Z-Team realizing, after the Mecha Man reveal, that- oh shit! Robert is like... a week fresh outta a several month long coma
↓ i feel like that fact really gets glossed over
and he still held his own in that bar fight IMMACULATELY, yeah, but like.. is he- good?
it can't be healthy to be working so hard so soon, right?
and maybe they forget about it for the most part, until he lore drops some absolutely insane shit bc they're all joking around and- hey! he can talk about this with them now!
-> imagine with me:
[Robert shoots up from a nap like he's being attacked, not even remembering when he'd fallen asleep or registering where he is, until a comforting weight tightens around his middle]
[It feels restrictive, just at first, before it relaxes, and something flat and pointy flicks soothing up and down his back]
Malevola, soothingly: Woah, easy now babes... breathe, yeah? Just us here
[she keeps her hands to herself for now, though they're twitchy. Hovering like she wants to coax him back down to her lap to keep running her fingers through his mussed hair. Her tail stays loosely wrapped around his waist]
[Slowly, Robert processes his living room. Processes the couch they'd forced on him. Processes he'd felt safe enough to doze off surrounded by his team, who are sitting in various groups around the room]
[he relaxes, subconciously bumping Malevola's shoulder. She takes it as permission to put her chin on his head and wrap her arms around his shoulders]
Robert, dragging a hand down his eyes and letting the demon cling: Fuuuck... I don't think I've slept that hard since the coma
Flambae, with Robert's legs over his lap: ...the fucking what?
[Everyone will remember that ⓘ]
Svsss thing where SQQ gets hit with a truth serum thing except it doesn't just make him say the truth it also means that he has to express himself truthfully. Like no more pretending that the pain of cultivation that SQQ never got quite used to is fine. No more masking his instinctive reactions when Shen Qingqiu is near any men. No more holding his tongue and hiding the truth behind a cold demeanor. The worst thing is SQQ isn't aware that he's spilling the secrets he so desperately wished to keep. He doesn't even register saying anything. All he knows is that his martial siblings are acting weird over something. He was afflicted after one of his brothel visits (Some guy wanted more natural reactions from one of the staff members and slipped something into the teapot, which SQQ ended up drinking some of before he left. He stopped by MQF because he had a little fever while coming back and it was a little strange and sudden)
MQF says that the serum will last for about a week and a half. Everyone is so confused--Liu Qingge asks if MQF is sure that being truthful is the only side effect because of the massive change in SQQ's demeanor. When MQF confirms it for the third time the other PLs are just kinda stunned at all of this lore dropping. LQG confronting SQQ after the diagnosis only to watch SQQ flinch and bristle. "I do not go to the brothel to bed women! I haven't touched a lady like that, ever!" and LQG is about to dismiss it as a bad lie before he realizes that right now SQQ can't lie.
If Shen Qingqiu hasn't been going to brothels to sleep with women then what has he been going for?
Mu Qingfang doing a follow up checkup and questioning Shen Qingqiu about pain and for the first time ever Shen Qingqiu says something like "Nothing more than the usual pain." and MQF's like "usual pain?" and SQQ absentmindedly explains about how his meridians have been forcefully stretched open and just circling the Qi within is painful for him. MQF also can't help but notice the way Shen Qingqiu shrinks away from him slightly and how his body naturally rejects all foreign qi as a defensive mechanism.
Yue Qingyuan giving SQQ a gift and SQQ snapping at him. "I don't want your guilt ridden gifts. How can you have the nerve to abandon me and then act like all is well when you find out that the boy you left to rot is alive?!" Yue Qingyuan opens his mouth to say something but Shen Qingqiu keeps going. "You left me, and the worst part is that you won't even tell me why. Why you didn't come back. Why you didn't send anyone. Why you let me cling to a false hope for years!" and then Shen Qingqiu smacks whatever object Yue Qingyuan was offering him to the ground and turns around, stomping off.
Qi Qingqi badgering Shen Qingqiu about sending Ning Yingying to her instead of keeping NYY surrounded by men and SQQ just glares at her venomously and says "I will not be sending my daughter away." and QQQ (She wasn't there for LQG's little confrontation.) accuses SQQ of having a child with one of the brothel prostitutes and SQQ loses his shit on her.
Wei Qingwei is even called to test for possession (even though MQF says that it's just a truth serum), and while he's there he notices how Xiu Ya seems to be well cared for and he says as much. SQQ's like "I have to do that much for a blade that I'm not worth" and WQW goes quiet before explaining that the blade chose him so SQQ is obviously worth it.
mmm idk where I was going with this, this is kind of sloppy xd... runs off to go frolic in the grass and eat pollen
least likely to be able to wait for the wedding night?
“ZAYNE!!” I scream as I bend the bars of my cage.
— “ tired on your bachelorette night?”
pairing: zayne x reader
content: fluff(?), minor dry humping
a/n: a man that yearns his wife 🙂↕️ im sure any distance from other Li before the big day would set fire to their self control tho, he just came to mind first.
You hadn't seen Zayne properly in weeks. Work and wedding planning had devoured your free time, and he kept himself busy tending to patients to lessen the chance of interruptions on the honeymoon.
"It passes time," he'd say casually.
But time had been slipping through your fingers like sand. No glimpse of his face after long hours at your desk. No late-night attempts to hear his voice after endless calls with florists and venues. And now, just as your leave began, a new hurdle emerged: his parents, lovely as they were, had raised a wall of tradition between you.
"No peeking at the bride. It brings good luck."
They'd said with smiles too wide to argue with. Maybe they just enjoyed watching you suffer. His mother still laughs about how she waved him away the last time you tried to sneak a moment. The festivities so far had been everything promised--joyful but exhausting. You tried to savor these final days, but truthfully? You were ready to collapse into the arms of your groom.
Your groom.
The words warmed your heart beneath the satin as it hung over your frame. You held the gown against your chest, studying the fabric in the mirror: snow-white with delicate florals scattered across like frost etching lace. It had arrived earlier than expected, and though you were told to keep it tucked away in its box until the big day, you couldn't resist. To leave a dress this beautiful untouched is nearly impossible. It moved effortlessly against you in the mirror, whispering promises of what's to come.
A knock disrupted your thoughts. You stare toward the door, clinging to the gown
What now?
Did another guest cancel? A vendor’s freak accident? With a sigh, you carefully sit your dress into a chair. The knocking came again, more urgent this time.
"Coming," you called, dragging your feet toward the noise. As you crack open the door, dark, windswept hair appears through the gap. Zayne widened the opening with his hands, visibly flushed and breathless as though he'd run the whole way there.
"Zayne?" you gasped, heart leaping to your throat.
His voice was low, sheepish. "I-"
"Not yet! My dress is out!" you squeaked, spinning on your heel. You darted across the room, satin swishing around your ankles as you scrambled to fold the gown back into its box.
By the time you straightened, he was already inside.
He stood there, glowing in a crisp white shirt and slacks, eyes tender and tempted.
"What are you doing here?" you asked, half-laughing.
He closed the door gently behind him and stepped closer, gaze locked with yours.
"I missed you," he said simply.
His hands found your shoulders, fingers brushing over your bare skin as if needing the reminder that you were real. You crossed your arms, trying to look stern, but a smile tugged at your lips.
"The wedding is in two days," you reminded.
He dipped down, pressing a kiss to your temple, slow and lingering. “I can’t wait that long."
You laughed nervously as he drew closer. His arms wrapped around you, holding you like he might never get the chance again. You placed a hand to his chest, feeling his heartbeat stutter in rhythm of your own.
"Isn’t your bachelor party today?" you asked.
He didn’t answer. His gaze flicking down to your lips before he leans in to kiss you.
The kiss was hungry. His bottled restraint, finally uncorked, tasted of longing and sparkling wine, unraveling all the things unsaid since the last quiet moment together.
You clutched at his shirt, feeling the shift of muscle beneath, the heat of him soaking your skin. Your other hand found the curve of his neck, thumb grazing just under his ear. The world spun under his touch.
He backed you gently through the suite, never breaking contact, until the backs of your knees found the edge of the bed. Your lips parted as you sank into the bed. He followed, breath mingling with yours as he hovered over you. Fingers moved to his collar, undoing buttons in unnamed urgency.
Until.
Vrrrr. Vrrr.
The sound cut through the moment like a blade. "Ignore it," your heart pleaded. "Let it ring."
A tempting notion. Especially with his touch tracing lines over your waist, heat blooming wherever he lingered.
The vibrations on the nearby table grew louder, insistent.
"Don't answer it," he murmured, lips brushing the sensitive curve of your neck.
But you knew better. The wedding was too close. Too many details still unfinished. You exhaled, reluctant, and brushed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. He sighed into your skin as you reached for the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hi, is this the bride?"
"Yes... who is this?"
"Uh, the groomsmen, ma’am," came the unsure reply, words careful and sheepish. You could hear murmuring in the background. "I got this number from Mrs. Li for emergencies. I hope I haven’t interrupted anything, but is Zayne with you?"
The background noise grew louder: silverware clinking, chairs scraping, chatter bubbling in a crowded hall.
"That bastard ran off before our reservation, and we have no idea where else he’d be." The man chuckled. Then, louder, another voice shouted: "Zayne Li, you’re late for dinner!"
Laughter rippled through the group on the other end. You turned to Zayne, who hides his guilty grin in your shoulder, hands still warming the skin beneath your shirt. You hesitated, thumb hovering near the speaker.
Telling the truth meant meeting the wrath of Mrs. Li, who had poured her heart into your shared vision, spent countless hours smoothing over vendors and timelines, and asked only one thing in return: tradition. No peeking before the big day.
"Hello?" the groomsman prompted.
You cleared your throat, lying like a teenager caught past curfew. "No, I haven’t seen him, but I wouldn’t doubt that he’s on his way."
"Right..." the groomsman replied, clearly unconvinced. Snickers echoed between the men in the background. Zayne's chuckles muffled against your skin.
"Alright, well. We’ll meet you at the hotel."
The call faded from your focus as Zayne’s lips grazed your skin again. His mouth finds your collarbone, his kisses warm and lingering as his fingers slip into your palm, nudging the phone out of your grasp.
"We’ll try and retrieve him if we can," the voice continues, unaware there’s no one left on the line. His words lost in the haze thickening between your bodies.
Your shorts slipped from your legs in a hurried motion as he pressed closer. Moans hushed between kisses, hips grinding together as his clothed cock hardens against your core.
"We don’t have much time," Zayne whispered, breath hot and mingling with yours. One hand cradled the back of your knee, lifting it around his waist. You exhaled softly against his lips, fumbling with the button of his pants.
A final plea from the phone, now lying forgotten on the floor.
With the chapter one rewrite release date confirmed, I am literally so excited. We’re going to see a lot of R and A in this one! But… I would like to give you guys more of a taste of their rewired selves!!! I will be doing some snippets for you guys, so literally attack me with anything you might want!! Any burning questions or scenarios for them? Send them in!
