Aah, I don't know how this happened, that Zayne trapped me in a corner! 😶
So I used the only trusted method to make him let me out. 😌
I think this isn't really a bug. Zayne's always been cheeky with MC. He's a menace when he flirts and this feels exactly like something he'd do just to get a kiss.
zayne loves you and apparently your calico critters, too?
he vowed to always be accepting and supportive of your interest, whatever that may be. so, that included your love for small trinkets of adorable families of animals.
if you came across the calico critter blind bags or tiny keychains at check out while shopping, he had no problem with you slipping one into the basket. or two. three, maybe? he wasn’t watching you, but he could see your hand in the corner of his eye taking them off the shelf and trying to be sneaky. “add one more. in case you get a repeat, of course. i understand that, at times, it discourages you,” he’d say.
zayne was attentive. letting you browse the calico critter section of the store for twenty minutes if you needed it. “baby mermaid castle or playtime castle nursery?” you muttered to yourself. the two items were so adorable. either one would be a perfect addition to your collection and the space in your room you had dedicated to your trinkets.
“get them both,” zayne interrupted your thoughts. he’d been standing there watching you with his hands relaxed to his sides. there wasn’t a point in trying to decide. he’d get you anything within a heartbeat.
zayne had noticed there was a particular item that you always brushed your fingers over but never acknowledged. the touch that lingered told him it had drawn you in but you’re stubborn, you seemed to never have expressed your want for it. so, he’d come home early one night, a big box wrapped in a simple and plain white wrapping paper in his arms. “what is that?” you asked.
“why don’t you open it? it is for you after all.” he answered calmly, placing the box down onto the table and watching you waste no time tearing open the wrapping paper to reveal his gift to you. “what!” you screeched. “red roof country home? no way! zayne! you shouldn’t have!” you throw yourself into his arms in which he uses to envelop you immediately. his hand cradles the back of your head, stroking you gently as he places a kiss to your forehead.
zayne grins, murmuring against your skin, “your little animals have been nomads for far too long. i thought you might like to give them a proper home.”
Yay I'm so glad you decided to open your asks again! Of course, take all the time you need and DON'T feel pressured. Your life comes first!!
I have stowed away some request ideas for when you opened them again, but I'll start with just this one for now 🥺...
Could you do a reader x Zayne (could be pre-relationship if that sounds appealing) where the reader has a habit of subtlety putting themselves down through humor around friends/family? Just playing that sort of thing off casually until Zayne maybe notices how frequent and possibly damaging it can be? Hurt/comfort style? 🙂↕️
I imagine comments that are more subtle like "Oops, I'm stupid, haha" when misunderstanding something or something of that nature. Nothing super intense, but noticable. If that makes sense?? LOL
Anyway!!! Have a GREAT DAY!!!
- (•ө•) Anon
𐙚˙⋆.˚ zayne x gn!reader ꒰੭
𐙚˙⋆.˚ hurt/comfort! ꒰੭
𐙚˙⋆.˚ sfw! ꒰੭
𐙚˙⋆.˚ do not translate/copy/repost! ꒰੭
﹙♡﹚pre-relationship zayne has my heart. my man is a yearner, hence why writing this was so much sweeter ८ ◞ ◟ ⑅ ა thank you so much for requesting, baby! i might have extended myself a little bit, but you angels already know what happens when i write for my hubby! ♡
anyone else could've thought it was a cute little habit of yours.
“haha, i'm so dumb!”
“oh! sorry, what was that? i'm so stupid sometimes…”
“no, you're good! it was totally on me. my mind is a mess!”
but to zayne, it was a dangerous behaviour; one he knew would become detrimental to your self-esteem in no time.
he'd heard you putting yourself down countless times, and on most occasions, it happened over tiny things.
once, it was because you dropped some crumbs on the floor.
then, it was because you accidentally misspelled something.
the last time, it was because you bumped against a counter and felt the need to apologize… unnecessarily so.
to top it off, you weren't even conscious of it, almost as if your mouth moved before your brain could fully process the situation.
that could only mean one thing.
you wholeheartedly believed those words were true, or, at the very least, you felt the need to apologize for every little —and ordinary— mistake.
if you insulted yourself first, then you wouldn't give others the chance to insult you.
he didn't like that, and the fact that none of your friends or family members said anything about it was astonishing to him.
zayne, being as blunt as he was, couldn't really help himself anymore when he heard you talking to a friend on facetime.
you were just lounging around his office, ready to ask for your free monthly checkup, courtesy of dr. li, unaware that he had entered the room and overheard everything you had to say.
“wasn't that like… last year?” you asked, eyebrows knitting. “or wait, no, was it three years ago? ugh, my memory sucks.”
“no, hun, that was literally six months ago, what are you on?” your friend replied, chuckling softly.
you only sighed, then shook your head in disbelief.
“stupid me, the fact that i'm even considered a functioning adult is surprising,” you whispered. “okay, so, six months ago—”
all of a sudden, a cold, large hand settled on your shoulder, making you freeze in place.
your friend grinned wildly once they spotted zayne on your screen, and they decided to make up a dumb excuse just to hang up seconds later.
awesome.
“zayne!” you turned around to face him, your breathing slightly erratic. “you scared me! gosh… what's up?”
he stared down at you, blinking slowly.
“stop that,” he said bluntly, his voice calm enough to be considered a request rather than a demand.
you blinked back, head tilting to your left.
“calling, or…?” you looked down at your phone, then up at him. “was i being too loud, zayne?”
“you were being insulting.”
your eyes immediately went wide.
“oh! was i? really? i didn't even notice! do you think my friend was offend—”
“to yourself,” he interrupted, walking behind his desk to properly meet your gaze.
the room instantly turned quiet.
you didn't know what to say, how to react… so you smiled sheepishly.
“what— uh, what… makes you say that, zayne?” your voice softened, but not out of sweetness; it was out of embarrassment and the ugly feeling of someone seeing right through you, uninvited. “i wasn't insulting myself.”
“you were,” he answered without missing a beat, his hazel eyes refusing to let yours go. “it is not the first time you have done so.”
“well… it's not that bad, zayne! it's just a joke!” you laughed softly, then quickly looked away from him, your fingers fidgeting with your phone case. “i'm just not the smartest person in the room, that's all.”
the uncomfortable silence invaded the room once again, until his hand gently grabbed your wrist and stopped your nervous fidgeting.
“according to who?”
your eyes shot up, your whole body tensing up for just a few seconds.
“uh…” you parted your lips, trying to find the words. “i mean, i'm sometimes clumsy, and my mind just drifts a lot…”
“neither of those traits represent a lack of intelligence,” he leaned in, his hands now over the desk. “and even if they did, you should not use them as weapons against yourself.”
you felt a tiny lump forming in your throat.
“zayne… you don't have to be so serious about it,” you whispered. “it's just… a habit.”
“a bad one,” he added, his voice losing the clinical edge you were used to, instead becoming something softer. “one that is not becoming of you.”
well, great.
you lowered your head and crossed both arms over your chest.
“i don't mean those words…”
“then do not say them,” he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, finally looking away. “because i am starting to believe— or rather, i am certain that you truly think so lowly of yourself.”
“that's not true.”
zayne sighed, used to you contradicting him, but unwilling to let it pass without consequences.
he reached out, quietly lifting your chin up so that you would look at him without averting your gaze.
“you insulted your memory, yourself, and your abilities as an adult in less than two minutes,” he noted. “over forgetting a timeline, mind you.”
you felt your skin growing warmer almost instantly.
he was looking right into your soul, apparently.
“eavesdropping isn't nice,” your lips slightly pouted. “and… and i was just joking! my friends understand my humor!”
“you are teaching yourself that every little mistake is punishable.”
you went completely still, his words echoing.
“...every time you call yourself clumsy, useless, or stupid, you reinforce the idea that making mistakes makes you lesser,” he elaborated. “you do not even think before doing so.”
zayne leaned back, then walked until he was by your side. his hands clenched and unclenched by his sides.
gods, he wanted to pull you close.
he wanted to take those ugly words away from your mind.
but he couldn't lose control, nor would he allow his feelings to overpower his strong sense of duty.
“no one will punish you,” he whispered, his tone becoming softer, gentler, almost concerned. “no one will insult you first, and i can assure you that no one thinks you are stupid when you make mistakes.”
perhaps without him noticing, his thumb brushed the gentle curve of your cheekbone.
neither of you dared to talk.
you simply felt the slow circles he traced on your skin, and he then focused on your pretty eyes.
“...i can't stop, zaynie,” you finally whispered, the words coming out before your brain could process them; the very reason you had this bad habit in the first place. “i don't know how to. it just happens.”
he crouched down next to you, placing one hand on the armrest and the other on the desk.
“it is not easy to change something you do unconsciously,” he conceded. “let alone something you deem necessary.”
“but… do you think i'm doing it to protect myself?” you whispered, looking down at him. “like, deep down, that's what my brain is trying to do?”
he contemplated your words before fixing his glasses.
“i am no psychiatrist, so i am afraid i cannot affirm nor deny allegations of that nature,” he shook his head slightly. “but i… would not discard that theory.”
he paused, trying to find the right words.
“you do not have to change that overnight. in fact, i do not think it is plausible,” he mumbled. “but you can start by acknowledging the facts instead of categorizing them.”
your head tilted to the side, until your cheek met your shoulder.
there it was; that confused gaze zayne secretly adored so much.
“meaning…?”
“meaning that instead of calling yourself stupid after forgetting something, you can just say ‘sorry, i forgot’. instead of insulting your brain's capacity, you can say ‘come again? i did not understand’,” he explained, hoping it wouldn't be too hard to follow.
your expression softened, and your lips seemed to curl up slightly.
“without using ugly words?” you softly asked.
“there is no need, no,” he nodded gently, feeling a bit relieved now that you had another way of expressing yourself.
“that… that sounds easy enough, zaynie,” you whispered. “even for someone dumb like me!”
before you could even register what it was that you said, zayne's eyes narrowed.
you killed all hope instantly.
he stood up quietly, to which you quickly jumped, getting out of the chair.
“oh, zayne, wait! gosh, i didn't even— hey!”
when you looked up, he had a stack of papers (probably some documents) rolled into a tube; one he used to softly tap your forehead.
“try again,” he calmly said.
“you can't just—”
“again,” he gestured with the roll of paper. “go ahead.”
“i— i understand! i'll try not to… categorize anything, i swear!” you squealed, hoping for a little bit of mercy. “it sounds easy!”
he finally lowered the papers, sighing heavily.
“good. but it is not easy,” zayne mumbled. “so i will be alert. i must ensure you practice being gentler to yourself.”
you sighed in relief once he placed the papers over his desk, straightening them with his slender fingers.
you felt like a pup being trained, in a way.
“...is that part of your role as my doctor, zaynie, or do you just care too much about me?” your voice came out tentative, and when your eyes met, you could've sworn the tips of his ears turned red.
he cleared his throat and looked away.
“i am merely ensuring your stress levels remain low. good self-esteem and healthy emotional practices do contribute to that,” he picked up your file, tapping it with his knuckle. “now, let us go to the second floor. we will start with the blood work.”
“blood work…?” you frowned, before gasping. “oh, right! my checkup, i totally forgot! i'm such a—”
your words died down almost instantly when his hand quietly went back to the documents on his desk.
“i'm such… such a great patient! i mean— i will be the best patient ever!” you rushed to the door, quickly opening it. “i'll see you down there!”
and just as quickly as you left, his face became one of a man smitten.
what was he going to do with you, other than worry every day?
he stared at the door, and then moved towards it, slipping the efficient and focused mask of a man in his field of work.
but beneath his pristine lab coat, his heart raced and ached for the most perfect person in this world; someone he wouldn't let destroy their self-esteem and self-worth with such deprecating words.
not if he could stop it, one paper roll at a time.~
