and I want to give it my all bc yk disappointing ur asian parents is never a good ending unless i want a chancla flying to beat me up ππ
On serious note, its also because I was selected to become a panelist on our research class and I have no choice but to review our research AND the research of the group that was asign to me to be a panel π added to that i have to review my other subjects to so...yeah u get the gist xD i cant write till next week so i asked to be a little more patient with me! After that, i am free for one week (sem break!!! Yay!) AND I COULD WRITE FOR MY HEARTS DESIRE WOHOWW
Jade hi! How you're doing? Hope everything is good! Did you pull for Ayato or Ei? Or maybe you already have them both or one of them.
I did pull for Ayato, because firstly, when there was his 1st banner, I lost 50/50 to Diluc ((well, I kinda like him, so it was okay), me and my sibling were joking that it was Ajax, who turned wish/fate to another direction from Ayato, 'cause "There can be only one hydro husband"π€£π€£π€£) Secondly, I like his character design and I like him as character(like personality etc.) and thirdly, (maybe it's the main reason?) because of his Chinese VA (Zhao Lu, I love his voice sooo much!) Oh, and he was guaranteed! Then I tried weapon banner (I never pull there because it's literally some sort of scam) but I tried, and got Amos bow, which I already haveπ so weapon banner IS A SCAM! (maybe not, but it have strange mechanic/thing with pity) Well, at least I got Ayato...βΊοΈ
Sorry for rambling and taking your time. Again, hope you are doing okay, and please don't overwork yourself! + hope if you wished on any banner, you got a character you wanted!
QIN!! HIII!!! ITS BEEN A WHILE I HOPE UR DOING GREAT TOO! I'm mostly fine! Just stressed out with constant research paperworks (our defence is on tuesday next week archons forbid im sweating bullets) and preparing for hellweek of finals π otherwise im healthy and alive...and kicking HAHAHA.
OH HEY!! SAME!! I LOVE AYATO SM and when i played tears of themis back at its release, artem was my absolute fave too! And let me tell u, qin, when i wished on ayatos first banner back in march, i was devastated when c5 diluc came π€ i almost bawled my eyes out bc i cant get him then LMAO so i swear imma get him on his rerun SO YES! I DID GET HIM ON 78 PITY LOL (but its on my asia alt instead of main ._.). its guaranteed so i expect him but yk whats amazing? π
I still have a spare 10 wishes and i was thinking "nah. Its impossible to get raiden now i dont have any fates and i rlly want a rosaria" and when i lazily pressed the 10 pull...
HERE SHE IS LMAO. I DIDNT EXPECT HER TO COME HOLY SHIT I ALMOST THREW MY PHONE BC??? HOW CAN U BE SO LUCKY AT 8 PITY??????ππ so yeah i got both ayato and raiden LOL the funniest shit is that i pull on my america accnt too for shit and giggles (nope its bc i want sayu for crystalfiles π) AND SHE COME AGAIN AT 35 PITY IM SCREAMING RAIDEN LOVES ME SM SHE SPARES NO SHIT AT COMING HOLY HELL. HELLOO?? XDDD
Also, yes that weapon banner is a scam ._. Im not trying anything again after spectacularly losing the staff of homa for 2 times and then getting amos for the 4th time around π
CONGRATS ON GETTING AYATO!! HES SO FUN TO PLAY AND HES SAVING MY ABYSS SO FAR LMAO. And dw about bothering me, its not at all! I might not be the fastest to respond bc of uni stuff going rn, BUT ILL RESPOND ASAP HEHEHE
I MIGHT JAVE ACCIDENTALLY SUBMITTED YOUR NEW YEARS WISHES BUT YKNOW WHAT ITS FINE I AM NOT TIRED I PINKY SWEAR!
I hope your new years is amazing and that you have an amazing time, and if anyone makes you upset let it be known that I will find them and wack them with a fire extinguisher, hope your day is lively!
IM ONE WEEK LATE, IM SO SORRY KUKI I SWEAR I WAS JUST SO BUSY DROWING IN PAPERWORKS TO ANSWER THIS AND IM NOT IGNORING U πππππ¦
In any case, thank u for the well wishes!! I hope you will have a wonderful year ahead too because ur a wonderful and talented person and u deserve all happiness to come :)
Also ur so sweet!! Since u offer, I would like u to whack my research partners bc they pushed the responsibility of being a panelist to the other groups to me and now i have more work to do which im DEFINITELY happy about hehe π€π€π€
Iβm a cis het female whoβs a MINOR being spammed by thirst trap bots π€‘
Donβt mind the Chinese phone settings πππ
Also do you play ensemble! Stars
BLOCK EM ALL, STARLY WJSKAYWKW any minors who see this pls block these accnts for ur own sanity and innocence π im an adult but seeing all these bots following me makes me uncomfy fr πππ¦ one day...one day when im nor busy drowninh with papers and stuff, ill clean up these bots ππ
Also, no :( I want to play it tho. I heard enstars is a rhythm game? Im looking ππ
Haahehahsha I took math finals today I probably failed πππ
Itβs 15% of my grade my moms gonna be so pissed and Iβm barely hanging onto a 88% So this could make or break my semester π
I'm just seeing this now and just two days before I take my taxation exams and let me tell u, starly, SAME!! IM HANGING OF FCKING THIN ICE IM CRYING OVER MATHS AND BUSINESS PROPOSALS I THINK IM GOING INSANE JWKWHWIW πππππ
My little reprive was this little space in tumblr and im glad that ur sharing that pain HAHAHAHA
I'll answer your asks tomorrow, comrades! :> I have a very busy day today and I just got home so i dont have enough energy to answer piles of wonderful asks/interactions IM SORRY SJWKWHW its nearly 11 pm here so im gonna be sleeping in a jiffy!
Hopefully tomorrow, my schedule wont be as tight and ill be able to post something too! GOOD NIGHT AND AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO THE ONES STILL CELEBRATING IT <333
WHAT THE HELL I JUST NOTICED WANDERER HAS AN ELECTRO SEAL AT THE BACK OF HIS NECK LIKE RAIDEN LOL.
Why did Ei put watermarks on her creations? π since the raiden shogun has it too, it took me by surprise when i noticed wanderers glow when he uses his E skill π§
Is Ei like: if lost, return to inazuma? Made in Inazuma?? Or something? ππ
πππππππ | in which tighnari makes up for the few weeks of loneliness away from your side as he let you teach him how to ice skate during the winter holiday because 'tis is the season to remember.
ππ / ππ | gn!reader x tighnari; fluff; a bit hurt then comfort; kissing; let me know if I missed anything!
πππππ | this is my exchange gift for @mako-yaki in the Secret Santa Event hosted by @2022gisecretsanta ! I was supposed to add Ayato and Kazuha (and Wanderer cause I thought of a good scenario for him oof) but I sadly have no time to write more for them so maybe I'll just do a part 2 soon if possible! Still, I hope you like this as much as I love writing them! Happy holidays to you, comrade <3
PS. I'm most certain that teyvat do not have christmas because of its origin but for the sake of this fic, I just renamed it as a winter holidays with unknown origin lol. And I'm not certain too if my dear secret santa celebrates christmas so to be safe, christmas is referred to as 'winter holiday' instead!
masterlist
You glide for a few meters after stepping onto the ice to reacquaint yourself with the sensation beneath your skates. You awkwardly spin around, stumbling a little when the blades hit an uneven chunk of ice, but you quickly get back on your feet before you completely lose balance. You smile to yourself, at least you remember how to do that.
It's been a while since you have been in an outdoor rink, knowing that you were staying in Sumeru and its rainforest for a few years now. But the sight of multiple pairs of lovers skating together hand in hand as if they own the world, little children waddling about unsteadily on the ice, parents flailing around as they frantically attempt to chase after their cheeky children who have yet to wear their mufflers...
It all brings a fond grin to your face, memories of childhood and holiday outings coming to mind.
You gaze up at the place surrounding the rink, the bright blue sky filled with clouds and the towering pine trees located at the other end of the rink, and you feel excitement begin to well up in your chest. An excited hum escapes your lips, and youβre about to skate off when it hits you that youβve forgotten somethingβor rather, someone.
You turn around at the sound of your name, and you see Tighnari standing a distance behind you, though even standing seems to pose a huge challenge to him. Heβs trembling while flailing his arms as he attempts to keep his balance, even though itβs clear that heβs just barely taken a step off the ground.
His gaze darted between the ice then to you, slight panic glazing in his eyes. Though some relief sets in when you skate over to him, he gives you an irritated glare and an embarrassed flush of his cheeks when he sees you stifling your laughter at his pathetic state.Β
You hold out your hand to him once youβre close enough and immediately he clutches tightly to your arm like a lifeline.
"The audacity of you to leave me behind, you heartless dunce." He huffed angrily, leaning against you as he tried to release the tension in his muscles, clearly tired from the effort of standing on ice even for a short period of time. "I canβt believe you almost left me alone to rot here!"
The way that extreme embarrassment tends to turn the fennec hybrid into a petty drama queen is so amusing. Especially when he still seeks you out despite how irritated he is.
"But you were doing okay," you said, though both of you know that he was the exact opposite of being okay. "It's your first time so don't be so stressed about it," you continue when his disgruntled scowl deepens at your unconvincing tone. "At the very least, you didnβt cry, 'Nari, Iβm so proud of you."
He groaned in irritation when you patted his ears teasingly, brushing off your hand almost immediately. "I did not fall, thank you very much. And I donβt cry over such petty things."
"Oh? I'm confident your eyes were misty when I skated over to support you earlier."
βI did no such thing,β he scowled, though his long ears started dropping in defence. βSkating is rather hard, okay? I believe you were forgetting I have lived in the rainforest all my life. This is my first time.β
βDon't worry, I got you.β You said with a reassuring smile, nudging his waist lightly with your elbow. The action made him stumble and cling tighter to your arm in response. The absolute shock that crossed on his usually stern face makes you giggle, and it takes you a while to calm yourself so that heβll stop glaring at you.Β
You pried his hand away from your sore arm, and instead, intertwining his fingers with yours. "Donβt worry, 'Nari. Weβll hold hands, so don't let go."
Tighnari's brows shot up in the hairline, not comforted in the least by your reassuring smile. βI swear to all Archons in Teyvat, [Name], Iβll make you regret this if you let me go or pull weird tricks to make me faββ
"I wonβt! What kind of lover do you take me for?β You pouted.
Before he can come up with a snarky reply, you start pulling him across the ice rink. You have to bite the inside of your cheeks to keep your laughter to yourself when you hear him release an undignified yelp before tightly latching both his hands onto yours.
Come to think of it, despite his ungodly snarks and overall clumsiness at skating, your favourite scholar really isnβt too bad for a first-timer. He merely fell once so far.Β
That first time was because you let his hand go for staring too long at that person who was executing a beautiful spin and statingstating bluntly that you skated like a "circus snake" compared to them. So rude.Β
Though it wasn't that unusual when Tighnari insists on taking a break.
βWhat are you looking at?β His lips were curled downward in displeasure while seated on the bench.
βNothing~"
"Sometimes, I really hate you.β
βHehe. Love you too, 'Nari.β You respond in a sickeningly sweet, but mischievous voice. You bark a laugh loudly when he makes a move to get away from you but slips on the icy surface of the ground and lands squarely on his bum instead. That's twice now, you thought with a snicker.
After attempting for several minutes to convince Tighnari that you would stop harassing him for another hour and then failing spectacularly, you are left with little alternative but to drag him there. Back on the ice rink, you make the decision that you should definitely try to make your grumpy partner smile once more.
When he asks suspiciously what you're "plotting" this time, you refuse to say anything and gingerly take his hand before skating slowly toward the center of the rink. His misgivings and distrust towards you make you want to pout, but they aren't entirely unfounded given how you almost made him lose his sanity and completely drove him insane in the past hour.
βWhat are you doing?β He questioned in confusion.
"Dancing with the music while on ice!" You answer with a grin. "Since you're still new to this skating thing, just thought we could use a change of pace. And so that you would stop glaring at me already."
His brows furrowed. βAnd you didnβt think that I could use something like this earlier instead?"
You shush him, pressing a finger to his lips. "Shush. Just enjoy the moment, 'Nari."
He grumbles something incoherent under his breath, probably more complaints but nonetheless, his grip on your waist tightens to pull you closer to him, and he allows you to pull him along in slow circles. The both of you sway in time to the mellow beat, and after a while you hear Tighnari humming along softly to the carol while the ghost of a smile plays on his lips. His shoulders begin to loosen as he eases into the dance, the creases on his forehead fading away the more he loses himself in your eyes and in the faintly playing music.
Wordlessly, you felt your heart swell with affection. Tighnari has been so busy these past few weeks, and you both barely saw each other, if not at all. It makes you feel a little lonely, but you understand that his job requires his full attention and that many people rely on him as their leader.
You understand that, yes, stillβ¦it doesn't mean that you have to like it.
Perhaps Tighnari felt guilty about leaving you behind for so long either, and he felt it was his fault that he wasn't by your side at your lowest time when you needed him the most, so when the news of a new skating rink reaches his ears in the nearby country of Fontaine, he latches on the chance to take you along, knowing how you loved such excursions but have no time nor place to enjoy doing so.Β
And even though it was his first time ice skating, and he wasn't even that used to the cold climate, Tighnari still took the effort to bring you here and you were grateful for his thoughtfulness for that. Whether he regrets it now or not because of your mischievous 'plotting' that almost made him senile remains to be seen.
When he appears to be less wary of the ice, you slowly skate backwards to pull away from him so you can lift his arm over and do a twirl along with him. The childish action pulls a chuckle from his lips, which causes your own to curve upwards as well.
"I supposed this isnβt half bad anymore," he remarked lightly.
"Right? I told you you would love this.β
He clarifies his sentence. "Correction: I like it when you donβt push me or make me skate like a Rishboland Tiger on incense."
Chuckling, you start skating and pulling him along with you. "It was your fault that you fell twice."
"You pushed me the first time," he argued.
"That was your fault, too."
"It wasn't, you lummox. I was doing fine until youβhey, look out!β
Before you can even process what he is saying, your left leg smacks against something hard, throwing you off balance. As you recoil and drag Tighnari down with you, all you can see is his gaping mouth and frozen expression of dread.
Your bottom takes the majority of the impact as your body crashes to the hard ice, and something sharp and unpleasant is jabbing at your side. Tighnari slammed directly on top of you, his immense weight knocking the wind out of you. He tries to get off of you as quickly as possible, but accidentally slips and falls on you again, this time, crushing your ribs.
βUgh. I'm so sorry,β he muttered hurriedly, moving to get up so his weight is on his forearms that are resting on either side of your face. "Are you okay!?"
"I'll live." You replied with a grimace. "What was that?"
"A snowboard," he replies, looking over his shoulder where a blue overturned snowboard is lying. "Who in the world left that lying in the middle of a skating rink? That's highly dangerous! I would love to get some words withβ"
"Probably a child," you stopped his tirade before it escalated to something close to a full-blown lecture. "Owwβ¦"
Tighnari carefully crawls away from you so he has sufficient space to get back on his feet and once heβs up, he holds out a hand to you. "I'll help you up,"
You clasped his hand and allowed him to pull you up. But about halfway through, he manages to tip overβpossibly because you put too much weight on himβand falls backward, dragging you with him.
You both crash land in a jumbled heap of limbs for the second time today. Perhaps the pain has finally reached your mind, but when you shift so that your weight is off of him and gaze down at his dumbfounded face, you can't help but laugh out loud. You know the people around you are giving you strange looks, but you can't help it.
You manage, struggling to recover your breath between laughs, "Today has been such a mess."
Tighnari is just staring at you like you've finally lost it, but before long the corners of his chapped, dry lips are also curling upwards and soon enough, he's laughing along with you at the ridiculous situation the two of you are in.
He sighed, blowing out a puff of breath and lightly flicking your forehead good naturedly. "You better make up for this later to me, you big lummox."
"Heh. Of course. Anything else you want as compensation?" You asked, brushing the viridescent strand of his hair from concealing his lovely face. He deserves this after all the terrorising from you today.
As he mulls over the query, his features settle into a thoughtful expression, and his lips pursed. Very cute, the way heβs almost pouting with his lips pushed out like that. Looking at him from this angle, with his dark hair splayed out around his head like a halo, lying on the shimmering ice beneath the bright rays of the sun in winter, you canβt help but feel your chest swell with affection. The loneliness you felt over the weeks apart from each other slowly, but surely unveiling itself little by little until it becomes nothing but a bittersweet memory.
He takes so much time to decide, and you feel impatient. So, with a mischievous smile, you lean in, catching him completely off guard when you press your lips to his. You pull away quickly after leaving a gentle peck, but his hand is quick to press on your back to keep you from moving away too far.
βOne more time.β His tone is serious, but his face is well on its way to matching the colour of Nilou's hair as his gaze remains on your face, attentive olive eyes tracing the lines of your features and lingering on the changing colour of your heated cheeks. βAs...compensation, that is.β he added, by way of explanation.
You smile brightly, ignoring the sting of your cracking lips when they spread too wide, and you lean in, more than happy to comply and compensate, while youβre at it.
This sweet moment is more than anything you could take home as a holiday keepsake.
TAGLIST (let me know if you want to be added in my future works!): @samarill , @maehemthemisfit , @chocogi , @rvoulte , @luvwukong ...
πππππππ | in which tighnari makes up for the few weeks of loneliness away from your side as he let you teach him how to ice skate during the winter holiday because 'tis is the season to remember.
ππ / ππ | gn!reader x tighnari; fluff; a bit hurt then comfort; kissing; let me know if I missed anything!
πππππ | this is my exchange gift for @mako-yaki in the Secret Santa Event hosted by @2022gisecretsanta ! I was supposed to add Ayato and Kazuha (and Wanderer cause I thought of a good scenario for him oof) but I sadly have no time to write more for them so maybe I'll just do a part 2 soon if possible! Still, I hope you like this as much as I love writing them! Happy holidays to you, comrade <3
PS. I'm most certain that teyvat do not have christmas because of its origin but for the sake of this fic, I just renamed it as a winter holidays with unknown origin lol. And I'm not certain too if my dear secret santa celebrates christmas so to be safe, christmas is referred to as 'winter holiday' instead!
masterlist
You glide for a few meters after stepping onto the ice to reacquaint yourself with the sensation beneath your skates. You awkwardly spin around, stumbling a little when the blades hit an uneven chunk of ice, but you quickly get back on your feet before you completely lose balance. You smile to yourself, at least you remember how to do that.
It's been a while since you have been in an outdoor rink, knowing that you were staying in Sumeru and its rainforest for a few years now. But the sight of multiple pairs of lovers skating together hand in hand as if they own the world, little children waddling about unsteadily on the ice, parents flailing around as they frantically attempt to chase after their cheeky children who have yet to wear their mufflers...
It all brings a fond grin to your face, memories of childhood and holiday outings coming to mind.
You gaze up at the place surrounding the rink, the bright blue sky filled with clouds and the towering pine trees located at the other end of the rink, and you feel excitement begin to well up in your chest. An excited hum escapes your lips, and youβre about to skate off when it hits you that youβve forgotten somethingβor rather, someone.
You turn around at the sound of your name, and you see Tighnari standing a distance behind you, though even standing seems to pose a huge challenge to him. Heβs trembling while flailing his arms as he attempts to keep his balance, even though itβs clear that heβs just barely taken a step off the ground.
His gaze darted between the ice then to you, slight panic glazing in his eyes. Though some relief sets in when you skate over to him, he gives you an irritated glare and an embarrassed flush of his cheeks when he sees you stifling your laughter at his pathetic state.Β
You hold out your hand to him once youβre close enough and immediately he clutches tightly to your arm like a lifeline.
"The audacity of you to leave me behind, you heartless dunce." He huffed angrily, leaning against you as he tried to release the tension in his muscles, clearly tired from the effort of standing on ice even for a short period of time. "I canβt believe you almost left me alone to rot here!"
The way that extreme embarrassment tends to turn the fennec hybrid into a petty drama queen is so amusing. Especially when he still seeks you out despite how irritated he is.
"But you were doing okay," you said, though both of you know that he was the exact opposite of being okay. "It's your first time so don't be so stressed about it," you continue when his disgruntled scowl deepens at your unconvincing tone. "At the very least, you didnβt cry, 'Nari, Iβm so proud of you."
He groaned in irritation when you patted his ears teasingly, brushing off your hand almost immediately. "I did not fall, thank you very much. And I donβt cry over such petty things."
"Oh? I'm confident your eyes were misty when I skated over to support you earlier."
βI did no such thing,β he scowled, though his long ears started dropping in defence. βSkating is rather hard, okay? I believe you were forgetting I have lived in the rainforest all my life. This is my first time.β
βDon't worry, I got you.β You said with a reassuring smile, nudging his waist lightly with your elbow. The action made him stumble and cling tighter to your arm in response. The absolute shock that crossed on his usually stern face makes you giggle, and it takes you a while to calm yourself so that heβll stop glaring at you.Β
You pried his hand away from your sore arm, and instead, intertwining his fingers with yours. "Donβt worry, 'Nari. Weβll hold hands, so don't let go."
Tighnari's brows shot up in the hairline, not comforted in the least by your reassuring smile. βI swear to all Archons in Teyvat, [Name], Iβll make you regret this if you let me go or pull weird tricks to make me faββ
"I wonβt! What kind of lover do you take me for?β You pouted.
Before he can come up with a snarky reply, you start pulling him across the ice rink. You have to bite the inside of your cheeks to keep your laughter to yourself when you hear him release an undignified yelp before tightly latching both his hands onto yours.
Come to think of it, despite his ungodly snarks and overall clumsiness at skating, your favourite scholar really isnβt too bad for a first-timer. He merely fell once so far.Β
That first time was because you let his hand go for staring too long at that person who was executing a beautiful spin and statingstating bluntly that you skated like a "circus snake" compared to them. So rude.Β
Though it wasn't that unusual when Tighnari insists on taking a break.
βWhat are you looking at?β His lips were curled downward in displeasure while seated on the bench.
βNothing~"
"Sometimes, I really hate you.β
βHehe. Love you too, 'Nari.β You respond in a sickeningly sweet, but mischievous voice. You bark a laugh loudly when he makes a move to get away from you but slips on the icy surface of the ground and lands squarely on his bum instead. That's twice now, you thought with a snicker.
After attempting for several minutes to convince Tighnari that you would stop harassing him for another hour and then failing spectacularly, you are left with little alternative but to drag him there. Back on the ice rink, you make the decision that you should definitely try to make your grumpy partner smile once more.
When he asks suspiciously what you're "plotting" this time, you refuse to say anything and gingerly take his hand before skating slowly toward the center of the rink. His misgivings and distrust towards you make you want to pout, but they aren't entirely unfounded given how you almost made him lose his sanity and completely drove him insane in the past hour.
βWhat are you doing?β He questioned in confusion.
"Dancing with the music while on ice!" You answer with a grin. "Since you're still new to this skating thing, just thought we could use a change of pace. And so that you would stop glaring at me already."
His brows furrowed. βAnd you didnβt think that I could use something like this earlier instead?"
You shush him, pressing a finger to his lips. "Shush. Just enjoy the moment, 'Nari."
He grumbles something incoherent under his breath, probably more complaints but nonetheless, his grip on your waist tightens to pull you closer to him, and he allows you to pull him along in slow circles. The both of you sway in time to the mellow beat, and after a while you hear Tighnari humming along softly to the carol while the ghost of a smile plays on his lips. His shoulders begin to loosen as he eases into the dance, the creases on his forehead fading away the more he loses himself in your eyes and in the faintly playing music.
Wordlessly, you felt your heart swell with affection. Tighnari has been so busy these past few weeks, and you both barely saw each other, if not at all. It makes you feel a little lonely, but you understand that his job requires his full attention and that many people rely on him as their leader.
You understand that, yes, stillβ¦it doesn't mean that you have to like it.
Perhaps Tighnari felt guilty about leaving you behind for so long either, and he felt it was his fault that he wasn't by your side at your lowest time when you needed him the most, so when the news of a new skating rink reaches his ears in the nearby country of Fontaine, he latches on the chance to take you along, knowing how you loved such excursions but have no time nor place to enjoy doing so.Β
And even though it was his first time ice skating, and he wasn't even that used to the cold climate, Tighnari still took the effort to bring you here and you were grateful for his thoughtfulness for that. Whether he regrets it now or not because of your mischievous 'plotting' that almost made him senile remains to be seen.
When he appears to be less wary of the ice, you slowly skate backwards to pull away from him so you can lift his arm over and do a twirl along with him. The childish action pulls a chuckle from his lips, which causes your own to curve upwards as well.
"I supposed this isnβt half bad anymore," he remarked lightly.
"Right? I told you you would love this.β
He clarifies his sentence. "Correction: I like it when you donβt push me or make me skate like a Rishboland Tiger on incense."
Chuckling, you start skating and pulling him along with you. "It was your fault that you fell twice."
"You pushed me the first time," he argued.
"That was your fault, too."
"It wasn't, you lummox. I was doing fine until youβhey, look out!β
Before you can even process what he is saying, your left leg smacks against something hard, throwing you off balance. As you recoil and drag Tighnari down with you, all you can see is his gaping mouth and frozen expression of dread.
Your bottom takes the majority of the impact as your body crashes to the hard ice, and something sharp and unpleasant is jabbing at your side. Tighnari slammed directly on top of you, his immense weight knocking the wind out of you. He tries to get off of you as quickly as possible, but accidentally slips and falls on you again, this time, crushing your ribs.
βUgh. I'm so sorry,β he muttered hurriedly, moving to get up so his weight is on his forearms that are resting on either side of your face. "Are you okay!?"
"I'll live." You replied with a grimace. "What was that?"
"A snowboard," he replies, looking over his shoulder where a blue overturned snowboard is lying. "Who in the world left that lying in the middle of a skating rink? That's highly dangerous! I would love to get some words withβ"
"Probably a child," you stopped his tirade before it escalated to something close to a full-blown lecture. "Owwβ¦"
Tighnari carefully crawls away from you so he has sufficient space to get back on his feet and once heβs up, he holds out a hand to you. "I'll help you up,"
You clasped his hand and allowed him to pull you up. But about halfway through, he manages to tip overβpossibly because you put too much weight on himβand falls backward, dragging you with him.
You both crash land in a jumbled heap of limbs for the second time today. Perhaps the pain has finally reached your mind, but when you shift so that your weight is off of him and gaze down at his dumbfounded face, you can't help but laugh out loud. You know the people around you are giving you strange looks, but you can't help it.
You manage, struggling to recover your breath between laughs, "Today has been such a mess."
Tighnari is just staring at you like you've finally lost it, but before long the corners of his chapped, dry lips are also curling upwards and soon enough, he's laughing along with you at the ridiculous situation the two of you are in.
He sighed, blowing out a puff of breath and lightly flicking your forehead good naturedly. "You better make up for this later to me, you big lummox."
"Heh. Of course. Anything else you want as compensation?" You asked, brushing the viridescent strand of his hair from concealing his lovely face. He deserves this after all the terrorising from you today.
As he mulls over the query, his features settle into a thoughtful expression, and his lips pursed. Very cute, the way heβs almost pouting with his lips pushed out like that. Looking at him from this angle, with his dark hair splayed out around his head like a halo, lying on the shimmering ice beneath the bright rays of the sun in winter, you canβt help but feel your chest swell with affection. The loneliness you felt over the weeks apart from each other slowly, but surely unveiling itself little by little until it becomes nothing but a bittersweet memory.
He takes so much time to decide, and you feel impatient. So, with a mischievous smile, you lean in, catching him completely off guard when you press your lips to his. You pull away quickly after leaving a gentle peck, but his hand is quick to press on your back to keep you from moving away too far.
βOne more time.β His tone is serious, but his face is well on its way to matching the colour of Nilou's hair as his gaze remains on your face, attentive olive eyes tracing the lines of your features and lingering on the changing colour of your heated cheeks. βAs...compensation, that is.β he added, by way of explanation.
You smile brightly, ignoring the sting of your cracking lips when they spread too wide, and you lean in, more than happy to comply and compensate, while youβre at it.
This sweet moment is more than anything you could take home as a holiday keepsake.
TAGLIST (let me know if you want to be added in my future works!): @samarill , @maehemthemisfit , @chocogi , @rvoulte , @luvwukong ...
