#ɴɪᴄᴏʟᴇᴛᴛᴇ ❥ serpent beneath the flowers // death on the bud of a rose

[nobully]

[ LIFT ] she's just showing off how fucking STRONG and COOL she is 💪😎

ACTIONS MEME ⟶ [ LIFT ] for the sender to lift the receiver up!

It starts like any other day. Wang Yi runs into Nicolette, who smirks as he snaps, until they end up insulting each other nonstop for the next three blocks.

"God, don't you ever get sick of your own shit, Yi-Yi? You're so full of yourself."

'Yeah well, who's to blame for force-feeding crap into my ears for the last ten minutes?'

"Oh come on, you know you just eat it all up~" She suddenly spins to block his way forward, one hand resting suggestively on his shoulder. "Admit it. I'm a shining spark in your dull, boring life."

'How shocking. That's the first time I've heard of it.' He arches a brow as he brushes her hand aside, but it just slides down his shoulders and around his back until suddenly—

Whoosh!

Gravity disappears as the world tilts, and before Wang Yi knows it he's...off the ground and cradled in Nicolette's arms...again?

'What the hell?!' Wang Yi glares at her before looking around frantically. 'What are you doing?'

Nicolette smiles a little too cheerfully back. "I just swept you off your feet and that's all you have to say to me?"

'You lunatic, we're in public!'

'Put me down!'

He thrashes in her grip, but her slender arms belie a monstrous strength that holds him fast. He suddenly understands how she managed to get him out of the ocean and into the woods while still running, but that didn't mean he wanted to relive the experience.

"I could, but I'd have to throw you for insulting me," she taunts, and he makes a frustrated noise in his throat. For five seconds, he seriously considers just punching her in the chest but uh, you couldn't really hit a lady above the belt without looking like a jerk.

What lady, his brain scoffs, she's probably not even human, tch.

When she resumes strolling with him in her arms, Wang Yi really starts to panic. 'Wait, no—why are you walking?'

"What, you want me to stand there carrying you forever? We've got places to be, sweetie."

'I never agreed to go with you?'

"That's why I'm taking you myself."

'You're such a—' Whatever expletive breaks off as a child's voice interrupts them.

"Mommy, look! It's a princess!"

Wang Yi doesn't want to look. But he does anyways, and sees a little girl with her mother walking on the sidewalk across the street.

"What are you talking about, dear?" the woman bends down to listen to her child.

"Over there!" And the girl points at them openly. "A pink haired princess! The prince is carrying her!"

"Oh honey..."

Whatever the mother says is drowned out by Wang Yi's internal screaming as he buries his face in his hands.

Nicolette snickers and jostles him slightly. "Feeling shy, princess?"

'Shut. Up.'

(And so, they lived happily ever after. In theory.)

[nobully]

Steer + kiss. ( pretend to be shocked )

nonverbal starters | steer place a hand under their chin to make them look up; kiss a kiss on the cheek, knuckles, forehead, in their hair - you’ll get your playlist but im shuffling the songs :)

Days had passed since their last kiss, and life was...slow. But it was the kind of pace that neither of them minded. They ate, they slept, they lounged around. Nicolette suggested they get books so Wang Yi took a trip to the library and back but found he couldn't read them without straining his voice. That was okay, she read them to him instead, both of them huddled up together under the covers at night.

Sometimes he nodded off first, and she'd keep reading just to feel his head on her shoulders and soft breaths tickling her chest. Sometimes she fell asleep before him, only to wake up later in the night to find herself all tucked in, the book set aside, and him asleep by her with one arm draped over her torso. She preferred the latter better, because it meant she could scoot closer by turning towards him and feel his arm following along until he cradled her close.

There were movie marathons where they watched fearlessly as monsters chased after hapless victims (horror didn't really phase them as much as it should and for some reason Nicolette found them funny?), quietly debated in whispers over the murderer (mysteries were nice but they'd read all the books and knew half the plots), and suffered through crappy romance flicks where Nicolette snorted and criticized everything on screen while Wang Yi numbly sipped on his drink and fed her popcorn between speech breaks.

It was kind of like a vacation and a dream rolled all into one, where they shut out the rest of the world and just withdrew into themselves for a while. There was an interlude where Wang Yi met up with Zhilan to get his birthday present, but then he'd came right back to Nicolette waiting for him by the door, kissed her on the cheek, and showed her a few of his neater tricks before setting his new basketball in a corner of her room. That night he'd made longevity noodles and they shared Zhilan's cake and that was it, because it was getting near bedtime by then and obviously that meant going the hell to sleep.

By the second week Nicolette had proposed reading a chapter book for bed and Wang Yi had agreed, not minding one way or another. Except she ends up choosing a collection of love stories of all things, which means he's stuck questioning the motives of the characters and what they'd do for their feelings every other page.

Also, why the hell was everyone so sappy all the time! Nobody acted like that in real life!!

(Getting transmigrated into novels with the same tropes didn't count as real life either!)

"Wait," he finally spoke up one night, voice softer than usual but much better than before—his vocal chords were healing along nicely. "That part, right—I don't get it, he raised her chin and she starts blushing? It says she likes it, but isn't that more like assault?"

"It's super romantic!" Nicolette huffs back. "I mean, imagine if someone lifted you up by the chin..."

"Yeah, I felt super attacked and embarrassed, which I figured was kind of the point?" Wang Yi nods. "When I did it to someone else, I was goading them to bite me. Didn't work, though..."

"Ok, what," Nicolette blinks, but shakes her head and decides not to ask. "It'll make more sense when someone you like does it to you instead."

"Show me, then?" Wang Yi turns to her expectantly.

And as warm as the unspoken hint of I like you feels, Nicolette still smacks him. "Not when you're expecting it! It has to be a surprise."

"What, there's so many rules..." Wang Yi mumbles, but shuts up when Nicolette starts reading again. Of course he nods off in the middle of the couple's heartfelt confession and Nicolette starts to question her choice of literature because she's not getting the he dozes off later and tucks me in treatment but whatever, at least his forehead's free at this angle to steal all the kisses she wants.

One for I like you, two for sweet dreams, and three for please, stay with me.

—

“When are we going to do it?” Wang Yi asks first thing next morning as he’s serving up breakfast.

“Do what?” Nicolette asks, sipping her orange juice and browsing her phone for the latest Spinstagram updates.

“The chin thing.”

Nicolette stops scrolling to arch her brows at him. “Yiyi, not now.” She told him already, it has to be a surprise move!

“Nini, why not?” he asks, mimicking her tone exactly.

“You—oh! Did you just call me Nini…!”

“Why, what’s wrong?” he creases his brows.

“You barely call me any nicknames, Wangyyyyy!!”

He looks at her and blinks. “That’s not true, you used to be ‘demoness’ in my phone.”

“God, don’t ruin the moment,” Nicolette gets up and all but leans across the table. “Say it again.”

“You’re making it embarrassing…”

“Yiyi, come onnnn~” she pleas. “It’s only fair!”

“Ugh, fine…” Wang Yi puts up a resigned face, but his small smile gives him away. “…Nini?”

“What about some other ones?”

The smile slips. “You want more?!”

“Why not! I have at least two for you!”

“I guess…” Wang Yi trails off to think. “Letty? Nico? Colette…? Uhh…I guess Coco works too…”

They’re not all spectacular, but it’s fun to see him try.

“And your favorite one?” she urges on, excited to see what he’ll pick.

“…Nicolette.”

She sits back in her chair with a sigh. “You’re such a moodkiller, Wang Yi.”

“So, the chin thing…”

“You’re not getting any!”

“All right, all right…”

Nicolette waits for the inevitable backtracking—because it’s common knowledge that the less you get, the more you want, right? But Wang Yi actually drops the subject and goes right on eating his eggs while browsing his phone too. She takes a peek: he’s on his own account on Spitter, scrolling past a timeline that’s a mix of weird science facts and sports videos.

With a private huff, she gets her own phone to take a picture of her yet-untouched plate (thoughtfully arranging a few of the garnishes for aesthetics), fiddles with the filters, and posts it to her Spinstagram with the caption:

nicawlette: bf made me breakfast ❤️ #personalchef #malewife

Annnnnnd post.

Seconds later, Wang Yi’s phone dings without fail, and she has to suppress her satisfied smirk as he clicks on the notification and tabs to her account.

"...Nicolette, it's just eggs and tomato on toast."

"But you made it," she crows. "For me."

"Also for myself?"

"Take a compliment when I give it," she huffs back and picks up her toast for a munch. "Mmm, delicious~"

"What's a malewife?"

"Another nickname," she replies back easily. "Aren't you going to like my post?"

"Yeah, yeah..." he presses the heart and she eagerly refreshes the page, checking for his username in the list of likes...

Besides her usual friends and commenters, all she sees at the bottom is a very unobtrusive heart from the username "crcl3." It doesn't even have a profile picture besides the default blank avatar for new users.

"...Yiyi, why are you still using a burner account for Spinstagram?"

Wang Yi blinks at her, then flushes slightly. "I don't have any other ones. I just made that one to follow you...like, way back."

Okay, fair, and she's weirdly flattered that he's still doing it now that they're long past their stalker-victim accusations. "Why'd you make yourself sound like a bot?"

"Huh?"

"Your username!" she shakes her phone at him. "It's just a bunch of letters and a number!"

"What are you talking about?" he scoffs back. "That's the chemical formula for chromic chloride."

"Wangy, in English please."

Instead, he just gulps down his orange juice and looks evasive. "It was just a spur of the moment thing. I chose it because it makes the brightest purple I know..."

Purple? Unexpectedly, warmth floods her chest at the statement. "Was it..." She's almost afraid to ask, but she has to know. "Did you pick it...because of me?"

Wang Yi concentrates on the phone screen in his lap. "A shitton of stuff happened to us the first time we met. I can't name all the details, but I did remember your hair. And your eyes? Three shades of purple aren't easy to forget. Well, and the attitude. So I used that to find you online..."

"You mean the same damned attitude that saved your life?" Nicolette retorts, though there's no real heat in it.

"I know." He pauses, then murmurs, "You kept me from going under this time, too."

He's still looking at his lap, and suddenly Nicolette has an overwhelming urge to see his face. She circles around the table (ignoring the wince she makes when she moves a little too quickly) until she claims the spot in front of his chair, wraps her arms around his shoulders, and kisses his hair, still soft and sweet with the scent of her shampoo.

His hands move to cling to her even as Nicolette croons, "Of course I did."

"Nicolette..."

"Because I wasn't going to lose what's mine?"

She hears him exhale with enough intensity that can only mean a raging blush, and giggles to herself.

"I—" Wang Yi begins, but never gets farther than that.

Because Nicolette's gotten him by the chin and steers his head up gently until they're looking eye-to-eye. He blinks at her, bright red and a little panicked, but doesn't try to turn away. It's a little endearing how he always looks like someone facing his crush for the first time, every time. Still grinning, Nicolette asks, "Are you feeling attacked?"

With the tiniest of movements, he shakes his head.

"What about embarrassed?"

A slightly bigger nod.

"Are you going to bite me?"

He side-eyes her (or rather, the teeth marks still peeking out from her collar) before croaking out, "Only if you want me to?"

"Not this time," Nicolette whispers. "It's different, isn't it?"

"...yeah," Wang Yi breathes, and his hands begin moving up her chest and over her shoulders until they're hooking around her neck. "But I still don't like this chin thing."

"Ohhh?" she lets him embrace her, fingers still caressing his jawline as she teases. "Why not?"

"It keeps you too far away."

He turns to take her thumb into his mouth even as he pulls the rest of her into his lap, like a persistent puppy leading its owner home. When she collapses onto his legs, he lets go to rain soft kisses on her nose, cheeks, and forehead. Laughing, Nicolette lets him take the lead for awhile before seizing the win by stealing his lips for the day.

—

"There are still things I don't understand," Wang Yi whispers to her when they're done.

"That's okay," she murmurs back. "I'll show you what they mean, one by one."

Until he gets it. Until he feels it. Until what starts as like can grow and turn to love.

She thinks, now that we've promised ourselves to each other, we have all the time in the world.

(They go to bed holding hands and wake up next to each other as strangers.)

[nobully]

Deep inside my heart I have questions. Live and wonder to find the answer Can I see the sky tomorrow? I do not know anything, but it’s okay. I cannot feel it, but something is blooming. By loving you This is the moment. I know it, but I didn’t regret it. If that’s you That must be happiness

[nobully]

👁 👂 I ALREADY SENT 2 U DONT HAVE TO ANSWER THESE BUT ALSO... I caved. No impulse control

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐄𝐒

👁️  …the way your muse looks.

' Oh, I got this. '

' She's sexy. ' There it is, the perfect answer. Huh, is there more to say?

' Uhh... I mean what else do you expect from a nice-looking woman? She has uh...the legs. The waist? The chest...oh but she's different in that she has scars all over. The three across her left eye are pretty neat? '

Shit, he's just listing body parts now.

' ...I think she'd look really good murdering someone, actually. Well, not the actual murder, maybe like just a little bit so you know it. Sticks. Oh, um. If that's a crime maybe I can let her sort of murder me? Because you know, there'll be blood and she honestly looks great in red, on principle. Also I'd get the best view that way? '

' Though I think I'd prefer if we switched roles in that case. Do you think she actually gets hurt if she gets stabbed with her own blood... '

' W-wait! I just remembered, she has hair too. She uh, the hair is good too! It's soft. Yeah, soft is good, right? '

👂  …the way your muse sounds.

' It's not high or low, it's kinda in the middle. '

' Like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, the porridge that's just right? Or the chair? The bed too... '

No. No, he has to try again.

' Ok, so it's like when you're slicing bread and you find the perfect angle so the knife goes in just clean without all the crumbly bits attached? But the bread is also buttered. '

' O-or like when you throw a hammer just right so it smashes through a pane of glass on the ground, that satisfaction when the whole thing cracks? Or um, wiping blood off a sword with a cloth—silk of course, in one try... '

' It's just smooth and mellow with uh...an accent at the end. Like baked tilapia. But with lemon. '

[nobully]

❛ do you mind if i sleep here tonight? ❜

𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬.

'Don't you have your own place?' Wang Yi blurts out before realizing that's probably not why Nicolette's asking. In the wake of her suddenly-too-cheerful smile, he folds without a murmur.

'I-I mean, sure...if you don't mind squeezing in with a bunch of guys.' Technically, one of his roommates is a turtle or something, but he's pretty sure the dude's male too. 'We have a spare room...'

On the other side of the condo, now that he thinks about it, and down the hall from a weird dude with heterochromia he's not sure he should poke. He gets Wang Yi's villain radar pinging on odd days, which is pretty suspect already.

'...actually, on second thought, you can just take my room. It's more furnished and, uh, I can change the sheets and stuff...'

Suddenly everything's turned domestic and Wang Yi's not sure how to deal, except to think about the practicalities.

'Do you need a toothbrush? I think I have a spare. Shit, what about facewash stuff and pajamas, uhh...'

"Yiyi, you make it sound like I'm moving in," Nicolette points out after she's had her fill of him ranting.

'You technically are, for a night,' he retorts.

"It's fineeee. I brought most of the things, see?" Nicolette turns around, magically takes out a Ziploc bag, and shows off her toiletries and toothbrush all in one place.

'Oh, that's good,' Wang Yi relaxes before he suddenly tenses again. 'Wait, did you plan this ahead of time?!'

"I wasn't sure if it'd be with you," Nicolette begins, but—

'You mean I could've refused and you would've tried somewhere else?' Wang Yi interrupts before she can finish.

"What kind of question is that?!"

'The common sense kind?'

"Are you saying you don't actually want me to stay over? You could've admitted that from the start, Wangy!"

'I didn't say that—'

"But you thought it, didn't you?!"

'I don't think!' Wang Yi finally snaps back. 'Not about...stuff like this. Dammit Nicolette, it's not like I have friends coming to sleep over every week! Sun only comes once a month and he's, I don't know, a monkey who can sleep upside down if he wants and you're different, I have to make sure you're comfortable and welcome so—shit, why are you looking at me like that?'

Because Nicolette's stopped fuming, but her bright smile is just as intimidating, especially when she corners him on the couch. "No, go on. I want to hear the rest."

'There isn't any more!' Wang Yi grabs a pillow to act as a shield. Nicolette just leans on it like an armrest, effectively pinning him down.

"No? But you were just getting to the good part? 'Comfortable and welcome' so what?"

Wang Yi only rolls his eyes. 'So you don't kill me in my sleep, what else?'

He's only joking about that part. Maybe.

In any case, Nicolette relents while whining about what a killjoy he is before he shoos her off in the interest of preparing his room. Of course she insists on tagging along, if only to see what he's up to as he tidies the place up.

Luckily, Wang Yi's used to keeping his quarters neat. They're also pretty plain, having no decoration beyond the default furniture. There is a mini-fridge in the room though, which Nicolette finds interesting since there's a communal one in the kitchen. While Wang Yi's changing the sheets, she opens the doors for a peek. The freezer contains packs upon packs of frozen anchovies—for his cat, she guessed, though she'd only heard of him a couple times—while the bottom had two pretty familiar presents.

Huh. Weren't these the Valentine's chocolates from her and Zhilan? She recognized that star-shaped chocopop at a glance, and the other fancy box was definitely her booze candy.

"You haven't eaten these yet?" she called out to the guy who was now fluffing up fresh pillows.

'What?' Wang Yi glanced back, saw her at the fridge, and shrugged. 'Oh. They're gifts, so I want to keep them.'

"You know these have an expiration date, right?"

'Yeah? They'll last for a bit though.'

"But they taste better if you eat them fresh!" Already, Nicolette's taking out her own present from the fridge—she'll leave Zhilan's untouched, of course. "Come on, let's have some now!"

'No, I want to save it.'

"Well, I want to eat it!"

'Tch, it's my gift,' Wang Yi points out.

"Yeah, and I bought it for you? That means dibs for me too."

'That's not how it works—'

"Besides, if you like these so much, I'll tell you where to buy them."

'I'm not going to buy myself a box.'

"Oh, so you want me to gift you another one instead?" Nicolette arches her eyebrows, reveling in the sight of Wang Yi left momentarily tongue-tied. "Or did you just not like my gift, Yiyi?"

She's getting better at navigating his highs and lows; as expected, whenever it was something that could hurt her—or anyone's—feelings, he always backtracked.

'No, I just...I just wanted to save it for later...'

"That just sounds like you just don't want to eat them."

'It's not that!!'

When he panics, she knows she's got him.

—

They end up finishing half the box, though she insists on Wang Yi eating most of the chocolates since it's his present. Sadly, there's hardly enough alcohol in them to get him close to drunk. Instead, Nicolette finds something else in his room to entertain them: fairy tale books for kids.

'They're for Sun,' Wang Yi explains when she holds up one with a questioning look. 'He can't really read so I...read to him when he stays over.'

"Oh really? I didn't think you were the type." Nicolette's eyes are shining with mirth as she sits in his bed, dressed in an oversized sweatshirt (his) and shorts (hers). "Can you read me one too?"

'Uhh...but can't you read just fine?'

"It's not the same! Come on, Wangy? Pretty please~"

'Ugh, I'll do it if you stop talking in that tone of voice.'

Another point taken: Wang Yi's more likely to do something if he has an excuse for it first. Honestly, she's pretty sure she can read him like a book by now.

"What are we reading tonight?" Nicolette asks, milking this for all it's worth as she sits expectantly on the bed.

'Uh, The Princess and the Pea,' Wang Yi grabs the first book off the pile. 'Pfft...oh yeah, she reminds me of you.'

"What, because she's royalty?"

'Because she ends up sleeping in some random guy's house.'

She throws a pillow at him. "Well then, you're the pea because you're being a pain!"

'If you know the story already, we can read another one...'

"No, this one's fine," Nicolette stops him before he can replace the book. "Besides, aren't you supposed to keep reading until I fall asleep?"

'You can't be serious.'

"Or I can talk your ear off."

'Okay, okay, I'll read, I'll read...'

She doesn't expect him to do as she says, but Wang Yi's surprisingly docile tonight. He finishes the first book and picks up the second, going through it at a steady pace. Although he doesn't bother acting out any of the scenes or changing to different voices for the characters, there's a soothing steadiness to his diction, more than enough to put her at ease. Though that just puzzles Nicolette some more.

Was he...always this easygoing?

Their dynamic has always been more push and pull, but today he's stepping completely to the beat of her drum. He's not wholly relaxed either—there's a tenseness in his body that tightens up whenever she gets too close, like he's wary of something.

It's really fucking weird, but it'd be weirder to call him out on it, so she'd poked and prodded and ended up literally having story time like a kid.

...wait, story's not going on anymore.

Nicolette looks over and sees that Wang Yi's actually nodding off. She immediately stops moving, watching as his head bobs up and down before he finally knocks out on the bed, head sprawled over her stomach under the sheets. She gently plucks the latest book from his fingers and glances at the cover; ironically, it's Sleeping Beauty.

He is the pretty type, isn't he? His eyelashes are long enough and the pink hair speaks for itself. She wonders whether she should wake him and reaches out to poke his cheek...

Wang Yi stirs.

Faster than the speed of light, Nicolette lies down and pretends to be asleep herself. She hears rustling before the sharp scrape of a chair—that would be Wang Yi pushing himself back from the bed—and then a creak as he gets up and tiptoes to the bed and mutters to himself.

'Shit—did I fall sleep first? Or did we doze off together? Uhh...where's the book...'

She'd placed Sleeping Beauty by the window, which means Wang Yi has to reach across the bed to get it back. He does so gingerly, and that's when she has the brilliant idea to roll over in the bed just to screw with him. Nicolette can pinpoint the exact second he freezes mid-grab just to make sure she's still sleeping. When he recovers enough to readjust himself, she rolls back on her back and draws up her knees, knocking into Wang Yi enough that he almost crashes into her with a muttered oath.

Oh no, this is more fun than she thought.

So of course when Wang Yi does snatch the book and tries to make a speedy retreat, she lunges upright and grabs him.

"Boo!"

'YAGHH!'

They collide in a mess on the mattress, her arms and legs trapping him against her torso and damn, she's never seen Wang Yi this red-faced in his life.

"Oh my god," she chortles in mock astonishment. "You're not a pea, Yiyi. You're a freakin' tomato."

'And you're a fucking heart attack!'

Now this is the tempo she recognizes. "Says the guy trying to climb into my bed?"

She doesn't think it's possible, but Wang Yi turns even redder and starts sputtering excuses which while cute as they are, don't really help his case.

"I mean all right, so it's technically your bed. Since you're halfway on it already, why not climb in all the way?"

'What—no, I—aargh!' Summoning strength from nowhere, Wang Yi finally breaks free and runs for the hallway. 'Dammit, go put yourself to sleep!'

In hindsight, Nicolette realizes she probably pushed him too far for that last bit. But well, it was a learning experience!

Next time she'd get him for sure.

[nobully]

There's no way in Hell she could possibly handle doing this face-to-face. Gift giving for reasons other than manipulation is an entirely unfamiliar act! Having received his gift early that morning, she had laughed at the sneaking suspicion that they were handmade after spotting a few errors... and then promptly freaked out when it suddenly hit her how much the thought of that, meant.

By that afternoon, a sleek, white box featuring the gold lettering of an expensive brand etched across the top was left in front of Wang Yi's door along with a note tucked under the red ribbon wrapped perfectly around it. Inside are an array of colorful alcoholic bonbons of varying shapes and designs.

The note reads: ❛ It's not handmade, because I'm not a magician, but I hope you like them anyway. I know you said you weren't drinking anymore, but we both know that's total bullshit. Anyway, happy love day or whatever ♥ ❜ and strangely, sprawled at the corner of the card as if added last minute, ❛ P.S. Thanks for the strawberries. They're delicious. ❜

'That—seriously, even after I told her I'd stop!'

Sigh.

'...they do look pretty good though.'

He'd returned from his trip around the wards and a lunch break to see a beautiful box sitting gorgeously outside his room. Internal yelling aside, Wang Yi had snatched it up and ran inside before anyone else came down the hallway, feeling unsurprised but no less anxious when he saw that she was the sender.

'Is, is she saying I'm a magician for dipping some fruit in chocolate? Wait, how'd she find out in the first place...?! Did they taste off or something?'

He frets over her note, but of course it gives no clues. It doesn't seem to be a bad thing since she'd called the strawberries "delicious" as well, but Wang Yi can't help but wonder.

He's been...wondering a lot about her these days, actually.

Sometimes it feels like walking on a tightrope; other times like they're two peas in a pod. He thinks he can guess her perfectly, but then she'll suddenly switch gears and he's lying on the dirt wincing from her latest verbal punch in the gut.

His eyes trail over to the open box of chocolates, their fun shapes and packaging perfectly concealing their true natures. Bonbon bombs in ball dresses, his brain suggests, and if that didn't describe Nicolette to a T. A sweet and pretty exterior, but hiding potent liquid within. Red wine, he thinks, but it's so easy to confuse that with blood and well, both taste intense...

His vision swims. Shit.

'What am I feeling right now?'

'What do...I want?'

Is it because they're both not normal? Even that isn't the right word.

He means "boring," probably. Or predictable. Same. Safe.

Nicolette has never been any of those things. Even when she was carting him away from certain death, there was always the cold, hard uncertainty of whether they'd make it past the next wave, or sand dune, or copse of trees. Her moods could be a crapshoot on a regular day too—his gauge for measuring others always seemed to backfire for her. In the end she was a drop of ink in his blank, white heart, dyeing it in all the darker colors he'd tried to mute in his head.

The night that swallows the moon. The rain that drenches the sun. The kiss that—no, that one doesn't count, because there were no feelings behind it.

It'd been exciting sure, but it was never physical contact that tempted him and to his relief, they'd left it at that. Whatever his body experienced didn't really translate into long-term emotions. Rather, it was watching the reactions of others and seeing them feel what he couldn't that drew him in.

Prodding them. Provoking them. Making them subm—

Wang Yi bangs his shins against the table as he straightens his legs with a start.

'...fuck.'

The pain clears his thoughts, but his face is still turning scarlet as he turns to look at the chocolates. Suddenly they seem way too vibrant, as if the colors themselves are laughing at him for not realizing it sooner.

'I'm...not a weirdo. I'm not...'

But all he can see is that red, red wine, and the amethyst of Nicolette's eyes and hair, scarlet and purple mixing together so smoothly, so seamlessly, to create an incredible hue all their own.

Like ink.

[nobully]

🍿    :   watch a rom-com with my muse. lmao

(     *     VALENTINE’S DAY PROMPTS   ! | 🍿    :   watch a rom-com with my muse.

"What do you mean you've never seen a romcom before?"

'I mean, they're not exactly my go-to genre.'

"Well, what about with friends? What did you guys watch together?"

'Uhhh...action films, mostly? Also, basketball games and crime documentaries...'

'Besides, it's just a movie. Who cares what you watch if you're entertained?'

"Ugh, no wonder you're so clueless!" Nicolette grabbed Wang Yi by the arm and started dragging him to the theaters. "Come on, we're going to watch one right now!"

'What, why?!'

"Because your romance-deficient brain's gonna bite you in the ass one day."

'That doesn't even make anatomical sense...'

"Just shut up and pay for the popcorn!"

'Fine, fine...sheesh.'

So they bought the tickets and a giant bucket of popcorn with two drinks. Wang Yi's not sure why the usher winked at him when he collected their stubs, but when he entered their theater and saw the audience inside, he started to have an inkling.

'Valentine's coming up, huh...'

"What, thinking of nice gifts?" Nicolette teased, and okay that was definitely blatant enough that he got the hint and squirreled it away for later.

'No, just thinking how out of place we are in this room full of couples,' Wang Yi muttered under his breath. That "Sizzle, Pop, and Couple's Cups" snack deal should've clued him in, but he was too happy about saving money at the time to pay it closer attention.

In response, Nicolette just hooked her arm around his and pulled him close on purpose. "We are a couple. Of friends. Who the hell cares what they think?"

'Yeah but, look at them all cuddling and stuff...' Wang Yi side-eyed a couple where the boyfriend was feeding his girlfriend popcorn. 'We stick out like a sore thumb.'

"Ohhhh, so you want me to feed you popcorn too?"

'No!'

"All right, calm down. I'll behave. Besides, the point is to watch the movie, not get frisky like a pair of teenagers." Nicolette's grip tightened on Wang Yi as she dragged them to their seats. "Come sit. It's not like you'll die from being seen with me, right?"

There was a high note in her voice that Wang Yi had learned to recognize as a giveaway: if he kept on complaining, she'd probably feel hurt. So he tactfully shut up and settled down on one of the big plush recliners. 'Anyways, just don't hog all the popcorn.'

Nicolette broke into gleeful laughter.

Eventually the lights dimmed and the movie began: some fun-filled romp about a woman chasing after her ex who was now engaged to another girl. Halfway through Wang Yi realized they could've solved everything just by sitting down and talking and quickly lost interest. Instead, his eyes wandered over the other audience members. There was a couple near the front row with their foreheads touching, not interested in the movie at all. Another had the girl leaning her head on her lover's shoulder. And the couple a few seats down from them...

Wang Yi had to squint to see clearly, but it looked like they'd graduated from hand-feeding each other popcorn to passing it back and forth between their mouths with kisses. He was still debating whether to feel embarrassed for their sake when a voice whispered by his ear.

"What are you looking at?"

His head whipped back to catch Nicolette's innocent grin as she sipped from her straw.

"Something more interesting than the movie?"

The couple a few seats down giggled; Wang Yi's 99% sure Nicolette can see them too since everyone's got their seats down for the film. He rolled his eyes at her and mumbled,

'...it's not that.'

'I'm just surprised people actually do that stuff in public.'

As predicted, Nicolette dropped her act once the jig was up, but her words aren't any less stimulating. "I don't know, I think they're pretty tame compared to what you did that night in my apartment."

He could feel his face heating up in the dark. 'Will you let that drop?'

"I mean, it was pretty unforgettable." Strangely enough, she sounded pretty genuine. "Enough that I'm still a mix of fucking mad and awestruck that you actually pulled it off."

'Okay? But I swear it was an accident.'

"There are no accidents in romcoms."

'You think we're living in a romantic comedy right now?'

"I don't know about the romance part, but you're pretty hilarious on a regular day, Yiyi."

'...thanks, I guess?'

They end up being shushed and shut up for the rest of the movie, which played out as expected and ended with a kiss, proposal, and marriage. When the two finally rose to leave, it was to see most of the couples stay behind and continue being lovey-dovey through the credits. Escaping it was almost a relief.

"What did you think of the movie?" Nicolette asked as soon as their footsteps hit the sidewalk outside.

'It was all right, I guess? A little illogical, but I guess that's romance for you.' Wang Yi was ready to end it there, but seeing Nicolette's expectant look, tried for a little more. 'Also...there really wasn't a villain character? Kinda lacking, yeah?'

He got a disgruntled noise in response. "Not every romcom needs an actual villain."

'But there's no real conflict without one.' Those petty arguments and staged misunderstandings that took its place didn't really draw him in.

"Yes there is. The romance, Wang Yi? The fricking feelings of pining plaguing both sides? I mean I know some guys don't go for that kind of stuff, but you can still feel it, right?"

'Uhh...I don't, actually.' Like literally, what was emotion.

Nicolette stopped walking to place her hands on her hips. "If you hated the movie that much, you can just say it outright."

Oh um, she misunderstood. 'I don't hate it,' Wang Yi corrected hastily, 'I just...don't feel anything about it.'

Nicolette blinked before she leaned in, incredulous. "No? Nothing?"

'I mean, I can get an idea from most of the scenes, but I have to think about it first.'

"What about the scene where the couple met as childhood friends and he gave her a flower ring as a promise token?"

'I was debating whether she made a replacement or stored it in a freezer to keep it fresh 25 years later.'

"Or the one where the guy finally confesses his love, only for the girl to leave him because he was still wearing his engagement ring?"

'He probably could have called her to reschedule and try again.'

"How about in the end, when they got together despite everything and floated away in their log cabin with hot air balloons?"

'That part reminded me of a Pizar movie, actually. I wonder if they bought the copyrights to Above? Also, no way the plumbing would have worked in that house.'

"You're missing the point!"

'I thought movies were up to personal interpretation...'

"Did you even interpret anything? You're just picking out problems and thinking of weird solutions to them!"

'You're the one who asked...'

"Oh, so it's my fault now, is it?!"

'Uh, do you want me to buy you ice cream or something...you're looking kinda heated.'

"Kind of? Wang Yi, you're so dense!" Nicolette fumed. Or at least, she looked like she was fuming, with her red face, angular brows, and intense stare. He wanted to check just how taut her expression was, but she turned away before he could look closer. "What kind of idiot eats ice cream in winter?!"

'So I guess that's a no?'

"Gods, stop asking if you already know the answer!"

'I mean, it's not like I can read your mind.'

"Are you seriously pissing me off on purpose right now?!"

Wang Yi scrunched his eyebrows and stopped in place as Nicolette stalked off. He didn't get why, but everything he said seemed to be pushing her buttons today. But they weren't any different from his usual lines?

'Wait,' he scrambled and chased after her. 'Are you like, PMSing or someth—'

"What?!" Nicolette turned, absolutely livid; Wang Yi didn't stop in time and slammed face-first into her elbow as she swung her arm backwards.

—

Hours later saw Wang Yi sprawled over the couch in his condo, cradling an ice pack to his fresh black eye as Nicolette poured them drinks (water, not wine).

"Hey, can you see?" she asked after setting their cups on the table.

'Kinda hard to tell when my eyelid's swollen shut.'

'I can try to pry it open.'

"Don't touch it!" she hissed and rushed over, only to see that he had one arm draped over the sofa and the other firmly gripping his ice, not his face. "Dammit, Yiyi!"

Wang Yi was surprised too. He blinked at her with his one good eye before trying a smile. 'Sorry, I didn't actually mean that.'

"You don't mean half the things that come out of your mouth," she huffed at him and sat back down.

'Right,' he admitted. When there was no comment after that, Wang Yi tried, 'Um...so what are we going to tell Zhilan?'

"That you ran into my elbow, what else?"

'I mean, this time the truth's gonna sound like a lie and he might think we fought for real. Which—to be fair—we kinda did?'

"Arguing isn't fighting, it's literally how we talk," Nicolette countered.

'Yeah, but to the rest of world we're—'

"Why do you care so much about public opinion?" she snapped. "What about what I think? Or—or Zhilan, or any of your other friends?"

'Weren't we just talking about Zhilan?'

"I mean in general," Nicolette sighed. "I swear, Wang Yi. It's like sometimes you only hear half of what I say, while other times you read me like a book and forget everything by the end of the day."

'It comes off that way, huh?' Wang Yi genuinely wondered. 'Maybe I'm just grasping at things I know.'

"Oh sure, like how you always catch me lying because you're a hopeless liar yourself?"

'Basically?'

Nicolette was genuinely getting sick of this. "What else are you incapable of? Besides telling the truth, apparently."

'Well,' And Wang Yi swallowed, strangely grateful that he's stuck staring at the ceiling instead of her face. 'I don't think I actually feel—'

*+:｡.｡𝄞 어�� 작별이 이보다 완벽할까 Love me only till this spring... ~♪ ｡.｡:+*

Both of them turned to look at the table where Nicolette's phone was going off. Then she yelped and picked it up.

"Hellooooo, Lanlan! Mm-hmm, uh-huh...oh of course, you're so sweet~" Nicolette glanced up from her phone and nudged Wang Yi's leg with her foot. "Zhilan wants to know what we want for takeout tonight, pizza or Italian?"

Wang Yi lifted his head to stare at her blearily. 'Pizza is Italian.'

"Shut up, it's a whole new world for him."

'Whatever's fine...you pick.'

"You're so boring?"

'Thanks, I try.' He meant it too, but Nicolette just made a face at him and went back to talking to Zhilan.

"Hello? Yes Lanlan, apparently Yiyi can't tell the difference between either choice so anything goes! Hm, me? Oh no, I think it'd be more fun if you chose..." She chattered on happily while he flopped back against the couch, content to be ignored.

"...by the way, I gave him a black eye with my elbow."

Wang Yi jolted up, nearly concussing his eyeball against his ice pack.

"No, no we didn't fight...this time it was an accident, promise...yes, he's fine, but preparing more ice isn't a bad idea, Lanlan!" Nicolette caught his movement out of the corner of her eye and mouthed a super obvious "I told you so" with her lips.

"Mhm, all right! See you tonight! Byeeeeee~"

Click.

She tossed her phone on the couch this time and plopped down next to him.

"If you have to lie, don't do it to Lanlan of all people."

'A little too late for that, don't you think?'

"Don't do it any more than you have to?" Nicolette poked him in the side. "Besides, I explained everything already. He gets it."

'He gets what we show him, you mean.'

"Wow, is this how honesty looks on you, Wangy? Because you sound fucking depressing."

‘Blame the brain damage.’ Wang Yi shifted his ice pack around to block more of Nicolette from sight. It's melting though...he should get a new one soon.

“Nice try, but I didn’t hit you that hard.” But Nicolette started to drag him off the couch anyways. “Let’s go.”

‘We don't need to meet Zhilan until two hours later…’

“Uh-huh, and the nearest clinic closes in one? We’re going to get your eye checked out. And your brain too, if you want.”

‘Sounds like a pain.’

“That’s par for the course, you pain in the ass. Besides,” Nicolette added, “All lying shit aside, I know you hate making him worry. So you can show up on Game Night with a nice little doctor’s note or stare at Zhilan’s sad puppy eyes all evening, but I won’t let you ruin things for me too.”

She was trying to egg him on, but Wang Yi gave in before he took the bait. He always did, and she always knew he would, so the two of them stumbled out and hailed a taxi with surprising harmony.

'By the way, you're paying, right?'

"Dream on. It's 50-50."

'When it was your elbow that hit my eye?!'

"More like your head that rammed itself into my elbow in the first place?!"

Wang Yi started to sputter and fume. Snickering, Nicolette rummaged through her pockets. "Wait, I want a picture of this."

'Don't you dare—'

"Oh shit."

'What?'

"...I think I left my phone on your couch."

'What?!' Wang Yi looked out the window where they were weaving effortlessly through the city streets, far away from Condo 408.

"Wangy...Yiyi...I'll pay you back later?"

'What the hell, we can just turn back!'

"And pay double the taxi fare? Are you stupid?"

'It's not stupid if it's your Dust too!'

"Excuse me?! When were you such a selfish prick?"

'Me selfish? What about the time you—'

Ringringring!

Wang Yi dug out his own phone before falling silent. 'It's Zhilan.'

Nicolette quietly bit back her latest insult. "So answer it."

Press.

"Hello?" Zhilan's bright voice came over the call. "Hi Wang Yi, I heard about your injury...are you doing all right?"

'Uh yeah, Nicolette's taking me to the clinic right now for a check-up. Don't worry, I'll be fine.'

"Oh, that's good! Actually, I just wanted to call and make sure: did you get two black eyes or one?"

'...just one.'

"All right, then I should have enough ice for you and the drinks! We can take it easy tonight and just talk if it'll make you feel better."

'Nah, it's fine. Besides, I still want to beat Nicolette at Mon*poly. Again.'

"Oh! Then I'll make sure to have that out. See you later?"

'Later. Thanks.'

Click.

As expected, Wang Yi hung up to see Nicolette glaring at him.

'What? Last week I won fair and square.'

"Yeah, after you fucking lost at YUNO the week before?"

'YUNO's luck, but Mon*poly's a skill game.'

"Oh, like it's hard to roll two die to get exactly the numbers you want?"

'You mean you can't?'

"What the hell—"

And on and on they went, bickering back and forth, all the way to the doctor's office.

[nobully]

16 or 17 for the kiss meme... 👀

KISSING  MEME | 16. a kiss to gain control and 17. a  kiss  to  give  up  control.

In hindsight, she gets him with the lamest pretext ever.

"But what do you taste like?" Nicolette half-asks, half-whines one evening at his condo. It's not a special day by any means—not even Game Night with Zhilan, just an ordinary weekday in an unordinary town with Wang Yi testing a recipe for sweets because he now knows two guys obsessed with them in the city.

Wang Yi stops licking his spoon to look at her blankly. ' The hell you talking about. '

"Our kiss, Yiyi!"

Wang Yi's face flushes as red as the raspberries as he fumbles setting his spoon aside. ' Why are you thinking of that now?! '

"Who told you to stick out your tongue just to taste-test some cream?"

' What, am I supposed to stick the whole spoon down my throat or something?! '

After a few rounds of retorts treading well-worn paths, Wang Yi decisively cuts them off. ' This is a stupid argument. '

"My points still stands," Nicolette insists.

' What do you mean your point still stands, you bit my lip the first time, ' Wang Yi sputters back. ' You've tried my blood, I've tried yours; we're even. '

"The first time we did it," Nicolette corrects him, "it was after you drank my wine. Plus my abilities deal with blood all the time. That's no different from—from me tasting myself!"

As Wang Yi tries to work through that (slightly faulty) logic, Nicolette takes the initiative and pushes him where it'll hurt.

"...I just don't think it's very fair," she murmurs in a softer voice. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees him freeze minutely and has to suppress a laugh, keeping up the pitiful air. "You got what you wanted but I've just been told to play along, both times..."

' Wait but, ' Wang Yi's flagging rationality chooses to wake up at this moment. ' You offered the last time and, and returned it, the kiss I mean— '

"That's because I'm a person, Yiyi, not some fancy free-to-drink fountain? Besides, it would've just been awkward if I didn't kiss back. Think about the chemistry of these things and how they work! Physically!"

' I guess you would know... ' Wang Yi trails off and while that sounds like an insult, this time Nicolette knows he doesn't mean it that way, he's just deferring to her superior experience in making out. Not like she'd take offense now, when she was so close to getting what she wanted.

Hiding another laugh, she prods him with her elbow. "So? Are you going to pay me back?"

He almost yelps. ' Now? '

"Well, no one's home, right?" God that sounded like lines out of some teenage movie. "Or if you're still shy...we could move to your room? I've already slept there a couple times, anyways."

Wang Yi hesitates and Nicolette privately thinks she's going to give up if he's still so damned stubborn, because it's hurting her pride to put so much on the line and still have him reject her without a second thought every time. Actually, maybe she should retract her offer first, since that'd be at least slightly less humiliating than hearing him say no.

With a huff, she turns away from him on her chair. "Fine then, if you want to be selfish—"

' No, uh— ' A hand grabs her sleeve at the same time Wang Yi speaks. ' I was just...let me clean up this stuff on the counter first, okay? I don't want to leave a mess for my roommates. '

That's better! Nicolette instantly brightens and turns to him with a smile. "Oh, let me help."

***

When they're finally sitting on his bed (in his room, with the door locked and windows drawn because apparently Wang Yi's paranoia goes harder when he's stressed), Nicolette almost regrets not kissing him right then and there in the kitchen because he's so freaking nervous.

' So, uh, ' Wang Yi's fidgeting, so much that when his knees accidentally brushes against Nicolette's beside him he almost jumps. ' Should we do this on the count of three or...? '

"Yiyi, we're not running a marathon."

' I know, but like, how else do we know when to start? '

Nicolette just stares at him. They hadn't had this problem the last two times, but in retrospect there were other things going on at the same time. In the first he'd been dead drunk, and in the second she'd been bleeding out. Now with nothing but a kiss between them, Wang Yi's mind is working overdrive to fill in all the empty space.

It annoys her more than it should because—hey, there's a pretty girl sitting right next to you, isn't that enough? If he'd just focus on her instead of his, she doesn't know, performance anxiety or whatever she's sure things will be fine! He's a natural, after all!

"Wang Yi," she lowers her voice, only half-joking. "Have you ever kissed a girl? You know, besides me."

He doesn't even need to think before shaking his head. ' Uhh, no? You're my first. Is that bad or something... '

She has to quell the smug feeling of satisfaction even as she demands, "Why would that be bad?!"

' Because I don't have experience? '

"Oh, believe me," Nicolette narrows her eyes with a giggle that's positively girlish, "You have ways to make up for it."

' Glad one of us is confident, I guess... '

"Why don't you," Nicolette tries, "just leave it to me?"

' Like how? You say people aren't fountains— '

"Stop thinking so damned much!" she cuts him off. "Look, it's easy. I'll start us off and you just...relax and react, okay? Just learn what feels good and...go with that, it's fine."

' Those were the vaguest fucking directions I ever heard. '

Oh, but fucking's a whole different rodeo, she thinks privately before snapping at him. "I told you to stop thinking! In fact, start right now and close your eyes!"

In the end, orders seem to work best. Wang Yi shuts his eyes and simply sits there, waiting for her next move. He's oddly blank this way, and Nicolette finds herself missing the dozen or so things he tries to hide behind those bright green irises even though his creased eyebrows reveal his nerves. She raises a hand to casually brush his cheek; he trembles slightly but doesn't open his eyes.

' What is it? ' His question comes out as a hiss.

"Nothing, just checking that you're still awake."

' What the h—mhnn! '

She catches his open lips on "hell" and smiles around them as she urges, "Remember, don't think."

' Nngh...okay... '

Wang Yi's remarkably pliant when he doesn't fight back. Even though his muscles are still tense and his fingers curled like death around the sheets, he keeps his lips relaxed as he's been told, accepting everything that Nicolette gives him. It's as if he's suddenly stripped away his walls to leave the vulnerable center exposed, leaving her exulting in her private triumph. She's not sure if this counts as trust, but it certainly tastes just as sweet.

"Kiss me back—you can, mmnh, be rougher, ah," she murmurs as she languidly sucks on his lips, a slow teasing motion that stimulates them both.

He obeys—working partially on memory as he deepens their connection—and she almost wants to laugh, with how earnestly he tries, how easy this is.

Since when had anything been easy when it came to Wang Yi?

He tastes like candy today, she thinks, and it's probably the fruit cream to blame, but that adds another layer of unreality to this whole thing. Sugar and spice and everything nice—it's pleasant, but it feels like a dream—or maybe this is Wang Yi too, except the part she doesn't get to see? She glimpses it often enough, when he's talking to Lanlan or Sun or anyone similarly gentle, but it's never been her turn until now.

The slightest trace of bitterness creeps into her thoughts before she hears a whimper—she looks down and realizes she's overpowering him, pushing Wang Yi so far backwards that he's almost falling on the bed. He doesn't though, bracing himself against the bed frame as he bears her assault, though the involuntary cry is enough to show that he's close to giving out.

She breaks contact then, leaving his mouth open and confused and wanting, before grabbing him by the shirt and throwing him against the mattress. His eyes fly open in surprise but she covers them with one hand as she leans in to take in the sound of him panting for breath.

' N-Nicolette, I— ' He stutters and she can feel his eyes darting back and forth beneath her palm, the lashes brushing against her skin like the wings of a trapped butterfly.

"Shh... I told you to relax," she coaxes him and waits until his eyelashes stop tickling her to dive in again, because she hungers and thirsts and it's so, so rare to find Wang Yi in a moment where he actually lets her take.

As promised, she guides him the entire way, until he's lost enough to sink, to fall, and to take back control. She lets him flip their positions so that he's on top and revels in all the sensations: tongue upon tongue, fingers against skin, even the sound of their breathless gasps mixing with rustling sheets and quiet moans in some sort of New Age symphony.

At some point his hand finds the spot on her waist where she was wounded last time and gives it a squeeze—in fondness or memory, she doesn't know. Her hands aren't idle either—she's never been shy when it's time to indulge—slipping beneath his shirt with soft caresses that turns the pace of Wang Yi's kisses almost desperate at times.

They might've kept going—they could've, if it wasn't for the sound of the oven timer going off. He stops in the middle of sucking the skin along her neck, eyes still hazy with arousal, and mutters in confusion, ' The fruit tarts are done. '

The next second he looks down—realizes Nicolette's shirt's pushed halfway up her torso and his hand’s fondling somewhere it shouldn't be—and sputters out, ' Weren't we supposed to be just kissing? '

His eyes dart to her face accusingly but Nicolette just smiles like the cat with the cream and licks her lips, pink tongue teasing him with the tiniest glimpse. "Congratulations, Yiyi. You graduated with honors."

[nobully]

[ wrap ]  –  for the sender’s muse to casually wrap their arms around the receiver’s neck and lean on their shoulder from behind. 💖

the  intimacy  of  hands. | [ wrap ]

"Yiyi, look at that cat!"

Wang Yi rolls his eyes and keeps peddling. ' That's the fourth one in a row. We're not stopping for it again— '

"Why, you want me to pet you instead?"

' Tch. ' But Wang Yi dutifully brakes his bike, lets Nicolette climb off, and watches her pet the latest furball, a mild-mannered ginger who meows in greeting as his tail rises up in an agreeable curve.

"You pet him too," she prods.

' I don't care for cats. '

"Don't you keep one as a pet?"

' What, that slavedriver? ' Wang Yi makes a face at the thought of Sao Ling. ' Forget him. '

"You know, if you let me pet him more, maybe we wouldn't be stopping so often on this boardwalk."

' What's to stop you doing it anyways just to screw with me? ' Wang Yi shoots back, and feels a tiny vindictive triumph when she doesn't deny it beyond a snort. ' Besides, I barely know where he is these days. He comes for meals and naps but never stays home. '

For all he knew the fluffy System was living up a double life in the city just because he could. Wang Yi wouldn't be surprised to find out he'd befriended some mob boss or obscure powerful ally along the way.

But today's not about him.

He looks over at his passenger, every bit as wild as a cat herself (though he'd never say that out loud) with her scars and teeth and smiles, scratching the stray beneath his chin and around his ears as he begins to purr. March has come in like a lamb this year, granting them fair skies and mild weather for the last vestiges of winter. Pink tinges Nicolette's cheeks from the cold, giving her a schoolgirl vibe as she dotes on the fluffy animal.

Wang Yi doesn’t realize how quiet they’ve been until she glances at him with a pointed look.

“What are you thinking of all of a sudden?”

He sticks his hands in his pockets and stamps his feet. ' About how I'm freezing to death. Are you done yet? '

Yeah sure, the boardwalk's picturesque, but it's still nippy biking in a sea breeze this time of year. Nicolette has no sympathy for him, though. "Your fault for not bundling up outdoors."

' Who's the one that keeps taking pit stops for street cats, huh? '

"If you chose to pet them, maybe they'd warm up that cold, hard, heart of yours."

' I've had my own for years and he hasn't done any wonders. Oh look, it's leaving. ' His eyes follow the ginger tomcat as it scurries off into some shrubbery, nuzzling the dark tabby that comes out to greet it with bright golden eyes. ' Let's go, then. '

"Sourpuss," he hears Nicolette mutter under her breath, and it's almost pleasant because they're not cursing at each other like usual.

...weird thought. Spending time with this woman always spikes his blood pressure. So it's even stranger when Wang Yi finds it normal to get on his bike and wait for Nicolette to clamor on the back so they can resume their trip down the Boardwalk.

Had he seen her so often that it became habit for them to stick together? He didn't even plan to take her along today—he'd just seen her, waved hello, and didn't say no when she asked for a ride. She hadn't picked a destination and he didn't bother to ask, so they'd rode randomly around the city until they ended up here.

Wang Yi's still puzzling over his logic when arms wrap around his neck and a chin rests on his shoulder. He realizes Nicolette's on the bike but practically hugging him from the back instead of just holding him for support like usual.

' Are you tired? ' he asks while glancing sideways.

"Didn't you say you were cold?" she rolls her eyes at him. "I'm proving my worth as a passenger by keeping you warm."

' I thought it was my fault for not bundling up. '

"If you freeze your sorry ass then I'm out of a free ride," Nicolette points out. "There's a café up ahead, we can warm up and get some drinks there."

But they were so close. ' You're going to cling like this the entire way there? '

"What? It's not like I'll fall off," Nicolette retorts, before her voice turns sly. "Don't tell me you're embarrassed, Wangy. Though I am holding you pretty tight..."

' Yeah, and getting cat hair all over me. '

"God, you're such a moodkiller." she punches his shoulder in irritation. "Whatever, I'm cold and this helps, so get moving."

I didn't say I minded, Wang Yi complains internally before he starts pedaling a second later.

Wait, why am I even listening to her? It's not like I owe her anything now?

But well, it is cold and Nicolette's arms nice and warm around him so...whatever, he'd figure this out the next day.

Or the next day. Or the next.

[nobully]

RESTRICTED or SPRAIN!

a comprehensive list of scenarios | 60.  RESTRICTED :  for both muses to sneak into someplace they’re not supposed to be.

'You left your shoe where?'

"My heel, Yi-Yi! My high heel, on the 250th floor!"

Isn't that where all the bigshots hang out or whatever? Wang Yi takes a glance at the tall, tall skyscraper above them and shrugs. 'Oh. Well, that's too bad.'

"Is that all you have to say?" Despite being shoeless on one foot, Nicolette still crosses her arms and shoots Wang Yi a look a disapproval. "Come help me get it back!"

'Why should I, it's your shoe.'

"Because I can't walk in just one stiletto?"

'So buy another one.'

"Sweetie, Balenci*ga heels don't come cheap," Nicolette sighs before leaning in to raise Wang Yi's chin with her finger. "Unless you were planning to cover the costs for me?"

Wang Yi scowls at her and knocks her hand aside. 'Do I look rich to you?'

"Anyways, now's the only chance to sneak in before room service grabs it tomorrow. I left them in one of the skyview hotels, so it shouldn't be hard to find."

'Why did you forget a shoe behind in the first place?' Wang Yi grumbles. 'Were you playing Cinderella?'

"Trust me, you don't need to know."

Wang Yi stops to take in her evening dress, smudged lipstick, and traces of blood on her arm and decides that yeah, I don't.

'I don't need to get involved, either,' he points out and turns to leave.

"You know, the view's incredible up so high."

'I'll look it up on the Internet.' He keeps walking.

"They've got an amazing spread of people and shops..."

'Try again.'

"All right, I saw some lady trying to kidnap your cat."

'Don't ca—what?' Wang Yi spins on his heel, face incredulous.

"Your cat? The chubby cutie with the black fur and green eyes?" Nicolette scoffs back. "Some rich couple picked him up to take back to their rooms."

'Tch, Sao Ling can do what he wants,' Wang Yi frowns.

"Even if he gets so comfortable he never comes back?"

'It's not like I'll miss him or anything...' Wang Yi argues. He just needed the stupid System for missions in the novel world, even if it chafed to think of Sao Ling living the high life.

"They were feeding him caviar..."

'Dammit, he's not even a real cat!'

—

Half an hour later saw Wang Yi and Nicolette slipping out of the elevator on the 250th floor with her special pass in hand. She'd switched from one heel to some cheap dollar store flats while he'd put on a temporary disguise to match.

'I don't see what's the big deal.'

'You couldn't have come alone?' From what he could tell, the area looks deserted.

"I don't have eyes on the back of my head, so I need you to be my lookout."

'Fine, fine...'

It occurs to him that there's something up when Nicolette starts taking him down secret hallways and staff exits. He's still in denial up to the moment they run into some hotel waiters by accident and she knocks them out cold.

'Hey...what exactly were you doing up here?'

"You really want to hear it?"

'Actually yeah, forget I asked.' His built-in villain radar is tingling, which is always a bad sign.

By the time they reach the hotel room they're supposed to be breaking into, it's almost evening because the stupid place is so huge. Nicolette quietly presses her ear against the door before frowning and pulling Wang Yi down the hall and into the fire exit stairwell.

'What's wrong now?' he whispers in the echoing space.

"Ugh, an inconvenience. The guy I'm trying to avoid is still inside."

'So? Knock him out like the other ones,' he urges.

"This is the one guy I can't afford to touch," she replies. "...wait, you brought your magic wig, right?"

'Okay, who told you about that?'

"Your cat likes the fancy brand of anchovies you never buy for him," Nicolette's tone is a little too smug. "He's pretty talkative with the right snacks."

'Dammit, you're the reason he's been turning his nose up at my food!' Wang Yi realizes in consternation. 'Is this why he got himself kidnapped? Because he got a taste for the fine life? I swear to god, if—mmph!'

"Hush." Nicolette muffles Wang Yi until the footsteps in the hallway disappear, then digs into her bag. "I've prepared an outfit for the last part, but it looks like you'll have to wear it in my place, Yi-Yi."

Wang Yi eyes the uniform in her hands with trepidation. 'Wait, you can't be thinking...'

"Come on, pretty please? We've already gotten this far. It's just a little further."

'Absolutely not.'

"I'll tell you all the secrets Sao Ling shared with me."

'.....'

—

10 minutes later, a cute blond maid in pigtails knocks on the door to a hotel room, cheerfully greets the man inside, and proceeded to knock him out with homemade chloroform onto the carpet. She then goes to the bedroom, lifts a corner of the curtains as instructed, and picks out a lone Balenci*ga heel lying on the ground by the wall.

The whole process takes less than five minutes, but by the time Wang Yi reconvenes with Nicolette again, his wig wears off and it's just his normal appearance in maid's clothes. He holds up the high heel and its bloodstained stiletto and gives his partner a look.

'What the hell is this?'

'You're not making me help you cover up a murder or something, right?'

Nicolette only smiles sweetly at him before taking the shoe and tucking it in her bag. "Did you see any dead bodies? Besides, the blood's all mine."

'It's exactly because it's your blood that I worry.'

"Aww, I didn't know you cared!"

'That's not what I mean and you know it.' Wang Yi rips off his wig and takes a deep breath. 'Nico...are you actually doing illegal things?!'

At first, Nicolette just laughs. But it fades fast enough, and her palm slams into the wall by Wang Yi's head as she leans in with an inscrutable smile. "Listen to me, Yi-Yi."

"You really don't need to know."

Wang Yi can still feel his heart pounding when she backs away with a cheerful hum and tosses him his clothes. "Get changed. We'll need to move fast if we want to bring Sao Ling home too."

Wang Yi catches them with a grimace. 'You know I don't care if you're breaking the law, right?'

She pauses. Turns to him. Tilts her head with the loveliest of smiles. "You're cute when you're so serious."

'Oh geez, give me a break.' Wang Yi rolls his eyes and heads for the restroom.

"Yi-Yi!"

'What.'

"I like the status quo so far. Don't fix what's not broken, hm?"

'Yeah yeah, you're the boss.' As if they haven't been hiding things from each other since day one. But well, if she wants to keep playing pretend, he's not gonna stop her.

After all, he's in this game too.

[nobully]

∗ 33﹕ sender  hovers  over  receiver’s  shoulder  as  they  complete  a  task . ( saves ur life then proceeds to bother u )

𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝑵𝑶𝑵𝑽𝑬𝑹𝑩𝑨𝑳 𝑷𝑹𝑶𝑴𝑷𝑻𝑺 . | ∗ 33﹕ sender  hovers  over  receiver’s  shoulder  as  they  complete  a  task .

'I'm not selling my kidneys, if that's what you're asking,' Wang Yi grumbles as he writes in the his notebook. 'What are you—hey, stop hovering.'

But the woman behind him only laughs and gets closer in spite of his words, one arm draped over his shoulder as she rests her head by his side.

"Don't be like that. Who saved your life? Who decided to stalk me afterwards? You owe me this much."

'I wasn't stalking, I was trying to find a way to pay you back,' Wang Yi snaps.

"I mean, you could've just asked?"

'The point was to stay anonymous...!' Wang Yi gives up and sinks back in his chair, looking up at Nicolette with a resigned expression.

'And I failed.'

'Look, I'm sorry that I came off as a creep. I've stopped following you since then, so why are you hanging around me now?'

"I told you, you owe me," Nicolette shifts to loom over him so that their eyes meet. "So how are you going to pay me back? Hm?" She adds and cements his head in place with her hands when he tries to turn away.

'Can I wish you good health and happiness?' Wang Yi tries. 'I mean, ideally we get kidnapped again and I end up saving your ass instead, but I'd rather not repeat the experience.'

"Just my ass? Yi-Yi, you're so cruel."

'You know that's not what I meant.' His face turns an angry shade of pink while she seizes the chance to steal the notebook he's left on the table.

"What are you writing, anyways?"

'Don't look—hey!' Wang Yi is almost pushed off the library bench when Nicolette makes room for herself to sit down.

"Chains and whips? Is this supposed to be your ki—"

'They're research notes!'

"Uh-huh, sure they are." Nicolette expertly dodges him as she flips quickly through the pages. "Fucking hell, how much did you write?"

'Wow. Wow, this is not happening right now—'

"Oh sweetie, it already is. You're burning up like a tomato, by the way."

'I should've just drowned.' Wang Yi gives up and slumps all the way to the ground, head hanging.

"Come on, you're not that pathetic," Nicolette prods him with the tip of her shoe, but Wang Yi just makes a disgruntled noise. "Ignoring me's not going to work, Yi-Yi."

She tucks her hair and bends down, which is when Wang Yi decides to strike, wrapping one arm around her neck to drag her towards him while his other reaches for the stolen notebook. Nicolette only lets him because she's curious about what he's planning, which means she ends up grabbing his thieving wrist even as he's half embracing her. Their bodies end up forming a semi-entwined half-circle.

"You know I saw that coming from a mile away, right?" she arches an eyebrow at him.

'Honestly? I was hoping you'd humor me,' he retorts. 'Now can you please give me my torture notes back?'

The eyebrow arches higher. Nicolette smiles. "Oh come on, you can't just say that and expect me to say yes.'

'Haha, fuck you.'

"It'd be fun to see you try."

Wang Yi curses some more. Nicolette laughs and decides she'll show him some mercy.

Eventually, that is.

[nobully]

❛ is that blood? is it yours? ❜ ( she's ready to beat someone's ASS )

𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬.

Ah, geez.

He knew he should've cleaned up first before running to find Nicolette. But this was important so he hadn't bothered beyond wrapping his arm and hand in makeshift bandages. It wasn't the first time she'd seen him hurt anyways, so Wang Yi didn't get what was the big deal, or why she was cradling his bloody hand like some fragile porcelain vase.

'That doesn't matter—will you stop asking me questio—ouch, hey!'

Okay, forget about cradling—she was definitely squeezing him now, right where he got stabbed and getting her perfect nails bloodied in the process—

'Don't touch that, I mean it—OW!'

'Nicolette, it hurts!'

"You're damn right it does, Yiyi."

Wang Yi finally loses momentum and collapses backwards in a chair, body shuddering in pain as his left arm spasms in Nicolette's grip. She doesn't let up though, still holding on tight as she inspects him for more damage.

'W-what t-the f-f-fuck...?!'

"I should be asking you that!" The painful pressure on his palm disappears, to be replaced by the tightened embrace of fabric as she expertly re-bandages him again. "You come into my house asking to talk while bleeding all over my floors? Have you lost your damned mind?"

'I-it's not like they're c-carpet—'

"Someone almost sliced your fucking pinky off, Wang Yi!" She doesn't actually pinch that, but just brushing past the injured digit is enough to make him hiss in pain.

'I m-mean, I have n-n-nine others.' Besides, you barely needed a pinky, right? He could make do or whatever.

"You—" She almost looks like she wants to slap him, but settles for another curse instead. "—absolute, fucking idiot! Who hurt you? What the hell have you been up to?!"

'I t-told you...to...l-listen,' Wang Yi grits his teeth and snarls back. Shit, he feels more lightheaded than he likes. 'C-Cotes, the U-Underside. I-it's the—' He pulls her down and stammers an address into her ear, teeth chattering with a mix of pain and adrenaline that feels oddly nostalgic. When she gives him a dawning look of realization, Wang Yi laughs and almost chokes on air.

'H-haha...I, found t-them...'

It took him months, but finally, finally he got a lead to the jerks who tried to drown them both. Although he was discovered and his phone broken in the scuffle to sneak away, he did end up brainwashing the guys in that room to stay put while he found Nicolette for backup.

'Y-you have, l-less than f-fifteen, minutes...' Before the limit for his abilities were up. 'I c-couldn't buy more t-time...'

'S-sorry about t...that...'

He didn't even find the main headquarters, so it'd be best if they could grab some guys and interrogate him about the rest. Too bad Wang Yi wasn't strong enough to hold them all in thrall and brainwash answers at the same time. But he's sure Nicolette can think of something, bloody weapons and all.

He vaguely hears her cursing up another storm before she grabs him by the shoulders and forces him to look into her eyes.

"Wang Yi. Wang Yi!"

Man, she must be seriously pissed if she's just using his full name.

'W...hat...'

"I'm going, but I called an ambulance. You need to stay conscious until they get here, understand?"

'I'm not...' That badly off, he wants to explain. He's sure he's stemmed most of the blood loss and if he's tired, it's from using his powers more than anything else. A nap would probably help him...

"It's not a request! Stay awake!"

'O-okay, f-fine...'

Her scowl looks anything but satisfied, but Nicolette has to leave now, so all he hears next is the front door slamming behind her as she runs out of the house.

He hopes she gives them hell.

It's a lot quieter without her here though, and Wang Yi has to struggle to stay alert. He tries focusing on the pain first, but that's numbed over time, as well as the rest of his senses. Everything feels muted and it doesn't help that his fingertips and toes are so, so cold.

He could realllly use a blanket and a hot drink too but 1) it takes too much effort to move and 2) he'll get Nicolette's house more bloody if he moves around. Better to sit here and wait...

And wait...

And wait.

He's so still when the paramedics show up to move him onto a stretcher that he startles the first EMT to approach him when lifting his head.

'I'm awake,' he announces blandly.

Wang Yi feels almost insulted when they drug him unconscious a minute later.

***

"And why didn't you just call from a pay phone?" Nicolette demands while judiciously attacking some apples with a blood dagger two days later.

'I didn't know your number...' Wang Yi trails off awkwardly from the hospital bed. He's thrown a cell phone seconds later—his own, magically repaired by the city—and greeted with another one of Nicolette's scowls as it bounces off his chest.

"Then you better memorize it for next time," she threatens.

'Next time?'

"Shut up. I'm quizzing you in fifteen minutes."

'I'm a patient!' Wang Yi sputters as he raises his bandaged limb. Luckily nothing's been broken, but his left hand will be out of commission for a bit while the injuries heal.

"You're on probation," she huffs back instead. "Friend status frozen, nickname privileges revoked. Until you figure out how to shield your own ass."

'Wow, so cold...' Wang Yi mutters. 'You can keep your nicknames, though. I don't mind.'

"You fucking jerk."

'Yeah, that won't work. Doesn't quite ring the same when you call other guys the same thing.'

This time Nicolette almost throws the whole plate of apple slices at him, but stops herself. Instead, she picks two up and stuffs them straight into Wang Yi's mouth. His eyes flicker between them and Nicolette's hand as he mumbles in a muffled voice, 'Ken I eet dis?'

She rolls her eyes. "Just because I sliced them with blood doesn't mean I got blood on them." What does he think she is, some kind of amateur?

'I mean,' Wang Yi swallows between bites, 'I guess I've always wanted to try it.'

"What?"

'Mm, your blood?'

She pauses to stare at him. He's still munching on her apples, unperturbed. I say this a lot but, "You're so fucking weird, Wang Yi."

'I know,' he agrees openly this time. 'It's kinda nice admitting it, though?'

He's suddenly so normal about it all that she's the one who feels off for finding him odd. That thought evaporates soon enough when he asks his next question.

'So what did you do with them?'

Her fingertips burn at the memory. "Who knows? Maybe I killed them all?"

'Did you really?'

She arches a brow. "What, you think I can't?"

'I figured it'd be more hassle if we left dead bodies behind,' Wang Yi replies instead. 'We don't actually know how big the organization is. Wouldn't it be a pain to fight them off all the time because they wanted revenge or some crap like that? Also, I'd actually die if they tried.'

"Then what would you do?"

'Ehh...wait until we get high enough in the chain of command to figure out who's behind this mess? Then I brainwash the boss and have them...sort it out amongst themselves.'

"Really, Yiyi? So you're the type for inside jobs?"

'Don't call it funny names. And didn't you say you weren't using nicknames?'

"I can't help it when you're acting cute? And it's not a 'funny name,' it's literally the term for getting your enemies to screw themselves over?'

Wang Yi coughs and decides to ignore the cute comment for now.

'I don't know anything about stuff like that.' Experiences in novel worlds don't count.

"Oh my god, you suck at denials." Nicolette rolls her eyes.

Wang Yi just makes a face. 'Whatever. Give me more apples.'

"No wait, what's my number?"

'Seriously?'

"Seriously your ass, it's been 15 minutes."

'I haven't even turned on my phone!'

"Well you better in the next 10 seconds."

***

'By the way, what are we telling Zhilan this time?'

"What's your idea?"

'I mean, you were pretty fast about spilling the beans last time?'

"So? Your turn this round." Nicolette feels she doesn't need to point out that there's a difference in a spat between friends versus an attempted revenge mission against seedy Cotes underground gangs.

'What if I say I had an accident doing home improvement...'

"Like what, you drilled a hole through your hand?"

'Or maybe an accident while juggling knives?'

"Since when were you joining the circus?"

'Or maybe I'm just sick with a fever,' Wang Yi finishes lamely. 'And it's contagious so I'm keeping myself quarantined.'

"He's going to come to your doorstep with soup for that, Wangy. You are not getting Zhilan's food for free."

'I mean, I could share...'

"And make Lanlan worry enough to cook for nothing? No, rejected."

'Hey, it's not for nothing. I can't cook one-handed either?'

"Still no. God, Wang Yi, aren't you supposed to be good at lying?"

'Yeah well, I get out of practice when I'm with you.'

Nicolette blinks for a second, surprised. She looks at Wang Yi, who's now rubbing his chin while munching on the last apple and deep in thought. "What do you mean by—"

'Got it!' Wang Yi exclaims a second later. 'Cotes has these freaky forests nearby or something, right? I'll say I wandered into one out of curiosity and got attacked by a wild animal until you saved me—hey, you listening? Does it work?' He narrows his eyes. '...why are you glaring at me?'

"Because you're an idiot," Nicolette hisses back, and already her jumbled emotions are folding up amongst themselves to the familiar form of rage. "What kind of animal just attacks your hand and misses your face? You're better off saying you stabbed yourself on a branch or tripped over a rock!"

'Maybe I had like, a really tasty snack in my hand and they went for that—'

"What, so you were snacking on beef jerky in the woods?"

'I mean, would beef jerky work? It's more realistic than carrying around a slab of raw meat, right?'

Nicolette purses her lips. She only thought of that because of Topper, but she's not exactly an expert in luring wild beasts. Speaking of which— "Do you even know what kind of animals live in Cotes?"

'No, do you?'

"No, but Lanlan might and he'll call you out on that? Aren't you supposed to—I don't know—do your fucking research before you make up this shit?"

'Well, we need to be on the same page before I start, right?' Though Wang Yi's flipping through his phone already, bringing up the Spirale search engine so he can actually look stuff up.

Nicolette wants to smack him. But they're in a hospital, so she does the civilized thing and takes the phone out of his hands.

"I'm revoking your phone privileges."

'What the hell?' He looks up at her, eyes swirling with genuine incredulity. 'Why?!'

"Because you're a patient who should limit his screen time?"

'You're not my doctor? Hey, give it back.' He grabs for it; she easily dangles it out of reach.

"Are we not going to talk about the main issue here?”

‘Like what?’

“Like how you decided to stick your head into a gangster den and nearly lost your hand?”

‘I mean, better a hand than my actual head, right—’

“Dammit Wang Yi, that’s not the point!”

‘I know, but talking about it isn’t going to change my mind, though?’

She glares at him; he has the audacity to shrug back. Wang Yi’s right about one thing, though: talking isn’t getting them anywhere.

Forget it. She slips his phone into her pocket, reopens the cut on her arm, and channels a brand new dagger from a stream of blood that forms into her grip. Wang Yi watches the process with fascination up to the moment she brings the blade to his face.

He goggles at her even as she presses the weapon against his cheek—it’s solid and sharp, but curiously kinetic, and overall unlike any knife he’s ever felt.

‘…yes?’ he tries.

“Didn’t you say you want to taste it?”

Green eyes lower slowly to the blade and back, before he hesitates. ‘I did, but—’ I was thinking in liquid form…?

“Or I could shove it down your throat now so you stop spewing out shitty excuses for every stupid thing you do?”

Ah, so she’s really angry this time. ‘Uh no need, this is fine actually…’

He can see the storm brewing behind her eyes like a bomb about to explode and quickly grabs her by the wrist.

‘I mean it!’ he blurts before a small pink tongue darts out to lick the flat of her blade.

Oh, that feels really uncanny. But he didn’t really taste anything, though?

He’s about to try a second time when she wrests her hand free, shoves him back against the pillow, and drags the covers over his chest. Wang Yi doesn’t even catch Nicolette’s face, only a flash of gritted teeth and the blood dagger coalescing back into liquid as she stomps past him and towards the door.

‘Nicolette, what—’

“Go the fuck to bed!” she snaps at him.

Slam!

Once again the door shuts behind her and he’s left all alone. Wang Yi sighs.

Some days, he doesn’t get her at all.