pairing: riki wilhelm ‘maki’ mauss x reader
disclaimers: established relationship; fluff. uni setting. no y/n usage. reader has academic anxiety. clingy & comforting maki. inspired by this song !
index: garden hub + masterlist + credits
the study commons smelled faintly of stale filter coffee, damp raincoats, and the low, collective hum of laptops running on low battery. you sat at a long zinc-topped table near the back, your fingers hovering over the track pad of your laptop, your gaze fixed entirely on the blank interface of your university web-mail account.
the graduate admissions panel for the department had promised the preliminary interview schedule by four o’clock, and the digital clock in the corner of your screen now read four-twelve. the delay felt heavy on your conscience, the silence from their end seemingly thinning the air in your lungs until every breath felt conscious and shallow. you had rehearsed your abstract until it lost its soul, memorized the faculty names like litanies, and checked the connection until the repetition felt like a descent into madness.
maki sat on the low stool beside you, his long legs tangled beneath the narrow frame of the table, his presence had become a stubborn obstacle to the cold panic settling into your shoulders. he was never the one suited for the sterile purgatory of academic waiting rooms, yet he had braved the train and the rain just to remain by your side, refusing to leave you to the mercy of your own mind.
as you reached to refresh the page once more, his big hand rose up—his palm pressing against the side of your neck, his thumb applying a firm, grounding pressure just behind your earlobe, as if trying to tether you back to the earth.
“you’re doing it again,” he said, his voice cutting through the background noise of clicking keyboards and distant cafeteria trays.
you did not turn your head, keeping your eyes on the loading bar that flickered across the screen. “the schedule dictates the order of the afternoon presentations. they could send the link at any second.”
“you’ve been reading the same page for twenty minutes.”
you offered no reply, your fingers tightening against the cold edge of the table.
“look at me,” he murmured.
“i need to watch for the notification, maki.”
maki shifted his weight, his shoulder pressing hard against yours until you were forced to lean into his side. he reached down and slid his fingers into your palm, disrupting your grip on the metal edge. the skin of your hand was damp and cool, a physical manifestation of the anxiety you were attempting to keep out of your face. he did not recoil; instead, he gathered the excess fabric of his sleeve and slowly, deliberately wiped the moisture, thorough and unhurried.
“your hands are like ice,” he muttered, enveloping your fingers in his own to trap the heat. “you always get like this when you’re in your own head.”
“it’s an important committee,” you said, your eyes darting back to the corner of the monitor. “if i miss the window, they won’t reschedule. the department is incredibly strict about the timetable.”
“they’ll wait for you,” he countered, a flicker of amusement in his eyes that suggested the department’s so called punctuality was already failing.
“you don’t know how these things work.”
a shadow of hurt crossed his features; you knew he held pride in his own intellect, even if he kept his distance from the troubles and struggles of academics. it was clear that he started to feel like he was of no help for not being somehow omniscient for your sake. yet, he brushed the slight aside with practiced grace, conceding the moment to your burden. he knew you didn’t mean it that way after all.
“i know you’re smart enough that they’d be stupid not to.” his thumb traced the joints of your wrist over your skin with measured pressure. “but i want this over with. i don’t like seeing you look like this.”
the gray light outside the double-glazed windows was fading into the uniform blue of a campus dusk, casting long, flat shadows over the linoleum floor. the department offices across the courtyard had begun to turn on their overhead lights, the yellow squares appearing one by one through the drizzle. maki reached up with his free hand, his fingers curling gently around your chin to tilt your head away from the monitor, his gaze locked onto yours with a stubborn intensity that demanded a response.
“just look at me for a second,” he said, his voice dropping lower, ignoring the group of undergraduates sorting through library books at the next table. “can you not see me sitting right here?”
“maki, please,” you whispered, your heart ticking rapidly against your ribs.
“i’m right here,” he repeated, his fingers shifting to press into the soft skin of your cheek, his touch firm enough to hold you in place. “are you gonna keep looking at that?”
“i’m right here, just like you are.”
he leaned closer until his forehead rested against yours, his breath warm and familiar in the chilly, air-conditioned draft of the commons. the sheer persistence of his proximity was heavy, refusing to let you vanish into the abstract terror of the doctoral board. you let out a long breath, your shoulders finally dropping an inch as the tension began to leave your spine, your fingers loosening within his grasp.
“i want your attention,” he murmured against your skin, his lips brushing your temple. there was a rare, almost unseemly vulnerability in his voice, a crack in his composure reserved only for such earnest moments. “all of it. leave the laptop alone.”
“it’s just one email,” you protested, though your voice lacked its previous defense.
he pressed closer, his arm sliding beneath your unzipped coat to pull you flush against his chest, the bulk of his shoulder eclipsing the screen entirely. he gathered the draped wool scarf from your lap and tucked it snugly around your throat, his fingers lingering at your collar to ensure you were cocooned.
“you’re cold,” he noted, “so i’m going to hold you until you warm up. we agreed we’d handle the waiting together.”
you let your head rest against his shoulder, the linen of his collar soft against your cheek. “i didn’t think ‘together’ meant you blocking my view, big boy.”
“it means whatever i say it means,” he declared, and though his tone was light, his grip around your waist didn’t loosen—unyielding. “stay. just like this.”
as you finally let your eyelids close, you could hear the steady thud of his pulse beneath his shirt, a sound far more grounding than the relentless tick of the campus clock. he shifted slightly on his seat, his long legs adjusting around yours until your knees were completely bracketed by his, locking you into a private alcove of warmth that the drafty high ceilings of the commons could not touch. his hand remained at your neck, his fingers sliding upward to tangle gently in the hair at the base of your nape, his thumb caressing the soft skin right behind your ear in leisurely, hypnotic circles.
“are you still thinking about it?” he whispered, his chin resting heavily on the top of your head, the vibration of his voice felt across your back and down to your collarbones, making your tender heart tremble from both his words and his gentleness.
“a little,” you confessed, your hand curling into the fabric of his sleeve, no longer searching for the track pad. “it’s hard to switch it off completely.”
“i can tell,” he said, his grip tightening around your waist just enough to remind you of the weight of his presence. “your back is still stiff… lean in. properly.”
you obeyed, allowing your spine to slump against his torso until the entire length of your body was supported by his. maki let out a soft, contented hum at your surrender, his lips pressing a firm, lingering kiss into your hair before he shifted his chin to rest in the crook of your shoulder. he reached down with his other hand, slipping his fingers between yours once more, the chill having completely left your fingers under his care this time around. he lifted your joined hands from your lap, bringing them up to his face so he could press your knuckles against his cheek, letting you feel the smooth, radiating heat of his skin.
“see?” he murmured, his eyes half-closed as he nuzzled into your palm, completely unbothered by the occasional passing student or the low chatter from the nearby printers. “much better.”
“you’re ridiculous,” you said, a small, genuine breath of laughter escaping your lips, the first real relief all afternoon. “everyone can see us.”
“let them look,” he replied with that blunt, casual indifference that always shielded you from the outside world. “they’re all stressed about their own exams anyway. nobody cares about us, except me.”
to prove his point, he turned his head slightly within your hand, pressing a soft kiss directly into the center of your palm, his lips warm and slightly chapped from the cold winds outside. the sensation sent a wave of genuine comfort through your limbs, loosening the very last knot of tension that had been holding your shoulders hostage since noon. you turned your head toward him, your noses brushing in the narrow space between you, your eyes taking in the soft, relaxed lines of his face. he looked incredibly boyish in the blue twilight of the lounge, yet his gaze held a protective clarity that rendered the entire graduate department small and insignificant.
“better?” he asked for confirmation this time, his thumb tracing the outer edge of your jawline, his touch light but deliberate.
“better,” you agreed, your breathing finally settling into a deep, even rhythm that matched his own.
maki smiled, a tiny, satisfied curve of his lips that he hid by burying his face into the soft wool of your scarf, his arms wrapping around you securely as the rain continued to patter against the glass outside.
tags: @7yataki @ikigaijo @minhosimthings @junifi3d @odetolune @doyoueverthinkofrose
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a/n: the fem!nico one’s taking too long i needed to remind everyone i actually do write on here brah... also wangwangism has taken over me. ignore the gfx banner i was bullshitting highkey... edit: the old banner is lost media now thank you for providing new pics mr. mauss.
