#꒰ ✉ ꒱ 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒔 •°. *࿐

[iceunhie]

love’s a whole new meaning with you.

summary: valentine’s day has got them thinking that maybe love has different forms; but it always leads them back to falling deeper and deeper for you.

featuring. zhongli, dan heng, albedo.

notes: danheng favoritism rlly showing here 😭, this is for @ecrin-de-litterature's kiss (don't tell) ! event; to @thexianzhoujade. happy hearts day !!

zhongli is a man who values tradition and the simplest actions—but he values you above all. when you tell him about the holiday called ‘valentine’s day,’ a day that's meant to inform the solidarity of of one's romantic relationship, he treats you akin to a treasure, as iridescent as fragile glass. you'd want for nothing with this man, seriously.

like the gentleman he is, zhongli can and will take you out on a classic yet wonderful dinner date catered entirely to your tastes (nevermind his penchant for forgetting price tags), the security of your relationship a stark imprint upon your mind forevermore. there is no greater desire he harbors than to be yours, always. he leaves you ever lovesick as before with his consideration, the way he's already gifting you bouquets of silkflowers, complete with a glaze lily to symbolize the lasting unity of your bond.

his valentine's gift is that of matching jade pendants symbolizing yin and yang. a liyue tradition deems that a gift of this design recognizes that the individual you've gifted it is the other half of your soul, your equal. and that is because you are. to zhongli, loving you is as natural as the earth beneath his feet, and with the passing of time, he silently makes a vow; a vow to be yours and you his till the end.

albedo grasps the concept of gifting one’s significant other to be both an arduous and thoughtful affair—when he hears talk of valentine’s day atop the lofty snow-studded peaks of dragonspine, his first instinct is to question himself. it's a bit of an oh moment, considering his personal belief that relationships, be it platonic or romantic, were rather taxing. is it elation, he wonders, at the fact that you and him have fostered such a fragile and precious bond to this extent that it is deemed celebratory? maybe it is. no, instead, you were the one that taught him otherwise.

he is not inherently romantic, even if you say he is. but he leads you with him to a vantage point during nightfall, when the city of freedom below rejoices in hearts day. there, watching the mesmerizing hue of the aurora borealis above you, he gifts you a portrait of, well, you.

it's rather simple, he thinks, but this was the most appropriate gift he deemed fit to give—even if he thinks that nothing could ever capture your entirety fully—because he simply wishes to convey the aspects of you he loves for you to see. to albedo, the strokes of his brush upon this canvas can only capture but a fragment of your splendor, your warmth that's like a fire on a cold winter day.

when you smile up at him with the reflection of starlight in your eyes, words of gratitude spilling from your lips, he thinks it's undoubtedly worth it.

to dan heng, valentine’s day reminds him of his past, as unrelated as these two concepts may seem. he's made his choice; to blaze a path of his own, with you by his side supporting him unabashedly. but for all his security in his relationship with you, does he really deserve this? when sins he once harbored lingers upon his life like a haunting shadow?

(“don't be silly, heng’er.” you'd chided him when he expressed his concerns about this once before, holding him as though you were everlasting—like you would never let go of him, no matter what. eyes tender, meeting his. “of course you deserve it. because it's you.”)

in any case, dan heng spares no time to waste, asking permission from himeko and welt for a stop-over in the luofu; he'd been quite flustered when she'd given him an encouraging pep talk, and welt musing about ‘young love’ and all… (the embarrassment of being outed as whipped for you was quite severe) but he takes you to the places you've always wanted to visit, and there's a sense of fulfillment in his heart whenever he trails after you hand-in-hand as you two spend the day together on a leisure date for valentine's day, eating dragon’s beard candy all the while.

young love, welt said. love that was fleeting, sweet. dan heng believes otherwise. this affection is all-consuming, and he thinks that him loving you will persist till even the last bit of stardust in the universe is no more. when he feels your lips brush across his cheek, that thought is solidified, a forever in the making.

[९] 2024 © iceunhie :: do not copy or use my works.

[iceunhie]

starstealer :: even stars can be swept off their feet. xavier is sure he is when he falls for you.

footnotes: small blurb, slight angst and my first standalone l&d fic! xavier experimentation fic because his character intrigues me to no end, lots of star comparisons

the universe contains approximately almost an innumerable number of stars, and out of an infinitely unquantifiable number of them, xavier wonders why you look at him like he's the brightest one.

stars fall, xavier admits, stars can fall, and xavier knows he's falling. (he's fallen.)

he knows it in the way you rest your head on his shoulder while you watch the flimsy dots of lights litter in the cosmos and his heart soars.

he knows it whenever he sees you hurt even for a fraction—how his feelings die and solidify and coalesce only at the thought of you. how fear climbs up his throat and marred memories of failure creep up his skin.

"you're not fine." he persists, handling you as though you were sand slipping through his fingers; jaw tight when he sees blood staining the white of your sleeve. the gash on your shoulder is shallow, though it spanned a quite alarming size. it makes him anxious. bile rises to his throat and he fights to keep his stomach from dropping. you laugh, brushing him off. "you don't need to take care of me, you know. isn't it tedious?" not to me, xavier keeps to himself. not when it's you. instead he says, "no. it's not. just let me help you, okay?" "fine....." you huff, resigned; and you thank him. 'always.'

knows it in how the stretch of two hundred and fourteen springs feels like a nightmare never dreamed before; with you as his reason to hold on.

knows it when he sees how the night's breeze makes your hair sway, the moon's glow a wink in the vastness that is the universe and the incomparable feeling that his universe, his wish, is right next to him.

he failed you time and time again.

now, xavier swears to never fail you again.

loving you feels like being showered the touch of a thousand flickering embers burning up to become a fire, and xavier doubts he can put it out.

he won't.

you like stars. xavier thinks that should you ask him to pluck one out for you, he'd hate it if only because he wishes to keep you in his arms for a little longer.

(he'd do it anyway.)

one look, one touch; leaving him to be stardust begging to be held in your hands. a star swept off its feet.

leaving him to find sleep a secondary choice in nature so as to burn your image into the scope of his memory. making him feel that happiness he only feels when he's with you.

loving you is painful, but loving you is worth it. he's fallen, and falls even more everyday.

"xavier?" did you know that every inch of his will has promptly devoted itself to you? would bend to your words without a thought and hear your every wish?

"hm?" he exerts, feeling the weight of your eyes on him.

you lean against him and the stars dim. the world falls to a hush. it's only you, it was always you—

xavier doesn't think to breathe; he listens to the sound of your heart thumping steadily in your chest, the rhythmic beat a reason to live again, to love you again. no words are needed more, not when your presence permeates across the void words cannot hope to fill.

"can i lean on you just a bit longer?"

(yes. always.)

"....as much as you want." his eyes soften, and his words are tender. "as long as you need."

he sees you smile, watches as your cheeks become full by the way your joy lights up your face, and xavier's world does too.

you're everything, xavier thinks. to the point he feels as though all the stars up in the sky shine if only to witness you.

a/n pls don't judge me for this half-baked fic and the possible in corrections of xavier lore; did i mention this was supposed to be a rafayel fic but ya girl decided to tap out

[९] 2024 © iceunhie do not copy or repost my work. do not use my work for your own use

[iceunhie]

NOT A CHANCE | WANDERER

premise ⁠☆ wanderer flusters you using his newfound popularity.

a/n⁠ ☆ this scenario has been in my mind ever since his birthday i can't believe scara is canonically a popular kid 😭 trying to get better at dialogue ! thank u vie @thomae for helping me choose which format i'd go for the fic ily /p reblogs are very much appreciated :D

“Another letter again?”

You stare at the pink colored letter in the Wanderer’s hands, signed passionately in elegant scrawl that makes you rather pity the sender, knowing that it'll likely never get read nor acknowledged.

He gives you a wry smirk, eyes haughty. “Why, are you jealous?”

“Don't flatter yourself.” you say without hesitation. “Aren’t I the one you're currently seeking out?”

As if to prove your point, you lift up your evidence: your intertwined hands. He makes no argument, making no move to remove his own from yours, grip unfaltering, but you see the faint red hue on crawling up his ears.

Really, he couldn't be any more obvious. After all, he was the one who dragged you here, grumbling about those noisy idiots. He’d be adorable if not for his constant petulance - not that you hate it; this is a side only you get to see, and you're sure as hell you aren't going to let anyone else try to see this sight of the Wanderer being so childish and clingy.

Recently, the Wanderer's been getting attention his way by many of the scholars in the Vahumana Darshan. Though he was already marked as someone aloof and eccentric, and most dared not approach him, no one could really keep away from him, not when he had the looks that could rival even the most breathtaking of faces.

His otherworldly beauty, in particular, was subject to much admiration, hence the letter he’s currently fiddling around with like it was nothing special.

You could probably get rich by the amount of fan mail your lover gets; sometimes it'd be a verbal confession, spoken passionately by a blushing young maiden (?) in love, only to be rejected with a cutthroat no from him. Oftentimes it's gifts of much variety - charcoal-baked alijenakh cakes, cookies, and once, an Inazuman scholar even tried their hand at giving him some dango, no doubt noting his clothing and therefore wanting to create a gift that would ‘remind him of home’ as she put it kindly. She was gracefully (to put it mildly) rejected before she could even put it in his hands.

"No thanks." he says, cutting the scholar off as simply as that. "I already have a partner."

When she leaves, all polite smiles and near-tears, he looks at you by his side with a peculiar expression, like that of a cat wanting to be praised. Really, he can be so contradictory sometimes.

"Becoming quite the heartbreaker, are you? You've broken the poor girl's heart." you muse, but you kiss him on the cheek anyway. He's all proud after that. He would rather gut himself than say it to your face, but you knew he took pride in your relationship.

(You raised your hands in solemn prayer that day - her courage was very much admirable, since it takes a strong willpower to brave the wanderer’s deadpan stare.)

Honestly, if he weren't so straightforward, so straight to the point, you’d probably be jealous of people taking an interest in him.

Well, you kinda were sometimes, when a woman sent a lingering look for too long or when others could see and compliment him. But that was a thought you did not want to entertain, not when it was a very lovely day and your Wanderer wasn't being particularly fussy.

“It's not good for your image if you keep on rejecting others, y’know.” you poke at his cheek, leaning onto his side like second nature.

Wanderer's scoffing in indignation, but he changes his position on the bench to put an arm around your waist to pull you closer. “So? I already have you, what could those other nobodies possibly offer?”

Your smile grows even bigger, if that was even possible. “You trying to fluster me, Kunikuzushi?”

“No.” he replies, giving you an unamused look at the use of his full name. “I could do it just fine without resorting to making you jealous over some letter.”

Swiftly as the winds he wields, Wanderer takes your lips on his own, covering the action with his hat one moment and leaving you very flustered, very flushed the next.

“So you were trying to make me jealous.” you say accusingly, red-faced and face burning.

“Maybe.” He pulls away, licking his bottom lip momentarily, looking at your embarassed face. It's a miracle you haven't combusted from such a suggestive display. He grins, visibly smug. “Your face when I do makes for the most entertaining display. Case in point.”

“Smartass.” you hiss, but you steal another kiss for good measure, fast enough for him to be surprised. Pink blooms across his face as the sun-touched trees sway lazily in the breeze. You grin, and he narrows his eyes like a hissy cat. “Not a chance.”

© 𝐌𝐇𝐈𝐈𝐄𝐄𝐄 : do not repost, copy, or plagiarize my work.

[iceunhie]

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