blindfolded reader with hsr boys (Dan heng, Jiaoqiu, caelus, Aventurine and Ratio) leading them to their destination. But not without tucking in some teasing touches with their ticklish caresses and sultry brushes with their tails X3c
Between the Silence and the Touch
Tags: Aventurine x Reader, Ratio x Reader, Dan Heng x Reader, Caelus x Reader, Blindfolded Reader, Teasing Touches, Sultry Brushes, Romantic Tension, Slow Burn, Playful Intimacy, Subtle Flirting, Guided Journey, Trust-Building.
The moment you felt the soft cloth cover your eyes, a shiver ran down your spine. The world vanished into darkness, leaving only the sound of Dan Heng’s calm, measured breaths. His hand—firm and warm—enclosed yours, guiding you forward along the narrow corridors of the Astral Express.
“Stay close,” he murmured, his voice low and steady, almost a whisper that settled itself in your chest.
You nodded, though he couldn’t see it. Every step you took behind him was deliberate, careful, but the teasing pressure of his fingers against yours sent sparks through your nerves. Occasionally, he brushed your palm with the backs of his fingers, each touch brief, deliberate, yet charged with subtle intent.
“You’re moving too fast,” he said, a hint of amusement threading through his normally stoic tone. “Slow down.”
You obeyed, trying to match his pace. Yet, every time you adjusted your stride, his hand would graze your ribs or slide along the curve of your shoulder. A light, teasing brush that had you tensing, your body betraying your composure despite the darkness.
The corridor twisted and turned, and you felt him guiding you up the stairs. His touch lingered a little too long at your waist when he steadied you, sending a shiver down your back.
“Almost there,” he murmured, the proximity of his body felt closer than it should. The warmth radiating from him was intoxicating, grounding you while simultaneously setting every nerve alight.
When you finally stepped onto the Parlor Car, the blindfold removed, you blinked at the vast expanse of stars outside. Dan Heng stood behind you, hands still lightly on your arms, grounding and teasing in equal measure.
“You’ve done well,” he said, voice gentle yet tinged with something unspoken. Then, before you could respond, he traced the outline of your jaw with his fingers, a fleeting, teasing brush that made your heart stutter.
“Next time, I might guide you slower,” he added, the faintest smirk tugging at his lips.
The stars stretched endlessly beyond the glass, but your focus remained on the quiet, stoic figure behind you—his presence, his touch, and the careful, teasing way he led you here.
The blindfold was snug, completely cutting off the visual world. Your senses sharpened, each sound amplified—the hum of the Astral Express, the distant clatter of machinery, and most importantly, the soft footsteps behind you.
“Relax,” Caelus said, his voice gentle, like a warm current in the darkness. His hand found yours, guiding you confidently.
You felt the press of his fingers against yours, a playful squeeze that felt deliberate. Every now and then, he’d brush his palm along the inside of your wrist or let his thumb trace your knuckles. It was intimate yet teasing, a subtle dance of touch that kept you on edge.
“Careful,” he whispered, guiding you past a narrow conduit. His chest brushed lightly against your back, a sensation that sent goosebumps racing down your spine. “Almost there.”
Your foot caught slightly on the metal floor, and he steadied you with a hand at your waist. The touch lingered a fraction too long, the warmth and slight pressure stirring sensations you weren’t entirely prepared to handle.
“You trust me, don’t you?” he asked softly, almost a challenge. You nodded, despite the fact that he couldn’t see it.
The journey continued, each step marked by teasing brushes—an elbow nudging yours as he guided you around machinery, the backs of his fingers lightly skimming your arm. You could feel his awareness of your reactions, subtle but deliberate, each touch carrying a quiet intimacy.
Finally, the metallic scent of the Engine Room reached you. The machinery hummed steadily, the pulsing energy beneath your feet palpable. Caelus gently guided you to the center, where the engine core glowed with a soft, ethereal light.
The blindfold was removed, revealing the intricate machinery and the faint shimmer of his silver-gray hair. He let his hand linger on yours just a moment longer, a teasing brush along your palm that made your chest tighten.
“See? Nothing to fear,” he murmured, his thumb brushing lightly against your wrist, grounding yet provocative. And though the room was vast and noisy, all that mattered was the quiet heat of his hand and the soft, teasing cadence of his touch.
Aventurine’s laugh was a whisper in the shadows as he gently tied the blindfold over your eyes. Darkness swallowed the world, leaving only his voice to guide you.
“Now, follow me. And don’t step too fast; I don’t want you tumbling over something,” he teased, his tone as smooth as silk, dripping with playful menace.
His hand found yours almost immediately, but unlike others, his grip was loose, casual, yet each movement felt deliberate. He traced teasing patterns along your fingers, letting his thumb circle your knuckles, and occasionally, he would let his palm brush the side of your waist “accidentally.”
“You’re tense,” he said, voice low, close to your ear. “Relax… or not. I rather like the way you squirm.”
Every turn of the corridor, every shadowed corner, was marked by his subtle, calculated touches. A hand brushing along your ribs, a finger lingering near your collarbone—it was playful yet electric, sending shivers racing down your spine.
“Careful, love,” he murmured, his voice dropping to a sultry whisper as you navigated a set of stairs. “I wouldn’t want you to fall before we reach the prize.”
His teasing wasn’t just physical. Words, tone, timing—they were weapons in his hands. Each joke, each flirtatious comment, sent a thrill through your nerves, making the darkness both tantalizing and disorienting.
Finally, the vault loomed ahead, the metallic scent of its doors filling your senses. Aventurine guided you to the center, letting go of your hand only to let his fingers trace your jawline, the movement slow, deliberate, and undeniably intimate.
“Welcome to my domain,” he said, eyes glinting even though you couldn’t see them. His hand returned to yours, brushing along the inside of your wrist, teasing yet grounding. “I trust you’ll enjoy the gamble of following me here.”
When the blindfold lifted, the vault’s glimmering interiors revealed themselves, but your focus remained on Aventurine, whose flirtatious smirk and subtle touches had transformed a simple guided walk into a dangerous, thrilling game.
The moment the blindfold went over your eyes, a sense of disorientation swept over you—but it was tempered by the steady presence of Ratio’s voice.
“Hold my hand,” he instructed, a mixture of command and soft reassurance. “I will guide you.”
The first touch of his hand was firm yet gentle, guiding yours through the darkness. Unlike others, his approach was cerebral, teasing through calculated precision. His fingers lightly grazed your palm, a subtle brush that had the unintended effect of sending shivers through your body.
“You are unsteady,” he noted, a hint of amusement coloring his tone. “Focus on my touch.”
Each step was accompanied by his playful adjustments—nudges to your side, the occasional trailing of his thumb along your wrist, fingers brushing the sensitive spots at your elbow. The combination of intellect and sensuality in his gestures left you tense, both intrigued and helpless.
“Tell me,” he said softly, letting his hand rest lightly on your back as he guided you around an obstacle, “does this unsettle you?”
“Yes…” you admitted, your voice betraying the effect of his subtle caresses.
“Good,” he murmured, a faint, approving smile in his tone. He leaned closer in the darkness, letting the back of his hand brush along your shoulder blade in what seemed like an innocent gesture but carried the faintest thrill.
Finally, you reached the Observatory Lab, the glass walls revealing the star-strewn cosmos outside. Ratio removed the blindfold, and your eyes met his, sharp, intense, and undeniably teasing.
“Precision, control, and awareness,” he remarked, letting his hand briefly hover over yours before trailing along your wrist again. “Essential in all endeavors…including guidance.”
And in that moment, the lab—and the stars beyond—felt secondary to the teasing, intimate connection he had built purely through touch, voice, and the delicate interplay of proximity.
I treat happiness
like the half-tamed deer I have coaxed
into a clearing and want only
to be near-
If I look right at it,
it will spook and disappear.
Instead I have to look studiously
away, offering my mind permission to marvel
only out of the furthest
corner of my eye.
If I reach out to it with a handful
of something sweet,
it will smell a trap and start
away, flash of a white tail
into the underbrush.
No sudden movements.
I only want
to look at you. Stay,
just long enough
to let me look at you in the fading light.
Hopefully, it should be done by the end of the weekend...
I really, really, REALLY love those two, and the super CANON fact that they're both writers sends me over the Moon *O*
*
You chuckle among the few tears you’re already wiping.
Just with one hand, the other is still holding mine.
“Thank you, Bronte. I feel a lot better now.” You smile that crooked smile of yours that really gives me trouble reminding myself that we shouldn’t have any sort of sexy contact.
“If I knew that seeing a bunch of rare books would have this effect on you I would have never done that…. maybe it was better a stock of King’s latest books you could have used outside as skeet shooting.”
Now you’re laughing, right before you pull me closer and kiss my temple.
This is not a sexy contact. It’s a tender one.
Not only is it allowed, I love it.
“Oh, Bronte, what would I do without you?”
“Said the one who tried to kill me three times!” I part from you, coming back to my bed.
“Well, thank you for being so resistant and resilient!” You make me smile.
I still can’t believe the ease and naturalness with which we manage to joke about a very-close-to-death experience.
It’s something I love about us.
It probably also helps that it happened more than two years ago.
“Okay, now it’s writing time. If you don’t feel like doing the same you’re not forced, of course; but please let me do my job. I have a pending schedule.” I say, opening my laptop.
“I promise I’m going to write as well, but first I’d like to hear more about you.” You say, reaching me on the bed, but you politely sit on the corner, not invading my space. “What are you working at?”
“‘That’s not for you’.” I reply and I might sound harsher than I meant.
“Oh, okay, there’s no need to be so rude. How can you be so judgemental to know it’s a genre I don’t like even before talking about it?”
I chuckle.
“No, Joe, you misunderstood. ‘That’s not for you’ is the title of my new romance.”
“Oh.” You remain with your mouth open for a while. “So, what’s about?”
I close my laptop and put it aside to give you all my attention.
“Okay, there’s this girl, Gabrielle, who used to have a boyfriend, Jim, but things didn’t go well between them. After a couple of years they casually met, Jim confesses to her he never forgot her and would like to have a second chance with her; he swears to her he’s changed.”
“Changed how? What was wrong with him before?” You start asking the good questions.
“They had such a toxic relationship. He was so jealous, he controlled every single step of her, he was hyper possessive and extremely manipulative.”
You scoff.
“What a horrible guy!”
“I know, right? And yet Gabrielle is so naive that she tells him she’ll think about it.”
“I don’t think Gabrielle is naive, she’s just hopelessly romantic; trying to find a glimmer of light even in the darkest kind of love.” You state.
I must have something in common with Gabrielle, although it’s another character I identify more with.
*
Dorothy did not say anything, for she was puzzled to know which of her two friends was right. - L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
On Wednesday, the diffused light of dawn coaxes Lydia awake. Her eyes flutter open, smile slowly blossoming when the first thing she sees is the familiar sight of her hand linked to another. She watches those ten effortlessly intertwined digits, rising and falling in harmony with her inhales and exhales, balanced perfectly at the center of the chest that’s connected to the shoulder that supports her head.
For a good thirty seconds, she thinks she’s home with Stiles, the two of them curled up on the comfy couch in the Stilinski living room, his arm warm and reassuring around her.
As the rest of the space comes into focus… the wood planks braced across cathedral ceilings, the textured plaster walls, the towering stone fireplace, its hearth smoldering with faint embers… she remembers that she is in Allison Archer’s cabin in the woods of Larimar. An incalculable distance from Beacon Hills and Stiles.
She cranes her neck to glance at her companion.
Noah is asleep. Head thrown back against the cushions, lips parted and pale pink, airborne particles swirling in a sunbeam above his head like stardust.
Heart squeezing, she gazes at him for a moment.
In the three days they’ve been together, she has only seen him sleep once, that afternoon by the lake where they stopped to have lunch. Every night, he has been the last to bed; every morning, the first to wake.
She was starting to worry that he suffers from insomnia. But right now, he looks so peaceful, so sweet, and—aside from the smattering of stubble along his jaw and the small scar on his cheek—so much like Stiles.
Read more: ao3
🏷️ @folglore13, @kylermalloy (drop a comment if you’d like to be tagged for upcoming chapters)
Ethical Business: The Foundation of Trust and Integrity
Working Ethically: A Pledge Against Bribery in Business
In the realm of business, ethical conduct is the bedrock of trust and integrity. Explore the crucial importance of working ethically and the detrimental effects of succumbing to bribery, a menace that erodes the very foundation of fair and honest business practices.
The Essence of Ethical Conduct
1. Trust Building
Ethical business practices…
