Dating Palians [headcanons]
summary: dating/confession headcanons for various Palia characters
relationship: character x gn!reader (Reth, Einar, Jel, Kenyatta, Hassian | more characters in part 2!)
warnings: tooth rotting fluff :D lots of kisses
word count: 3.7k total but varying per character
A/N: this started out as dating headcanons accompanied by a blurb but it kinda got away from me, so some are longer than others, sorry about that, i’m biased 🙈 all of these start with one of the spoken dialogue lines!
Navigation: Part 1 (you're here) | Part 2
[all masterlists] 🪶 [palia masterlist] 🪶 [ao3]
(english is not my first language. constructive criticism and grammar corrections are very appreciated!)
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
🥘 Reth
Reth has had his eyes on you since the very star, to be honest.
And it was from the start that you'd always exchange friendly banter and light-hearted flirty remarks.
Except that they sometimes felt too real. By the time you realised you had actually fallen for him, it was too late.
Really, it was inevitable.
And he felt the same.
Once you mustered up the courage to ask him out and started dating, you realised there were a lot of layers behind the confident persona he put up, though.
It seemed that the longer you two were together, the more he’d convince himself that you would leave him.
“Hope you don’t realise I'm a mistake once you leave”, Reth says under his breath standing behind the counter, just after you said your goodbyes and were about to leave the Inn.
His comment stops you dead in your tracks, and you slowly turn around with a squint at him, unsure if you heard that right. By the way he’s stuttering some excuse, trying to come up with something that sounds similar that he could have said instead, you conclude you heard him right.
“Reth,” you stop his rambling, and he gives you a nervous look, scratching the back of his neck.
You look around, seeing that the Inn is indeed empty and you know that Ashura is out fishing, meaning he probably won’t be coming back any time soon. So you walk to the kitchen door, indicating with a nod to the cook to meet you there.
Leaning on the door frame, you cross your arms in front of your chest. Reth stands a couple of steps away.
“Reth,” you call him again, softer this time, looking for his eyes. He nervously meets your gaze. “Do you like me?”
He blinks twice at your unexpected question. His mouth opens, closes, then opens again.
“Yes,” he responds enthusiastically. “I like you so much, I hope you know that…?” He trails off at the end, unsure of where you’re going.
“Good, I like you too,” you say, quick to continue before he can chime in again. “And, say, do you think I'm smart?”
“Of course,” he responds, taking one step towards you, with a questioning look. “You’re one of the smartest people I know. What are you getting at?”
“And have I ever been untruthful with you?”
“No,” he says with a small chuckle, “You always speak your mind. And that's one of the many things I like about you…”
You mirror him by closing the remaining distance between you two, coming to stand right before him. Your hands come up to cup his face.
“So if you think I'm smart and you trust me–,” you start, now pinching both his cheeks and he groans in mock annoyance. “–why is it so hard to believe that I feel the same way about you?”
You let go of his now darkened cheeks and cup his face again, rubbing over them soothingly.
“Every time you say something mean about yourself, you're talking about my boyfriend, you know,” you say with a somewhat saddened tone. "And I won't let you talk badly about him.”
Reth’s shoulders slump slightly, as he leans his forehead on yours, his arms enveloping you in a hug.
“I know,” he finally says in a small voice, “I'm sorry. I don’t mean to talk crap behind your boyfriend’s back, but he's such a knucklehead sometimes, I can't believe you’d want to be with someone like him.”
“Well, you better start believing then,” you say, pulling back only enough to look up at him with a loving smile. “I’ll tell you as many times as I have to until it gets through that skull of yours. But you can't be just undoing my hard work with your comments.”
“Right, wouldn’t want that,” he chuckles with a lop sided grin, then leans in to kiss you. Without pulling back, he sighs into your lips, "I don't deserve you.”
You pull back abruptly with furrowed brows. Seriously?
“Sorry, bad habit,” he apologises.
“Reth, you deserve the world and more,” you say, intonating every word. “I hope one day you'll believe me. Until then, I'll just keep reminding you, day after day, how much you mean to me.”
» — — — — — — — — — — — — — — «
🎣 Einar
Trying to romance Einar was not easy, I’ll give you that.
You’re not even entirely sure if he understands the scope of what you’re saying when one evening you approached him a box of chocolates in your slightly shaky hands.
While he stated he wouldn’t be able to eat them, he didn't reject them either.
It took a bit of a group effort with Hekla and others to explain to him what you feel.
To your surprise and relief, he accepted.
As is Majiri tradition, you also exchanged pins, which earned you a couple of intriguing looks when you first walked around Kilima wearing it, but everyone got used to it quickly and they seemed happy for you two, even if they don’t fully understand your taste.
Meanwhile, whenever Einar gets asked about your pin, he proudly explains that you two are an item and starts listing all the things he likes about you.
(Some are better than other, as you wouldn’t really ever compare your skin to be as “smooth as a pebble” or call your lips “mouth flaps”. But hey; he’s trying.)
If you happen to overhear these instances, it always leaves you a flustered mess, and the heat will be prickling at your cheeks for the rest of the day.
Einar’s favourite activity to do with you is, of course, spending time at the lagoon, fishing side by side, not much conversation needed.
“Would you like to touch your hand to my hand?” the Galdur asks out of the blue one day.
His question takes you so off-guard that you almost drop your fishing rod into the water below the dock you’re both sitting at the edge of.
“Huh?” is all you manage to ask back, and he turns his face to you with a slight tilt, repeating the question.
”No, yeah, I-I heard you,” you say, reeling your line back in and putting the rod to the side so you can sit sideways, facing him fully. “I was just surprised. You want to… hold hands?”
”I observed other humans doing that and thought it might be enjoyable to you.”
At that, your face falls a bit, and it doesn’t go unnoticed by Einar. Despite being so dense and oblivious to a lot of things, he’s gotten really good at reading your demeanor.
“Ah, was I mistaken?”
”No, Einar. That’s not it.” You bite your bottom lip, thinking over how you want to word this. He waits for you to continue, and you can see in the corner of your eye that something has bitten in the water, yet he makes no motion to reel in his line, as his glowing eyes are on you. You let out a soft sigh. “It’s just that, I was hoping it was something that you wanted to do. I would love to hol– To touch my hand to your hand. But only if it’s something you want. I don’t want to force you to do things just for me.”
At that, Einar looks back out to the water, the fish now gone. He’s thinking over what you said. Then he turns back to you.
”I am not knowledgeable in human customs. I would like to learn what you like. After all, you spend time with me fishing, which is my oneness, even when you are bored.” You open your mouth to protest and tell him that’s not true (it is), but he doesn’t let you interrupt him. “So I can only conclude that to nurture our togetherness, I also must do things that make you fulfill your oneness, or as you once called human oneness: hobbies.”
You can't help a little snort. He's too cute.
”I appreciate that, Einar. But this is about more than just spending time together doing things the other wants to do. It's about… sharing certain things, in our togetherness, that we wouldn't share with someone else.” You can’t hold his glowing gaze as you continue with a sheepish smile. “After all, yours is the only hand I want to hold.”
”Oh,” is all he replies, and to your surprise he holds out his hand closest to yours. “I would also not like anyone else touching their hand to mine.”
You don’t even try to bite back the smile forming on your face, taking his large metallic hand in both of yours. It's a bit awkward to hold, but you quickly figure it out. Einar looks back onto the water, to his hand in yours, then to his other one, and finally turns back to you.
“It is difficult to fish like this,” he remarks, but doesn't move to let go yet. You chuckle.
“Yeah…” you trail off, an idea forming in your head. “Can I try a… different setup?”
Einar nods, and you let go of his hand momentarily. You instruct him to sit a little further back from the edge, plopping down between his legs, now all four of your feet dangling off the edge of the dock. You lean back into his hard chest, which somehow is not as cold as you expected it to be, and look up to him.
”Is this okay?” you ask, looking for any sign of discomfort.
Now with both hands free again, Einar reels back the line and throws it out farther away, careful not to hit you with his rod. He hums in what you can only assume is positive surprise.
“This is acceptable,” he finally remarks, looking down at you. It's almost comical how his eyes peek over his collar to look at you, since he has to roll his head down all the way to look at you where you sit.
“Good,” you reply with a smile, looking back out onto the water and gingerly running your fingers over the edges and details on his gauntlets. “This works for me too.”
» — — — — — — — — — — — — — — «
👕 Jel
He waits for you to be the one to ask him out.
Not because he doesn’t want to date you asap (he’s been pining for months).
But because he wants to be sure 120% that you feel the same.
Was literally lovestruck the moment he set eyes on you.
So he thinks he wouldn’t be able to take a rejection should he ask you first and it turns out you weren’t interested.
But his fear was misplaced of course, as you’re just as smitten with him as he is with you.
Jel is the type of guy who will let you take the lead for the most part.
As long as you’ll indulge him with his fashion empire endeavours, he’s just happy to be by your side.
Except for holding hands or a caress here and there, PDA will be reserved for behind closed doors.
Every now and then though, he’ll surprise you with how bold he can be, leaving you a flustered mess.
”I wished to see your face… and here you appear!” Jel exclaims happily as he turns around after you tapped his shoulder from behind.
”What a coincidence,” you say, linking your arm with his and leaning your head on his shoulder for a moment. “I had the same wish. So here I am.”
He laughs, pressing a soft kiss to your head as you two start walking. You like to join him on his nightly walks around the lagoon when you aren't able to sleep, both of you often plagued by insomnia. Luckily, you find comfort in each other’s presence in moments like this.
You two walk in comfortable silence, coming up to the tree between the small bridges that separate the lagoon from the open waters. You’re just about to ask him what he’s been up to today, when he suddenly takes you by your upper arms, turning you around so that you’re trapped between the tree and himself. His hands come up to hold your face as he studies it. You can feel the heat prickling at your cheeks at his intense gaze, but you don’t try to hide. Instead you look right back at him with a smile as you place your hands over his. Even from behind the slightly tinted glasses you can see the warmth in his eyes, and you brush away the silver strand of hair that seems to glisten in the moonlight.
“What’s on your mind?” you ask after a few more moments.
“You,” he says without a second of hesitation. “Always.”
Leaning in, he closes the gap and kisses you a little more fiercely than usual. You let out a little sound of surprise which he swallows right up, pressing himself to you even more as you throw your arms around his shoulders.
But just as quick as it started, it’s over, and he pulls back with a self-satisfied grin when he sees the flustered look on your face.
» — — — — — — — — — — — — — — «
🖤 Kenyatta
Your situationship with Kenyatta started out as casual at first.
There was a lot of flirting and banter and casual touches.
Until it shifted into stolen kisses and caresses in some hidden corner.
Then secret meet-ups in the middle of the night were you would theorise about some “crime” that has been going on, wondering what kind of creature was responsible for the rumours going around.
Eventually you settled into your current dynamic, where she calls you babe and you can kiss without really having to hide anymore.
Everyone talks and sees you two as a couple, so you do too.
It did start as something casual, but at some point you realised that your feelings solidified more than you initially expected, and you found yourself fully smitten for Kenyatta; you even stopped the friendly flirts with some of the other villagers you had going on, since it doesn't feel right anymore.
You haven't exchanged pins, though, maybe not just yet? You’re definitely not against it, you’re just not entirely sure if that's something she’d want…
”Wanna make out in my mom’s office?” Kenyatta says seemingly out of nowhere while you’re visiting her at the City Hall reception.
“I– what?” You’re a little taken aback by her comment. Not because you’re surprised by her bluntness; you’re used to it by now. And you’re not surprised because of what she’s saying either, as you’ve made out plenty already and you don’t plan to stop. But in Eshe’s office? If she were to catch you…
With a bit of a sigh, you lean sideways against the desk on Kenyatta’s side, facing her. It’s noon, no one has come into City Hall in well over an hour and you doubt that’s going to change any time soon.
“You know I’m always down to make out,” you say, crossing your arms in front of your chest. “But in her office? You’re not just using me to get back at your mom, right?”
The playful smile on your face disappears as her eyes open further ever so slightly as if she just got caught. Wait – is that what this is? What it’s been the whole time to her? You huff in disbelief, pushing yourself off the desk.
“No wait–“ Kenyatta says as she quickly stands up, holding you in place by your arms. Your shoulders tense up slightly, but you don’t shake her off.
“I didn’t realise I was just a means to rebel against your mother,” you mutter, unable to look at her.
”That’s not what I meant at all,” she explains, giving your arms one more squeeze, then letting her hands travel down to hold yours. “You know you mean more than that to me.”
“Do I, though?” you ask, lifting your gaze to find hers. “Do we know what we mean to each other? I feel like that’s something we’ve kinda been dancing around of…”
For a moment, both of you are silent, just looking at each other, unsure who should go first, as you don’t know what the other wants to say. But you can’t hold it in anymore, and you’re aware this might be a make or break moment, but you need to know if she feels the same.
”I really like you, Kenyatta,” you admit, holding onto her hand a little tighter. “And I’m sorry I haven’t clearly told you so before, I didn’t want to ruin what we had. But I don’t want to just be the one you mess around with, like I’ve heard has happened with Nai’o and Reth. I want us to be together properly and exchange pins, or not at all.”
Kenyatta’s eyes fill with warmth, and she’s unable to hold back the smile on her lips.
”Well, that’s a relief,” she says, interlocking her fingers with yours. “I’ve actually had your pin for a while now, but I didn’t have the guts to give it to you. If you rejected me, I don’t think I'd easily recover from that. I… really like you too, you know. And when I realised, I got kinda scared.”
» — — — — — — — — — — — — — — «
Heaving a sigh of relief, you let go of her hands to give Kenyatta a hug, only pulling back enough to place a kiss to her jaw and look at her with mischievous eyes.
”Now what was that about going to make out? I’m sure we can find a room somewhere where we won't be interrupted.”
🏹 Hassian
It took a while for you two to open up about your feelings to each other.
Mainly because his seemingly cold and sometimes snarky demeanour had you unsure if he even liked you at all, let alone romantically.
But once you figured it out and got together, you could tell his behaviour changed towards you.
He became softer, both in his face as well as in his words.
Whenever you can get a hearty laugh out of him, you’ll be riding that high for days.
As for PDA, that’s a big no-no for Hassian.
All of that belongs behind closed door, as it’s only for him to see.
You try to sneak in a kiss here or there though; not because you want to force him into PDA but because you simply can’t keep your hands off him.
“I was just working on a soliloquy about your eyes”, Hassian says as you walk next to him after meeting him on his way to Kilima from the eastern gates.
You shoot him a curious look with a snort, but continue to walk side by side. He said that with such a straight face, thinking he might sound smart, but you know what he’s up to.
“‘Working on it’, huh?” you ask, elbowing his side playfully. “Isn't a soliloquy just a fancy way of saying you were thinking aloud to yourself? And about my eyes, no less.”
Hassian clears his throat, momentarily looking to the side away from you to hide the fact you caught him, and a grin spreads on your face. It shrinks into a small smile though as you look down at his hand, arm swinging between the two of you in rhythm with his steps. You want to hold his hand so bad, but you know he doesn’t really feel comfortable doing coupley things in public. You understand and try to respect it to the best of your abilities, but sometimes you get overwhelmed by the urge to kiss or touch him.
Stopping in your tracks, you look around. Hassian notices and stops a couple more steps ahead of you, turning to look at you with a questioning gaze. Right now you're about to approach the field with the windmills behind City Hall, standing just under the elevated cliff of Chapaa Crossing. Without a word, you gesture to Hassian with your head to follow you, and quickly walk around the cliff, so you're hidden from the view of the village.
“Is everything o–” Hassian doesn't even get to finish his question before you somewhat hesitatingly take his hands in yours.
“Can I kiss you?” you blurt out, and his pierced brows raise in surprise.
“H-here?” he asks, looking around nervously, and the dark purple on his cheeks and neck doesn't escape you. “Why now?”
Hassian hasn't pulled back his hands from yours, so you hold them a little tighter and give them a squeeze to get his attention. His emerald eyes find yours.
“Because I just really really want to,” you admit with a sheepish smile. “But only if you also want to.”
“Of course I want to,” he retorts perhaps a little too quickly, his voice becoming nothing more than a whisper. “I never don’t want to kiss you.”
Your chest tightens a little at his words; he’s definitely a poet at heart, but he doesn't get to say these things often, let alone so directly.
“No one’s looking,” you say, just as softly. Hassian holds your gaze, warm and loving and… desperate? He hesitates for a moment, starting to lean in but stopping, then giving in. His lips meet yours and your hands come up to hold his face for a moment. You don’t want to overdo it, so you keep it short and chaste, but when you pull back, his lips chase yours, his hands holding you in place by your waist. You tilt your head to deepen the kiss, but he seems to regain control of his body within a split second, breaking off from you and taking a step back, trying to calm down his breathing.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to…” he says, clearing his throat and looking down at the ground as if it was suddenly interesting. You chuckle.
“It’s okay, Hassian,” you reassure him, walking past him to indicate you should continue your walk towards the village, and he follows. You walk in silence for a bit, before you break it.
“Was it too much?” you ask genuinely, as you can see his mind reeling. If it made him uncomfortable, maybe you should refrain from–
“No, no it wasn’t,” he replies, taking in a sharp breath, and exhaling it slowly. “Guess I’m still getting used to it. Perhaps… you should ask more often.”
“That I can do.” You shoot him an amused grin and he playfully rolls his eyes at you, the smallest smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
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