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Neuvillette is home!!! 🤩🤩🤩

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aether, like countless other knights and princes across the realm seeking glory, sets off on a journey to free the princess from the locked tower and slay the fearsome dragon guarding her.

meanwhile, neuvillette is tired of all these humans trespassing into his home and attempting to steal his wife.

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Getting flashbacks to my Johnny fic where no notes were left for three days after posting

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Lovefool | Diluc x Reader

Hehehhehe Diluc Angst (tbh not that I really need to do much) also not edited!!

WC:1k

“If you could go anywhere in the world, where?” You asked curiously, staring into Diluc’s eyes. The young master closed them for a second, thinking, before he opened them to respond.

“I’m not sure.” His voice was a sort of cold you were used to, inner walls remaining strong even though you’d burst your way through most of his outer fortifications. You kept looking at his eyes, half hidden behind his bangs whenever he’d duck his head, the red iris’s shining whenever the light caught on them.

“All I know is that I’d leave if I could.” His words, like usual, were straight to the point. You furrowed your eyebrows at their heavy connotations. He sighed at your expression, sinking further into his seat. His hands came to rest on the table, not fidgeting but slowly intertwining.

You didn’t let yourself become distracted, instead gesturing for him to continue and explain his statement. He paused for a moment, glancing down to seemingly contemplate his words.

“I don’t want to stay here. I want to be able to travel. I want to continue my fathers legacy, but I don’t want to be confined by it.” He said, his fingers flexing where they held each other.

You took a minute to process his words, the, by Diluc’s standards, word vomit needing a few moments to sink into your mind. You inhaled tightly through your nose.

He wanted to leave. He wanted to explore. You could understand that. He had to feel trapped. He’d spent his years stuck in the winery, stuck in the Knights of Favonius, stuck in the grief of losing his father.

You looked up at him, the man he’d become. Turned from the kid you’d first met under the careful eye of your mother who worked as a maid in the winery, to the teenager who decided to pledge himself to the knights, and now the man who felt trapped.

No, he said ‘confined’. You thought back the times you’d spend by his side, wondering if he felt confined back then.

Back when you’d blow dandelions together, when you’d taken work in the Good Hunter to be closer to him during his training, to now when you sat across from him, trying to read his emotions.

You felt a weight settle across your shoulders, dread slowly creeping into you as you surveyed his behaviour. He had been tense when he’d asked you to meet him here, never stuttering but hesitating which was very unusual.

He looked back at you.

“I think…” He started, averting his gaze, before continuing with more fervor.

“I need to leave.” He said, his hands flattening down on the table, his throat bobbing as he talked, his eyes set and resolute.

Need. He said he needed to leave. Like he needed air to breathe, he needed to leave.

You don’t think you’ve ever heard Diluc say that he needed something. Maybe once when you were still children, but the young man opposite you hadn’t needed anything in a long time.

He’d never needed parties, or presents, and you realised, with a heavy heart, he’d certainly never needed you.

But he needed to leave.

You swallowed, nodding slowly. He gazed at you, trying to read your face, but you let a reliable shield of passivity role over you. He looked at you as though asking for permission, a questioning lilt in his eyes.

“You need to leave?” You asked, voice not cracking but blocked by your throat. He nodded, an air of finality about his movement.

“Have you already made plans?” You asked, before realising how stupid it was. Of course Diluc had made plans, he was always prepared, he was just here to say goodbye.

Regardless, he nodded. You tried to swallow, sincerely you tried. You refused to let yourself falter. The silence hung in the air for a second before you spoke up.

“Diluc.” you said, the man still gazing at you with eyes you began to fear you could no longer read.

“If there was anything in the world that could make you stay, what would it be?” Sure it may come across pathetic, probably because it was, but you wanted to know. Was there any possible way you could not lose him?

He closed his eyes, his habit that you’d already picked up suddenly seeming more alien, before he shook his head slightly. He didn’t open his eyes to see the way yours faltered and darkened.

Perhaps it was foolish to hope. You’d known that at some point Diluc would snap, or something. You’d known that something would change. But you’d never imagine that he’d run away.

It felt as though a rug had been pulled out from under your feet, any and all cliche that describes feeling betrayed. A kick-in-the-gut, like a knife to your back, trust shattered like broken glass.

You tried to mask your heartbreak, but you knew that if he looked at you he would be able to tell. You didn’t know if you could consider it merciful when he stood up without looking at you, placing a few mora on the table and pushing his chair in.

“Diluc.” You said quietly. He paused in his movements. You mustered your courage. You knew the answer to the question you were about to ask, but you had to make sure. You needed to know, just in the slightest case.

“If I asked you to stay, would you?” You uttered. You watched his gloved hands tighten on the chair, the moment seeming to stretch for hours. You didn’t look up from his hands, but you saw his jaw clench from your peripheral.

He opened his mouth, looking at the floor, before closing it.

“I’m glad I got to see you before I left.” He turned and walked away. You watched him retreat, feeling as though someone had taken a picaxe and hacked through your back. You immediately looked down at the drink in front of you, trying to pretend the tears in your eyes was the condensation on the glass.

You had your answer.

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Sometimes I wish i was cooking

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WHY IS HIS TRAUMATISED FACE HOT? NO

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Whenever I see Gerard Jin I just yell ‘my man’ as loud as I can

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"jealous, jealous, jealous boyy.." ft. diluc

bro was discombobulated

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Weak hero episode 183 my beloved

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Will I ever choose one fandom? No lol

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Nanamiiiiiiiiii my beloved. I’ll fix the formatting in the morning :))))

——————————

Nanami’s almost halfway through the door when he pauses. It’s 4 in the morning, an outrageous time to have been woken up by the buzzing of his phone.

He’d rolled over and blearily reached for the device, seeing a call from one Gojo Satoru on his home screen. A quiet groan had left him before he’d sat up in bed, the covers moving from his bare chest to his lap.

Clicking the side button to lower the volume, he’d clicked the answer button before standing up and steadily walking to the bedroom door. Slowly closing it to not make a sound, he’d raised the phone to the side of his face.

“Gojo, it’s too early.” He immediately started before Gojo launched into an overly energetic speech. Nanami stayed quiet as Gojo went on about curses this and students that, his mind elsewhere. Finally he’d cut Gojo off and asked for a location which Gojo supplied. After that, he hung up on the man, which he knew would result in an earful of complaints when he finally saw him again.

Opening the bedroom door again, Nanami walked to the half empty bed and placed his phone down on the side table. He’d briefly glanced at you, a pang running through his chest.

He’d walked to the closet, rifling through his shelves of ironed shirts, courtesy of you. A small smile played on his mouth at the thought of you being so domestic. He’d picked one, a complimentary pair of slacks as well, before making his way to the bathroom.

A quick shower later, the warm water running down his back aiding in properly waking him up, he’d stepped out to dry himself off. He reached for one of the towels hanging on the rack, checking both before picking the damper one.

After he was dry, he used the towel to wipe some of the condensation on the mirror. His reflection greeted him. He surveyed his barely noticeable eyebags, fortunately not the reddest marks on his skin. He huffed in affection as he shook his head, a hand raising to rub languidly at his neck.

Pulling his clothes on, he reached for a comb to rake his hair into place, the steam of the room hopefully setting it in place. With his watch fastened on his wrist, Nanami left the bathroom with the fan turned on.

He’d walked carefully back to the closet, grabbing his matching suit jacket and a pair of woolen socks, before turning to look at the bed. You were still sprawled on the bed, exactly as you were before he’d showered. He’d stepped over slowly to crouch beside your bed.

Your chest rose slowly with each breath you took and Nanami was hit with that familiar pang. It was an ache of longing. Realistically speaking, Nanami knew it was elementary to feel longing for a person who was beside him, literally and figuratively. But it didn’t stop him from yearning.

Yearning to be near you more, to create a family, to learn more about the person who had given their heart to him as he had likewise done. He could list endless things he wished- no, he felt he needed to do.

However, his most poured over thought was that he yearned to love more.

He loved you, you loved him. He wished he could indulge in your love a little more, he wished he could immerse you in the love he felt for you.

He wished that one day, when you and him both fell to dust, you could hold each other in your last moments with hearts full of the notion that you had loved, you had danced, you had lived till your hearts were full.

Nanami had leaned in and pressed a kiss to your cheek before standing up, his knees cracking as he went. He’d frowned, he was too young to have such creaky joints.

He’d made himself breakfast, mindlessly drinking coffee before he’d washed them in the sink, placing them on the drying rack. He’d slipped on socks, adorned his suit jacket, and made his way to the entryway of your apartment.

Sitting down the wooden step, he placed his feet on the tiles below. A draft came through the gap at the bottom of the door. His shoes were tugged on, laces done up with a quick flick of his wrist. He reached to tighten his tie before cursing quietly, remembering you were asleep. There was no use in potentially waking you up for just his tie, so he just decided to leave without it.

Grabbing his key from the side table, he opened the door and prepared to walk out. A cough stopped him and he turned around to see you, holding his tie and his phone.

He smiled, taking a knee as you approached. You were clearly still sleepy, your hair all mussed up.

“Hey sweetheart.” He said quietly as you reached him. You looped his tie around his neck and began to tie it, replying as you worked.

“You’re up early, did someone call you in?” Nanami sighed frustratedly and nodded.

You looped his tie finally, stepping back for a second before moving closer, grabbing his tie in your hand, and pulling him in to give him a peck. When you have decided that it had lasted long enough, you stepped back and saw his smile grow.

“I’ll see you soon.” He said and stood up from his knee.

“I love you.” You said as he approached the door again. He turned around and faced you.

“I love you too.”

—————

Tbh I’ll probs regret this in the morning too lol

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i have got such a good idea but aghhhhh i hate writing stuff sometimes. i'm stuck

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To be stagnant is to be at peace.

The state of never changing,

Remaining still though time passes by.

Years are gone,

But still you remain.

Time disappeared in a flash,

Have you changed at all?

The peace breaks.

A glance around,

All else is fresh

But you harbour the same weeds that bound you down.

You try to erode away your walls,

But everyone seems content to watch you stay still.

They join, confluence, and you stay,

Remaining upstream.

Why have you not changed?

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Good Taste in Wine | D.R

Diluc x Reader

Warnings: not sure how i feel, might come back and add more. also unedited!!!

Wc: ~3.0K

It was hard to take your eyes off the red-haired man in the corner of the room. He was dressed in a black cloak with eccentric detailing, but the most noticeable thing about him was his bright red hair. It was long, a ponytail being able to be seen when he’d turn his head to watch someone. He was also incredibly handsome, you mused to yourself as you remained behind the catering table. His face was posed into indifference, like he didn’t care to be where he was. Though, he wasn’t leaving.

Movement in front of you drew you away from your observing, and you offered the patrons before the table food from the various platters scattered around it. Everything they enthusiastically pointed at you picked up with tongs and placed on a plate. They chittered away, asking you questions about the desserts before eventually thanking you and taking their plate.

After they left, you let your customer service visage drop for a second with a sigh before taking on a small smile. Who would’ve thought a celebration dedicated to Mondstats infamous crime fighter, the “Darknight Hero”, would’ve spanned so far into said night? The sun had set long ago, the vigilante himself probably long gone and fighting some kind of trouble maker, whether it be a stray hilichurl or something you’d only heard of whispered in passing like an Abyss Mage.

You shook your head for a second, no way one random citizen of Mondstat could take on an Abyss Mage. You went back to the theory you’d been creating in your head, that the Darknight Hero was a Knight of Favonius who wanted five minutes of fame, probably tired of not being revered over the way Captain Kaeya was. You’d seen too many intoxicated housewives cooing to themselves whenever they saw the blue-haired man walk past on patrol, giggling at them from your place at the table by the entrance of the Angel’s share.

Now that you thought about it, maybe the Darknight Hero was Captain Kaeya. He did have a flair for the dramatics, Paimon had made sure to mention it loudly whenever he strolled past her and the traveler. He also had the swordsmanship to finish the job and then get out of there before the rest of the knights arrived.

You looked out around the gathered crowd, trying to ignore the lingering presence in your peripheral and your face scrunched when you found Kaeya, drunk out of his mind. The eyepatch hadn’t come off but, Archons, you don’t think you’ve ever seen him so clumsy. You almost felt bad for the traveler who had placed a hand on his arm, trying to get him to move away from the elaborate fountain and subsequent disaster placed in the middle of the large hall in the Knights of Favonius headquarters. 

They were the ones hosting the event, an event which wasn’t rushed but also didn’t seem all too put together. Jean, who was an old friend, had come up to you a day ago and asked you to fill in for one of the catering staff who’d dropped out due to a nasty cold. You didn’t have the heart to refuse her… after she’d promised a hearty amount of mora in return. 

You didn’t especially understand the politics of the Knights of Favonius hosting a celebratory event for a vigilante who seemed hellbent on not being associated with said institute, but you didn’t really want to think too much about it. You had a few more hours before the party ended and you could treat yourself to the left-over cakes and the leftover bottles of wine, though that was only if some blue-haired fellow who couldn’t stop singing and rhyming took a few steps away from the booth. 

You took your mind off it and allowed yourself a glance back in the red-head’s direction only to find him already looking towards you. It didn’t seem accidental either, his eyes didn’t skim past you as he looked around the room. No, he was looking at you. 

Your eyes met his stare, resisting the urge to quirk an eyebrow for a few seconds before it won out. He responded to your movement with a small twitch upwards at the corner of his lips, so small that if you hadn’t already mapped out the topography of his face from your previous ogling you would’ve missed it.

His attention was drawn away when Kaeya stumbled onto him, you having to stop yourself from laughing when his cool expression was broken by one of pure shock. The traveler quickly grabbed Kaeya by the arm and started dragging him away, Paimon laughing as she floated beside the apologising explorer. Kaeya only seemed to revel in the contact, throwing himself on the traveler while the red-head watched with barely concealed… disbelief? You couldn’t get a read on him. 

For a few seconds after he remained looking at the trio who were walking away, before ruffling himself and adjusting his coat. He glanced back at you and saw the poorly hidden amusement on your face. His face didn’t sour like you half-expected it to, his eyes seemed to catch fire when they met yours. It was hard to explain but you couldn’t see well before he averted his gaze.

It was weird but explainable when your eyes quickly darted down to his hip to see the Pyro Vision hanging off of his hip. Maybe his eyes actually were on fire. You didn’t even let yourself laugh at that.

A tap on your shoulder caused you to turn and look away. Another one of the caterers was standing beside you. You recognised her as the girl who was in charge of the wine booth. Yeesh, you did not envy her having to pour all the drinks. Diona was busy and, from the reactions of the crowd, she did not meet Diona in any standard.

“Hey, could you please cover my table? You’re right near the bathroom and I want to see if I could slip away without anyone noticing?” She asked, though you recognised it to be a plea when you saw her hopping from foot to foot. 

It would be inhumane to deny her so you just nodded. She squealed and ran to the bathroom while you made your way to the wine booth. A line was already forming by the time you got here, so you quickly got to work, taking order after order, recommending your favourite wines from your time indulging at Angel’s Share, and pouring glasses until your wrists got tired of the repetitive motion.

Eventually you whittled the line down to two people. You quickly moved through the first customer, earning yourself a tip which you weren’t sure if you were allowed to take but weren’t going to say no to, before the second customer stepped up to the opposite side of the booth.

You started your introduction before noticing it was the red-headed man. He was looking at you before he spoke.

“Do you part-time as a sommelier?” He asked and you did a double take. Archons, if your voice was that nice to listen to you’d never shut up. You eventually registered what he said and tried to copy his tone. “Do you spend your time sitting in corners at parties?” You countered and he only shrugged before glancing down at the menu printed on the front of the booth.

“I prefer the solitude.” He said as he read and you scoffed skeptically, as you doubted there was any quiet place in this hall.

“Is being a coat rack for the Captain of the Knight’s of Favonius included in that solitude?” He glanced up at you from the menu, seeing the teasing smile on your lips. His eyes seemed to damper a little bit. You realised you may have touched a nerve and quickly tried to divert the conversation.

“I haven’t seen you around before? Do you spend a lot of time in Mondstat?” You asked, and he started, a slightly shocked expression appearing on his face.

“Yes, a bit of time.” He said, as though testing the waters. You weren’t sure why, was he someone important and you didn’t know? Hopefully not.

“Though, I could say the same for you. I don’t recognise you.” He eventually stated, relaxing back in his stance and crossing his arms. Strangely, it didn’t come off as defensive.

“I spend a lot of time in Springvale.” You replied, trying your best not to echo his stance. “I come into the city occasionally.” 

“Do you work in the city?” He was asking a lot of questions, you noted before shaking your head.

“No, the taverns are better here than in Springvale.” He seemed to inflate at that, his posture becoming more prideful. You neglected to mention how there is no taverns in springvale.

“Well then, if you’re a tavern regular, what should I get?” He motioned to the menu below. You briefly pondered if he was reading it for show. A smile came onto your lips as you leaned forward. 

“My personal favourite?” You inquired and he nodded, letting his eyes settle into contact with yours.

“My personal favourite is…” You trailed off before turning around and looking among the crates. A readjustment here and a bit of foraging there before you finally pulled out your favourite. It was a dark brown bottle, sealed by wax, made from Wyotl grapes, a specialty of the Dawn Winery. It radiated a subtle elegancy, which you thought was very fitting of the man behind you.

You turned around and presented it. His eyes seemed to darken, though you could tell it wasn’t from anger or sadness. No, your words seemed to burn more fire in his eyes instead of dampening it like earlier. 

He looked up at you as you walked back to the booth and swiped a glass from below the counter. You poured a nice portion before corking the bottle and lifting the glass. You brought it under your nose and swirled it, letting the heavenly and rich aroma sink into your nostrils and the wine aerate. 

“Is that your preference?” He asked, drawing you out of your trance. Opening your eyes, you nodded. He didn’t smile, but you could tell he was pleased. You handed the drink to him when he raised his hand. He then raised the glass and sniffed it.

His eyes closed and you let him a few moments while he basked in the smell. When they opened, they made contact with yours. A few seconds passed of intense eye-contact before an actual smile graced his face. Sure, it was small but it was there. A shudder rolled down your back.

He placed the glass on the counter, before looking down and patting the pockets of his coat. He extracted his wallet and, after glancing again at the menu, placed down the appropriate amount of Mora. You picked it up and slid it into a collection box as he put his wallet back in his pocket. 

He then turned and started walking off into the crowd. You blanched at his abruptness before realising he didn’t take his drink with him. Immediately you called to his retreating back.

“Excuse me!” He didn’t respond, not turning back. You tried a few more times before calling out loudly “Sir!”.

He immediately halted and turned around. His face was apathetic before he started striding back to you. You were not expecting that, nor his strong pace, so you quickly rearranged yourself before he stopped in front of you.

“Yes?” He then asked, tone unidentifiable.

“You forgot your drink…” You said, gesturing to his wineglass on the counter. He looked down at it, and then back at you, and then back at it.

“No, I don’t think I did.” He claimed before turning around to leave. You reared back and shook your head, leaning over the counter and grabbing his arm. He stopped before slightly turning his head to look at you.

“Sir,” You ignored the way his eyes hardened at the title, “you left your drink.” He looked at it before shaking his head. 

“No, I believe it’s yours.” His words were spoken as though true and you drew your eyebrows together. 

“Excuse me?” You asked in confusion.

“I believe I bought you a drink.” He spelled it out for you, and you leaned back off the counter, letting go of him as you processed that information.

“Oh.” Was all you could muster before you felt your cheeks grow warm. You were definitely flirting with him, you just didn’t expect him to actually act on it.

“Was that too forward?” He asked bluntly and you immediately shook your head.

“No, I just-... I don’t even know your name, nor do you know mine.” He thought about that for a second before leaning in slightly over the bar.

“My name is Diluc Ragnvindr.” He then held a hand over the bar. It was covered by a black glove, but it swallowed your hand whole when you took it. You introduced yourself likewise and Diluc gave you a strong hand-shake, which was, admittedly, a little awkward from a man who’d just bought you a drink.

“Ummmm.” The sound of someone clearing their throat caused you to drop his hand and turn, catching the incredulous look the girl from the bathroom was giving you. 

“I can take this booth over again if you want.” She said plainly and you nodded, before picking up your glass. You frowned as you noticed that Diluc had disappeared into the crowd before the girl was at your side and shaking your arm forcefully.

“Dude!” She exclaimed. “I don’t know how you could flirt with a guy like that and not lose your cool!” Ignoring the fact you didn’t even know her name, you focused into another part of her sentence.

“What do you mean by ‘a guy like that’? Is Diluc important?” She stared at you, shell-shocked. She started nodding before saying rather loudly “Duh!” 

“How on earth could you not know who he is? Oh my god, that’s incredible! Especially the fact he seemed almost as into it as you!” She was rambling, not letting you get a word in. It started to grate on your nerves after a while.

“Hey!” You interrupted her. “Is he important?” You reiterated and the girl could only look at you before shaking her head.

“You’ll find out.” Was all she said before moving past you and to the counter to deal with customers that had built up over the time she was talking to you. 

Well that was useless, all it did was make you slightly paranoid. Which was really annoying. Groaning, you trundled back over to the desert stand and stood there, sipping from your glass. You only waited two minutes before Diluc appeared again, in front of the desert stand this time.

“You don’t have to get me anything this time, the deserts are free.” Was what you started with, watching his face for a reaction. He only nodded, a small smile gracing his lips, before looking down to the table. 

While he did that, you glanced around the room. You hadn’t really been paying attention due to the man in front of you but you quickly surveyed that quite a lot of people were looking at you. The attention caused you to flush, feeling like the amount of eyes was unnecessary, especially when people leaned in to talk to their friends after making eye-contact with you. 

After a few seconds, you spouted a question that was residing in your mind, unable to shake it off if you didn’t get a denial or confirmation. It would make sense if the answer was yes, considering how important he seemed to be if he was worth gossiping about.

“Are you the Darknight Hero?” You eventually blurted, taking note of the way Diluc’s head snapped up to stare at you in shock.

“P-pardon?” He stuttered, and you knew enough about him to tell that that was very uncharacteristic.

“I-I just mean that everyone’s staring at you and stuff, I know you are in some way important and well y’know..” You lifted your hands up and gestured to the decorated space. “It kinda makes sense for people to be staring at the Darknight at a Darknight celebration.”

He opened his mouth to respond but nothing came out, only a few breaths. His eyes were wide and his jaw was open. The longer he remained in place the more embarrassed you were becoming, especially with the way the chatter around you picked up pace. He eventually responded by shaking his head.

“Uhh no..” He finally stated before clearing his throat and saying strongly, with more fervour, “No.” You only nodded in response.

“I do own the Dawn Winery.” He said after a second and your eyes widened. Oh. No wonder he seemed happy when you said your favourite wine was, well, one from his own company. And no wonder he bought it, considering most of the money would go back to him anyway.

“Oh wow.” You said simply and he nodded. You awkwardly laughed. Archons, he must be rich. Archons, you’re such an idiot.

“It’s funny that you didn’t know that, considering the winery is closer to Springvale than Mondstat.” He thankfully continued the conversation, saving you from trying to think of something else to say. However, you could only nod, more than aware this is one of the richest people in probably the whole of Tevyat. 

The conversation went stagnant for a few seconds, a tension that wasn’t really a tension but just a barrier that needed to be broken formed between you. Finally, you sighed.

“I’ve never actually been to the winery.” He turned to you with slightly raised eyebrows.

“Really?” You only nodded in confirmation. He stilled before continuing a few seconds later.

“I could take you one time and give you a tour.” You looked and made eye contact with him, before nodding again.

“I’d like that.” He smiled at your response.

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Thank you to everyone who got me to 2500 likes!

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Dino Slippers and Wooden Cabins.

Charles Leclerc x Reader

Warnings: she's unedited, omg so much crack. WC: ~2.6K

I wanted to write and yes, it's shit, and yes, it's crack, and yes, I hate it. but what can you do? it got kinda sentimental towards the end, but the closing lines terrible.

also don't do what the reader does, be safe when you're in a cabin alone.

A knock at your cabin door caused you to look up from the TV. The firelight cast from the fireplace danced around the wooden room, reflecting on your drawn blinds and making you blink. You waited for a second before turning back to your TV, wincing as you saw one of the main characters trip and fall. 

You were quickly distracted from your show when the person at the door knocked again. Seriously? You take a week away from work in an isolated cabin in the snow to not be bothered by people and this is what happens. A random person knocking on your door in the middle of the night. In the middle of nowhere. While you were alone.

Maybe you should heed the warnings your friends had given you and not open the door, certifying that you wouldn’t be caught by some lunatic or something. That thought unnerved you, what if the person knocking on your door was an escaped prisoner or even a murderer? You shivered despite the warmth from the fire heating you.

Your friends had all exchanged glances when you’d told them of your holiday plans, side-eyeing each other so that one of them would try and make you not go. Lily, one of your friends since you were little, had sighed before standing up and saying that you probably shouldn’t travel solo. You had immediately protested, waving off her concerns and saying you’d take your mum’s dog, Popcorn, as sort of a guard dog.

Popcorn who now stood shaking in the corner, glancing between you and the door with wide eyes. Right now, you were unsure why you thought you could bring a Papillion as a guard god, but past-you had wanted to take this holiday so bad that you were eager to think that an axe-murderer could be dispelled by one of the ugliest, smallest, and most rancid looking dog’s you’d ever seen.

That was a joke, Popcorn wasn’t rancid, just crusty (as your mother lovingly called him.) The way spit hung from his jaw, wobbling everytime he shook made you breathe through your teeth, subconsciously wondering how Popcorn got on the family christmas card instead of you. 

Another knock on the door made you sigh before standing up and making your way to the large wooden door. You placed a hand on the handle, turned the lock, and opened the door to a sight that was worse than you could have even imagined.

A head of wavy brown hair, slightly ruffled, tilted upwards to reveal stunning blue eyes. An easy smile settled over his face when you made eye-contact, his hands bunching in his pockets drawing your attention to his snow-dusted puffer jacket.

“Hi,” He said, his nose and eyes bright red, showing how the cold had been affecting him. You could only look on in horror as he shook his head, his hair whipping around as though he was in a movie, and a few dollops of snow cascaded from his hair.

It was worse than a murderer, it was a hot man.

You immediately felt a heat begin to rush to your face. You could handle a crazed, knife-wielding psycho, but you couldn’t handle attractive men. It was a well known fact within your friend group, you made a fool of yourself in front of every mildly-hot guy. 

Whether it be tripping over your feet in highschool and falling flat on your face in front of a long-time crush or trying and failing to chat up a guy at a bar, you’d always return to your group of friends, tail securely between your legs and dragging your feet.

Hell, your friends had even tried to fix it for you. Lily had set you up on countless dates, none of them working because as soon as you made eye-contact, you couldn’t speak and you ended up being mute for the entire 30 minutes a guy stayed. Her boyfriend, Alex, found it to be the funniest thing, laughing at you (goodnaturedly, he’d assured you one time after you gave him the stink eye) everytime you recounted one of your increasingly unfortunate stories. 

So now, out in the freezing cold and looking at one of the most beautiful people you’d ever seen in your life, you knew something would go wrong and you’d make yourself seem like a dunce. You didn’t have to wait long, as his eyes cast downwards and you were reminded of the fact the only pajamas you’d brought on your trip were a cheapie set that you’d bought for five bucks at some random retail store. The issue with them was that they were clearly designed for kids, dinosaurs decorating every inch of the fabric.

At the time you’d hadn’t minded that they’d probably been made for degenerate adults, only happy to snag a bargain, but now you were really regretting it. Regretting it even more as the man’s eyes dropped down to your slippers, accompanying dino claws that you’d laughed at when you’d put them on earlier. Now you were cursing yourself for your whimsy, eyeing the clearly expensive fabric that made up the man’s scarf wound so tightly around his neck. His eyes climbed you, reaching your face before he made eye-contact again.

“Uhm, my car broke down and this is the only place for several hundred kilometers. My friend Alex said that one of his friends was staying around here and that I could pop in.” The man explained, the friendly smile never dropping from his face. Holy fuck he has an accent as well.

As if timed perfectly, a ding sounded on your phone, causing you to reach for it. A message icon with Alex’s name was on your home screen, reading further when you opened it that ‘a friend of mine might show up for the night because of his car breaking down. I hope that’s ok.’ You could only stare at your phone. As though he was waiting for the read receipt to pop up, Alex then sent another message.

‘Thank me later.’

Having enough of that, you closed your phone and shoved it rather forcefully into your pocket. You plastered a smile onto your face and turned to the man.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you were coming. I probably would’ve… gotten changed.” You trailed off, the smile on the man’s face quickly changing to one of amusement. Trying to rationalise that he was laughing at your joke and not your outfit, you moved to the side of the doorframe and welcomed him in with a sweeping hand.

He took a few steps into your rented cabin before you closed the door, the coldness of the night getting shut out in place for the heat from your cabin. The man’s eyes took the place in, sweeping over the log walls and the tv that was still on. He nodded his head slightly as though agreeing with your choice of programming.

“Would you like a tea?” You asked, desperate to try and be in solitude for a few minutes. He turned to you and nodded with a thankful smile. Jesus that smile was about to be the death of you. You quickly scurried off into the small kitchen, boiling the kettle and then releasing a stream of air yourself.

Oh god. He was really, really attractive. How were you supposed to live peacefully, this was your holiday after all. You tilted your head back till you were glaring at the ceiling, before snapping it down and whipping out your phone.

When the kettle stopped boiling, you set down your phone, mildly satisfied with the amount of mean emojis and phrases you’d sent to Alex. The ding from the kettle made you quickly grab two mugs before debating on either earl gray or english breakfast, two of the complimentary items included in the cabin. Unable to decide because both contained caffeine, you reached into a cupboard and grabbed out two sleepytime tea bags. The good stuff, you thought affectionately as you bobbed the tea bags up and down, before grabbing both mugs and walking back into the living room.

The man stood up from the couch where he was sat as you rounded the corner and grabbed the tea from you with a ‘Thank you’ before sitting down. The couch itself wasn’t entirely fantastic, it was quite small and very hard. On the first day you’d arrived, you had launched yourself onto the couch in a small way of celebration that you had a holiday, only to roll off and a light bruise to form the next day.

“I’m Charles, by the way.” The man spoke up and you looked at him before nodding and smiling. He kept looking at you till you finally got the cue and jolted a little. You introduced yourself and Charles nodded, repeating your name while glancing around the space. He took a sip of his tea.

“Alex says that this was your holiday,” He mused before looking back to you. “In that case, I’m sorry to interrupt it.” He spoke calmly and you shook your head.

“No, it’s ok. It was getting a little boring anyways.” You promptly lied, if not just to make him feel a bit better. He nodded, obviously not convinced. You both sat there in silence before Charles made to take the puffer off.

You watched for a second before thinking it was too weird and taking a sip of your tea. Immediately you could tell that Charles had skewed tastebuds as you felt your tongue burn. Oh my god. You held yourself back from spitting it out or pouring it back into the cup, deciding it was too disgusting to do in front of Charles.

You looked around, only to see Charles, arms bared and looking at you curiously. Ashamedly, you weren’t exactly looking at his face, seeing the way his arms flexed around the mug. It took you five seconds before you started coughing on the liquid in your mouth, quickly standing up as Charles reacted. He stretched a hand around your shoulders, his eyebrows drawing.

“Are you ok?” He asked, rather simply as though he was unsure about what exactly was happening. 

You only nodded, your face scrunched together before you finally swallowed. The liquid burned your throat on the way down. A gasp left you when you opened your mouth before you quickly started fanning your mouth.

Getting the message, Charles moved to where he assumed the kitchen was, returning with a glass of water. He strode towards you, looking strangely determined before that was completely wiped away when the sound of a yelp was heard. 

Except it didn’t come from Charles. Not even when his eyes widened and he was suddenly slipping, going down and taking the glass of water with him. The water splashed up when he hit the floor, the only sound audible being the barking of Popcorn as he jumped around Charles. You were stood still, jaw on the floor as Charles groaned. 

You took a second to regather the events. A stranger showed up at your door, you made tea, you burned your mouth, Charles took his puffer off, he went to get you water, he stood on Popcorn and then accidentally tipped a whole glass of water over his head.

After five seconds of silence you rushed over to Charles, variations of “I’m sorry!” slipping free from your mouth. You pulled him up into a sitting position, resting him against the wall. Your mouth felt completely useless, burnt to a crisp, while you placed a hand on Charles’ wet shoulder.

He took a second or two before rolling his head on his shoulder to look at you. You were crouched at your knees, looking at him in concern. He looked at your knees, taking in the triceratops front profile printed on both of your knees before looking at your face

“You know,” He started, his voice more subdued than before. “Your mouth isn’t the only hot thing in this room.” You rolled off your knees and onto your butt, completely gobsmacked. Was he flirting with you after your dog nearly killed him?

You could only look at him, jaw slightly agape as he made continued eye contact with you. A different look, one that hadn’t been displayed during his non-stop smile fest a few minutes prior, flitted over his face for a second. After a few more seconds of you sitting there in shock, he spoke up.

“I’m sorry, have I read the situation wrong?” He asked hesitantly and you could only look on in abject disbelief. What on earth was going on, why had this hot man who was friends with Alex shown up and started flirting with you whilst you were clad in dinosaur pj’s?

Alex.

You stood up. What were the chances that Alex had sent one of his friends to fuck with you. Probably very low, he was a nice guy, but there was literally no other reason this incredibly handsome man would take a look at you hand-fanning your mouth and decide to start throwing out pickup-lines.

Charles looked up at you curiously as you were silent. It didn’t make sense though, Alex wasn’t cruel. He always seemed as though he wanted the best for you. Maybe he was two-faced? But no, why would he fuck with you?

“I’m sorry, have I made you uncomfortable?” Charles piped up and you looked down at him. He seemed sheepish.

“That wasn’t my intention. You just seemed to be interested,” you both cringed, him at using that word, and you at the fact that he’d caught you, “so I thought I’d y’know. Let you know it was reciprocated.”

“Huh?” Was the only thing you could manage.

“Should I go back to my car?” Charles asked, placing a hand down to lift himself up and stand. You, in a split-second decision, shook your head. Charles looked at you. 

“Uhm, you can take my bed for the night.” You decided to shake yourself off and completely ignore the events that had transpired. 

Charles then shook his head. “No, I can’t take the bed. It’s your cabin.” 

You really weren’t in the mood to argue and endure a back and forth so you just shrugged.

“Fine, let’s share it then.” Ignoring how forward that seemed, you just turned around and lumbered to the bedroom, opening the door to the kingsized bed. Charles followed after a second, he seemed to be collecting himself, standing in the doorway. 

“I’m ready for bed so I’ll just hop in after I go around and turn everything off.” You said and moved through the doorway. You ignored his incredibly close presence as much as you could.

After a quick sweep of the cabin, turning everything off and closing Popcorn in the cage your mum had insisted you bring, you returned to the bedroom. You found Charles lounging on your side of the bed, under the covers and scrolling on his phone.

When you walked in, he turned it off and placed it on your side table. You chose not to mention that it was your side and just settled for the other. You turned off the light and made your way to the other side, slipping off your slippers and rolling under the covers.

A few minutes had passed of your staring into the darkness, Charles’ breathing cluing you in that the man hadn’t fallen asleep either.

“Charles.” You called out into the darkness and you felt the covers move a little.

“Yeah?” His voice called out.

“Did you actually mean it?” You asked.

A few seconds passed and you felt Charles roll over, causing you to roll over as well. You made eye contact, a small ray of light from the moon coursing through the blind and landing on Charles's face. 

“Yeah.” He said simply, his smile stretched across his face. You nodded before starting to smile too.

“Cool.” You said dumbly and Charles laughed. “Yeah, cool.” He responded, the warmth that leaked into voice causing your smile to grow wider.

it's so bad but i wanted to post something so here it is