soulsbleedink

[soulsbleedink]

𝙇𝘼𝘾𝙐𝙉𝘼 | 𝘼𝙇𝙃𝘼𝙄𝙏𝙃𝘼𝙈 𝙓 𝙆𝘼𝙑𝙀𝙃

Prompt: Alhaitham spends his time cooped up in his office, but unable to actually finish any work. Kaveh checks in, and notices the scene. Although Alhaitham refuses to rely on anyone; including Kaveh. At the end anyway, the Acting Grand sage comes undone with his thoughts. But Kaveh is there.

Warning[s]: Mentions of inability to fit in, and so forth.

Pairing: Alhaitham x Kaveh

Word count: 2.1k

masterlist

is this what writing on the wall does to a person? i think so. anyways, have fun reading. according to an alhaitham kin, i did good. so i'm showing my face here /j

Alhaitham’s eyes scanned over the words etched on the pages of his book, but none of them made sense for some odd reason. He’d spent the whole week out helping Cyno, although most matters were simply trivial. And required just a sprinkle of common sense, which he found that most of his friends could not acquire, even if they tried. Although, he did suppose they had their own strengths, which were beyond admirable. But at the moment, he deemed himself ready for a break, or maybe his thoughts were buzzing so loudly in his head he could feel his teeth chatter because of it. Which he’d not admit to anyone. Actually, he himself was late to notice it. When his tea spilled a bit as he placed his cup down forcefully, he realised that he could trace the path of blood rushing in his body, and just how sick the realisation felt. The couch beneath him felt too soft, like he could sink into it, or like it could crumble to the floor. The pages felt too rough underneath his fingertips, but he chose to ignore it. The words weren’t dancing, but they meant near nothing. His mind was a rushing mess with thoughts that threatened to crack open his skull and spill over.

Beside him, his pen was lying aimlessly as his eyes darted across the room, and everything felt wrong—He shouldn’t meddle on that, but how could he not when his thoughts were screaming at him? Paperwork sat on a desk across him, and yet he couldn’t find it within himself to look at it. The words in the book didn’t make an ounce of sense, he knew better than to try to just push through. He knew that not many great applications passed for him to read, but at the moment; he couldn’t even muster the energy for one. 

Cyno had offered to lend a hand, and yet he refused. Because how would it be if someone else did his work for him? That didn’t sound right. For so long he struggled with being someone worth recognition, mostly in his own mind but still—now he finally had a role; and somehow still he was struggling to fulfil it. And surely Cyno himself had many matters to attend to. Alhaitham didn’t quite understand why he had offered to help.

He forced the book out of his sight, forcefully placing it beside him. He felt slightly foolish, having told Kaveh only a few days ago that he shouldn’t overwork—Yet, here he was. But was it even considered overworking when he simply couldn’t put his mind to it in the first place? He supposed not. Perhaps he was just incompetent. No. Thoughts like those did no good. Kaveh was his prime example. He would hate it if Kaveh found him in a similar state and had to console him. 

Still, nothing felt right. He couldn’t force his paperwork, he couldn’t force himself to move, he couldn’t do anything. He felt rooted to the spot. He desperately wanted to call out for someone, Kaveh was probably cooped up in his workspace, he could use a break. There was no need for that, Alhaitham’s mind was just making up excuses now. He shook his head, as if that would rid him of these thoughts. Of all these distractions. He tried to stretch his limbs, but it didn’t make him feel any better. In fact, with every second that passed, he just felt like he was wasting time. And some deep part in him wanted to ask for help. He just wanted to finish this. And he wasn’t ever the type to tie his worth to his accomplishments, not all that much at least; but when he couldn’t even finish one single paper, he just felt unaccomplished to a new level. And it all felt just a bit wrong. Like he could lock himself up in here and blame himself for all the wrong he’d ever done. Including letting Kaveh struggle until he was right in his arms, and… breaking down. 

He felt bad for it. Maybe he should’ve done something. He should’ve never let it reach that point. He was trying so hard to rationalise all of his thoughts right now, but they all seemed to be digging him into a hole that would be created from his destructive nature that manifested in moments like these. His eyes darted across the room, settling on the door. And maybe his ears were ringing, but he firmly believed he could hear footsteps growing louder. Someone was walking towards his office, and the only other person in the house was Kaveh. 

He inhaled deeply, hearing the door creak as it was slid open. He looked towards the intruder, willing his expression to remain calm, impassive even.

“You’ve not been out in a few hours,” Kaveh stated. Worry was written all over his face, and Alhaitham couldn’t deny the guilt that was piling in his gut. “Are you trying to copy me? I wouldn’t call myself a role model, you know…” He laughed, but he was the only one.

“No, I’ve just got quite a lot of work.” And can’t seem to finish any of it. Alhaitham didn’t say that. He let his forced unamused expression speak for him, but even the fidelity of that; he was questioning. And how authentic he could act like it was. Kaveh’s eyes landed on the pile of paperwork. He fully entered the room. Alhaitham willed himself to stand up, and put a hand in front of his approaching roommate. “I’ll deal with it.”

“I’ll help,” Kaveh offered. An instant shake of Alhaitham’s head was his reply. “Really, you should let us help. Even Cyno was saying it. He offered to, and you said no, but you’ve not been out of this office in hours.” A soft frown played on Kaveh’s lips. He inched closer anyway. And this time Alhaitham didn’t try to fight back. He actually wanted to see someone, and something that wasn’t his work. 

“Pay no mind to what he says, there’s just been a lot to do.” Alhaitham turned away, but couldn’t. A warm hand was placed on his shoulder, warranting him rooted to the spot. He didn’t like that his body stilled the moment Kaveh touched him, but it felt right. So he turned back. His roommate smiled. 

He shook his head slowly. “Then let us help you.” He smiled. Alhaitham didn’t feel as cheery. On the contrary, he felt heavier. He appreciated it, but accepting any help when he’d spent his whole life being the helper, being the one that was supporting; it felt so beyond wrong. He didn’t recognise it. And the unfamiliarity of acceptance was tingling on his skin. He willed himself to drink it in, not turn away from it for once. 

“You won’t have to bother yourself with my mundane tasks,” Alhaitham tried to reason, he was really giving it his all, and quite frankly, it was a bit embarrassing that he couldn’t uphold his impassivity. 

“We would like to,” Kaveh said, squeezing his roommate’s shoulder gently, smiling. He steered him away from the desk, to a far corner of the room next to his bookshelves. With a gentle push, Alhaitham’s back hit the couch and a sigh forced its way out of his mouth.

“It’s rotten work.” He looked at Kaveh who was humming. His eyes followed the blond, watching as he hummed, hands collecting a whole array of items. All for Alhaitham’s comfort, apparently.

“Not to us—Not to me, not when it’s you.” His voice had grown much quieter as he got closer, placing the items in front of his roommate. The table creaked a bit, but neither of them paid any mind to it. Alhaitham tensed a bit, and then he inhaled deeply.

“You are wasting your time.” Alhaitham looked away, he couldn’t meet Kaveh’s eyes. And that made shame crawl up his skin in waves, but Kaveh only chuckled.

“You think so, but I most definitely don’t.” He poured Alhaitham a cup of water, and the latter was surprised at how cold the cup was to the touch. He raised an eyebrow at Kaveh, who smiled. “Cold, it’ll help you cool off.” Kaveh shrugged.

Alhaitham hesitated, but took a sip anyway, sighing softly. “Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. But you do realise that you can always us Cyno, Tighnari or I for help, right?”

Alhaitham nodded wordlessly, he knew. He just didn’t want to. He wondered, did they know of all the walls he’d built to feel better about the fact that he just couldn’t fit into groups. That he was different, but being different had never felt so wrong until he was the victim of it. Did Kaveh ever realise that Alhaitham wished to be more ordinary? That extraordinary wasn’t going well for him?

“Of course I can,” He ended up saying, letting all the other thoughts die in his mind.

“We get that you don’t like relying on others, and that most see you as extraordinary but—”

“Kaveh, it’s nothing great.” Alhaitham sighed. On days when his skin felt worn, and all his thoughts felt incoherent, he’d sit with himself, and he would wonder how everything could’ve gone so wrong. His grandmother always told him that he was unique, and that being so was beautiful. And yet he sat here with himself some days, and he could feel all the doubt crawling up his limbs, anchor into his mind. “I don’t want to be extraordinary, I don’t want to be looked at like I’m inhuman. I don’t want to feel inhuman. I feel out of place. Is that normal?” He looked at Kaveh. 

Kaveh stared at him, sadness written all over his features. It made Alhaitham feel sick. His roommate frowned softly. “You shouldn’t.”

“But I do, just because I shouldn’t, doesn’t mean it ever stops. Kaveh, it’s always there… I thought that maybe if I started relying on people less, it would feel better, but when I see people, when I see how they’re normal, it all goes back to where it started.” He shook his head, laughing sadly. He said he wouldn’t let it get to him. But it did anyway.

“Let me elaborate further, don’t you wish I was more ordinary sometimes?” He asked, fully facing Kaveh now, smiling sardonically at his own idiocy, at the thoughts that formed in his own mind. And his roommate, his poor roommate looked terrified. He felt bad for him.

“I don’t. I’ve always known and loved you for what you’ve been, and that will never change. I swear, Alhaitham—” Kaveh ran out of words, his frown deepening so much Alhaitham thought it could be etched right into his face. 

“You don’t have to justify—” He started.

“I’m not justifying anything.” Kaveh got closer, and somehow his hands found Alhaitham’s shoulders. He turned him around, forcing him to meet eye-to-eye. “That’s how I’ve always thought of you. You don’t have to be any different. And I know you’ve always struggled with fitting in, with trying to be what you think is ‘normal’. I’ve noticed, even at the Akademiya, but I promise; my opinion or views on you have never changed, and I’ve never wanted you to change. Stay annoying, please.” 

Alhaitham inhaled shakily, and he started laughing. He didn’t know how to deal with his emotions, and he just… lost it. Often. He’d laugh sardonically, but his voice would shake. And then he’d stop, and the silence would sink in, sickeningly deep into his conscience and turn everything he ever knew into shame. For being unable to deal with himself. 

“I know you don’t want to and can’t rely on others, but please. Don’t lose yourself in work, in whatever depths of your mind. It’s terrifying. Don’t let those thoughts get to you.” Kaveh squeezed his shoulders. And the desperation in his voice made his roommate want to shrink away.

“I’ll try not to,” Alhaitham said. His hands found Kaveh’s, and gently; he pried them away. “I… promise.” His roommate sighed, in relief. He assumed. And then his body relaxed.

“Thank you.” And he repeated those words. Again, and again. Until Alhaitham had to tell him to stop. Then he laughed, but he did stop.

Alhaitham blinked, feeling lighter. He laughed, really did. And Kaveh stared at him, evidently confused. Though, he didn’t elaborate further. Alhaitham turned to look back at his roommate. He smiled. Kaveh flushed, but smiled anyway. “Thank you.” 

Kaveh blinked, but shrugged. “No worries. Anyway, stay annoying.”

“For you, I might.”

[soulsbleedink]

𝙏𝙊𝙎𝙆𝘼 | 𝘼𝙇𝙃𝘼𝙄𝙏𝙃𝘼𝙈 𝙓 𝙆𝘼𝙑𝙀𝙃

Prompt: Kaveh's been drowning himself in his designs, and he just can't seem to make them perfect. Alhaitham forces him out of his room, and in the minutes that follow; he unravels, but his roommate is right there to hold him together.

Warning[s]: Mentions of doubt

Pairing: Alhaitham x Kaveh

Word count: 2.7k

masterlist

written after the release of writing on the wall [alhaitham's version]. i have been inconsolable since, and plan to write a version where kaveh comforts alhaitham instead. have fun. i also found out i kin both of them. it was not great, still grieving. have fun reading.

Kaveh’s concept of time had long gone blurred, his sketches a mess of circles and lines that all seemed to lead to nothing worth looking at. He didn’t know how long he’d been buried in these papers, but it had been a few hours, surely. Actually, that didn’t make it any better. The fact that he had so many crumpled papers scattered across his room and he was nowhere near done, was terrible. And the fact that a few hours had passed only proved that he was doing terribly. Ink splotches decorated his fingers, drying in the crevices of his hand as they shook in front of him, on the desk, on the paper. They no longer had the dance to them that they did, each line was a crooked representation of the exhaustion that he found was dragging itself deeper into his mind. His consciousness was slithering into darkness, into corners of his mind that knew nothing better than scratching away at the paint on his walls as sobs wrecked him to his bones.

Now was not the time to linger on that. The Akademiya had known him as ambitious, as a student with fervour, with this passion for creation. For architecture that caught the eye. He had dreamt of creating that. He had the chance now, yet why was his resolve faltering? And why was he sat at his desk, wallowing in his incompetence in the art that he chose for himself? In a job—No, a passion he’d longed to spend all his time doing. In creating beauty that draped city streets and lined cities and turned them into artwork brought to life. 

A sound of frustration left his lips, the pout on his face going unnoticed by him and the ink bottles lining his desk. Lips trembling, he stood up. His whole world tilted. A hand went flying for support, the desk. A thud echoed against the silence of the room, only ever punctured by the rushed scratching of his pen, and or his frustration vocalised. Water, he just needed some water and he ought to be fine. His eyes darted over his walls, plastered with sketches, with concepts, with strings connecting them all, and his eyes landed on a jug of water, a cup placed next to it. He sighed in relief, stumbling over as he shakily reached down for the cup, pouring himself a cup of what would hopefully restore his sanity, at least momentarily. 

As the water hit the back of his throat, he could swear stars flashed in his vision, muscles relaxing, but just not enough. He groaned as he set the cup down, eyeing his desk with resentment. When had he reached the point of losing his love for architecture? Oh, he was pitiful. Disgustingly so. He made his way over to the desk splayed with plans, and endless plans. Albeit, he did it slowly. He sat back down, composing himself to the best of his ability. Focus, you just need to finish this—No, he had to put his all in. It had to catch eyes, not just stand there, be a lifeless block. With a plain sigh, he picked up the pen, dragging one of his many discarded plans. Maybe if he looked at it again, he could redraw it…? 

Actually, no. It looked terrible. That would be sure to fall over from just one gust of wind. Well—He was an architect for a reason, he should’ve been able to fix that. He unfurled the paper, running his fingertips over the crooked folds of the paper. Instinctively his hand reached for his sketchbook, taking out another page. He got to work, redrawing, rebuilding the concept he’d been working on, but just couldn’t figure out. And of course he didn’t ask. Quite frankly, he didn’t remember the last time he left the room for anything that wasn’t urgently needing the bathroom, or a shower. Meals were a perhaps, and he knew that Alhaitham would scold him for it. Oh, he also had to pay rent. His roommate either conveniently forgot, or remembered, and he didn’t know why. 

Now was not the time to waste, and get lost in thoughts that only hindered his progress. As he reached for another bottle of ink, his hand stopped mid-movement. Soft knocks sounded from behind him. He would’ve opted to ignore them, but they seemed rather hurried. Even for someone like Alhaitham. Kaveh knew it was his roommate. He lifted himself from his chair, ignoring the uncomfortable pain that slid down his spine. He shivered from the feeling as he walked to the door, letting it swing open. Alhaitham was standing in the doorway, leaning on the frame. His usual impassive expression was playing on his face, but even in his state of exhaustion, Kaveh didn’t miss the sliver of relief that seemed to flash in Alhaitham’s eyes. 

“Yes, Haitham?” Kaveh asked, doing his best to ignore the tremble in his voice. He drummed his fingers on the wall beside him.

“It’s way past dinner, Tighnari and Cyno were searching for you, they mentioned something about going to the inn with them?” Alhaitham recounted, raising an eyebrow at him.

Kaveh wanted to ignore the fact that he was asked at all, or the fact that it was past dinner, so much past eight, or probably nine. If he'd guessed. “And they didn't ask you?” 

“They did,” Alhaitham said, refusing to elaborate any further—Well, he never did actually. Kaveh shouldn’t have been surprised, he wasn’t; even in the state that he currently was in. 

“Then, why’d you not go?” Kaveh asked, he knew well that if his roomate wished, only then would he elaborate, if not… he would probably just force him to get something down his throat, or clean the room. Or hopefully ask him to pay rent. Kaveh did think he could use some time looking at anything that wasn’t his god awful sketches. 

“I’m sure you know well that I don’t like going to crowded places like inns often,” Alhaitham said, rather matter of factly. Kaveh raised an eyebrow at him, surprised that he elaborated anyway. And then he moved to the side, gesturing with his head to the rest of the house. “Dinner, remember?”

“Right… I’ll cook something for myself—” Kaveh scratched the back of his neck, stepping out of the thick air of his room. He inhaled deeply, ignoring the way Alhaitham looked at him, as if he was concerned. If he was, he probably shouldn’t have been. Architects had to lock in on their projects a lot, at least Kaveh thought so. 

“No need, I’ve already cooked, and I left some for you,” Alhaitham said, leading them into their kitchen. 

Kaveh’s senses were assaulted with the sweet smell of honey and grilled meat. He could cry from the realisation that he was starving. He whispered a thanks to his roommate, finding himself a spot at the table already. Wordlessly, Alhaitham passed him utensils and the nicely wrapped food, even though the scent was escaping anyway. So as to seem less impolite, Kaveh made a show out of unwrapping it slowly, although he actually couldn’t care less. Alhaitham didn’t seem to care too much, he just sat opposite him, his book glued to his hand, as Kaveh would always say.

When Kaveh went to dig in, his hands shook, but his vigour didn’t seem to go away too much. Even if he felt slightly sick from eating after two or three days of near starvation, he forced the nutrients down his throat with gusto that wasn’t much like him, but he needed to pretend that he wasn’t worried about wasting time that he could be spending on perfecting his designs. He just needed to get this over with—A hand reached forward, fingers snapping in front of his face.

He looked up to meet Alhaitham’s eyes. “You are trembling, your hands namely,” He stated. He actually looked concerned. And Kaveh felt guilt pile up in his gut. Again, his roommate stood up and made his short way over to the other side of the table, taking the utensils from Kaveh’s hands and placing them firmly onto the table. He leaned down, holding the architect’s hands in his.

“I’m fine,” Kaveh didn’t sound too convincing even when the words left his mouth. Just convince him—

“You are unwell,” Alhaitham said, sitting down beside him, facing him. “Here.” With one hand he passed Kaveh a bottle of cold water. Kaveh shivered when it met his fingertips, but accepted it graciously nonetheless. 

When Kaveh pulled the bottle away from his lips, Alhaitham had a nicely sliced bit of meat held up to his mouth. He flushed, tried to shake his head, Alhaitham’s hand did not move. Kaveh accepted it. 

Many silent minutes passed where they did that, Alhaitham practically fed him, and he burnt up under his roommate’s gaze, just wanting it to be over. Partly because this was embarrassing, the other because goddamn, this felt like being six and his mother feeding him stew when he got sick from staying up and studying for a test. 

“Kaveh, you’re in your head.” Alhaitham snapped him right back to his senses. The fork was on the plate, and it was.. Empty. It did work, he supposed. Kaveh tried to look away, but Alhaitham placed two hands on his shoulders, and he resorted to staring at his lap instead. “What troubles you?”

What didn’t trouble him, at this point? He just seemed to always be struggling away with something, wallowing in his doubt and letting self pity make a fool out of him. “I don’t know,” He said, he just wanted to get back to working, to drawing. 

“There’s a lot going on in that head, I can tell.” Alhaitham’s hands didn’t move. “If it’s about rent, don’t worry.” 

It wasn’t, but Kaveh was glad Alhaitham brought it up, he could focus on something else. “I’ll get it sorted out, I promise.”

“I’ll be waiting,” Alhaitham smiled, squeezing his shoulder.

Kaveh’s breath hitched in his throat, and this sick heavy weight buried itself into his stomach. His father used to do that to him, as reassurance. And he didn’t remember if he did, he probably did—He probably mentioned to Alhaitham at some point about his father, all the mannerisms, everything. Probably spilt his guts and came clean. He just didn’t expect his roommate to remember. 

“Thank you,” He said with a shaky voice. “I need to get back, though.” He stood up, his vision wavered, but he ignored it.

“You should take a break,” Alhaitham reasoned with him, holding out his hands for Kaveh, just in case he lost his balance. Kaveh had been thinking it wasn’t obvious. Or at least, not that obvious. He sighed, shaking his head. “You need it.” He frowned softly at the architect.

“Not until I finish this, at least one plan,” Kaveh muttered, to himself or to Alhaitham, he didn’t know; his line between rationality and the need to prove himself had blurred itself a while ago. 

“No, Kaveh. You can continue afterwards.” Alhaitham placed a hand on Kaveh’s forearm. 

Kaveh would be the biggest liar known to Tevyat if he said he didn’t want to hear those words. He desperately wanted to hear that, wanted someone to tell him that it’s okay to take a break. That maybe, he needed it. The tears pricked at his eyes, and he just wanted to turn away, make a run for his room like a fool. With every piling thought now clawing its way up his throat, he stood there instead. Alhaitham reached forward, and when Kaveh didn’t fight, his warm face hit a warmer chest, heartbeat steady beneath his ears. With as much force as he could muster, even in his state of wanting to tear away and lock himself away until he tired himself to fainting, he let himself bask in his roommate’s arms. The tears won their way down his face, warm and a sign of his incompetence. Of his inability to deal with basic stress.

“Design can wait.” Alhaitham traced shapes on Kaveh’s back, holding him together as he threatened to unravel completely, to break more as dry sobs shook his frame. 

“I just can’t seem to figure it out anymore, it always ends up being wrong,” Kaveh whispered through his sobs, the tears blurring his vision. His breaths came out in short gasps as he drove himself into full blown panic, tears streaming down consistently, eyes stinging from the sheer force of it all. 

Alhaitham’s frame rocked them back and forth. “You are not a machine, Kaveh. Perfect even then, can’t be expected. Man, and its creations are bound to fallibility, and that is what makes them what they are. And have you ever looked closely at the buildings that for so long have inspired yours? Have you noticed those crooked corners? The small differences just show that something of that magnitude was created by someone just as human as you are.” 

Kaveh wrapped his arms around Alhaitham even more, placing his chin on his shoulder, gulping in as much air as he could, he felt breathless, chest constricting on itself. He heard his roommate’s words, they were ringing in his head. He nodded faintly. He didn’t know when but at some point Haitham’s fingers were carding themselves through his hair, gently unclipping all of his hair pins, placing them on the table next to them. Then Alhaitham’s arms back around his torso, pulling him closer. 

“Can you hear my heartbeat?” He asked. Kaveh nodded against the crook of his neck, “take deep breaths with me, alright?” Kaveh nodded again, the last of the tears drying up on his face and clinging onto his eyelashes.

Alhaitham inhaled slowly, Kaveh followed, and then he exhaled. Kaveh did the same. 

“Don’t overwork yourself, beauty won’t be created if you force it to. The world wasn’t always like this, it took millenia, and probably much longer to end up even remotely similar to what we see it is. Remember all the praise you have gotten for your designs, it took you months for some of them, remember?” Alhaitham said, squeezing Kaveh’s frame in his arms as the latter took a deep breath, stabilising himself once more.

“I shouldn’t overwork,” He whispered.

Alhaitham shook his head.

“And I’m just human, my designs won’t be perfect,” He said next.

“No, they can, within human capabilities, Cyno, Tighnari and… I find them so at least, but within the imperfections of our beings, is inlaid the perfect you seek.” 

“That makes no sense.” Kaveh laughed, wiping at his face. Alhaitham huffed, a slight smile gracing his lips as he reached in his pocket, pulling out a handkerchief, handing it to Kaveh. Who smiled bright, accepting it with a quiet thanks. He felt a bit embarrassed about how his face must’ve been incredibly red, but his roommate didn’t even mention anything related to it. 

“To you, perhaps.” Alhaitham shrugged, his arms dropping from around Kaveh’s frame, whose vision finally stopped faltering, and he could stand up quite straight. And was smiling softly. “It’s… getting late, you should—”

“Head to bed? Yeah, I’m about to,” Kaveh said, “oh and, I promise you’ll have the rent by tomorrow.” Alhaitham blinked, smiling softly.

“As you wish.” 

They fell into silence again, this time much more comfortable. Kaveh put away his dishes, finding his hands shaking a lot less, and his step much less lousy. Alhaitham put away the utensils, nudging Kaveh towards his bedroom when his feet instinctively started carrying him towards his workspace. He stopped, scratching the back of his head as he left for his bedroom instead, smiling at Haitham once before slipping through the door. 

He glanced at the clock hung at his wall, it was midnight. And now the ache in his muscles was really settling in. He sighed, dropping onto his bed. Architecture could wait, and he could have his first ounce of sleep after a few tiring days where he worked tirelessly towards a goal that didn’t feel like his anymore. But he could, as soon as his mind cleared up. His body relaxed into the mattress of his bed, eyes fluttering close. Sleep rolled over him like a soft breeze on warm summer nights.

[soulsbleedink]

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ 𝙉𝙄𝙈𝙊𝙉𝘼 𝙈𝘼𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙍𝙇𝙄𝙎𝙏

𝘉𝘈𝘓𝘓𝘐𝘚𝘛𝘌𝘙 𝘉𝘖𝘓𝘋𝘏𝘌𝘈𝘙𝘛 ★

✦ fluff

nothing yet

✧ angst

nothing yet

✩ miscellaneous

nothing yet

𝘈𝘔𝘉𝘙𝘖𝘚𝘐𝘜𝘚 𝘎𝘖𝘓𝘋𝘌𝘕𝘓𝘖𝘐𝘕 ★

✦ fluff

nothing yet

✧ angst

nothing yet

✩ miscellaneous

nothing yet

𝘕𝘐𝘔𝘖𝘕𝘈 ★

✦ fluff

nothing yet

✧ angst

nothing yet

✩ miscellaneous

nothing yet

[soulsbleedink]

𝙇𝙐𝘿𝙄𝘾 | 𝙍𝙐𝙉𝘼𝘼𝙉 𝙓 𝙀𝙏𝙃𝘼𝙍𝙄

Prompt: Runaan returns from a mission; exhausted. Ethari braids his hair and they have a soft and slow night in the meadow. Then Rayla decides to join them.

Warning[s]: None, all fluffy <3

Pairing: Runaan x Ethari & Rayla [Rayla's scene right at the end]

Word count: 1.5k

masterlist

this is what was mentioned in orphic. the memory rayla was reminiscing about. and i just had to, i think it's beyond adorable. i love ruthari so much <3 have fun reading. :)

Ethari’s hands were gentle as he combed through Runaan’s mane of silky white hair, weaving his fingers through the slightly tangled locks. The moon gleamed above them, the clock ticking on while nature paid no heed to that. Neither did they. They didn’t know how long it had been since they had sat out here. But neither of them cared, or minded. Runaan returned from a mission, tired, but wanting desperately to bask in his husband’s warmth, of course Ethari would never deny him of that simple joy in life. Although an elfling Rayla did. She wouldn’t stop tugging at Runaan’s hair, to the point that the already messed up hair was now practically falling apart. Somehow Runaan had found it in himself to tuck the very… enthusiastic elfling into bed. Huffing and snaking his arms around Ethari as the craftsman waited at their kitchen, chopping some fruit for him. 

“It took so long…” He yawned, pressing his face onto Ethari’s shoulder, chin resting there. Ethari hummed, placing the knife away and turning back to his husband. 

He ran his hands through his white curls of hair, one of the silver cuffs slipping off and onto his palm. “You should’ve let me put her to bed.”

“It was my turn,” Runaan reasoned, but the way his eyes drooped begged to disagree with the words leaving his mouth. He leaned into Ethari’s touch, barely noticing how the tip of one of his horns poked him. Ethari didn’t react, just continued carding his fingers through his husband’s hair.

“It would’ve been fine, but she’s asleep now. Here.” His warm hand left the plain of Runaan’s face and hair, the assassin frowned from the loss of warmth, but his eyes followed the hand anyway. Ethari held up a plate of nicely sliced fruit for him. How endearing, he smiled. Gently, Runaan accepted the plate, Ethari’s arm snaking around his waist and leading him to the table. Runaan sat down wordlessly, Ethari opposite him as he smiled at his husband.

Runaan picked up a slice, taking a slow bite, but his hand shook slightly. He hurried with the next, until he was on the next slice. And he did it with the rest of the fruit on the plate. Ethari frowned softly, he opened his mouth to say but Runaan smiled at him. 

“I’m fine,” He insisted to Ethari’s silent plea. Ethari wasn’t particularly convinced anyway. 

“I wouldn’t think so,” He said, standing up. He made his way over to Runaan, pushing the plate away. He held his hands out. Runaan eyed them, glancing at the blacksmith before he accepted the hands. Ethari intertwined their fingers, pulling Runaan up. The assassin stumbled into his chest, cursing himself for the imbalance. “It’s okay, you just need some rest.”

“I don’t want to head back to bed just yet,” Runaan whispered.

Ethari chuckled. “You sound a lot like Rayla now, and no, we’re not heading back to bed just yet.” He tugged Runaan forward, leading the tired assassin out of their humble abode. Into the meadow just outside the Silvergrove. Runaan wasn’t even sure how he managed to keep on walking, but as long as he was with Ethari, he supposed he could do it. 

The flowers tickled Runaan’s ankles, but it felt like a breeze to him, with the way Ethari hummed ahead of him and then sat down, pulling Runaan with him. A soft gasp left Runaan’s mouth as he dropped onto the soft grass beneath him. When he hit the ground, Ethari laughed, pulling the assassin’s back closer to him, until he could rest his chin on Runaan’s shoulder, brushing the hair to one side. 

“Let me do this for you, just relax.” He twirled some of the white hair around his fingers. Runaan relaxed into the grip, shoulders slumping. Ethari squeezed his shoulder, softly moving the long white hair back over his shoulder. He inched back, just a bit. Runaan missed the warmth, but he didn’t mind. 

The assassin watched the moon, the stars twinkling beside her, and he smiled, the soft gleam that she casted down on the grass dancing with the breeze that swept through the meadow, hitting Runaan’s skin like the drafts that swept through their house in the early mornings, when he’d be draped safely in Ethari’s arms and warmth. Who was humming behind him, effectively lulling him into a near sleep state. Although the soft tugs on his hair did anchor him in the real world. He just wanted to fall back, watch those hazel eyes as he slipped out of consciousness for the night. 

“Runaan?” The humming stopped, his husband’s soft voice whispering against the shell of his ear. He shivered, nodding in acknowledgement. “Just a bit longer, alright?” Ethari continued, picking up his pace. Runaan wished he’d take longer, he didn’t mind this. It felt incredibly nice. 

He didn’t realise when Ethari had finished his braid, already slipping back on the silver cuff that always held it together. He glanced towards his side and noticed a flower getting plucked out. He turned around, but couldn’t fully. Ethari had his hands on the assassin’s shoulders.

“Hold still, please.” He smiled softly.

“What are you doing?” Runaan asked, raising an eyebrow at him. His husband laughed, voice a gentle breath that flushed warmth against his face. Runaan smiled too, reaching back gently, tracing a hand over Ethari’s jaw. “You’re incredible, love.” 

Ethari blushed, his face getting warmer under Runaan’s touch. The assassin leaned forward, capturing his lips in a gentle kiss, as a thanks, as a reminder, as many things that he couldn’t put into words. He just wasn’t up to task for that, but Ethari did that. Ethari spoke his appreciation, and his love existed in all the words he spoke every day. In the way he weaved words together, love was prominent. Runaan didn’t do that, he touched, and he gave, and he did. His love was in the way he would leave an extra plate of moonberries every morning before training, and in the way he would take extra time to fix Ethari’s clothes, or when he lingered at the door of the forge. And maybe that’s why they were married. They were different, but perfectly the same. 

“I can see a whole ocean’s worth of thoughts behind those eyes, Runaan,” Ethari whispered, grinning. Runaan smiled.

“There are, and all of them concern you,” He said in earnest.

“Alright, let me finish this. Just a few more flowers.” Ethari turned him back around. He closed his eyes, “oh gosh.” Ethari’s voice was much quieter. And then Runaan heard it too. The shuffling. He opened his eyes, glancing at the elfling standing in front of him. Purple eyes gazed up at him in confusion.

“Rayla, you woke up?” He asked, although it was pretty obvious that yes, she was awake—He opened his arms for her, the elfling lunged for his chest, tackling him with her hug, putting as much force as she could, although there wasn’t much force being exerted, to begin with.

She nodded against his chest, relaxing. “What are you doing?” She asked, voice still laced with the last traces of her sleep that should’ve lasted the whole night. 

“I’m just doing Runaan’s hair, we were intending to head to bed right after,” Ethari explained softly. He rechecked the flowers that were woven in, letting the braid drape itself over Runaan’s left shoulder. The elfling stood up, using the assassin’s lap to seem taller as she looked up at Ethari, who leaned closer.

“Can you do that for me too? Can you teach me?” She asked, excitement obvious in the way her voice was growing in volume. Runaan traced shapes on her back, making her relax. She yawned, letting him law her down on his lap, her head resting against his chest. 

“Of course I can, Rayla. Tomorrow though, alright?” Ethari whispered, now beside Runaan. He brushed strands of Rayla’s hair off her face. “We’ve got a whole night to sleep through. He intertwined his fingers with Rayla’s, squeezing her smaller hand as he watched her fall back asleep. 

“Next time, we ought to be more careful…” Runaan said, nodding at the elfling asleep on him. “What if she got lost?” 

Ethari nodded, “true, well, she’s here now.”

Ethari smiled at him, and Runaan’s whole heart warmed, along with his face. He let Ethari pull him up gently, snaking an arm around his waist as they walked back to the Silvergrove. 

Runaan didn’t speak much, he never did, and Ethari’s voice was soft as he recounted the whole day with their Rayla. The wind hummed in their faces, the usually loud and bustling Silvergrove quiet in the early hours of the morning, or late hours of night. Or whatever the time was. To Runaan, that didn’t truly matter. He was back with his family, and he was sure he would have the best rest with them. Rayla moved in his arms, maybe once, or twice, but it meant near nothing. She always did that in her sleep, he’d noted over the while she had been with him and Ethari. 

He looked to his side, Ethari looked as beautiful as ever, animated as he spoke in a soft tone. Runaan smiled. Letting his own words die out in the breeze while his husband became his lullaby for the night. How he was every night. One he never got tired of, he never could.

[soulsbleedink]

𝙊𝙍𝙋𝙃𝙄𝘾 | 𝙍𝘼𝙔𝙇𝘼 𝙓 𝘾𝘼𝙇𝙇𝙐𝙈

Prompt: Callum braids Rayla's hair, and she tells him about the two elves she grew up with at the Silvergrove, and how Callum really reminds her of one of them.

Warning[s]: No heavy ones, I'm sure. Mentions of doubt, perhaps.

Pairing: Rayla x Callum

Word count: 1.5k

masterlist

i missed rayllum, so i had to write them. i have ruthari in the works. i love them so much. and we have rayllum/ruthari parallels!! gosh, i love them <3 have fun reading :D

Callum’s hands brushed over Rayla’s hair, soft as he carded his fingers through the white strands. He hummed to her softly. They were sitting on Ezran’s balcony, she was sitting with her knees up to her chest, back facing him. His staff was discarded a few inches away, and Stella was eyeing them with what Rayla knew as disgust. Bait grunted, nudging Stella, who turned away, sitting down. Rayla’s hair had come undone earlier when Zym kept on bouncing on her, and now that Ez finally managed to take him away, these two were left alone. And Callum kept on fidgeting while she kept on touching her hair. She thought it was a neat deal. And that’s how they ended up how they were, not that she minded one bit. Recently, it had been a bit awkward between them, so to be able to just be there with him, without all of the emotions thick in the air, it felt much nicer than she could say. 

“It’s been a while,” She said, about what in particular or to who, she didn’t know either. Callum stopped with his motions, holding together the strands of hair that hadn’t been braided yet. She just knew that if he didn’t already have her hair in his hands he would be fidgeting. 

“I know,” He said, finally. The silence was killing her, and with every second of it, she kind of was wishing she hadn’t spoken at all. But his hands continued their way through, braiding her hair. She remembered the last time Ezran had asked how she’d gotten her hair so long, but the thing was, she didn’t know either. She just supposed she hadn’t found the time to cut it. Or just the opportunity at all.

“Has it been lonely?” He asked, she wished he hadn’t. What was she meant to say? Of course it had. It was disgustingly lonely, especially those first few months without him, and she wanted to tell him that, but she partially blamed herself, but there was anger somewhere deep in there, for him, or to him. She didn’t even know that much. 

“Yeah,” That’s what she ended up saying. And it didn’t make up for everything she’d like to say. Callum’s breath grew softer, and she knew that he was well aware of just how much there probably was brewing beneath the surface, but he didn’t push. 

“I’m sorry,” He whispered, tying her braid, but his hands resting on her shoulders. 

She blushed, but didn’t move; didn’t stop him. “Don’t be, it had to be done.” 

“But did it, actually?” He asked. And that kind of stopped her thoughts. No one had actually questioned her actions. Well Ethari would’ve, but she was turned into a ghost at the Silvergrove. Still, if she ever returned, Ethari would be there. But she couldn’t bear to bother him. 

“I was thinking it would.” Her voice had gone quieter. Callum squeezed her shoulder, pulling her closer. Until her head was on his chest.

“Listen to this,” He whispered, pressing her head closer to where his heart would be. “You thought so. And that’s okay.” She noticed from his peripheral vision that he was looking up, right into the moon. 

But did he know that she was kind of mad? That she wasn’t right? That no, she definitely was mad. Everything about leaving the people you love, for their sake, and for your own, just to come out fruitless. It stung, like nothing else did. And she also hated that Callum was acting like Ethari had to Runaan. She didn’t remember it too well, she was but a wee elfling. But, she knew that they had a moment that was literally a parallel to this. 

“Are you sure it is? Do you think it is? It hurt you.” She was never good at opening up, but she didn’t like—hated how this hurt him. And the fact that she didn’t even succeed. 

“Yes, it is. I may not think it is. But, it’s okay…” He sounded uncertain, like he didn’t value his own words enough. She reached back, squeezing one of his hands.

“Then it isn’t—” She tried to declare, but he tapped one of her horns. She stilled.

“Yes, it is. That’s final. Don’t start arguing with me on this,” He said, leaning closer so she could see his smile. “I’ve not had time spent with just you in so long, so, let’s make the most of this.”

She didn’t know how, but she found Ethari in a human, and that was beyond her too. “Okay, Ethari.”

“Excuse me?” Callum asked, ever polite. A bit unlike him, but that was cute as it was.

“You’re acting so much like him,” She explained, leaning back so she could smile up at him. He blushed. She remembered when Ethari had said she was like Runaan, and now this all felt a bit too canny. Her face was growing warmer.

“I’m flattered—” He started.

“You don’t know him, though?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“I don’t know him well, but from our brief introduction, and the way you talk about him. I can deduce that he’s a great guy.” Callum shrugged.

Rayla hit him playfully. He grinned lopsidedly, moving one hand away so he could search through his bag, and then he pulled out… flowers. She eyed him with confusion.

“Turn around.” He gently turned her back. 

“What are you going to do?” She asked, still just as confused as she was.

“Take a guess,” He said. Her unamused silence was answer enough. “I’ll decorate your hair with flowers.” Oh, they were just Ethari and Runaan at this point. She remembered this so well, she actually had interrupted this very moment before. Albeit, without realising that it was an interruption at all. Heat crawled up her spine, up her neck, and reached the tip of her ears. Callum was ever relaxed, hands already finding their way back into the braid. 

With gentle tugs, he did whatever it was he was thinking of doing. She felt the stems as he weaved them in. His soft huffs of concentration were beyond adorable to her. She hummed softly, a tune she recognised Ethari humming to Runaan, a few years back. She would relive that memory every time she felt too lost in the past two years. It was her means of coping. She would think about it when she couldn’t sleep at night, or when she felt so lonely. And like she needed Callum to tell her that she could make it through. 

“Rayla?” Callum’s hands were resting around her waist now, and his head was on her shoulder, voice a soft breath against the side of her neck. She hummed. “You zoned out.”

“Sorry, Callum,” She whispered. He chuckled, telling her it’s okay. “You really remind me of Ethari. Should I tell you—”

“Tell me about anything, and I’ll listen,” He said, earnest as ever.

She started recounting when Ethari was braiding Runaan’s hair and she ended up walking in on them. Well, they were sitting in a meadow, so was it considered walking in on them? 

Ethari was working, focused, as always. And Rayla didn’t think she would ever see Runaan smiling, but here he was, smiling and even humming. She wouldn’t ever forget that tune. Ethari would hum it to her at night, when he would tuck her into bed. 

“Runaan… hold still please.” Ethari didn’t sound frustrated in the slightest as he tugged on his husband’s hair yet again, slipping the biggest silver cuff on. The last time Rayla had it, she was wearing it like a bracelet. Because of the sheer size. 

Runaan laughed while Rayla peeked her head out from behind a bush. He was apparently too entranced to notice the rustling, which Rayla had thought was too loud—She inched forward, Ethari looked up. Oh no. He smiled. Oh. She walked over to them. Runaan finally looked at her, holding his arms out for her. She jumped right in, finding her place there. 

“Can you do my hair like that next?” She turned around in Runaan’s arms, peeking up at Ethari. Who smiled, nodding enthusiastically. 

She didn’t know when it happened but at some point she’d swapped places with Runaan, and the assassin was sitting in front of her, watching Ethari, absolutely enamoured, just by him simply doing someone’s hair. 

“You remind me of Ethari, yeah,” Rayla finished. By the time she was done talking, she was completely relaxed in Callum’s arms. 

“Are you saying you’re enamoured by me?” He asked, she just knew he was snickering. And she would be sure to wipe it right off his face. She turned around, hitting him playfully. He burst out laughing, and she tried to maintain her glare, but she grinned anyway, looking away from him. 

“Oh, shut it!” 

She didn’t actually want him to, though. Being around him helped, it made everything feel less horrible. She felt as long as she could be back with him after everything. She would be fine. She remembered Runaan saying something like that at some point, and she really wondered then about the integrity of it all. But she kind of understood it now. Callum was her Ethari, in some way. Well, he did remind her of Ethari. It didn’t matter. He was Callum, Katolis’ high mage, and her slightly stupid human.

[soulsbleedink]

𝙎𝙋𝘼𝙍𝙆𝙎 | 𝙍𝘼𝙔𝙇𝘼 & 𝙀𝙏𝙃𝘼𝙍𝙄

Prompt: [Written while listening to Emigrate by Novo Amor!] Rayla and Callum are resting for the night while they're out for some mission, and he reminds her of Ethari, so they recount memories Rayla has with and of him.

Warning[s]: None, I'd say it's all fluff :)

Pairing: Rayla & Ethari / Rayla x Callum

Word count: 1.6k

masterlist

i've been dying to write rayla and ethari, like parent ethari!! and we had runaan mentions, but that was like ONCE, or twice. so, i didn't mention that in pairings. but i hope you like it, because i love them!! they're adorable and very important to my heart. <3

Callum’s breath was a whisper in the wind when she was wrapped in his arms. The canopy above them swayed with the breeze. Stars glistened where they were sewed into the navy of the night sky. But the best thing? The moon was almost at its fullest, and she gleamed down upon them with her soft light. Callum slowly removed his arm from around her, and she kind of missed the warmth that radiated between them then. She glanced towards him and she saw him scavenging through his bag before pulling out his sketchbook and a pen. 

He smiled at her and flipped to an empty page, she barely caught onto a few sketches of herself. Her eyes trailed up his face, meeting his gaze. He was blushing. She was grinning.

“You drew me?” She asked, as if she hadn’t seen the sketches, clear as day.

“Well—” He started, but turned away, scratching the back of his neck. She laughed, shaking her head lightly. He oddly reminded her of Ethari, and perhaps how he is—Was with Runaan.

“You’re adorable.” She smiled at him anyway, looking back at the stars, the constellations, the night sky, but mostly the moon. In her glory. She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “You remind me of Ethari, a lot.”

“Do I?” The sound of pen scratching against paper stopped, and she felt his gaze on the side of her head. Silently, she nodded against her arms, turning to smile at him; for just a fleeting moment.

“Yeah, especially how he was with Runaan,” Her voice dropped after the mention of his name, but Callum was there, to pull her closer, back into his chest, and the comforting weight of his chin was back on her head. 

“We’ll get them back, I promise,” His voice in itself was a promise he would not break. She could always count on that, at the least.

“See? Proving my point.” She chuckled. “I remember all my elfling days with Ethari and him.”

“I don’t know Ethari well, but you make him sound amazing.” Callum’s fingers grazed over hers.

She hesitated, then intertwined her fingers with his. “He is. I remember the first time Runaan tried to teach me how to swim.” She closed her eyes, Callum’s gasp of disbelief making her laugh.

The memory was clear in her head, she remembered it like she remembered the phases of the moon. The water glistened under the warm rays of the sun, and it looked beautiful, but to her? Terrifying. She gulped, the sound of the waves reminding her of the nausea that was pooling in her gut. She wasn’t allowed any time to linger on that, She was lifted by her waist and before she knew it, went catapulting into the lake. 

The splash of the water made her flinch, but she was drowning—She would drown, so she moved, she flapped her arms, she did whatever she could. She paddled, but then, even amidst the water, she felt familiar and warm arms around her. Runaan.

She opened her eyes, and she was far too relieved to see the same turquoise eyes that she’d seen mere moments before he threw her into the body of water. He was smiling, almost amused. She huffed, trying to push away, but then remembering that she didn’t exactly know how to swim… yet. If this happened every day, she would most probably learn, at some point.

“Didn’t mean to frighten you, I just couldn’t think of any way that was better than getting your survival instinct to teach you,” He said, somehow managing to hold her and stay afloat.

“Well, I did think I was dying!” She looked away, and he laughed. She hated him right then, she truly did. 

“Runaan! Rayla!” She could hear her saviour from across the water. Her head spun around, and she could faintly make out the silhouette of Ethari waving his head. “Get back!”

Oh, she could cry from the relief of hearing those last two words. She nudged Runaan, and he swam across, smiling. His eyes glistened with happiness. How could he be brooding at the Silvergrove but as soon as he saw Ethari it was like he was getting blessed by the moon? 

When they reached solid ground, she considered kissing the grass, but Ethari’s arms were around her and a weight had settled around her whole frame. She touched it, a towel. She smiled, thanking him as he turned to his husband, his voice low as he scolded him for throwing Rayla into the water.

“She could have caught a cold,” Ethari whispered, drying Runaan’s hair. Runaan shrugged, and Ethari slapped his shoulder playfully.

Rayla laughed, and they turned to her. Runaan frowned, but Ethari grinned. She returned it.

“Once we head back, I’ll get you some warm tea ready, and snacks, okay?” Ethari reassured, going back to rebraiding his husband’s hair after drying it off. Rayla hummed in happy acknowledgement. She went and hugged his torso, muttering a small ‘thank you.’

“I remember that day very well, I still think I owe Ethari one for that.” She opened her eyes and looked at Callum, he was already looking. She blushed, smiling.

“He sounds amazing, I’m glad he got you out of there, although it’s not like you’re particularly fond of water now, anyway.” Callum played with one of her braids, and she didn’t stop him, she just chuckled.

“I still am not, but at least I have a good memory that I can relate it to.”

“True that. Do you have any other memories with him?” Callum asked, and she was glad he did. She had so much to say about him. He practically raised her, and was one part of the reason she was who she was as a person. For that, she owed him a lot. 

“Oh, I have so much.”

She started recounting the time she kept on insisting she would like to see Ethari working. She firmly remembered it, thanks to her butterfly blades that laid next to her, then. She traced her hands over the ridges and carefully created shape, and a smile tugged at her lips.

“Can I see you work?” She asked, glancing around her, at the many weapons that hung around the walls, the metal scraps on the table, the sketches for commissions and then she saw two necklaces, just hidden away in a corner. 

Ethari chuckled, “of course.” He nodded. “But, be careful of the forge, and if it gets too warm for you, let me know.”

She saluted jokingly, and he shook his head, getting to work. She watched him, eyes intent on the way his hands moved, methodically but meticulously still, the way he glanced from sketches, at the forge, back at the hammer in his hand. At some point she had gotten closer, but he apparently didn’t mind, he smiled softly. 

“This is so cool,” She whispered, reaching forward for the blade that was wrapped in his hands. He turned towards her. Her hands stopped.

“It’s for you,” He said, pushing the two blades towards her. “They’re your butterfly blades, made just for you.”

She gaped at them, then at him. And started shaking her head, trying to tell him that no, he shouldn’t do that. But he silenced her, and handed her the blades. And they felt just so right in her grasp, like they were just for her. 

“I love them.” She grinned, and she traced her fingers over the ridges, over the details, over everything, the wood. The metal. Ethari chuckled. Gently, she placed the blades on his work desk, turning back to him. And she lunged at him, for a hug.

She engulfed him in a hug, well, as much of him as she could. He hugged her back, placing a hand on her head. “I’m glad you do, Rayla.”

“I could never forget that, as long as I have these.” She smiled at the moon, it was always there, much akin to how Ethari had been, for her entire life. 

“I’m glad you have someone like him in your life, someone to ground you,” Callum whispered, and she raised an eyebrow at him. “You know, you’ve got a knack for throwing yourself headfirst into dangerous situations.”

She laughed, hitting him on the shoulder playfully. “You’re starting to sound way too much like Ethari, I’m so glad it was awkward when you first met him.”

“Hey!” He sounded slightly offended, but that dissolved into small fits of laughter between the two. “Well, you’re not getting rid of me.”

“Yeah, of course not. Ethari never got rid of Runaan, quite the same thing.”

She shrugged, and he huffed, falling into peaceful silence once more. She placed her head on his shoulder. Moments like these reminded her of Ethari, and Runaan. The both of them, together. And when she would get between them, demand hugs and detours around the forest that surrounded their home. She remembered her life as an elfling, when it was much more peaceful. But, she didn’t mind this either. She had Callum, and that was enough. And she knew that back at the Silvergrove, Ethari was always there, always waiting. He was there to ground her when she needed it. 

Her eyes fluttered shut, memories of her and him together flitted faintly in the darkness created, and a smile tugged at her lips. He’d always be there, wouldn’t he? 

For now, she was wrapped in Callum’s arms, and that’s what mattered most. And their safety, of course.

[soulsbleedink]

𝙎𝙀𝙉𝙀𝘾𝘼 | 𝙍𝘼𝙔𝙇𝘼 𝙓 𝘾𝘼𝙇𝙇𝙐𝙈

Prompt: [Written while listening to Seneca by Novo Amor!] Rayla's been on a mission and she misses Katolis, specifically the high mage. So she decides to pay them all a visit, namely Callum.

Warning[s]: None! It's all fluff :D

Pairing: Rayla x Callum

Word count: 1.7k

masterlist

i just had to write some rayllum, i was losing it, and they were going to get my sanity back /j. but really, i love them sm, theyre so precious, so of course! i know rayla may seem a bit soft, so i'm sorry- i'm not extremely good at writing her character, yet. anyways, my beloveds <3 have fun reading!!

Rayla’s footsteps were soft but agile as she sped across the acres of dirt, inching closer to the land where she’d first met Callum. She stopped to catch her breath, her gaze caught on the looming castle of Katolis. With a slight bounce to her step, she tread forward. Upon entering the streets that led up to the castle gates, she was quite happy to find that no one paid any attention to the fact that she was an elf. Life buzzed around her, the heady smell of baked goods lingering in the air, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips at the soft sounds of children giggling flitting in from a side street. 

Just a bit farther were the castle gates, and the village was further back, now much quieter. The breeze whispered in her ears and before her hand could touch the rough wood of the door, it slid open, just a crack. And a certain blond appeared between the cracks, his eyes piercing her soul, but then they softened.

“Rayla!” Soren reached out for her and she braced herself for a bone crushing hug, and bone crushing hug she got. His arms wrapped around her torso and lifted her into the air, all air knocked out of her lungs. 

“Soren, put me down…” She mumbled, barely wheezing the words out. And slowly, her airways weren’t so restricted anymore. When her feet touched the ground she almost considered kissing it for a moment. She inhaled as much air as possible. 

“What brought you here?” Soren asked, walking back into the castle grounds, Rayla beside him.  She let her eyes gaze over the rough stone walls, the passing workers, the baker she only briefly remembered, or did she even—Now was not the time. Opeli was walking next to him while he carried a tray of jelly tarts, a smile playing on his lips.

“Oh, I just wanted to visit Ezran,” She said, as if that was the full reason, but then again she wasn’t entirely lying. 

“Oh, I know it’s about Callum.” Since when had Soren gotten so good at reading minds? “It’s written all over your face.” 

Rayla huffed, but warmth crawled up her neck at the mention of the high mage. She refused to agree or disagree, hoping it would fly past him. Well, it didn’t. The next time she looked up at him, he was wiggling his eyebrows and his armour clanged loudly when he shoulder-bumped Rayla. But the murderous expression on her face was apparently something he wasn’t scared of, because he laughed out loud, his laughter a burst of joy swept away with the breeze when he finally quieted down. She sighed, she didn’t hate it, not truly; at least. Some part of her kind of wanted to have that every day, little moments of joy with her friends, and him. 

“Woah, you look like you’ve missed him,” Soren said, the lightest tint of laughter still threatening to spill over the threshold of his mouth, Rayla grunted. “Dare I say heart eyes?”

She was ready to swing a joking punch but from within one of the doors leading into the main castle a head of brown curls appeared, his stark red attire and silver crown always noticeable in the gleaming sunlight. Ezran turned around, his blue eyes fixating on Rayla and the biggest smile she’d seen in so long sliding onto his face. He didn’t waste a second longer when he made a beeline straight for her and sped over the rough stone, Bait trying his hardest to keep up with Ezran’s gait. 

“Rayla!” He jumped into her arms, and she caught him, hugging him as his hair tickled her chin. Bait grunted and she grinned down at him.

She let Ezran down, ruffling his hair, his crown now tilted. She reached down, fixing it. “How’ve ya been, Ez? Thought I’d visit you.” The grin on her face said it all. 

He smiled, letting the words linger in the air. “You don’t have to lie.” Apparently everyone here could read her like a book, and she was not having it. The sun was already beating down at her, and the heat collecting under her leather assassin attire was uncomfortable. 

“Who’s lying?” She asked, rather unconvincingly too, much to her own chagrin. But behind those words was a heart beating quickly within her chest, and her eyes wanting to stray towards a specific direction, up to the door that led into his quarters. And she just knew he was in there. 

“I won’t hold you back much longer, you can go, but thank you for visiting!” He said, cheery as ever. She didn’t acknowledge the first part of the sentence verbally but smiled anyway, catching his gaze once before she received a sharp jab between her shoulder blades, most probably from Soren. She grunted, stumbling forward and catching her pace. 

Her feet carried her across the remaining few steps, mind buzzing in a whole new dimension. She reached out, hand hesitating on the wood. Should she knock? Should she wait—When had she gotten so tentative? 

She wasn’t allowed the chance to ponder on that. The door slid open, creaking on its hinges. A familiar, far too familiar face appeared in the doorway. She smiled, well, she thought she did.

Because Callum didn’t change too much, again, of course he wouldn’t. It had only been a few weeks, and it should’ve been a few more; but her heart longed to be back at Katolis. The catalyst to everything. She missed Ezran and his jelly tarts, Soren and his jokes, and most importantly; Callum. Her high mage. 

“You’re a few weeks early,” He said, raising an eyebrow at her. But his tone didn’t sound like he minded one bit. 

She laughed. “Yeah, most of what they need is collected, thought I’d pay you a visit.” She shrugged. 

“Sure you didn’t just miss me?” He asked, teasing; of course.

She shoved him in the shoulder, playfully. He stumbled back, placing a hand over his heart, feigning disbelief and whatever heartbreak he could muster. She burst into chuckles, stepping inside when he beckoned her closer. 

Her eyes roamed the room. Trinkets scattered the tables, the shelves, even the walls. And fuzzy crimson curtains hung over the window, open so only just a sliver of sunlight was let into the room. She couldn’t blame him for that; it was hot. Or maybe it was her Moonshadow elf preference for cooler temperatures. Anyways, she didn’t linger on it. She walked over to a shelf with books, and ran her fingers over the leathery spines. 

“What a nerd.” She huffed in amusement. Then turned around when she heard creaking. Callum had sat down on a couch, smiling and shrugging. 

She tilted her head, making her way over and plopping next to him. He turned to her, eyes lingering on the books that she was touching a few seconds ago, but then those beautiful brown eyes were on her. And her breath hitched in her throat. Suddenly, the room felt warmer too. 

“Well, I need all the resources I can get to learn about magic, of course,” He started, his eyes never leaving her face, and she kind of wanted to curse him, “I’m literally the high mage!”

“I’m sure that even a wee elfling could tell that much.” She laughed. “I missed seeing that excited face of yours.” And your love for knowledge, about magic namely. 

“I missed you too, but where did sappy Rayla come from?” He asked, surprised for just a moment before his face fell back into that teasing amusement. “Are you the real one?” He raised a brow, placing a hand on his chin in mock scrutiny. 

“Am I?” She feigned confusion, but then he reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. And she finally managed to meet his eyes for longer than a few seconds. 

They stared at each other, and he leaned closer, and she did too. But then they burst into fits of laughter, her head falling on his shoulder as he slapped her shoulder playfully. 

She truly did miss him, and being with him, and everything that reminded her of this place. 

“Thanks for getting back early, Ez was getting a bit lonely without Zym and Corvus around as often,” He mentioned, his voice muffled by her hair, the hum of his words lulling her into a comfort and peace that she related to being with Runaan and Ethari. 

“What about Soren?” She scooted closer, his arm going around her shoulder and pulling her head onto his shoulder. Then his head rested on hers.

“He’s been training, says he wants to be the best crown guard there is.” She could feel his eyes on her, but she didn’t look up, she stared at the sliver of sunlight on the wooden floor. It reminded her of him. He was kind of like sunlight, but in fleeting moments, in the early morning when it was a bit weaker, but it wasn’t so strong it made you feel like you were burning into a crisp. He was like sunlight that filtered through curtains, warmth that you could bask in, that made you feel like you were at home. He was the type of sunlight you got in autumn, the type you wanted to linger around, and the type you place your hand under and watch the shadows that form. She wasn’t ever really poetic, but for Callum? She could be, if she tried.

“He’s really dedicated—” He was saying, and she barely caught on, but placed a hesitant hand on his other one. He stopped, the words catching somewhere in his throat, and she could feel the quickening beat of his heart near her ear. Almost like it jumped to his throat. She didn’t stop the smile that graced her lips at the thought. 

“Ez deserves that, he deserves that love,” She mumbled. Faintly, she could feel the nod of Callum’s head against hers.

“He really does.”

“And so do you.” She didn’t know where that came from, but it made Callum’s heart beat even faster. The warmth creeped up her face and she cleared her throat, prompting him to laugh, the sound rumbling through his chest, up his spine, to her. 

She relaxed into his touch, fearing that if she spoke, she’d say something that she would cringe about later. So she let herself sit in silence, with him. Although it wasn’t really silent, he kept on talking. But she was content listening too. Especially when it was him. 

She liked listening to him. Or being with him, she guessed.

[soulsbleedink]

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ 𝙈𝙄𝙎𝘾𝙀𝙇𝙇𝘼𝙉𝙀𝙊𝙐𝙎 𝙈𝘼𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙍𝙇𝙄𝙎𝙏

𝘛𝘌𝘊𝘏𝘕𝘖𝘉𝘓𝘈𝘋𝘌 ★

✦ fluff

eunoia

[soulsbleedink]

𝙀𝙐𝙉𝙊𝙄𝘼 | 𝙏𝙀𝘾𝙃𝙉𝙊𝘽𝙇𝘼𝘿𝙀

Prompt: OC leaves home, and with it; her duties behind for the night. In the depths of a forest, she meets a new individual, one who drags her back to their meadow, every night, until everything spills.

Warning[s]: None, quite fluffy :)

Pairing: Technoblade x OC [My OC!]

Word count: 3k

masterlist

i purely wrote this because i needed comfort, and i was kinda grieving, and i also kinda like royalty too. and i kinda miss a lot of things. i just needed fluff not going to lie, anyways. i hope you have fun reading <3 i was rambling mindlessly, your honour.

The stars collided the night she departed the walls that had trapped her for so long. And she knew not whether her absence would be permanent within the castle, but she needed respite. Urgently. As she sped across the quiet gardens, the wind howled in her ears, despite the clear skies; it seemed as though nature was reprimanding her. Her nightgown fluttered around her feet as she felt the gentle crunch of slightly overgrown grass under her feet. A council member’s courtesy. But that didn’t matter then, because the gates that led out into the forest were right there—Just out of grasp, and she picked up her pace, sprinting as the wind slapped her face like a cooling reminder that if she chose to step foot out there; what awaited her may have not been what she hoped for. Though, what did she hope for, anymore?

In one hopeful sprint—which truth be told was more a leap—she had reached the gates. Her hands worked quickly around the safeguards, around the systems, and finally, with a push, one of them slid open a few inches. Just perfect for her to slip right through. But when she stepped through, the whispers of the wind grew louder. Her eyes met what she considered pure beauty. The words melded together in her throat, and she considered that she didn’t quite care for words as she watched a small animal leap into a bush nearby. Perhaps she ought to take detours out of the back gates that led out here more often. Into nature, into what was strictly restricted for her. Her fear had long dissipated, and she turned back, gently pulled the gates shut—And she was out. Even if for a moment, she knew freedom, not truly, perhaps. But, it would suffice. 

Her feet carried her further between the forest, when she looked up, she noticed the everlooming canopies, the greens of the leaves reaching far into the navy blanket of the sky. In spots that the leaves couldn’t hide, stars twinkled, and rather childishly; she wished to reach for them. Many a twig cracked under the weight of her feet, but with each one, she’d grown less worried. It was silent around her, only the wind and the night accompanied her here. She strayed further but paid no mind to where she may be heading. With gentle hands, she traced the patterns on tree trunks, pushed away branches when they grew too low, and felt the Earth below her. 

Small specks of dirt had situated themselves in the lines on her hand, and she let out a light chuckle at that, the sound being swept away in the wind as she trudged further, the breeze her companion on this temporary journey to freedom. She felt as though the wind was carrying her, nudging her forward, between trees, through an endless forest. But she minded it not one bit. She was content, to breathe in air that didn’t remind her of duties she had yet to tend to, the list of which seemed never ending. 

A soft melody worked itself up her throat, past her lips; out to the world. She faintly recognised nocturnal creatures as they scurried past her, little squeaks and purrs occasionally puncturing the silence that she had built with herself in the past few minutes that ticked. Her feet dragged her through the land, until she had halted, two trees sheltering her from both sides. She leant forward, and her breath caught in her throat; a meadow, with flowers that bloomed during the night. 

Slowly, she stepped forward, out between the flowers, the petals tickling her ankles and a bit further up. She allowed herself the simple joy of existing with beauty as such. She gently weaved her way through, letting her fingers feel the petals as she leant down. But when she looked up, she stopped her in tracks. The moon glittered in its full beauty, in her fullest form, and her heart swelled with joy. Beside her were the stars, glistening like diamonds woven specifically for the navy velvet that was the night sky. She had already lost all semblance of meddling any further. She was rooted to her spot, between the flowers and the night sky. Between the trees, and the wind that had grown much gentler as she ventured further into the grasps of nature. 

Her eyes scanned the horizon, and all she could see was the beautiful stitch of the night sky, navy, glistening, and ever so beautiful. Settling between the flowers, she brought her knees up to her chest, her breaths of contentment heard only by her and perhaps the wind that carried it away. She tilted her head back, the canopies of the trees that she had left behind swaying with the breeze as it passed them and reached her back, somehow getting under the thin fabric of her nightgown. The fabric itself grew taut in places as she sat on it, but she paid no heed to that. Her senses were all enamoured by the grace that surrounded her. 

Although it hadn’t been long since she found herself amidst the petals, and the wind, and the trees—She heard rustling, or was it shuffling? Instinctively, her body stilled, as if the threat would go away. She hoped that it wasn’t someone from the castle. She didn’t want to return any time soon. Foolishly, she wished for this freedom to last for even a few moments longer. Her eyes fluttered close and her heartbeat picked up, hammering in her ears instead of her chest. 

Then, cold metal was pressed against her neck, and she couldn’t help the shiver that crawled up her spine. Still, she didn’t move, didn’t react. Move. She wanted to say, don’t hurt me. Oddly enough, she could tell that it was a blade, but it didn’t feel like any of the ones she had grown accustomed to, at the castle. It felt much lighter, almost like a feather. Like if she was slain with it; she would die thinking it was a soft breeze carrying her soul away. But the pressure left, and she dared open her eyes. And from her peripheral, she could feel the curious gaze on her, and… pink hair. Slowly, she turned her head towards the person who had almost attacked her. And her breath hitched in her throat, out of surprise. 

She had never seen anyone like him before. His eyes glowed like rubies, like actual gemstones, and the colour of them would remind her of blood, but it also reminded her of the flush that creeped up her best friend’s face when she saw the royal gardener. His hair was an exquisite shade of pink, and it seemed to be braided into a loose braid that fell over his shoulder when he leant down to look at her. She almost thought she was hallucinating because it looked as though two small tusks were poking out from below his lips, but she didn’t look much further, she realised how impolite she probably seemed then. Although, she couldn’t deny that he was, or at least looked unique. There was something about him, perhaps his aura? Or his stance? She couldn’t quite place it, but it felt as though he was as free as a poet and yet at the same time bound by duties that weighed him down every step—Towards his own freedom, too. 

“You aren’t from anywhere nearby,” He declared, uttering as he sheathed his sword, seemingly hesitating and awkwardly standing there, facing her side. 

She didn’t quite mind, patting the grass beside her; she shook her head no. She never got out there, in the forest. She barely went out, at all. He raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her as he gently sat next to her, cross-legged. 

“No, I’m not from anywhere nearby,” She echoed his words, smiling at him. She didn’t know him, maybe, but a little bit of kindness could make the biggest difference.

“Your nightgown definitely says so, too.” He huffed, a small smile tugging at his lips as he looked away, gazing into the sky. But she had had enough ambiguity from him, so still, as her head rested on her knees, she looked at him. She noticed a few strands of his hair had gone astray, fluttering in the wind beside his face. 

“Sure, of course,” She started, voice tinted with light amusement, “but who are you?”

He turned back to her, smiling openly. “Just someone passin’ through, but I’m usually referred to as ‘The Blade’.” He sounded almost proud, and she barely fought back her own sound of amusement, not so surprised, but rather amused.

“What are you, some sort of cryptic messenger? Causer of manslaughter?” Her voice was overflowing with the simple sound of joy, of amusement that lingered in the air even after her words echoed past. 

“You could call me that,” He said, chuckling. And she would be lying if she said it wasn’t weird that he had opened up to her so quickly, but then again; things could be much different out here than they were back within those sickening walls. “Well, what should I call you, Your highness?”

“Woah, there’s no need for that.” She laughed awkwardly, wanting to be free of her royal duties, of being a monarch some day. “Just call me… Hesperia.”

“You’ve got a beautiful namesake there,” He whispered, his tone softening into interest that was almost childish. And his words felt tender and genuine, unlike everything she had grown accustomed to over all the years. She watched him test her name on his tongue as it rolled off softly, a smile playing on his lips. Only then did she notice that he was now mimicking her position. His knees were brought up to his chest, and he had his arms wrapped around them, head resting and meeting her gaze. 

She chuckled. “Thanks.” Her eyes scanned over his face once before turning back to the sky, the moon had sunken a bit lower, but that was nothing. Surely, there were many more hours to the night. More time for her to just let go, let the words seep out of her, and let her body rest. 

She didn’t mind that he appeared, she didn’t mind his presence at all; if anything, she appreciated it. The casualty of it all was refreshing, and she loved that he didn’t treat her like she was some great person beyond what she actually was, because truth be told? She really was that simple. Or at least wanted to be. 

“Hey Hesperia?” He called out, and she looked back at him, urging to speak on. “Why are you out here at night? I’m just wondering, it is unsafe, and you look like you ran away or something.”

She chuckled. “I don’t care for the safety, and yes, I kind of did. But, I will be returning.” She smiled at him. “I have duties to tend to, but they can wait until the morning. I like the night, it’s peaceful. I feel like sometimes I am much lighter during the hours of moonlight in comparison to the day.”

“Royalty is that stressful?” He asked, but she knew that deep within, he had the answer too. He knew too. Still, she answered him.

“I’m afraid, so, yes.” She laughed, head turned down towards her own knees.

He didn’t really speak much further. They just existed, together; in the night. And many nights followed where they did quite the same, but it never got boring. It never got tiring. She left the castle more often, and he ventured down to their little meadow, because he’d finally met someone who wasn’t afraid of him. They spent many hours under the moonlight, some of them tangled in each other’s arms. Others they spent weaving flowers together, as little presents, as habits. 

One such night, she was braiding his hair, weaving asters into the pink mane that was his, he smelt like the forest, but it comforted her. He was sitting between her legs, and she worked carefully, making a loose braid, admiring her work. He pulled his braid over his shoulder, feeling the curves and the dips where the petals were entwined. A smile tugged on his lips, and she caught it in the moon’s gleam that they basked under. 

“This is beautiful, thank you.” He leant further back, resting his head on her shoulder as he looked up at her. She smiled down at him, playing with the ends of her sleeves. 

“It’s nothing.”

“Call me Aeron, by the way,” His voice was quiet, despite the proximity, despite the silence that surrounded them. Still, she almost questioned whether she heard him.

“Aeron?” She tested the name on her tongue, and she smiled at him.

He raised his head from her shoulder, and his face was turned away. 

But from what she could see, a light scarlet tinted his cheeks, and she smiled, chuckling. Gently, she cupped his face, turning it around, so they were eye-to-eye. “I love your name.”

He looked up at her, and warmth swelled in his gut. Under her palms, his face grew warmer. 

He huffed, hooking his arms around her waist and tugging her into his arms, her head in the crook of his neck, laughter resonating against him. “You’ve got a beautiful mind and all, but when you tease me like that. I don’t like it at all.”

“I’m afraid you’re lying.” She grinned at him, leaning up and kissing the bridge of his nose. He blushed a deeper red, and gosh, he almost looked like his hair. She couldn’t stifle her laughter anymore. She burst into chuckles, hands placed on his shoulders to stabilise herself. His hands rested on her lower back, holding her. 

His gaze was fixated on her, ruby red eyes saved for only her, and whatever brewed beneath them a beautiful sea of emotions only to her. For her, perhaps. She didn’t notice this time, but it was okay, because she always did anyway. 

“Beautiful,” His words caught both of them as a bit of a surprise. She looked down, and now it was her turn to turn scarlet. His eyes widened when he realised what he said, and he stilled, but she looked at him for a moment and smiled. And that somehow had all the power in the world to melt away at his heart. Like it was nothing. He brought his hands to her neck, up her chin, and he cupped her face, like she was precious. Her fingers wrapped around his wrists, like she was wondering what he was about to do. 

Ever gently, he leant up, brushing away a stray strand of her hair. “Can I?” His voice came out a quiet whisper, but he knew she heard him. Her heartbeat picked up, and he could feel the rattle of her bones, all of it within his arms. And he never knew that someone could be like that for him, but instead of fear, it was this love that shook her bones. And he was scared of what love did to someone, but he loved her.

He felt his bones rattle with the same emotions that he knew she was feeling too. So when she nodded lightly, not a breath was wasted before his lips were on hers. And her arms found their way around his neck, fingertips grazing his hair lightly. He held her close, he held her together, because he was scared she might turn into putty in his hands. And the warmth was radiating off her in waves when his hands sunk back down to rest on her lower back. 

When she pulled away, she was breathing heavily, but somehow her hands found their way onto his chest, and he would be ashamed of the way his heart was hammering rapidly in his chest, but he knew that she did not care for it.

“I didn’t know I did that to you,” She whispered, voice shaking slightly. But only his heart beat faster. He cupped one side of her face, she leant into his hand.

“You do a lot of things to me, and you don’t even realise.” He leant forward, pressing a soft kiss onto her forehead. “You’re so immersed in everything around you, and you see the beauty in everything, how could I not get lost in the joy of knowing you?”

“You need to stop thinking I’m so great.” She hid her face in the crook of his neck.

He held her close, his nose buried in her hair. “I can’t. You know the word eunoia?”

“I’ve heard of it, I think.”

He chuckled, weaving one hand through her hair, brushing out the tangles with his fingers. His other hand lay around her waist, keeping her safe, and in his arms. “It reminds me of you.”

She blushed, and she looked up. He smiled down at her. “Shush.”

“I mean it, you’re beautiful like that. And I wished people would see that.” His fingers gently carded themselves through her hair again, and she leaned into him as much as she could, feeling his warmth as much as she could. 

“Don’t speak to me like I’m poetry.”

“You are poetry, and I’ll be your poet.” His lips found the bridge of her nose, like hers had found his, earlier that night. That felt a few nights ago. 

To him, at least. To have finally let go of whatever had been brewing within him, and to let it all pass, with her, it felt like being loved. He felt loved. She brushed her hands over his shoulder, and his hands memorised the curves and dips of her fingers. 

She loved him like breathing, and he loved her like poets loved poetry, and nature, and life. Maybe she was his life. And he didn’t quite know when she had become so, but he found that he didn’t mind at all. He loved her too, and wasn’t that the most beautiful thing? To bare your heart to someone, and not feel fear for doing that? 

She was beautiful, and she was his. And he was hers.

[soulsbleedink]

𝙀𝙎𝙋𝙍𝙀𝙎𝙎𝙊 | 𝙎𝙆𝘼𝙍𝙍𝘼

Prompt: [Slightly based off the song 'espresso' by Sabrina Carpenter!] Skarra's been looking for the IU scientist the whole day; concluding that she has disappeared into her haven; aka her lab. He brings her food, and spends time with her.

Warning[s]: None, it's fluffy!

Pairing: Skarra x OC [OC belongs to @edenvillee (Eden)]

Words: 2.2k

masterlist

i keep on brainrotting about dee's ocs, you can't really blame me. i had to write edarra, they're precious. <3

“Eden?” Eden could recognise that voice anywhere. She turned around to meet the familiar dumb haircut that Skarra had always had, stupid buzz. With her coffee in one hand and a calculator in another, she balanced a pointed glare at him. She didn’t want to come off as rude, but interruptions when she’d lock in weren’t too welcome. 

“What is it, Skarra?” She gave him one of her signature sarcastic smiles. He leaned down, as if he was observing her, and she raised an eyebrow at him. “Spit up, I’m a bit busy, if you can’t tell?”

“Why are you so cranky? I just wanted to check in,” He started, and she sighed, shaking her head. “Dingaan said you’ve been cooped up in the lab the entire day, you’re already wearing glasses, didn’t need you to be blind next.”

“That’s a nice sentiment, but are you sure you don’t want something? You being nice equals ulterior motives most of the time.” She fixed her glasses, placing the coffee away, away from her reports and research papers. Nothing was safe around Skarra.

“I didn’t realise you thought so low of me.” He feigned a pout at her and she rolled her eyes. 

“Think you earned that reputation by yourself, himaar.” 

“I swear I knew what it meant yesterday—” Apparently it didn’t take more than a few seconds to get distracted, with something that was completely irrelevant too. “Just one more time—”

Eden turned away, running a hand through her hair as she glanced back at her papers spread all over her work-desk. A soft sigh slipped past her lips, and she could hear rustling behind her, evidently Skarra taking his umpteenth stroll around the lab that didn’t even interest him. She could swear he was only here to piss her off. 

“How many cups of raw espresso are you on…?” Skarra asked from somewhere in the background, the soft scraping of discarded cups following his words. Eden turned to him again, eyeing him as he cleaned up the mess that Eden said she would eventually, once she was done with the never-ending research she had to conduct. 

“Quite a few, I’ve lost count honestly,” She answered, rather honestly this time, “also, you don’t need to clean that up, I’ll do it myself soon enough.”

Skarra glared at her, and she glared back. “Eden, I swear, you have to take care of yourself!” He threw the cups away into bins, now making his way back to the scientist. “Take a break, now.”

“Shush, I still have half a dozen reports to read over, the other scientists aren’t particularly reliable, you know?” She pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance, one that was prevalent on her face for most parts of the day anyway. Skarra laughed, and she huffed.

“Well, you can catch a break, can’t you?” He asked, a grin playing on his lips.

“Apparently not, actually.” She tried to turn back to the tumultuous pile of papers, but her chair stopped mid-spin, and she craned her neck up, meeting Skarra’s amused expression, lips forming a frown. He flicked her forehead and she reached forward but he reacted quickly, moving back.

Footballers and their reflexes. She rolled her eyes at the thought. 

“That wasn’t a question.” He retreated into whatever corner of hell he originated from, and she stared into the dark until he appeared, and he had some sort of box in his hands, a lunch box…? What? 

Choosing to ignore the box in his hands, she recounted his words, “yes it was.”

“No, it wasn’t.” He was trying to gaslight her again.

“This just feels like that one time you went buff mode and then embarrassed yourself.” She smirked at him, knowing he would hate the mention.

Stretching her limbs, she watched as he pouted at her like a kid, the box still in his hands, but he was standing still and looking at her like a mad toddler about to throw their tantrum. Only then did she realise that it seemed to be growing even darker outside, the digital clock on the wall displayed a neon green 21:10. Time in fact did not wait for her.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Uh-huh.” She nodded, feeling relatively happier. Apparently, the idiot knew how to make her feel better, with his stupid way of speaking, and acting around her. What a clown, honestly.

“Whatever, I thought I could be nice to you today, but you just want me to—” He stopped mid-sentence, as if he lost his train of thoughts (not that she believed he had any in the first place), and she wondered what stopped him.

“To what?”

“Nothing.” He walked over to her and placed the box on her desk, pushing away the papers and the mess that she had to look into. “I got you food.” 

“What?” She didn’t quite catch him. “What do you mean?” 

“I got you dinner.” And he refused to elaborate. Great.

“Skarra, I swear to god—” She tried to pry his hands away from her desk but he just wouldn’t budge. And then she just sighed, letting go. He continued unboxing what she assumed was food. “Thank you…” She resigned herself to her fate, if he wasn’t going to just let her off the hook, then perhaps she could just accept the fact that he would make her eat.

“Dingaan and Akira told me you barely responded to their messages too,” He mentioned off-handedly. 

She looked up at him. “And?”

“Don’t just ‘and’ me!” He huffed, and it reminded her of herself. She fought back a laugh, letting the guy place the food in front of her.

And suddenly she was surprised by how good it actually looked, it didn’t look too bad. Did he even cook this himself? In front of her, there were sandwiches, nice and simple, with the crust trimmed off, and they smelt wonderful, just for the fact.

“I made them…” He whispered, and she looked up, feeling a smile tug at her lips. Okay, maybe she did appreciate him a lot sometimes. She reached for his shoulder, squeezing it and mouthing the words ‘thank you’. 

“I appreciate it.” She looked back at the food, picking one of the sandwiches up and tentatively taking a bite. The taste was ethereal, or maybe it was the fact that for the last few hours she’d been sustaining herself on coffee only, but really, it did taste good. “It tastes amazing, are you sure you made it?” She asked jokingly, grinning. 

Noticing her grin, he grinned too, and nodded like a little puppy. Her heart winced maybe a tad bit, and she continued eating away. Skarra found a chair and rolled it over to her, so he was now next to her. He picked up his own sandwich and she could swear he bit off more than half of it in one single bite. Her eyes widened slightly at him, had he not had at all during the day?

“Have you not had any food today…?” She asked between bites, as she waited for him to meet her gaze. 

Slowly he met her eyes, and she smiled at him softly, urging him to answer. “No.”

“Why, Skarra?” She asked gently, fighting the urge to reach for his hands. This idiot honestly, she should’ve been mad at him, but she couldn’t even bring herself to fully be angry. She was exhausted, and at the moment really felt appreciative of him. She mentally face-palmed herself because of  her own thoughts.

He raised a questioning brow and she just shook her head. He just shrugged, and she watched him closely, noticing his relaxed shoulders, and the way he tapped at the arm of the chair twice every three seconds. 

“Skarra? Are you fine?” She mentally cringed a bit at her tone, but smiled up at him.

“Yeah, I guess I just wanted to spend some time with you.” He sighed, picking at scabs on his arms, and she pried his hands away from his arms, shaking his head. 

“Go on,” She whispered.

“I don’t really know, you’ve been so busy recently, and I kinda miss your banter, and your stupid insults.”

She felt her heart warm up. She didn’t know he could be this cute sometimes, gosh, did she hate him for it. For playing with her feelings like this, and making unwelcomed butterflies flutter in her stomach like that. 

“Well, you know what? I miss you too, idiot.” She laughed, for the first time fully in all these hours that she’d been in this lab, researching away, ignoring Vince’s calls, and Dingaan’s messages. Maybe she felt bad, but she had priorities, and she wouldn’t let go of that for anyone, really. Or maybe just a select few people.

“I never thought I’d be hearing you say that,” He said, feigning a heart attack, and striking the classic ‘damsel-in-distress’ pose, prompting Eden to laugh, run a hand through her brown curls. 

What she didn’t notice was that he looked at her for that moment like she could be the best thing he’d ever seen, and he would never—never look at someone like that, or he hoped he wouldn’t, at least. But seeing her let her guard down, and laugh, and be absolutely stupid with him really filled his heart with some type of warmth he only knew a few years ago.

Eden finally got out of her small laughing fit, and Skarra started picking up the crumbs from the bread on her desk, and she tried to convince him that he needn’t do that, but he was stubborn, and of course he wouldn’t listen. Of course not.

She sighed, picking a report from her stack and skimming through it while Skarra cleaned up lightly. 

New training sequences… Post-injury recovery statistics…. Dingaan…  Dingaan? That wasn’t even written in a font, it looked plainly scribbled with pen, and the handwriting looked familiar. She spun around in her chair.

“Skarra? Care to explain?” She looked at him through the lenses of her glasses, trying her best to glare at him.

He straightened up, slowly meeting his gaze and then glancing down at the paper, then back at her with an apologetic smile… “Sorry.”

“At least you’re apologising.” She sighed, turning back and just finishing up the last few rounds of proof-reading. 

She wasn’t sure how long it’d been since she locked in again, but when Skarra placed his hands on her shoulders, she could swear she saw heaven for a moment, the pure fear sending her heart jumping into her head. She shook, leaning her head up to glare at him and frown.

“Need help?” He asked, what had gotten into him, today?

“No, thank you. I appreciate the offer, though.”

He sighed at her words, and just resigned himself to sitting beside her, criss-crossed. 

It wasn’t too long before she considered herself far too drained without her unlimited resources of caffeine. She put away anything and everything related to her work and slouched, resting her head on the desk in front of her.

“No espresso, no energy?” Skarra taunted, and she laughed, nodding.

“Shut up, Skarra.”

“I lo—hate you too.” He got up and ruffled her hair, packing up her stuff for her.

She didn’t even have the energy to tell him not to, because god knew when he’d use this against her and try to gaslight her into doing something for him. 

“Dingaan will be hearing about this.” She sighed.

“I’ll let Vince know about the espresso.”

“Don’t you dare.” She tried to fake a threatening tone with him, but her exhaustion was getting the better of her too. 

“Come on, there's no way you're falling asleep here.” He tugged on her arm, and she tried to swat him away. 

“There's many ways, actually.” She deadpanned up at him.

“There's a reason I call you the nerd emoji.” 

“Excuse you. You have like no respect for me.” She hoisted herself from the clamlike position she was in, resigning herself to whatever was going through Skarra's small skull. 

Skarra turned to her, and grinned, before hoisting her bag onto his shoulder and lunging for the door that led to his freedom.

Now that caught her off-guard.

“Get back here, you rascal!” She called out as she forced her feet to pick up pace and run after him. Surely he would've realised her legs wouldn't be able to reach the speeds he could? Or probably not, this was Skarra she was thinking about. 

“Get me, Eden!” He turned back briefly, almost running right into a pole. 

She fought back a laugh as she finally cornered him at his car. “Give me my stuff back, or risk losing your head.” 

“No.” 

“Skarra.” 

He grinned at her like an idiot, and she was growing perplexed and maybe agitated. She tried to reach for her stuff but he held it above her head. 

“Come on, Eden, Dingaan's waiting.”

“Don't use him as bait.” 

Maybe she was hallucinating but Skarra started pouting again. Maybe all of that caffeine was getting to her and she was really ascending to heaven or—He reached out for her face and she stepped back. Yeah, she definitely was still alive and well.

“Whatever, get in that car and don't kill me because you're horrendous at driving.”

“Duly noted.” Maybe it wasn't too bad with him. Just her typical day-to-day IU scientist experience with her dumb footballer.

[soulsbleedink]

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝙒𝙄𝙋𝙎 𝙇𝙄𝙎𝙏

➳ this is a list of my work in progresses for anyone wondering!

➳ the ones listed first will probably be top priority :')

𝘙𝘌𝘘𝘜𝘌𝘚𝘛𝘚 ★

none at the moment

- nothing at the moment

[soulsbleedink]

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ 𝙏𝘿𝙋 𝙈𝘼𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙍𝙇𝙄𝙎𝙏

𝘊𝘈𝘓𝘓𝘜𝘔 ★

✦ fluff

seneca

sparks

orphic

✧ angst

nothing yet

☆ miscellaneous

nothing yet

𝘙𝘈𝘠𝘓𝘈 ★

✦ fluff

seneca

sparks

orphic

✧ angst

nothing yet

☆ miscellaneous

nothing yet

𝘙𝘜𝘕𝘈𝘈𝘕 ★

✦ fluff

ludic

✧ angst

nothing yet

☆ miscellaneous

nothing yet

𝘌𝘛𝘏𝘈𝘙𝘐 ★

✦ fluff

sparks

ludic

✧ angst

nothing yet

☆ miscellaneous

nothing yet

𝘈𝘈𝘙𝘈𝘝𝘖𝘚 ★

✦ fluff

nothing yet

✧ angst

nothing yet

☆ miscellaneous

nothing yet

𝘌𝘡𝘙𝘈𝘕 ★

✦ fluff

nothing yet

✧ angst

nothing yet

☆ miscellaneous

nothing yet

[soulsbleedink]

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ 𝙂𝙀𝙉𝙎𝙃𝙄𝙉 𝙄𝙈𝙋𝘼𝘾𝙏 𝙈𝘼𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙍𝙇𝙄𝙎𝙏

𝘋𝘐𝘓𝘜𝘊 ★

✦ fluff

nothing yet

✧ angst

nothing yet

☆ miscellaneous

nothing yet

𝘒𝘈𝘔𝘐𝘚𝘈𝘛𝘖 𝘈𝘠𝘈𝘛𝘖 ★

✦ fluff

nothing yet

✧ angst

nothing yet

☆ miscellaneous

nothing yet

𝘡𝘏𝘖𝘕𝘎𝘓𝘐 ★

✦ fluff

nothing yet

✧ angst

nothing yet

☆ miscellaneous

nothing yet

𝘈𝘓 𝘏𝘈𝘐𝘛𝘏𝘈𝘔 ★

✦ fluff

toska

lacuna

✧ angst

nothing yet

☆ miscellaneous

nothing yet

𝘕𝘌𝘜����𝘐𝘓𝘌𝘛𝘛𝘌 ★

✦ fluff

nothing yet

✧ angst

nothing yet

☆ miscellaneous

nothing yet

𝘒𝘈𝘌𝘠𝘈 ★

✦ fluff

nothing yet

✧ angst

nothing yet

☆ miscellaneous

nothing yet

𝘊𝘠𝘕𝘖 ★

✦ fluff

nothing yet

✧ angst

nothing yet

☆ miscellaneous

nothing yet

𝘒𝘈𝘝𝘌𝘏 ★

✦ fluff

toska

lacuna

✧ angst

nothing yet

☆ miscellaneous

nothing yet

[soulsbleedink]

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ 𝙑𝙊𝙇𝙏𝙍𝙊𝙉: 𝙇𝘿 𝙈𝘼𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙍𝙇𝙄𝙎𝙏

𝘛𝘈𝘒𝘈𝘚𝘏𝘐 𝘚𝘏𝘐𝘙𝘖𝘎𝘈𝘕𝘌 ★

✦ fluff

nothing yet

✧ angst

nothing yet

☆ miscellaneous

nothing yet

𝘒𝘌𝘐𝘛𝘏 𝘒𝘖𝘎𝘈𝘕𝘌 ★

✦ fluff

nothing yet

✧ angst

nothing yet

☆ miscellaneous

nothing yet

𝘓𝘈𝘕𝘊𝘌 𝘔𝘊𝘊𝘓𝘈𝘐𝘕 ★

✦ fluff

nothing yet

✧ angst

nothing yet

☆ miscellaneous

nothing yet

𝘏𝘜𝘕𝘒 𝘎𝘈𝘙𝘌𝘛𝘛 ★

✦ fluff

nothing yet

✧ angst

nothing yet

☆ miscellaneous

nothing yet

𝘗𝘐𝘋𝘎𝘌 𝘎𝘜𝘕𝘋𝘌𝘙𝘚𝘖𝘕 / 𝘒𝘈𝘛𝘐𝘌 𝘏𝘖𝘓𝘛 ★

✦ fluff

nothing yet

✧ angst

nothing yet

☆ miscellaneous

nothing yet

𝘔𝘈𝘛𝘛 𝘏𝘖𝘓𝘛 ★

✦ fluff

nothing yet

✧ angst

nothing yet

☆ miscellaneous

nothing yet

𝘓𝘖𝘛𝘖𝘙 ★

✦ fluff

nothing yet

✧ angst

nothing yet

☆ miscellaneous

nothing yet

𝘗𝘙𝘐𝘕𝘊𝘌𝘚𝘚 𝘈𝘓𝘓𝘜𝘙𝘈 ★

✦ fluff

nothing yet

✧ angst

nothing yet

☆ miscellaneous

nothing yet

[soulsbleedink]

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ 𝙎𝙐𝙋𝘼 𝙎𝙏𝙍𝙄𝙆𝘼𝙎 𝙈𝘼𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙍𝙇𝙄𝙎𝙏

𝘚𝘒𝘈𝘙𝘙𝘈 ★

✦ fluff

espresso

✧ angst

nothing yet

☆ miscellaneous

nothing yet

𝘚𝘏𝘈𝘒𝘌𝘚 ★

✦ fluff

nothing yet

✧ angst

nothing yet

☆ miscellaneous

nothing yet

𝘙𝘐𝘈𝘕𝘖 ★

✦ fluff

nothing yet

✧ angst

nothing yet

☆ miscellaneous

nothing yet

𝘒𝘈𝘛 ★

✦ fluff

nothing yet

✧ angst

nothing yet

☆ miscellaneous

nothing yet

[soulsbleedink]

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ 𝙈𝘼𝙄𝙉 𝙈𝘼𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙍𝙇𝙄𝙎𝙏

REQUEST MASTERLIST

SUPA STRIKAS MASTERLIST

VOLTRON: LEGENDARY DEFENDER MASTERLIST

THE DRAGON PRINCE MASTERLIST

GENSHIN IMPACT MASTERLIST

MISCELLANEOUS MASTERLIST

NIMONA MASTERLIST

[soulsbleedink]

·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ 𝙍𝙀𝙌𝙐𝙀𝙎𝙏𝙎 𝘼𝙉𝘿 𝙍𝙐𝙇𝙀𝙎

[ requests are open for blurbs, oneshots, aus & headcannons, but i tend to write the requests i feel inspired by! ]

would you like to check whether i got your request? check my wip list to make sure it’s there :)

R U L E S ★

★ please do not request smut, this is a sfw blog.

★ sometimes i may not be well rehearsed with the lore, so i may have to research beforehand.

★ i don't think i'm ready to write 'x readers' yet, i can do ships or pairings.

★ i will also post my own works of characters and such, so don't be surprised please :')

★ please let me know if anything i mention in the fics is wrong, i will try to make it more accurate!

★ feel free to send an ask requesting an imagine, headcannons, or drabble and be as specific as possible with your request! <3

★ i may forget to mention some characters or so in the lists below, but if i find it so, i will update this! [these are the characters i can write from these fandoms!]

★ for some characters, i may only accept platonic requests at the moment.

★ i do write oc x canon, but at the moment, am not taking requests for it, so i hope you don't mind. :')

★ when i do post oc related content, i'd rather no one steal my ocs :') feel free to draw them or something, if you ever want though :)

GENSHIN IMPACT ★

diluc

kamisato ayato

zhongli

al haitham

neuvilette

kaeya

cyno

kaveh

SUPA STRIKAS ★

skarra

shakes

riano

kat

VOLTRON: LEGENDARY DEFENDER ★

takashi shirogane

keith kogane

lance mcclain

hunk garrett

pidge gunderson / katie holt [platonic]

matt holt

lotor

princess allura

THE DRAGON PRINCE ★

callum

rayla

runaan

ethari

aaravos

ezran [platonic !]

NIMONA ★

ballister boldheart

ambrosius goldenloin

nimona [platonic !]