let this be a place holder for now. this is my main account, xaviersknight is my lads sideblog that is now linked to this account. william-rex is a separate blog for ikemen posts.
no need to follow all or any of them. this is for clarification.
when I was making the xy playlist based on vibes and delusion I was like "sure I'll throw It Will Come Back by Hozier in there. I can remove it later." and the more I read the more it's like ah ok yeah that one is staying jhsbdfjhsbf
Lu Chen admits to a few things. His girlfriend has a surprising proposal.
SFW. Just fluff. 2.4k. Lu Chen x MC (she/her). No cws applicable.
A/N - I’m new to the game but basing this on all the dates, encounter, and traces I’ve read so far c: I hope I got it right so far! This came to mind and couldn’t get it out of my head.
———
It’s 2 in the afternoon, and Lu Chen’s tea is cold. A faint sense of dread passes through him, disappearing like mist. This sensation isn’t as familiar to him, as he’s learned to calculate and to measure possibilities and consequences in actions. The dread is new, because it isn’t about a situation. The dread comes from how he’ll have to say goodbye to her in an hour, and he’ll have to offer a modest excuse, which he knows her well enough by now to know she won’t so much as blink in complaint. In fact she’ll probably smile that same sunny smile she always does, and tell him they can meet some other time. Half the dread is wondering how long he can make it before he rationalizes telling her more than he sh—
Click!
The door handle behind him turns and he turns half toward it, eyebrows lifted in surprise when he sees his girlfriend walking in, still in her spa bathrobe and slippers. A smile that he’s practiced in the mirror so often rises to his cheeks while she sets her things down to approach him by the window. The breeze lifts a waft of salty sea air into the room, combined with her own tropical scented lotion that had been generously applied lately. It’s sweet, and intoxicating.
“You’ve returned from the spa early?” He nods, rising from the coffee table to greet her. “I thought you were going to indulge in a facial. Did something happen?”
“I was but…” She catches his forearms with her cool fingertips and a rosy glow rises to his cheeks that he’s certain isn’t from the spa treatment. “I didn’t want to be without you too long.”
A ripple of affection exudes from him at her expression, but the dread returns behind his smile that he’s an expert at maintaining. Now he has to contemplate telling her ahead of time, or…
“You missed me then? Should I call for more tea? Or we can stroll around the resort grounds.”
“Lu Chen, what’s wrong?”
He freezes, and it never failed to catch him off guard with the way she could always tell. Even when he’d practiced over and over to never let his emotions slip through, even when he’d mastered the art of sounding genuine. No one living new how to cut through to him this way. Realizing he’d rested a beat too long, he sighs, helpless, and takes both her hands in his.
“How do you always see me?”
“It’s… It’s my gift, but I don’t need to use it on you anymore. I know you well enough now.”
That was the most extraordinary thing about her. Somehow she’d nestled into caring about him way more than she should, and somehow he could not resist her charming heart.
“Tell me then, did you use it?” He teases slightly, pulling her forward towards him.
“Only a little…” She admits, wrapping her arms around his waist to squeeze him.
Lu Chen never thought he was physically affectionate, or ever going to be, but with her it came naturally. Whenever he had his arms around her things just felt better.
“So what happened? You had to take a phone call and you didn’t come back, so I thought something urgent might have come up.”
When she looks up at him, there’s question in her eyes, and care he can’t escape. He strokes her freshly washes strands and feels so warmed by her gesture that he knows he won’t be able to hold up any longer without explaining.
“Yes.” He starts, sighing and rubbing the small of her back briefly before moving to separate from her and sit down. Opposite him, she takes her seat and pours a cup of tea for herself from the pot he’d used earlier.
Continuing, he attempts to smile reassuringly. “Some business has come up in London. I’m afraid I’ll be away for a week or so.”
Her eyebrows widen while she raises the cup to her lips, then makes a bitter face at the feeling of the cold tea at her lips. Rather than drink it, she sets it down. “A week?”
“Yes I- oh, sorry, the tea got cold, didn’t it? I’ll call for some more.”
While he gets up to call room service, she adjusts her robe and closes the window that suddenly felt too chilly.
This is when he expects her to reassure with her bubbly smile, but instead she looks only passive.
“It must be important then. I hope everything’s ok…”
Returning to his seat, he places a hand over hers. “Yes, I just have to go take care of things. I’m afraid I have to leave tonight.”
“Tonight?” Now to his discomfort, she looks worried, and he once told her he could bear some worry for her, but that didn’t make it easier when it involved him.
“Don’t be worried,” He assures, rubbing a thumb over her hand. “It’ll be alright, and you can stay here the remaining 2 days, enjoy it as much as you can. I’ll call you, every night if I must.”
A smile flashes on her lips, but he can’t help but notice she still looks pensive. What happens next surprises him, while she puts her other hand over his on the table, and finally smiles.
“Lu Chen… you can tell me things now. I am here with you, no matter what. You don’t have to be alone with your thoughts all the time. I’m sorry things are difficult so you have to rush away. I want to see you smiling too, but I also don’t mind seeing you sad, or disappointed, or dissatisfied. Or, even if it’s none of those things right now. I know you may not be able to tell me everything, but know my heart is with yours.”
Silenced by her earnest, although they’d somehow reminded each other a few times now that they’d be there for each other, it always struck his heart like another tick on the dial of a watch.
“I can’t argue with you on that, so I’ll just say, thank you,” And he smiles, helplessly warm at the familiarity of the phrase, and he feels her squeeze his hands a little tighter, not realizing she did so because it was the first time in the last few minutes that his smile wasn’t forced.
“Let us just say there is something very valuable I am trying to protect. And… there are many people who want it for bad purposes. I cannot be assured of its protection without leaving for a little while. Once I know it’s safe, I’ll return.”
“Oh… yes I can see how that would be troubling! I’ve lost sleep trying over expensive things from the studio in my care before!”
He chuckles in affection at her earnest attempt to relate. “Yes, and… right now it’s in my care, I don’t want anyone else to take it from me.”
“Do you have a lot of security for it?”
“Yes, although, I need to ensure it hasn’t been compromised.”
“I see… Well, I know my Lu Chen will make things safe. You always do. You always find a way! So I’m sure it’ll go smoothly.”
There’s that sunny optimism that he adores, and he brings her fingers to his lips to kiss while he smiles and nods. “Thank you, I’ll go with your confident assurance as my good luck. But please, promise me you won’t leave the resort until it’s time. Zhao Lan will come pick you up.”
“Ok! I’ll definitely do the longer facial tomorrow then!”
Right as he arises, a knock at the door brings the room service in to swap their cold tea with a fresh steaming pot. The hibiscus flavor has a brilliant rich red hue that makes her exclaim at. Just like that, the dread has washed away from, him, replaced by her hopefulness and trust in him. He wished all things could be this simple. Still, he couldn’t help feel disappointed. Which, was becoming a new feeling also. Disappointments, like dread, were managed by constant maintaining and manipulation of scenarios to ensure the best outcome. They weren’t so much disappointments so much as they were useful data.
But when it came to her? He couldn’t help it.
The sun begins to set, filling the room with rosy hues. After a moment and clinked teacups and watching her cheeks grow tinted the same shade as the sweet liquid from the heat of it, he can’t help but admit,
“I will miss this. I am-” He breathes, shaking his head at how easy she makes it to admit, “-Disappointed we won’t have the rest of our time together. But I assure you, leaving you doesn’t come easily.”
“So, you miss me already?” There’s a teasing smile on her face. She’d grown better at it, looser around him in a way that somehow made his chest flutter.
“Oh dear, you cannot tease me for that.” He adds in humor. She giggles, the sound filling his very soul and setting it lighter than it was for hours without her.
“I’m not, I find it cute. But I understand. You have something important to protect.”
He nods, and for a moment there’s quiet, while they observe the tropical view outside. A glint of water in the distance catches sunlight, reflecting in her eyes. Just when he thinks he can stare for the rest of the hour, she opens her mouth to speak.
“This thing that you’re protecting, is it in London?”
He raises a brow, wondering if her mind had been churning the whole time, or how she reached the question.
“Not exactly, but there are agencies involved and… It’s safer at home.”
“Oh, then… do you want me to look after it with you? I mean, I don’t mind stopping by your home-”
“It’s… not like that, exactly.” He interrupts, a bit marveled by how easily she was willing to throw her hands in to help him. Then again, he really shouldn’t have been surprised. Reassuringly, he smiles and refills her teacup that she takes timidly, like a cat that had been scolded for licking at milk too soon.
In spite of the assurance, she still looks regretful. “I’m sorry, I spoke without thinking, I just… this is a heavy burden on you, I just wanted to say, um. Please let me know if I can do anything to help. If you’re not taking it with you to London, I mean…”
Grateful that she was still under the impression it was a physical object, he pats the back of her hand. “I will, and I’m grateful. You’ll be the top of my list. And, taking it to London would be convenient, but… it’s more complicated than this. It’s…”
And suddenly what he’d dreaded earlier begins to form, where the rationale behind speaking every word with intention begins to fall away. It was as if the tea was imbued with her essence and had become a magic potion that made him want to relay every piece to her. She was dangerous in a way that made him forget that love was just a chemical. Suddenly with her, he had begun to understand why many men had called it falling in love. When the momentum was strong enough, it felt like he could feel the ground rushing up to meet his face, just from the way she spoken to him, with care, respect, and love. If it was a chemical, he was beginning to hope it lasted a very long time.
“It doesn’t belong to me,” He continued, unnecessarily. “I hope one day it will, but until then I’m hoping its owner will be gracious with me. And I’m protecting it with everything I have.”
Puzzled, she tilts her head to the side. He hopes she doesn’t ask more questions.
She does.
“You were put in charge of it?”
“For the time being.”
“Then… won’t it’s owner be grateful if you take it with you? If you tell them it’d be safer?”
“It’s not so simple. Don’t worry, it’s in good hands here.”
“Hmm.”
Then she rises, steps to face in front of him, and takes his hands again. Her hair had begun to frizz as it dried, and he couldn’t help but think she looked even more adorable somehow.
“Lu Chen, I’m not sure what it is… but I can already see you care about it very much. So, I’m saying this now in case you ever wonder. But if you ever need to go somewhere else with it, just know I’ll come with you. Even to London. And I hope it will belong to you someday, I mean I’m sure it will. I’ll vouch for you!”
The proposal hits him between the ribs, like a hammer cracking at all the doubts in his very being. Here was this woman, who hardly knew everything about him, or his situation, and already promising to go away with him. He wondered if she could begin to know the gravity of that.
Her name softly falls off his lips, then he smiles. “Even to London?”
“Yes!” And it’s a wonder to him that she looks excited. “Everytime I go I enjoy it there, and the fashion scene is really good. We could start a remote Warson studio there too! We could be like… Bonnie and Clyde! Make a run for it and live there. Except, well, legally… and we didn’t steal anything- or we won’t.”
Now he laughs, and he can’t help it. Lightness fills him, and he’s impossibly happy in a way he can’t describe. “If it comes to that, I’ll let you know. But right now… I won’t take it away.”
Standing, he wraps her arms around him and lets the peace of the moment come over him. She nuzzles into his chest, then looks up at him with bright eyes while he speaks. “I have to come back soon anyway. Can you sense it? I’m happiest when I’m with you. Rather than go where I need to go, I’d rather spend my life going where we want to, and only we. Just like this.”
She beams, and leans up to kiss his cheek. “On one condition.”
“A condition?” He chuckles. “Alright, name it, love.”
“You owe me two days.”
A wide smile curls into his cheeks while he leans down to kiss her against the setting sun for which both her cheeks and his ears match in color,
