Nessian fluff: “you’re very endearing when you’re half asleep” 🥺👉🏻👈🏻
Short, fluffy drabble with absolutely zero plot. Modern au. Wc: 1193. I apologize in advance for all the typos/mistakes. Enjoy 🤲
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Nesta often thought about how different she and Cassian were. He loved the long, warm days of Summer, while she preferred the colder months. He thought train rides were boring, while she found them fascinating. He was a great cook, and she was a shitty one. He loved big gatherings, and she hated them. He was a morning person, and she a night owl.
Most mornings, by the time Nesta’s alarm went off and she managed to get up, Cassian had already worked out for an hour, took a shower and gotten dressed. He would always wait for her to have breakfast though, scrolling through his phone while she dragged herself out of bed.
Today was no different. Nesta had ignored her alarm for 10 minutes and hit snooze three times before finally getting up, the smell of freshly brewed coffee encouraging her to throw a hoodie over her pajamas and head for the kitchen. Plopping on a stool, she closed her eyes again and grumbled a good morning while blindly reaching for the spot where her cup of coffee usually was, only to find it empty.
“Cass?” she called, opening her eyes.
Her boyfriend was standing on the other side of the kitchen island, holding a cupcake with a candle on top. “Happy birthday, sweetheart,” he said, giving her a dazzling smile. “I never made cupcakes before, so if these suck I’m blaming your sister for giving me the wrong recipe.”
Nesta glared at him. “I said no birthday celebrations. There’s no need to celebrate me getting older.”
“I guess you don’t want this cupcake then,” he said, dipping a finger in the cream and licking it. “Mmmh, delicious.”
Narrowing her eyes at him, Nesta suddenly surged forward and tried to steal the cupcake, but her sleep fogged brain caused her to knock over Cassian’s cup of coffee in the process, some of its content spilling on her hoodie.
Cassian laughed, but Nesta didn’t let the incident deter her from her mission and stood up, intent on rounding the isle and launching herself at her boyfriend, only she didn’t notice her cat sleeping at her feet and tripped, grabbing the edge of the counter at the last moment to avoid facepalming on the floor. The cat emitted an annoyed meow and jumped on a nearby stool. Nesta cursed and reached for him, apologizing profusely, while Cassian grabbed his phone and snapped a quick picture.
“You asshole, I almost died and you decided to take a picture instead of helping me?” Nesta said. “And on my birthday?”
Cassian set the cupcake down. “I thought you didn’t care about your birthday.”
Pursing her lips, Nesta crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t. But It’s the crack of dawn, I haven’t even had my coffee yet and you’re trying to steal my birthday cupcake. That makes you a bad boyfriend.”
Cassian rolled his eyes, wrapping his arms around her from behind. “A bad boyfriend, uh?” He murmured against her neck.
“Yes,” Nesta muttered, biting back the laugh that threatened to escape her lips.
“But you looked so adorable I just had to capture the moment, Nes.” Unlocking his phone, he showed her the picture he had snapped earlier. Her bun was leaning completely to the left, and half of her hair had escaped the messy updo. Her hoodie had a big coffee stain on one of the sleeves, she only wore one earring, her eyes were puffy, and there was something on the corner of her mouth that looked suspiciously like drool. Overall, she looked like a mess.
“You’re very endearing when you’re half asleep,” Cassian said, pocketing his phone and nuzzling her neck. “You look so adorable.”
Nesta rolled her eyes, and a laugh broke free from her lips when Cassian tightened his arms around her and lifted her, carrying her back to the kitchen island. Picking up the cupcake again, he held it in front of her face. “Make a wish.”
Nesta thought about her life and the people in it. At 29, she had a job she loved, two amazing best friends, and two sisters who loved her, each in her own way. And then there was her boyfriend, who looked at her as if she hang the moon even when she was cranky and half asleep, with drool on her chin and coffee stains on her clothes.
Despite their differences, they were two halves of the same whole. It didn’t matter if Nesta didn’t like the warm weather as much as Cassian did, because in the Summer they went to the sea and spent hours in the water, and once they were back in Velaris, Cassian stayed home with her, AC on and clothes off. During train rides, Nesta made him listen to an audiobook while she stroked his hair until he fell asleep. And once he woke up, they watched his favorite action movies on her laptop, so time went by faster. When Nesta came back home after a stressful day at work, Cassian was at the stove wearing his favorite apron, not because he felt obligated to cook, but because he loved doing it for her. Nesta made an effort to go to every party and family gathering, and Cassian didn’t complain when she reached for him and squeezed his hand, signaling she wanted to go home early.
Reaching a hand behind her, Nesta tugged her boyfriend’s face down and placed a kiss on the corner of his mouth. “Is it too cheesy if I say I already have everything I ever wanted?”
Cassian’s eyebrows shoot upward, a grin tugging at his lips. “Nesta Archeron, you are a romantic after all!”
“Oh, shut up.” Turning in his arms, she buried her face in his chest and closed her eyes. “I hate you,” she mumbled, words muffled by his shirt.
Cassian cupped the back of her head, his other arm wrapping around her middle. “Listen, I know you said you didn’t want to make a big fuss about your birthday, but… what if we called in sick today? We can stay in bed all day and stuff our faces with chocolate cupcakes.”
“You don’t even like chocolate,” she replied, the warmth of his body lulling her back to sleep.
Noticing she was sagging against him, Cassian tightened his hold on her and dropped a kiss on her hair. “Yeah, but I like you.”
Nesta hid her smile against Cassian’s chest, but the quickening of her heartbeat gave her away. “Ugh, when did we become so sappy?” She quickly blew out the candle and immediately threw her arms back around him, this time looping them around his neck.
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By the time Cassian carried her all the way to the bed Nesta was already half asleep, but she fought to stay awake and email her boss. The mattress shifted when Cassian settled beside her, taking off his shirt before spooning her. “Are you sure this is all you want for your birthday?” he murmured. “Sleep and chocolate cupcakes?”
“Yeah. And if you also get me some french fries, I’ll take back what I said about you being a bad boyfriend.”
Yang Yang as Zhan Zhao, Zhang Ruonan as Huo Linglong and Alen Fang as Bai Yutang in ZHAN ZHAO ADVENTURES (2026)
I still have the two of you. That's enough for me. It feels like I've won.
You are lucky you met the two of us. With us by your side, you won't have to suffer anymore.
I don't want to be a burden. Burden? Strange word between the three of you.
Of course we are going together.
Thank you to everyone rbing ZZA content, you convinced me to give this show a shot and it is GOLD. The friendship between these 3 is everything I ever wanted
Ye Li, you can leave now. Where would I go? Anywhere. You married me to leave Li Mountain. We have been married for some time now. I can report to the Empress Dowager that you and I are incompatible, and request a divorce. You can either return to your maiden family, or leave the Capital. It's a big world. You can go anywhere. I'm doing this for your own good. Drink the soup. That's really for my good. Otherwise, if it gets cold, I'll have to heat it again.
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