#Airis boutique

[arino-ruuka]

Don't you hate it when ur OC has more luck than u ever do?

I hate being boring with flat coloring on digital so I added unnecessary lines(/highlights???) into this one. I might try keeping up this style once I get a hang of it.

(I'm not sorry for drawing with this pose—)

[surielstea]

Friends who Flirt

Based on this request.

Pairing: Azriel x Fem!Reader

Summary: Reader and Az have been flirting for years, what happens when they finally do something more?

Warnings: 18+ | smut | minors dni | multi-orgasm | dom Az | shadow play | oral (f receiving) | fingering | p in v | biting | clit sucking | teasing | praise kink | cream pie | slight slut shaming | outdated beliefs | slight angst (not from Az)

8.3k words

I pad into the kitchen and am immediately met with a humming Azriel. Shadows swish around him as he goes about his daily tasks. His humming stops and I freeze, feeling like I've been caught for gazing for a moment too long to be considered friendly. "I can feel you staring, love." He croons, not even looking up from what he was doing. "How'd you know it was me?" I frown, crossing my arms.

"Your footsteps," He says, pushing a drawer shut with his hip as he turns to look at me, a slice of leftover cake from my birthday in his hands. "Creep." I joke, opening the drawer he just shut and fishing out a fork. "New nightgown?" He looks at me with creased brows. "Mhm, you like it?" I say doing a small twirl.

His eyes drag down the airy chiffon fabric, the baby blue color complimenting my complexion nicely, and the way the lace trim cups over my breasts don't go past his notice. He nods, eyes going back up to mine as I dig a fork into the cake he just sliced. He lets me— in fact, he lowers the plate so I can have a better angle.

"The shopkeeper gave it to me for free after I bought half her boutique for solstice presents," I explain. "It was pretty on the rack so why not." I shrug. "It's prettier on you." He hums and I flick my eyes up to him with a mouthful of cake. "How would you know, you didn't even get to see it on the rack?" I tilt my head and he shakes his. "I don't need to." He hums and I turn away from him with a heat rising to my cheeks. "Are you blushing?" He smiles teasingly and just as I am about to take another bite I freeze, then place my fork down. "I thought you'd be used to people calling you pretty by now? Or is it just me who affects you this way?" He presumes and I physically deflate, that he knows me too well to keep anything from him. "Can't I just go one day without you reading me like an open book?" I sigh, hoisting myself up onto the counter.

"Speaking of which, what'd I come in here for?" I look around the kitchen to get any clue but come up with nothing. I look at him and he shrugs with a mouthful of chocolate cake. "Can't you use your shadows to figure it out?" I swing my legs back and forth as they dangle. "That's not really how they work." He placed our dishes down into the sink, my eyes following him as he made his way in front of me. "Then, how do you gain information from people?" I ask, watching as his hands come to either side of my hips, caging me in between him and the counter. "I suppose I could interrogate it out of you?" He offers and I clench my legs together at the immediate sexual thoughts that pop into my head. "But my best guess is you came in here to get a glass of wine, as you always do before bed." He explains and my brows shoot up. "You're a genius," I smile brightly. I lean in and place a kiss on his cheek. "Thanks, Az," I exclaim and slide off the countertop.

"Anytime." He huffs a breath.

"Want a glass?" I offer as I open a cabinet full of wine glasses. He looks at his empty plate in the sink, then nods. "I'll cut some more cake."

———

Three glasses and two slices of cake later left me straddling Azriel's hips. I don't know exactly what happened, it was all a blur but what I do know now is that some selfish part of me doesn't regret it, and with the way the Shadow Singer was gazing at me it seemed he didn't either. Three glasses wasn't enough to get me fully intoxicated but, I was tipsy.

"Your eyes are so pretty," I observe, my hands cupping either side of his face as I angle it towards me drunkenly. "Like, super pretty." I smile and his cheeks go red. "You okay Az?" I ran my thumbs over his cheekbones so sharp they could cut stone. "I have a pretty girl sitting on my lap, complimenting my eyes. Why wouldn't I be okay?" He tilts his head. "Cause your heartbeat is so fast." I smile teasingly and he mirrors it. "So is yours."

His hand comes up and intertwines with the back of mine, pulling it away from his face while his other hand finds purchase at my thigh, bare due to the fact of my short nightgown riding up from this position. His gaze holds mine but he doesn't say anything, so neither do I. Something magnetic pulls me closer to him like we were meant to slot together. "This is dangerous," I mumble as my other hand snakes around to hold the back of his head. "I don't think you care that much." He hums. "You know me too well." I grin and he leans in, crashing his lips onto mine.

I melt into the feeling, hand shooting into his dark hair as both his arms secure around my waist and drag me into his chest. My hands roam from his neck down his shoulders, his tattooed biceps that flexed beneath my touch, the same ones I've stared at for years now, the same ones I've ached to get my hands on. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this." He confesses, his voice raspy as he pulls at my chin and opens my mouth for better clearance. He's precise when pushing his tongue into my mouth, his movements are calculated and careful as he explores every crack he can mold to, analyzing and memorizing just in case this ends sooner than it should.

I buzz with need, I couldn't get close enough. Every part he didn't touch left me cold, and when he pulled away I was starved. His calloused, large hands map every inch of my skin, slipping beneath my dress to span the distance of my waist without barrier, pulling me into him with the same passion I felt burning through every nerve in my body. I smile against the electric pulse that darts through the both of us.

It just felt so right, like this was what we were made for. I felt like I was on fire, and it was his match that set me aflame.

The front door swings open, inviting the freezing air to enter. I tear away from Azriel at the intrusion and look up towards the doorway, where Morrigan stood, stunned.

A smirk etched across Azriel's lips as he leaned back into the couch, staring up at me still perched on his lap with glazed-over eyes and messy lipgloss. He was sitting there observing me caught red-handed like I was a statue he just finished sculpting. "I— I'm so sorry, I'll come back later!" Mor says, a bit frazzled as she tightens her scarf around her neck and turns on her heel, leaving the house.

I look back to Azriel with heated cheeks. "You heard her coming!" I grab a pillow and hit him repeatedly with it as he playfully pushes it away. "It's just Mor, what are you ashamed of kissing me?" He tilts his head and I drop the pillow. "I need to go get her and explain." I begin clambering from his lap but his big hands that still held my waist from beneath my dress forced me back down. "One more kiss before you go?" He flashed me a teasing smile, and to his shock, I leaned down and pecked his lips lightly in such a casual way it left the Shadow Singer dazed.

I successfully slipped off his lap, scrambling to grab my coat off the rack and shoving my arms through it as I left the cozy house and stepped onto the porch where Morrigan waited, hands shoved in her pockets. "What are you doing here so late?" I whisper shout to her and she whirls to face me with a wide-eyed expression. "You're the one who has explaining to do." She returned and my jaw clamps closed. "I was only stopping by to ask if you wanted to go to Rita's with me, but you're busy." She smiled teasingly and my cheeks flushed, I blame it on the cold weather. "It wasn't like that, we're drunk." I excuse. "And horny," I add and she deadpans. "You've also been flirting with him for years." She reasons. "I knew this would happen," She sings with a mischievous grin.

She had a point, the sexual tension between us was so thick you could cut it with a knife. "So, Rita's?" She brushed past the elephant in the room, sensing I wasn't ready to talk about it. "Maybe tomorrow, I'm going to bed." I huff. "Sure you are." She winks and I roll my eyes. "I'm picking you up tomorrow then, be ready— I don't want to walk in on anything my virgin eyes shouldn't be seeing." She joked and I playfully pushed her towards the steps down the house. "Have fun at Rita's, see you tomorrow." I giggle and she waves me off.

———

"Az?" I poke my head into the Shadow Singer's office only to find him hunched over a book with a crinkle between his dark brows. I smile and mosey into the room, heels lightly clicking against the hardwood floors as I find my way in front of him, my hip leaning against the desk. "Az," I call, putting a finger to the spine of his book and angling it downward so I could see his face. "I'm leaving, you sure you don't want to come with me?" I tilt my head and he shakes him, sinking deeper into his chair, wings fanning out on either side of him. "You sure you don't want to stay?" He offers and the tone of his voice makes it sound alluring. But I've been dying to get out of the house even since that kiss, he didn't mention it so I didn't either— but I didn't just want to ignore it, he felt what I did too, I know he did. He looks up at me and his book snaps shut, eyes widening slightly.

"You're wearing that?" He swallows.

"What's wrong with it?" I look down at the cerulean-colored dress that hugged my body in all the right places. His eyes narrow at me and he sits up. "It's a bit, short, no?" He tilts his head slightly, eyes tracking over my bare thighs and a smile curves my lips. “I’m wearing shorts,” I shrug and he twists his lips to the side, clearly upset at the idea of me flaunting in a dress so short without him there to make sure no one unwanted approached me. "It's a pleasure hall, I'll be one of the more covered ones old man," I excuse as I push off his desk and walk towards the door. "Wait," He springs up from his chair and meets me in the hall. "I'll go too— just, five minutes." He rushed down the hall and stumbled into his room.

I smile widely at the reaction, I always preferred when he went out with me. Pleasure halls and clubs were never my scene, Azriel might enjoy it more than me. If Mor hadn't asked me to come out tonight I probably would be snuggled up beside the fireplace with a steaming mug of tea and a good book. Whenever Azriel went to places like Rita's with me he was always a good escape plan. He was always there to take me home if I grew bored or tired. Always.

Exactly five minutes later Azriel came out of his room, appropriately dressed. "Ready?" I tilt my head, a lock of hair falling into my face at the movement. He eats up the distance between us in two long-legged strides. He nods, reaching forward and tucking my hair back behind my ear. "You look pretty." He said and I shyly smiled. "You don't clean up too badly yourself." I hum, looking up at him with wondering eyes. His gaze caught mine, that familiar hazel had something foreign lingering in them, something welcoming that I didn't quite recognize. His gaze, just for a moment, flicks down to my lips so fast I wouldn't have seen it if I blinked. But I did see it. I stumble a step closer, that magnetic feeling coming back but before I can get any closer the door swings open, and Morrigan stands there with a cunning smile. I whirl around to face her with pinched brows. "You need to learn how to knock," I sigh, walking towards the coat rack and shrugging my coat on. "I did?" She crossed her arms defensively. I look toward Azriel with a raised brow and he just shrugs silently.

"C'mon, I wanted to be there twenty minutes ago." She grabs my wrist and pulls me out onto the porch. I grab Azriel by the hem of his jacket and pull him with me. "We're on a schedule?" I mumble confused. "Emeries shift ends soon." She grabs Azriel's arm and winnows us without warning.

My head spins at the sudden jump in the atmosphere. The cold porch of my quiet neighborhood compared to the heat of the loud pleasure hall. A wave of nausea rolls over me and both of Azriel's hands come to my shoulders, steadying me before I can tip over. He doesn't say anything, he knows I just need a moment to collect myself. So he holds me near and away from drunken fae getting too close for his liking.

"You're okay?" He says over the blasting music and I look up to him. The flashing red and blue lights make him look angelic, gods he's so pretty— and I'm not drunk enough for this. "I think I need a drink," I say back and he nods, hands leaving my shoulders. "I can arrange that." Mor croons as she grabs me by the wrist and pulls me towards the bar.

The crowd parts in half for her, making a clear path to the bar with me in tow. She finds two vacant stools and quickly swoops them before anyone else can. Emerie walks over with a smile as she washes a glass. "What can I get for you ladies?" She sings. "Just get me what you usually get," I say to Mor and she nods. She and Emerie chat for a while then she orders. I rarely drank anything but wine— but that wasn't exactly a club drink.

Emerie slides some sort of cocktail in front of me and I thank her before lifting my glass and taking a small sip. I immediately wince and put the drink back down. "What's wrong?" Mor laughs as I force myself to swallow down the burning liquid. "Strong," I croak out and her smile only widens. "Sorry, I guess I shouldn't have ordered doubles." She shrugs and my brows shoot up. "Are you trying to get me drunk?" I scoff and she grins mischievously before slipping from her chair. "I'm gonna go dance." She evades and I roll my eyes as she leaves the seat next to me empty.

Cautiously, I take another small sip from my glass but it didn't magically get any better from last time so I set it back down and don't plan to pick it up again.

Azriel finds a place beside me on Mor's forgotten stool. I look over to him with a smile. "Already tired old man?" I tease, bumping his shoulder with mine. "What?" He creased his brows, clearly not able to hear me over the music. He leans closer, lowering his head. "I asked if you were tired already," I say over the music, then pull back to look at him. He smiles softly before putting his hand on the back of my neck and pulling me back towards him. "You keep calling me old but we're only like three years apart." He says and I shrug, leaning closer. "It's about the mindset," I say with a soft chuckle. He pulls back and looks at me confused. "I can't hear you," He yells over the music and I roll my eyes, leaning closer than before. "I said it's about the mindset," I repeat then pull back a mere inch, our faces centimeters apart and he stares at me, either trying to piece my words together or too distracted to think about anything because he wants to kiss me again, and gods was I praying it's the latter.

"You want to get out of here?" I ask with a tilt of my head. "You're not going to drink that?" He gestures to the cocktail in front of me and I shake my head no. "It tastes like rubbing alcohol and a squeeze of lime," I reply and a smile pulls at his lips. "We can open a bottle of wine at home." He offers and I nod. "You know me so well." I stand from my stool, I presume he doesn't hear me because he doesn't reply.

———

"Are you visiting your family in Autumn tomorrow?" Azriel asks as he refills my glass. "Unfortunately," I sigh, dreading seeing my parents again. "My brother is coming in the morning to winnow me there," I explain. I couldn't winnow to my childhood home by myself, it was warded so only people who lived there could enter. My father put that in place the day I left. "Why visit them?" He creased his brows and I shrug. "They're my family," I murmur, it's the only excuse I can manage to come up with. "You have a family here too." He reminds and a smile pulls at my lips. "I know," I take a small step closer to him. We stood in the kitchen beside the counter, the lighting dimmed and soft, the opposite energy of the pleasure hall. "But they let me live here on my own without ruling over my entire existence." I shrug. "I owe them a visit every few months." I finalize and he nods, not wanting to intervene any further.

"I'll be back by tomorrow night though," I smile up at him. "You won't have to suffer without me for too long." I tease before taking a sip of my wine. He raises a brow at me, clearly amused. "You're so annoying." He let out a breathless laugh. "That's not what you said last night," I quip, leaning back against the counter, pinned under his gaze as he looks down at me.

"Careful." He warns and the deep sound of his voice has my heart rate quickening. What is wrong with me? "You don't like the truth?" I hum, my bottom lip pinched beneath my teeth as I grin up at him. "Wipe that smile off your face before I do it for you." His expression hardens. My smile doesn't even falter. "Is that a threat shadow singer?" I tilt my head tauntingly. He leans closer, his hands coming to the counter behind me and entrapping me between his arms.

"Do you want it to be?" His brow raises a fraction and my smile seems uncontrollable at this point. His eyes flick down to my lips then quickly back to my eyes. "I thought you liked my mouth?" I taunt. "Shut up already," He grumbles, hand coming to my neck before pressing his lips into mine.

I melt at the feeling I've been craving since I pulled away last night. I wrap my arms around the back of his neck and lean into him. He manually angles my head so he can kiss me deeper, prying my mouth open with his tongue before sliding it in. I allow it, reveling in the feeling of his chest pressed against mine, his hands all over me, and his lips pressed into my mind. It felt unfamiliar, yet we slotted together like puzzle pieces. He filled me whole, his hands traveling down my waist to the bottoms of my thighs where he lifted me in his arms.

I tightened my grasp around him, my chest pressed to him as he carried me away from the kitchen. “I don’t want to ignore this,” I murmur against his lips. “I want you,” I confess and he smirks at the sound of desperation in my voice, making my cheeks flush. “I need you.” He hums and the knot in the base of my stomach tightens. I squeeze my legs around his torso and clutch him closer to me as I plant my lips over his again.

He walks us down the hall but I’m too preoccupied with his mouth to care where we’re going. He hums in approval when I bite at his lower lip, hungry for more. My back comes in contact with a wall and I immediately arch off of it and into his chest. One of his arms carried me while the other roamed up my body, my dress that had ridden up a noticeable amount due to the position. “Fuck me Az,” I hum greedily. He smiled against my lips and with one last peck he pulled away the slightest fraction. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to hear you say those words,” He purrs as he travels down my jaw, placing messy kisses down the column of my throat.

I tug at his shirt, needy for my skin to be pressed to his. I get the material up to his chest and my hands leave his shirt in favor of pressing them onto his exposed abdomen. “More,” I mumble dumbly and he latches down onto my neck in response, finding that sensitive spot and sucking, licking, nipping at it without hesitation. “Az,” I sigh out and he bites down hard enough to pierce the skin. I curse at the oddly arousing feeling and he pushes off the wall, carrying me towards his bed.

He lays me down, still hovering over me as he detaches from my neck, most definitely leaving a mark. He stands over me, looking down at my willing expression. I spread my legs further in a silent plea and a feline smirk spreads across his features. He discards his shirt and I nearly moan at the sight.

Large black wings fanning out behind him, the broadness of his shoulders, and the defined v-line at his hips make me ache. Gods, he was some sort of angel.

“Please,” I whisper as I watch him undo his belt, he doesn’t bother with his pants and takes his place over me, kissing up the valley of my breasts all the way to my lips. His large, scarred hand pushes up my tight dress. His hips settle between mine and I feel the hardness of him right against where I want him most. “Do you see what you do to me?” He said into the crook of my neck, slowly rutting his hips down onto my clothed folds. “Az,” I moan at the friction, hand coming into his hair and tangling into the dark locks.

“This dress, I wanted to rip it off you all night,” He confesses and a teasing smile pulls at my lips. “Then what are you waiting for?” I croon but don’t get a reply and instead, I’m met with a reading of fabric, the expensive dress torn in two and being discarded somewhere on the floor. “Fuck, you’re even more perfect than I imagined.” He hums as he leans up to take me in, lying under him clad in nothing but my underwear and a pair of spandex shorts. “You imagined this?” I tilt my head with a smile and he nods, leaning down and slanting his lips over mine. “Every night.” He hums as shadows swirl up my arms and wrap around my wrists, pulling them together and pinning them to the bed. I pull at them but to no avail, the darkness is much stronger. “Az c’mon,” I whine. “No baby, tonight’s all about you,” He says as he kisses down my neck and to my chest, taking my nipple into his mouth.

I moan at the sight, arching up for his access. I squirm as his hands meet my hips, pinning them down and stopping me from grinding against the air. I moan as he does something wicked with his tongue on my hardened bud, flicking and sucking on it. The sensitivity of it left me quivering.

He leaves my breast with one last swirl of his tongue and leisurely kisses past my ribs, to my navel, until his lips find the hem of my shorts. His hands are quick to discard them, joining my dress on the floor.

He continues his journey downward, two of his fingers hooking under the waistband of my panties. I can’t help but grind up at the sensation, mewling as I get a fraction of pleasure. “This is okay?” He hums and I nod. “I need words baby,” He presses a loving kiss to just above my undies. “Yes Az, please.” I consent and without any other words, he shreds my panties, tearing them into two as they fall off my thighs and the cold air hits my heat.

The smell of arousal doubles and he seems drunk on it. He leans down and licks one long stripe up my cunt, gaze pinned to me as he does so and I can’t help but maintain the eye-contact. “Fuck, baby you taste so good,” He praises, fingertips digging into my hips and I could tell he was constraining himself, holding back from how he truly wanted me. “More,” I pull at the shadows but they don’t give. “I need more,” I sigh and he obeys, live attaching over my clit and I gasped, his tongue teasingly tracing circles around the bud while he sucked on it.

One of his hands left my hips and traveled down past my thighs, two of his fingers dragging themselves through my sopping folds, coating them in his slick. “Az, I need you inside of me,” I whine as he slowly treks them down to my clenching entrance, tracing circles around the area. “Baby, you’re so wet f’ me,” He admires and I clench my eyes shut in embarrassment as I feel my arousal slip down my thighs. “All for you,” I murmur and that seems to push him over the edge because the next thing I know two of his long, thick fingers enter my craving cunt.

I cry out at the foreign stretch, his scared fingers brushing against my sensitive walls. The sensation left me grinding up onto his hand. He sucked harder on my clit and the mixture of both had a familiar coil beginning to grow in the pit of my stomach. His fingers curl teasingly slow, and as soon as he finds that sensitive spongy spot deep inside me he begins to toy with it, the sounds that escape me are unsolicited. “M’ close,” I huff out, head digging into the pillows as he lightly nips at my clit, making me scream in pure pleasure. “Cum for me love,” He whispers against my cunt, his breath fanning over my wet folds.

Then he reattaches and digs his tongue into the pink, sensitive bud, causing that coil to tighten and then snap.

A flood of white-hot pleasure consumes me, waves of ecstasy wash over me, leaving me flushed and covered in my fluids, and when I finish, it’s his name on my tongue, like it always was on those late nights when I had nothing but my own hand— but now he’s here with his tongue delving through my heat, completely entranced with me.

His fingers finally leave my cunt and he lifts away, licking his lips as to not waste a single drop of my release. His hips returned to mine, his heavy, hard cock pressing into my bare pussy and suddenly it was too much, overstimulation absorbing me as he thrashed his pants off and his hard member smacked up against his abdomen. My mouth waters at the sight of it, his tip red and leaking pre-cum down the side. I tug at the shadows binding me, wanting to touch him, to run my finger down the pulsing vein at its underside.

He tuts and presses it down onto the apex of my thighs. The heat between us was enough to light a furnace, gods he looked so perfect above me like this— and finally he had his cock lathering itself in my own fluidity. I moan as the head of it snags at my clit, his pre blending with my own juices. “Az please,” I whine out and he aligns himself with me, prodding at my entrance. We both watch as he pushes into me, his glistening cock slowly disappearing inside of me. I can’t watch for long, my body too focused on how it feels for me to be able to hold myself up. I squirmed as his wide cock pushed deep into me, and every time he entered another inch I moaned, my walls molding around him as he stretched me beyond capacity. Fuck, he’s so big. “Gods, your pretty pussy is sucking me in so good.” He grits out, white-knuckling the sheets beside my head as he refrains from slamming into me. This pace was just as painful as it was pleasurable, I couldn’t imagine what would happen if he went any faster.

He rolls his hips and in doing so enters another inch, I arch up and he goes deeper finding that familiar spongy spot, and I mewl. “There, please right there Az,” I cry out and he lets out a soft chuckle against my shoulder. “I’m barely halfway baby,” He purrs and my brows knot, how could he go any deeper? I didn’t have to wait long for the answer because before I knew it he slammed the rest of him inside of me, his tip brushing against my cervix, and the unknown yet stimulating feeling left me screaming out his name.

My nails dig into my palms as he pulls out then slams back home. His hips snapping to mine, his balls slapping against my ass. “Gods you take me so well,” He admires as tears spring to my eyes. Every time he brushed up against my cervix I couldn’t breathe, he was so fucking big. He continued to ruthlessly ram into me, his speed unmatched as he pounded past that sensitive point nestled inside of me and instead pushed to places where I’d never been touched before, and gods did I love every second of it.

“Feel good love?” He hums below my ear and I open my mouth to reply but words fail me and I can only moan, too fucked out for coherent sentences. He smiles and bites at my lobe, then presses a kiss just below it.

He continues to hammer into me while I pulse around him. “I’m so, so close,” I rasp out, my pussy raw and red as he abuses it. “So fucking tight,” He grunts as he tries to pull out but u are clenching around him too hard, sucking him back in, needy for all of him.

He slammed back in, his base brushing against my clit and that was enough for me to let go, my release coming over me full throttle as a euphoric sensation crashed down onto me, my pleasure blooming right where he was inside of me.

But once I come down from my high he doesn’t pull out, he continues slamming his tight balls into me, rolling his hips over mine. I whimper as the overstimulation consumes me, biting at my bottom lip to stop myself from crying, tears flowing down my cheeks but he doesn’t care, because I realize he isn’t an angel, no, he’s a fucking devil and he wasn’t going to stop pushing into me until his release was nestled deep inside me.

The shadows leave one of my hands, only so he can grab my wrist and guide my palm down my stomach until I can feel his cock moving inside of me. “Feel how deep I am?” He hums and I nod, too fucked out to conjure up any words. “Gods you’re such a good girl,” He praises, pulling me close as I arch into him. My now free hand comes to his back, scratching down his shoulders as my nails dig into his skin. He twitches inside of me, signaling that he’s close. He curses, not wanting this to end, but he can’t help but chase his high, somehow managing to go faster. His face falls into the crook of my shoulder and he kisses and bites at the area. “Az— Ah, too much,” I shake my head and he twitches. “Fuck, say my name again.” He sighs out. “Azriel,” I mewl, hand finding his hair and pulling at the loose curls. “Az, m’ close please,” I whine out, tears streaming down my face. “Me too love, me too.” He reassures and I nod with a whimper.

He slowly pulls out to his tip, only the head of his cock inside of me until suddenly he pushes back in, ramming into my cervix I bite down on my lip at the pleasure, and before I knot it the knot inside of me snaps and my eyes are rolling back as I finish for the third time tonight. I’m too drunk on my high to even register his warm release as it spurts into me, at my cervix, and straight to my womb. I sigh as I milk his cock of its fluids. He groaned out my name as he finished, his lips lining kisses up the side of my face as he muttered about how well I did for him.

After a moment of him nestled inside of me, he slowly pulled out, dragging moans from the base of my throat as he brushed against my over-sensitive walls. “My sweet girl,” He whispers, pecking my lips and I weakly kiss him back. Shadows unravel from my wrists and are free to move off my own volition, but I don’t, my high still lingering as his cum seeps out of my cunt.

“Let’s get you cleaned up, yeah?” He tilts his head and I nod. The bed dips as he gets up, puts a pair of sweats on then walks back over to me.

Gently he picked me up, carrying me bridal style to the connected bathroom where a basin of steaming water was already ready. He placed me down on the cool counter and I smiled as I watched him get a cloth and begin to wipe down my legs.

He was being so gentle not to spike my pleasure any further, cautiously wiping away at my inner thighs. I lean my head against his shoulder, too tired to sit up on my own. Shadows soothe my back, the coldness of them making me sigh in relief. “Stay here okay?” He hums as he puts the cloth back into the basin and I nod, I doubted I could walk if I tried.

He leaves the bathroom and is only gone for a few minutes before he returns with a pair of clothes. A soft smile spreads across my lips as he pulls the nightgown over my head. It was a soft, sheer chiffon the color of a pastel blue. He then hiked a pair of clean undies up my thighs then over my ass, cupping my sensitive heat.

His hands come to my waist and he lifts me, carrying me back to his bed. He places me down onto the soft mattress, the sheets cold as my head hits the pillow. He joins my side, pulling the blankets over the both of us. I flip around and look up at him, his sharp features seeming so gentle in this light. I bring my hand up and cup his neck, my thumb rubbing at his jaw.

He stares down at me with adoration and I grin, leaning up and pressing a kiss to his lips. I wasn’t worried about what this made us, or what we were going to say in the morning. I was busy cherishing the way his strong arm came around my waist and he pulled me towards him, needing me closer. I wrap my arms around his neck and no words are spoken as we lay beside each other, occasionally pressing kisses to the other’s lips when impulsed, basking in each other’s warmth and affection.

———

I was still half asleep when I heard a door slam shut and I startled awake, launching upward. The hand around my waist slips down and I'm greeted with a groan of protest, that same arm pulling me down again. "Azriel someone's here," I say maneuvering out of his hold. "Your brother?" He mumbles and I gasp, quickly slipping from the bed as I curse myself for forgetting that he was coming today. "Fuck, fuck, fuck," I repeat as I scramble for something that offers a little more coverage than my sheer nightgown.

I spot Azriel's plain black shirt hanging from the side of his desk chair and swipe it, pulling it over my head. "Come back to bed," Azriel groans, still half asleep. "Baby please," He whines when I ignore him. I throw a pillow at him and he startles upward. "My brother is here," I stress. "As in, probably walking down that hallway right now and I don't have pants, so where are my clothes," I say and he rubs his eyes. "Hamper." He points to the laundry basket and I fish through the clothes, finding my pair of shorts from last night and hiking them up my thighs.

I run my hands through my hair a few times and hope to the gods I look presentable enough to face my sibling.

I creak open the door softly, exiting into the hallway silently praying he doesn't spot me sneaking into my room. I'm quiet on my feet as I tiptoe to my bedroom, slipping in and closing the door behind me with a sigh of relief, then looking up and gasping when I spot my brother standing over my bed, my bed that clearly wasn't slept in last night. He looks to me with a quirked brow. "I was brushing my teeth," I gesture to the bathroom down the hall and he nods, taking in my appearance. "I'll be ready in ten minutes, I'm sorry, I slept through my alarm." I lie and he looks at me unimpressed. "It's fine, it's not like we're expected or anything." He snakily comments and I refrain from glaring at him and instead laugh at his sardonic joke. He leaves my room and I close the door behind him, quickly rushing over to my wardrobe. My legs were beyond sore but I pushed the pain aside. I found a day gown that was acceptable enough to wear to my parent's house and stripped out of my shorts and Azriel's baggy t-shirt before pulling the dress over my head while hobbling over to my vanity.

I was only going to brush my hair until I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and decided just a brush wouldn't do. I tied my hair up in the easiest yet neatest style I could conjure. I was ready in less than five minutes and in all honestly, I was a little proud of myself.

I left my bedroom, expecting my brother to be waiting right by my door only he wasn't, he was nowhere to be seen in fact.

I wander down the hall. "I’m ready!" I call throughout the house but I get no reply. I call him again but, nothing. I pad into the kitchen and spot Azriel leaning over the counter, pouring himself a steaming cup of black coffee. "Where'd he go?" I murmur, mostly to myself but Azriel's shadows slip from his shoulders and run across the floor only to swirl up my ankles then zipping down the hall, leading me to who I was looking for.

I chase after them immediately, they traveled past my bedroom, and up the walls before curving into the creaked door of Azriel's bedroom. My heart rate picks up as I open the door wider and am met with my brother's unmistakable figure. "What are you doing in Azriel's room?" I demand and he stiffens, turning to me and revealing what he was holding up. "The better question is, what is your dress doing in Azriel's room?" He holds up the short, blue dress and I open my mouth to reply but I come up with nothing.

"Are you going to explain, or should I assume?" He tosses the dress back into the hamper, amused. I grit my teeth. "Why the hel are you going through his stuff?" I snarl and he shrugs. "Had a hunch," He explains and I deadpan. "And based on the smell in this room, I'd say I was right." He smiles down at me and I debate slapping him across the face. "Have fun explaining to mom and dad." He grins and my eyes widen. "No, wait—" I begin but he winnowed away.

Dread consumes me and I quickly winnow after him, my willpower taking me right to the porch of my childhood home halfway across Prythian.

There’s no getting in, the wards were too strong and I was far from a spell cleaver. So instead I bang on the door, balling my hands into fists as I shout through the door, two inches of wood holding me back from stopping my brother from spilling my whole life story.

It was highly frowned upon to share a bed with someone you're not married to in this area of the Autumn Court, especially with a race like Illyrians who seemed to have the exact opposite ideals as my parents. I wish I could say I didn't care what my parents thought of me but I do, anyone would.

"C'mon, open up!" I shout and before the side of my fist can come to contact the door again, it swings open. I freeze. What exactly is my excuse? I probably should've thought about what I was going to say before I tried to knock on the door. My brother was the one to open it, a smug smile on his lips as he moved out of the way to reveal both my parents staring down at me very disappointed.

"You have to let me explain," I enter the house. "We don't want to hear it." My father shakes his head. "We let you have your freedom in the night court but I won't allow you to whore yourself—" My mother begins. "I'm not whoring myself, it was one guy who I've known for over a decade," I explain and she squares her features. "Now you interrupt me? What have those brutes done to you?" Her hands come to my cheeks like I've been injured. "Nothing, mother." I swerve out of her touch. "And they aren't brutes. They’re kind people and if you had the decency to care you'd know that." I say and my father bristles. "How dare you? If we didn't care then you would've been abandoned in the streets decades ago." He claims and my heart crumbled. "You're cruel, all of you," I looked to my brother who was leaning against the bookcase, basking in the chaos he created. "I don't want to listen to your sob stories anymore," My mother put her hand up like she needed to physically stop me. "I've had enough of your, activities—" She says but I cut her off again, "I told you, I've known this guy for years," I stress. "Then I suppose you'll have no problems marrying him." She crossed her arms and I looked at her like she's gone insane. She can't be serious, right?

"What?" I say as if I've misheard her. "You know it's disgraceful to copulate outside of wedlock," She begins. "So this male must atone for stripping you of your purity." My mother reasons. My jaw nearly drops. Strip me of my purity? "If you think he's the first male I've been with you're sorely mistaken." I nearly laugh. "Well I'm sick of it, it's improper and I won't allow my daughter to be a common whore so you either marry him or I don't ever want to see you in this court again." My father bellows over the both of us and I look up at him, his eyes the same as mine. I struggle to maintain steady breathing, they can't mean that. Abandon their only daughter?

I look at my brother. This is what he wanted. He's always been the favorite, the golden child who's never had to struggle a day in his life because his mommy was always there to patch him up when he fell. I grit my teeth and decide that replying with every rageful thought I could think of wouldn't help the situation. So instead, I spin on my heel and march past my brother, towards the front door.

I grab the doorknob but before I leave I turn and look at all three of them.

"I'll see you at the reception." I hum, then turn back and slam the door hard enough behind me to knock books off shelves.

———

When I got back to the house, to my house, I finally regained control of my breathing. I open the door and slam it shut behind me, anger still pent up at my fingertips. I spot Azriel, who had frozen in the middle of the living room as if he was in the middle of pacing back and forth. "What happened? What'd they say?" He immediately questions, taking a step closer to me. My eyes fog over. Not only because I was upset about the predicament but the fact that he was wrapped up in all of this too. I assume his shadows filled him in on what happened before I winnowed away without saying goodbye.

I stay quiet and look to the ground where Shadows pool at my feet, flicking up and occasionally twining around my ankle. "Hey, we don't have to talk about it." He reaches out and grabs both of my hands in his and I wish the touch wasn't as comforting as it was, wish I could find a reason to be upset about the idea of marrying him. I didn't want to give them what they wanted.

"They," I begin but can't seem to get the words out without a lump forming in the base of my throat. "They said they're sick of me, whoring myself around," I mutter with an exhausted expression evident in my creased brows and slumped shoulders. "Whoring yourself? That's ridiculous my love you're not—" He starts. "I know," I pull him closer and wrap my arms around his torso. It seemed so intimate but if there's one thing in this world that I could rely on to make me feel better, it was Azriel's hugs. He was warm and strong and embraced me like he needed to show me his love in a way I couldn't describe.

"They want me to marry you," I whisper and his reassuring rubs on my back halt. I flinch, this is exactly what I didn't want— but his soothing ministrations quickly return after a moment so I continue to explain. “They seem to think I'm going to become a prostitute if I don't get married soon," I say, pulling back slightly and looking up at him.

"And if you don't?" He narrows his brows, mind already working to fix this. "Then they'll disown me," I mutter, letting go of him and bringing my hands up to my face. "I just— I don't know what to do," I speak into my hands. "Marrying you after spending one night together is barbaric, but that doesn't mean I never want to see my family again." I reason, my hands coming down to my sides so I can look at him. "They might be hard on me but, they're still my parents. They raised me. You can't just ignore that," I begin to ramble and his hands find my cheeks, making me slow down.

"And, obviously I want to marry you but that's not something I can force you into," I sigh and his brows rise a fraction. I wait for him to say something, anything. I could practically see the gears turning in his head.

Instead of any words he leans in and presses a soft kiss to my lips that I return without a second thought, so easy it's like we've been together for years. "I want to marry you." He claims against my lips and the tightness in my chest lessens. "I planned on doing it eventually, what's a little earlier?" He hums and butterflies soar in my stomach. "I just wish it was up to us," I murmur. "I know baby, I know." He presses his lips to mine once again and I melt into it. I wrap my arms around the back of his neck and pull him closer. There was nothing lustful or hungry about it. It was sweet and soft and innocent, nothing like last night. He cradled my jaw with a gentleness I didn't know the Shadow Singer possessed and kissed me with such precision that I found myself falling into it. Somehow he managed to comfort me through the action, making me feel like this marriage would go just fine. I drag my hands down his arms up to his wrists and pull his touch away, then pull my lips away.

"C'mon, we've got a wedding to plan."

General Taglist: @fxckmiup @olive-main @iluvyewman-blog @gaymistakeboi @glitterypirateduck @amara-moonlight @impossibelle @fauxdette @going-through-shit @glam-targaryen @cauldronboilme27 @sarawritestories @tele86 @rogerbarnesxx @azriels-shadowsinger @stinkinstuffie @sandramalikstyles-blog @sassyangel16 @lilah-asteria @starsinyourseyes @inloveallthetime @melsunshine @nighttimemoonlover @ireallywannasleep127

Azriel Taglist: @coolepowersthings @lovely-giggles @quiettuba @ilovewarner45 @judig92 @tothestarsandwhateverend @je-suis-prest-rachel @call-me-a-fool @brieflyclassymortal @cherryjain17 @stqrgirlies-blog @chelsiemp @nyxbranwenn

Comment a “💙” to be added to the general taglist!

Comment a “🖤” to be added to the Azriel taglist!

[harleehazbinfics]

Home is where my Heart is.

Chapter 7: Stayed Gone Table of Contents | Profile

Word Count: 1014 A/N: yeah we're going to the singing bits yaaaay. just imagine her voice trying to meld into his and creating this like light airy but enchanting sound on top of his deep and dark tone. cuz yes we love blending and harmonizing in this family. also also alastor will be in bold and miledy in italics and both will be like this for the song. enjoyyyyy (thank you sm transcribers of the wiki id actually die if encoded all of that gshdajsdg)

“This is such a nice day,” I hummed enjoying my tea while Alastor sat opposite of me reading the paper with his coffee and enjoyed the mundane moment together.

Until it wasn’t, as a rocket launches below us. “Come show yourself, Alastor! Come face—oh, there you are. Face my wrath!”

“Who are you?” he jeers enjoying getting on his nerves while I smiled at the two. Al clearly doesn’t dislike him but instead enjoys toying with him, he doesn’t completely shut him down unlike an unpleasant certain someone. I actually find Sir Pentious quite cute how he tries to size Alastor up despite failing several times but he’s got guts I give him that.

“Who am I? Who am I? I am the great Sir Pentious! Inventor! Architect of Destruction! Villain extraodinare!” He announces while the both of us slide within Al’s shadow and appear in front of Charlie and the others.

“Ooh! He’s a bad boy!” Nifty calls as she appears on top of Al’s shoulder.

He takes Nifty and places her in my arms and replies, “Ha, well if all that's true, you'd think I'd have heard of you.”

“I attacked you literally last week,” Sir Pentious replies, only for Alastor to cock his head, “We've done battle, like... 20 times.”

 “Well, you must have been really bad at this,” he teases putting his cane down.

“Silence! Now cower! For when I've ssslain you, the almighty Vees will finally acknowledge me as their equal.”

“Ooh! Wait, who are the Vees?” Nifty asks while in my arms.

“Oh, nobody important,” both Al and I respond giving each other a knowing look.

While Al kept beating up the poor lad, I turn my eyes on the drone in the sky noticing the familiar logo on it. A devious smile creeps on my face as I place Nifty on the ground and shot it down with a lance made of water. It falls with a crash conveniently landing on my feet. I crushed it under my heel before turning back to the group.

“Thanks for another forgettable experience,” Al says pleased with himself while he leans on his cane looking down at Sir Pentious.

“Thank you...” he pauses before tearing off a piece of his tailcoat, “for letting your guard down!

“Oh, deer,” I mutter, wide eyed as I watched Al transform into his demon form and makes an explosion that causes the snake to fly off to the distance.

“Well, it looks as though I need a visit to the tailor! Best of luck, chums,” he announces, taking me with him.

“Wait, you're LEAVING?! Alastor! We need your help! We need you to do your job,” Vaggie yells gesturing to the hotel.

“We need a wall,” Angel deadpans pointing at the broken wall.

“Of course! Can't let my new project fall into disrepair already. What would the papers say?!” he exclaims.

With a snap of his fingers his shadows appear with building equipment. He turns away from the group and takes us to the pentagram. We enjoy a little stroll before getting inside the boutique, he got his suit redone while I looked at the new dress they had on display. I bought a couple dresses that caught my eye and exited the building together, only to be greeted by Vox’s unpleasant face singing on the television. We shared a look and went back to Al’s studio with a smile.

“Salutations! Good to be back on the air,” We greeted in sync blending our voices ever so often creating a seductive distortion.

“Yes, I know it's been a while since someone with style treated Hell to a broadcast.” Al starts off while I finish, “Sinners rejoice!”

“What a dated voice!” Vox yells.

I drape my arms around Al’s neck as he sat back on his seat in an easy going way while keeping the microphone to his face and replies, “Instead of a clout chasing mediocre video podcast.”

“Is Vox insecure, pursuing allure? Flitting between this fad and that. Is nothing working? Ha ha!” we tease him enjoying the annoyance in his voice.

“IGNORE THEIR CHIRPING!”

“Every day he's got a new format!”

“YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE FUTURE! He's the shit that comes before that!”

“Is Vox as strong as he purports? Or is it based on his support? He'd be powerless without the other Vees!”

“Oh, PLEASE.”

“And here's the sugar on the cream. He asked ME to join this team!”

“Hold on!”

“I said no, and now he's pissy! That's the tea.”

“You old timey PRICK! I'll show you suffering!”

“Uh oh, the TV is buffering!”

“I'LL DESTROY YOOOOU YOU LITTLE—"

His little temper tantrum leads him to short circuit causing the electricity in the entire pentagram to disappear.

“I'm afraid you've lost your signal.”

“Let's begin.” He sings menacingly slowly transforming to his demon form. “Let's begin.” I sang hauntingly on top of his voice, my eyes turn black leaving my glowing blue irises hypnotically.

“I'm gonna make you wish that I stayed gone!” “Tune on in.”

"When I'm done, your status quo will know its race is run!

Oh, this will be fun!"

I laughed in delight, celebrating our wonderful comeback to our radio show. Al gives me smile and stands there quietly enjoying my reaction.

“That was wonderful! We haven’t done that in so long!” I gushed holding onto his hands. “I thought I’d have to wait 200 hundred years to sing with you again.”

He laughs petting my head, “No need for drastic measures, my dear. I’m here to stay.”

I beamed a smile and gave him a brief hug. “I’m guessing you’ll be greeting our new guest,” I asked while fixing his bow.

“But of course! I need to welcome their little toy they reeled in for us,” he smirks, “Have a good rest. I’ll see you later.”

I wave him off before I went back to our room, relaxing in our bed drifting to sleep.

‘Mom! Dad! I found some flowers over here!’

Tears fall down my face as I recall much happier times.

[eshoeteric]

🍓 style analysis: nana komatsu / hachi (NANA) 

welcome to the first entry in my style analysis series- where i take a different fictional character for each entry and take a look at their fashion sense, as an exploration on how fashion plays a role in forming a character's personality & overall identity. in other words, it's a deep dive into the intersection of story & style. today we're starting off with nana komatsu (who we'll be affectionately referring to as hachi from here on out) from NANA, my favourite character from my favourite manga of all time.

NANA is a manga very near and dear to my heart. i could spend all day talking about why, but i'd say one of the biggest reasons is for how ai yazawa (the creator of NANA) uses fashion as a means of storytelling. in NANA, clothes are not just a typical character design element, but are instead a visual narrative tool used to convey a characters' personality, as well as to express their traits and feelings. today i've chosen hachi for the style analysis because i'm fascinated by the subtle changes to her style syncing with her character development over the course of the story. also, i think her style is just super cute. so let's get into it! (⚠ anime & manga spoilers ahead)

🍓

overview

if i only had one word to describe hachi's style, i'd say feminine- think frills and lace details. she's all about babydoll silhouettes, pleated skirts, knit cardigans, ballet flats, and generally embodying shoujo fashion from the early 2000s with a good balance of cute and classy. hachi's fashion sensibilities lean more towards the modest side, as her dresses and skirts are usually around midi-length, and mini skirts are often paired with extra layers like tights or leggings underneath. it's a very good girl chic look, which fittingly leans in to her innocent personality. hachi is very stylish and clearly puts a lot of thought into picking her outfits everyday, as she's not afraid to occasionally experiment with different styles every & to use fashion as a key means of expressing herself.

in terms of colour palettes, hachi's wardrobe has a bit of everything- warm hues, earth tones, soft pastels, which all work together to capture the warmth and sweetness of her character. she's definitely more attuned to light colours than dark. this suits her personality better too, as light coloured clothing is said to convey feelings of friendship, fun, compassion, and approachability. fabric-wise, hachi likes to keep it light and airy with materials like chiffon and tulle; switching to warmer fabrics like cashmere and wool for cold weather, giving her outfits a vintage feel.

we can see that hachi pulls fashion inspiration from various aesthetics and fashion trends across different decades. she definitely incorporates her love for vintage fashion in her style, particularly with elements we've seen her wear before like mod dresses, neckerchiefs, pearl necklaces, long fleece trim coats, and brown platform boots. you can also see it in how some of the pieces she wears feels so unique, like a surprise gem you would find in a vintage boutique while thrifting. in dressier looks, hachi's girlish charm and allure is slightly reminiscient of 1960s it girls, like twiggy and sharon tate. she draws from a lot of 60s-inspired elements- the romantic parisienne style, and a bit of vintage preppy chic.

scarves and bandanas are a vintage essential as well as one of hachi's signature accessories. they have tons of versatile styling options, plus the potential to be dressed up or down. we've seen her wearing one scarf (exhibit A) multiple times over the series. the babushka scarf version has to be my favourite, it's very hepburn-esque, who i 100% i could picture hachi having a poster of in her childhood bedroom. i also think that having characters re-wear pieces we've seen before is generally just a cool subtle styling detail, which adds to the realism of NANA's 10/10 worldbuilding. the scarf's many appearances styled in different ways also goes to show how hachi enjoys being creative with her outfits, loves the pieces she owns and wants to get as much use out of them as possible.

hachi's style also incorporates a touch of influence from the kawaii lolita subculture, particularly modern offshoots like larme-kei. lolita is french rococco-inspired with a focus on cuteness, and has its origins in early 2000s harajuku street style- which is also where mori/kogyaru fashion originates from; hachi's go-to style during her high school years (see: her modified school uniform, miniskirts, fuzzy legwarmers). both of these movements were heavily pioneered by j-fashion magazines of the time like FRUITS, Olive, Larme & CUTiE, which were mainly popular with teenage girls and young women, and hachi is no exception. her fashion sense is also heavily inspired by famous japanese celebrities and style icons like risa nakamura.

if we had to really narrow it down, i think hachi's style can be best described by otome (lit: maiden) fashion. known as one of the predecessors of lolita fashion, this style was very popular among young girls in the 70s-80s and is heavily centered around embodying all things traditionally feminine. sweet, cute, girly, and romantic are all common descriptors of the style, which pulls influence from 60s mod fashion (which, as we've seen, has prevalent elements in hachi's style). think tons of layering, pattern mixing, longer hemlines, and mary janes/flats, all of which we frequently see in hachi's outfits. we also see that she takes elements from modern lolita fashion like frills, bows, ribbons, lace, tights & stockings, and incorporates them into her own personal style as more understated outfit details; making it more wearable on a daily basis while still being a tribute to one of her sources of style inspiration.

now that we've explored what makes hachi's personal style unique to her character, let's dig into how her style is influenced in relation to how the story progresses and how her character develops. and just for funsies, i'll also be styling a casual everyday outfit that i could picture hachi wearing for each story arc. let's go!

🍓

i. art school

i'd describe hachi's style here as the most youthful, which makes sense considering she's freshly moved to tokyo to study at an art school. we see her sporting a face-framing pixie cut, which gives her look a bit of edge, but not too much as she still retains her signature soft girl style to balance it out. also, can i just say: super farmer's daughter vibes when paired with a bandana! jeans were having a moment too- during this era, hachi was often seen wearing a pair of bellbottom flares or baggy jeans, creating a casual and easygoing look which really leaned into the artsy college student fashion. this would also mesh well with her then-best friend junko's more bohemian/indie, woodstock-inspired hippie style. the short hair paired with her experimentation on androgynous silhouettes definitely accentuates her gamine facial features, lending to a cute boyish look.

all these style elements are in direct contrast with the hyperfeminine looks of her high school years, back when she'd opt for skirts over jeans and long, styled hair; showing how hachi underwent a pretty drastic style change whilst adapting to the new environment in tokyo. at the same time, it could also hint at hachi's approach to self-expression & using fashion as a coping mechanism to deal with major life changes. dressing more casually to blend in with the college crowd is one of many indicators on how easily influenced hachi can get, which is pretty on-brand behaviour for someone with a tendency to seek validation from others instead of oneself.

so let's get into the first look i've picked out for her: layers on layers on layers baby! for this outfit, i took a lot of inspiration from hachi's first day of class outfit. i tried to be consistent with her theme of 70s-inspired prints and silhouettes during this phase, but also wanted to incorporate a modern y2k touch since we know that younger hachi (before fully developing her unique & personal sense of style) is more of a trend chaser, and what could be more early 2000s than a blouse + dress + jeans combo? accessories-wise, i wanted to pick out unique-looking pieces that had a lot of charm, as i was really going for that 'flea market finds' vibe since she obviously wouldn't have been able to afford any designer yet on a college student budget. also please notice the gorgeous vintage floral print ballet flats- i was so excited when i found it, i thought it screamed hachi!! they look so comfortable to walk in on top of being cute, it's the perfect shoe to slip on for a long day of classes without sacrificing style.

🍓

ii. apartment 707

during this time, we see hachi start to embrace feminine styles again. she lets her hair grow out and we see her back in skirts, dresses, and all things girly, which is why her otome fashion influences shine through most here. she wears tons of pieces in floral and polkadot print, as well as flowy babydoll tops which are very y2k-girl-next-door-reminiscient. we also see her starting to wear vivienne jewelry (the pearl choker, the dainty silver orb earrings), likely as a result of nana's influence (who she heavily admires and looks up to) & wanting to emulate her style. hachi's outfits here seem to have more colour and print, which i believe is reflective of her mental state here; happy, confident, and surrounded by support. good vibes all around, her environment at this time encourages her to take more risks in not just decision-making but also in her fashion choices.

in general, this era is where hachi seems to be getting a better hold on growing into her own personal style. she's still open to trying out different styles every now and then, but we can see there are some style elements that really stick and appear most often in her outfits. she's also seen here experimenting with all kinds of different hairstyles- french braids, pigtails, twin buns, the half-updo. to me, i think all of this signifies how hachi's style development runs parallel to her identity formation and how she grows as a person. at this point of the story, hachi believes she's finally found a place where she fits- within this ragtag but loving cast of unique characters.

so the second look was a little more of a challenge to work with- that's because hachi's style during this era doesn't subscribe to any one specific aesthetic or subculture, but more like a bit of everything, and her outfits can differ a lot between episodes. the goal here was to go for a casual daytime outfit, and i ended up super proud of the colour coordination in this one! i've styled hachi in a frilly vintage floral print chiffon slip dress that's almost reminiscent of the strawberry dress of 2020, but with unique details that give it much more character. i gave hachi a cream-toned vivienne crossbody purse, a scarf to balance out the salmon pink of the dress accents, styled as a neckerchief, some strawberry hair clips to match, and of course i had to include her much-spotted pearl orb necklace too. the highlight of this look are definitely the shoes, which are maison margiela tabi ballet flats- something i could 100% picture hachi wearing if NANA were set in the context of modern day fashion trends.

🍓

iii. motherhood

as time passes, we also see how hachi's fashion sense has slightly evolved into a classier, more refined version. more adult, if you will. this occurs when hachi decides to move out from apartment 707 and starts getting serious with takumi. not only did her living situation change, but as did her lifestyle, and with that, her fashion sense too. her style here simplified and took on a more mature look. she started prioritizing function over form as she cut down on layering and accessorizing. she would also opt for longer, flowier silhouettes and comfortable styles, often wearing simple dresses or aprons over a basic shirt-skirt combo. i really like how the change in style here - which pulls a lot from the 50s-suburbia housewife trope (think frilly aprons, puffy dresses, flared skirts, modest hemlines) - feels like a sublte detail to show how hachi settles into her new role of motherhood, expressed via clothing choices.

as a whole, this period of her life signifies the drastic 180° change from spending carefree days of young adulthood, to taking on the role of mother/wife in a nuclear family unit. it's the most major life change she's ever had to experience at this point, and it's expected that her style evolves alongside this. she's seen wearing noticeably less patterns or colour during this time, which could hint at possibly representing her inner feelings- the bleakness of spending her days in a mostly-empty home, and the isolation of being separated from the friendships she once surrounded herself with daily. thankfully, we do eventually see her return to dressing fashionably again after the timeskip. however, it's extremely important not to gloss over this period of her life as it portrays how she must have felt having most of her agency taken away overnight, with her style being all she had left as a form of control.

so last but not least is the final outfit, which was tough styling as there was comparably less material to go off, but i based it on the few going-out looks we get to see hachi wear post-takumi. rolling with the 50s-inspired looks, i've styled her in a coral short-sleeve button down dress. for the outerwear i picked a long checkered overcoat, which nicely complements the dress in addition to being a going-out staple for classy ladies everywhere. since the outfit is mostly harsher silhouettes, i decided to keep the colour scheme light to balance it out. while i was going for 'stylish mature woman', i still wanted some youthful elements in there to maintain hachi's signature girlish look. i balanced it out by accessorizing with a headband (a prep chic essential) and dior saddle bag, both lime green for a pop of colour and contrast. and of course, i had to incorporate the iconic neckerchief too as it doesn't get any more vintage-looking than this. the final piece to tie it all together are a pair of classic miu miu ballet flats- chic and comfortable!

🍓

final thoughts

all in all, hachi's fashion sense is super girly and sweet, which i'd say directly reflects on her character's personality. hachi is an outgoing girl who wears her heart on her sleeve and has a lot of love to give. she's warm and approachable, which she expresses through her clothing choices by embodying the cheerful, down-to-earth girl next door look. her bubbly style is youthful and fresh, which personality-wise is in character with hachi's innocence and willingness to trust others. this is shown through how much hachi cares deeply about her loved ones & often (unhealthily) prioritizes their feelings over her own. however, this naïveté unfortunately leaves her a lot more vulnerable to others seeking to exploit her emotional attention.

hachi's fashion evolution over the series shows how she uses fashion as a coping tool to help adjust to life changes, capturing her emotional growth and how she matures over the course of the story. the way that hachi's sense of style develops alongside her character is so realistic. her style development tells the story of a girl who finds herself and loses herself over and over again, frequently changing jobs and wardrobes in a constant struggle to find an identity to latch onto- until she does. hachi's style story is one of self-expression & identity formation; a story that speaks to all the young, unsure girls out there who see a bit of themselves in her, trying to figure out their place in a world in a world that often decides for them.

[larkspyrr]

chapter i — we could form an attachment (wc. 4.9k)

prev — masterlist / ao3 — next

reblogs are appreciated!

The Opera Epiclese was almost always a circus — sometimes in the most literal sense of the word. But this event was on another level entirely.

The epicenter of Fontaine's rich history on Erinnyes played host to a menagerie of pastels, frills, cuffs, and nonsense. A sea of nobles and hopefuls swarmed the Court of Fontaine from Marcotte Station all the way to the Fountain of Lucine — a mass of the nation's wealthiest, most ambitious, and most eligible young people, escorted here and there by older family members with varying degrees of investment, twirling and sipping and gossiping.

The jets hidden within the overlapping layers of shallow pools spouted pillars of crystalline water, casting an almost imperceptible mist over the whole courtyard, granting it an ethereal charm and allure not befitting such fatuous rituals. A flood of rainbow roses, lumidouce bells, marcottes, and activated romaritimes bloomed raucously over every inch of the gardens, their aroma thick but not unpleasant, their petals offering a lush natural carpet for the venue — not that there was enough space between the milling crowd to appreciate it. Cuihua trees bursting with bulle fruit lined the perimeter, the little citruses begging to be picked, only protected by the unspoken high society rule that to do so would be unbecoming. A small quartet of violins stood before the fountain itself, playing a light-hearted and airy song to accompany the festivities, though not a soul was paying attention.

A few lucky (or conversely, unlucky) aristocrats may leave the Opera tonight with the promise of approaching nuptials and a happy future. Far more would simply leave with an impending hangover and some gossip on Baron Something-or-Other's latest romantic failings.

You took a dainty sip from your champagne flute. It would be more nauseating if it weren't so entertaining. You and Lady Furina seemed to have that in common — an enduring appreciation for the cyclical drama. You wondered absently if the Archon herself would make an appearance to stir something up. You hoped she would.

All the world's a stage, indeed.

You made your way across the courtyard, the click of your heels on the parquet stone drowned out by the throng; a nearby wide, stone planter in your sights. It would be as good a place as any for you to remain aloof and antisocial but still in sight of your father, who spared you a supervisory glance from where he stood with other noblemen, certainly discussing nothing of importance.

From your new perch, the noise and color and spectacle all were duller, easier to digest. You leaned against the marble and observed the sea of activity, daintily nursing your drink.

You were enjoying the time spent on your own when you heard a soft rustle of fabric to your right — a noise that would have been impossible to catch had you been any closer to the heart of the gathering. You turned in time to see a man you didn't recognize leaning against the same planter as you, looking for all the world as comfortable as if you'd invited him to be there.

You had not.

He didn't seem to belong there — that much was evident — and not just because he was an unfamiliar face. Tall and dark, his icy blue eyes were framed by a rush of thick, dark hair and a thin, crescent scar. Far from his only scar, by the looks of it — a complex network traveled down his neck and disappeared under his collar, intricate enough to rival the meticulous lacework that had cost your father a pretty mora at the boutique — despite your insistence that such costs were wholly unnecessary. The stranger's suit, a well-tailored gray and black ensemble, was partially obscured by a fussy, fur-lined coat. His burgundy tie was ever-so-slightly crooked, making your fingers twitch with the urge to adjust it. A desire no doubt born of the years you had been doing the very same for father.

Even under the warmth of the setting summer sun, he seemed to radiate a chill that brought goosebumps to your exposed arms.

If he'd ever been at an event before this one, there was no way you could have forgotten him. He seemed the type to linger in someone's mind long after he left a room.

He tilted a polite smile down at you.

"Good afternoon, miss," he greeted in a voice altogether too friendly to match his intimidating countenance.

"Charmed," you clipped. You gave him an appraising look, not rushing the path your eyes made up his frame, from the clunky boots, ill-suited for the occasion, to the silver streaks in his hair he didn't seem quite old enough for yet. He had the dignity not to cower under your inspection. "I'm afraid this flowerbed is occupied, sir. Please find your own."

His smile shifted and was clearly meant to look apologetic. You weren't convinced. "I'm afraid I can't."

You lifted a brow. If nothing else, this could be an entertaining interlude from the pomp and circumstance. "And why not?"

He cleared his throat, nodding in the direction of some hedges across the way. You flicked your eyes over discreetly, just in time to catch a head of blonde hair and another of jet curls disappearing behind the greenery, followed by stage whispers that surely they didn't think were quiet. Didn't they?

"You see," he began in a lower tone, clearly having better mastered the art of not being overheard than your spectators. "There is a gaggle of lovely but persistent young women in pursuit of me at this very moment, and I'd very much like to be engaged in conversation with someone else in order to postpone my torment. I'd be in your debt if you could look engrossed in this discussion for just long enough that they lose interest and find someone else to prey upon."

You hummed thoughtfully, watching now ginger curls leaning incautiously from behind the hedge, green eyes landing viciously on you and the interloper before vanishing once more. Just how many girls were hiding behind there?

"Oh?" you said, raising the glass to your lips with a smirk. "Not interested in sampling their scintillating conversation skills? Are you not here in search of a partner?"

"No, I'm not," he responded good-naturedly, running a hand through the artfully tousled sweep of his hair. "I have no intentions to marry at present."

You hmphed, twirling the flute in a gloved hand. "Yet here you are," you said, softly flicking the glass in his general direction, the tiny whirlpool you'd gotten going interrupted. You did not bother to conceal your skepticism. "Tolerating the vagaries of a high society debutante ball. And you'd tell a complete stranger this, because...?"

He leaned in, conspiratorial. "I am here as a matter of obligation only. Politics. Appearances. You understand." He returned back to his former stance, expression neutral, resting lazily against the polished marble. "Let's just say I'm sharp enough to recognize a kindred spirit when I see one."

You could feel yourself reflecting the same curiosity that danced in his eyes against your better judgment. This exchange was turning out to be interesting. "A kindred spirit, is it?"

"Indeed," he said. "Judging by the fact that you are also skulking in this corner and don't seem to have any more interest in mingling at this event than I do."

"I do not 'skulk'," you responded, unamused at his word choice. "And while I'd ask you to separate me from your assumptions, you aren’t incorrect. I'm also here only because it is expected of me."

He looked pleased with himself at your confirmation, and now dealt you the same appraisal you'd previously subjected him to with a calculating stare. You fought the urge to fidget under his evaluation, finding it beyond frustrating to have no idea what he was thinking behind his amicable yet inscrutable exterior. "Is that so? It is not often you see a noble lady uninvested in the affairs of the court."

You bristled, fighting the urge to furrow your eyebrows in a way you'd been told by many etiquette coaches was 'unflattering'. "There are greater aspirations to have beyond being a pretty little thing for some nobleman to set on his trophy shelf. Even for so-called 'noble ladies'."

He laughed then, a short, surprised burst. The sound was rich, reverberating in your bones. "My apologies. Please don't misunderstand, my curiosity tends to get the better of me. Indulge me?"

You sniffed, turning away from him once more to observe the hedge across the path — it seemed quiet enough now that the ladies within must have moved on like he'd hoped they would. Your chin lifted of its own accord as you flicked your eyes back to him. "I'm not interested in discussing my life aspirations with a man who lacks the good manners to even introduce himself first."

His mouth pulled up at one corner. "Are you sure the exchange of such confidential information would be of equal value?"

You held your stance, unfazed. "That will be for me to decide, sir."

"Very well." He inclined his head, an earnest hand pressed to his chest. "I am Wriothesley, Duke of the Fortress of Meropide. It is an honor to make your acquaintance."

You felt the color leave your face and your fingers go dead cold. This man — the Duke of Meropide, of all things — watched cheerfully as you hurried into polite obeisance. Damn it all. You hadn't exactly been courteous with the man. "Your Grace. The honor is mine."

His eyes still shone with mirth as you straightened. "Please, no need for such formalities. My mistake for — ah, what was it you said?'' he pondered, eyes drifting off in mock thought as you waited, drenched in miserable anticipation. "Right! ‘Not having the good manners to introduce myself first’."

Your cheeks warmed and you forced back a rush of frustration with yourself. "My apologies, I — I meant no disrespect," you said, gathering your composure. "You are not at all what I pictured, Your Grace. I hadn't known you were to attend a society function here on the surface."

"Tragically, society functions below the Fontemer are in short supply," he said sardonically. "And please, don't apologize, it's not often one gets to enjoy a chat with a charming, spirited stranger. What's your name?"

You offer it with another small nod. "My father is the Viscount Vellerot."

As if on cue, you faintly heard your father's voice calling your name from somewhere amidst the hustle and bustle; evidently he'd lapsed in his duty as your chaperone — once again — and had lost track of you. You weren't sure what it was he may want, though; clearly something must have come up to remind him of his purpose at this party. That was generally the way of things.

You tended to prefer being forgotten.

"And that would be him calling for me now," you explained as you pushed yourself from the planter and stepped past him. "This flowerbed is all yours. It was a pleasure to hide from the gaggle of lovely women with you, Your Grace. Good luck avoiding them for the rest of the evening."

He chuckled, a sheepish smile on his face. "The pleasure was all mine, my lady," he said. "But don't think I've forgotten our deal. You still owe me an answer."

With a vague smile and a polite curtsy, you disappeared back into the crowd, leaving the duke still leaning against the flowerbed.

Turns out, your father had only wished to introduce you to yet another son of yet another powerful acquaintance of his. His hopeful eyes as he sent the two of you off to dance only made it harder to turn the boy down, even if he were several years your junior and an entitled brat to boot. Your father truly only wanted your happiness, and you didn’t have the heart to tell him his efforts were in vain. This young noble wasn't the first you'd ever had to reject, and you unfortunately very much doubted he'd be the last — though you hoped he would, at least, be the last for that particular soirèe.

It turned out that would not be the case either, but you tried to keep an approximation of optimism anyway.

The one thing more sure than the line of people begging your attention — for want of your dowry and the association with your family, not anything to do with you, mind — was the tidal wave of whispers that had begun to take over the flow of the neverending gossip. It hadn't taken long for the news to spread —

Did you hear? This event has a special guest —

The Duke of Meropide is here? He must finally be looking for a duchess…

Come, Anne, allow me to introduce you to the duke. Fix your gloves, we want to make a good impression. Let me put this flower in your hair — maybe he will ask you for a dance!

Slowly, all the usual chirping melted away into one, resounding sentiment from all corners of the court — the Duke of Meropide is here, and he will be mine.

None of them knew what you did. You did your best to conceal your smile at the knowledge that all their posturing and peacocking was an investment in vain. Just as it was when their artless schemes were directed at you.

Afternoon melted into evening and you'd been idling away the hours, chatting to and dancing with and entertaining people who you didn't have the privilege to inform were wasting their time with you, longing to be anywhere else.

You finally seized enough of an opening to flee the courtyard proper for a moment of respite in a blooming hedge maze, as the gathering at the top of the grand stone steps was dying down and getting ready to migrate to the beautiful, opulent expanse of the Icewind Suite for the evening's grand finale. You found a remote, hidden spot and sat heavily, removing a shoe so you could massage the soles of your aching, overworked feet.

A branch snapped nearby and you whipped your head in its direction, heart thundering, to find the individual responsible for interrupting your moment of rest.

You should have known.

"We meet again," said the duke with a dip of his head.

"We do indeed," you said from where you were seated, letting your foot drop. Even in the dim lighting of the garden, you could see the man looked worn. Delight pulled at your lips at his evident misfortune. "Enjoying your evening?"

He sighed, a long, drawn-out, heartfelt sound. "Can't say that I am," he admitted.

You smiled ruefully. "That makes two of us. These events are nothing if not a test of our constitution." A yawning silence expanded between you and you slipped your heel back on, standing with a small stretch. You brushed down your dress. "I will return to the group. I really shouldn't be seen here with you without my chaperone, Your Grace. It wouldn't be proper."

He rolled his eyes. "Don't you ever get fatigued by these stuffy, outdated rules?"

"Every day," you said wryly. "But the rules still exist, and I have a reputation to uphold. I can't be thought to have been compromised. There are always sharp eyes waiting for someone to slip."

He crossed his arms in front of his chest, keen eyes glinting, in a gesture all too calculating for your liking. "Why risk coming out here alone at all?" he asked. "What if a person with bad intentions were to come looking for you? Someone who might wish to 'compromise' you?"

"A person other than you?" you retorted. "All I know of your intentions is that they do not include marriage, yet here you are anyway. Who's to say what your intentions truly are?"

He frowned. "Point taken," he conceded. "Though I assure you, they are nothing untoward. You didn't answer my question."

Your smile was scornful. "Fear not, Your Grace, for I am quite sure no one at this party could present any real physical threat to me. Of course, we are all always subject to the whims of the rumor mill, and I'm afraid that could do much more damage to me than any wealthy man in tights ever could."

His lips twitched in amusement. "Physical?" he remarked. "You grow more intriguing with every word."

"I am quite skilled, sir, both with a sword and without," you replied, a proud tilt to your chin.

He hummed thoughtfully, nodding. "That brings our deal back to mind. What is it you'd do instead, if not play along with these society games?"

You considered him for a long moment. His curiosity seemed genuine. You saw no reason to lie or disguise the truth. "I'd become a Champion Duelist."

His eyes widened almost imperceptibly before his smile broadened. "How about that?"

Your eyes narrowed, leaning forward into his space just slightly. "Is there a problem?"

"Not at all," he assured with a dismissive wave and a light, surprised laugh. "Just caught off guard."

You huffed and leaned back, allowing the remainder of your defensiveness to drain away. "Miss Clorinde is an acquaintance of my father, as it sometimes seems everyone in Fontaine is," you said, dry. "She has been gracious enough to join me in training from time to time. Of course, that will slow considerably during the social season while I trade in my boots for heels and my fencing ripostes for verbal ones."

He looked lost in thought for a moment. "I knew nothing about the aristocracy before receiving my title — it wasn't part of the curriculum for urchins, believe it or not. But in all my studies since, I've never once heard of a member of the inherent nobility leaving their seat for such a role."

"There is a first for all things," you said airily. "I had forgotten you come from, uh, humble beginnings. Your studies must have been quite intensive."

"I do, and they were. They still are. There's a lot about all of this I still find kinda baffling. My 'humble beginnings' are unfortunately part of the reason I have to make appearances this season," he said, tone ringing resentful. "It seems not all of our peers are pleased that a former… commoner with an honorary title is in the position I'm in. There are those interested in incorporating the Fortress as an official Fontainian entity — a government-managed facility. The question of my legitimacy is only helping their case when I haven't participated at court in any formal capacity as Duke."

You pondered his words for a moment. "So the rumors are true? This truly is your first time ever attending a society function?"

He nodded, his nose wrinkling with distaste. "It is, and it seems no amount of reading could have prepared me for it. The Iudex suggested that making a point of looking for a wife of noble birth, genuine or otherwise, might be enough to keep the wolves at bay, at least until the nobility votes to solidify or dissolve the Fortress of Meropide's autonomy, and by extension, my position as its administrator. He said if I wished to sway the vote my way, then I'd have to convince them I belong." He grimaced. "And that I’d have to consider making some sacrifices to do so.”

"I can't say that I'm surprised," you said. "These people value one thing above all else — their own superiority. Anything that threatens that, threatens them. If you were to form a connection with a strong family, the fuss would surely die down. No one wants to be on the bad side of those more powerful than they are."

The duke hummed. "Then Lord Thibeault must think he is very threatened indeed. I've been feeling a bit like a fish quite literally out of water. Would it be improper of me to say I miss my fortress?"

You snorted, unladylike. "He's the ring leader? Lord Thibeault must have far too much time on his hands if he is available to cause as much trouble as he does."

"You're familiar?"

"'Familiar' is one way of putting it. Lord Thibeault is a busybody and a wretch. He can't bear to see anything fresh or interesting shake up his beloved court or upset the status quo he holds so dear."

"So it seems," the duke said thoughtfully, letting a quiet beat pass. "Your aspiration was a pleasant surprise. Thank you for sharing it with me."

"It is only a secret by necessity," you sighed. "Not because I'd like it to be. What was your expectation?"

"I didn't have any expectations,” he said. His mouth curved into a roguish grin. “Never do. That's what makes the wait so good. I love cliffhangers."

You laughed. "I'd hate to have kept you in suspense. Sadly, the endless cycles of dancing and tea and etiquette classes will leave me little time to continue my training over the coming months, so my dream will remain just that: a dream."

"Why do you do it, then?” he asked, cocking his head. “Continue enduring all this nonsense?"

"As I said before, it is my duty,” you said slowly, wilting. A familiar feeling of defeat sank into your bones. “It would set a bad precedent if I didn't. I have two younger sisters and my father is a good man who only wants us to be happy, but he is getting on in years and... well. If I were to dishonor our family by abandoning them before they were situated, I could never forgive myself."

His eyebrows drew together and you could see his gears turning. "That's why you continue to take part?"

"Yes. I just need to somehow find a way to avoid any... obligations until they are in safe, happy situations, and then maybe I can be free. They are only just behind me in years, so it won't be that long. If all goes according to plan, a few years, maybe. Otherwise, as there is no male heir, my sisters would be at the next Viscount Vellerot's mercy when my father passes, whoever he may be once he is named. I will not risk their futures for my own selfishness."

The duke frowned. "I don't think wanting to pursue what would make you happy should be considered selfish."

You shrugged. "Nevertheless, if I want to make sure my sisters are taken care of, I likely will eventually need to secure the hand of a respectable man, my own wishes be damned,” you sighed. “I suppose I just can’t help but to naively hope for something more."

He looked to be lost in thought, arms crossed in front of his chest, tapping a considering finger on his chin, a tap-tap-tap that set your teeth on edge and filled your with a sense of foreboding. His eyes, looking at something far off in the distance, eventually focused back on your own as he came to some hidden conclusion in his mind.

"And what of a duke?" he offered.

You blinked, your mind hurrying to understand the implication of his words, yet failing to do so. "Something on your mind, Your Grace?"

"I have a proposition for you."

You looked at him intently. "And what would that be? This isn't going to be another ill-fated proposal, is it?” you scolded. “I thought you were supposed to be smarter than that."

"Oh, not at all," he said, dangerous eyes holding yours in a vice grip. "We could pretend to form an attachment."

You found yourself temporarily at a loss for words. You heard him, knew the meaning of each word in solitude, but strung together in such a fashion they felt like mismatching puzzle pieces, the completed landscape out of reach. "What do you mean?"

He began to pace in the small clearing, gesturing with his arms as he unfolded the inner workings of his mind. "We are both uninterested in marriage and yet forced to give the impression that we are. I need the lords and ladies of the court to believe I have found my duchess to cement my legitimacy as the duke until we secure the Fortress of Meropide’s autonomy. You need them to believe that you are searching for a respectable husband to maintain your, and by extension, your family's good reputation until your sisters have found happy matches. Who could be more suited to our respective needs than each other?"

"You're suggesting a ruse?" you whispered, scandalized. “Are you crazy?”

"Perfectly sane,” he continued. “What I'm suggesting is that we let the people believe we are precisely what we are — respectably off-the-market."

You began to shake your head in disbelief, wanting to back away but finding your legs refusing to obey your command. "Your proposition is ridiculous."

"It's perfect,” he said with conviction. “What better way is there to keep the wolves at bay than to lower the gates? Plus — you understand more about how to blend into society than I could ever hope to, and let's just say that with my background, I could offer a hand in your training. We can help each other.”

“The season won’t last forever,” you pointed out. "And when autumn comes around?"

"Oh, that’s the beauty of it. We go our separate ways," he said, eyes gleaming like he was telling an inside joke no one in Teyvat other than the two of you could ever understand. "It didn't work out! It happens."

You laughed, incredulous, an unfamiliar feeling beginning to fill your chest.

"There are sure to be reporters for the Steambird here,” he said. “One dance in the Icewind Suite, and you and I will be the cover story of tomorrow's paper. Then, no one will touch us."

You blinked, running through every possible outcome and scenario in your mind, but — steadily, the pros began to outweigh the cons. You could continue your training. You would have to invest significantly less of your time at these Celestia-forsaken events and not sacrifice anything for either yourself or your sisters in the process. A smile crept onto your lips as the feeling in your chest reached a crescendo — it was hope, a happy, buoyant feeling you were always afraid to let yourself feel.

"This really could work, couldn’t it?" you asked softly.

His smile looked truly genuine for the first time that evening as he offered you his arm. "It will work."

Your arm was looped through the duke's as you made your way down the stairs towards the Icewind Suite, the path lined with lit lamp posts and romaritimes and gawking attendees. The hydro blooms were releasing an array of colorful, opalescent bubbles into the cooling night air, making the latest turn of events feel even more surreal than they already did. The usual residents of the Suite were nowhere to be seen, likely decommissioned, their eternal waltz paused so they could make room for the evening's closing event — and some select charades.

The crowd hushed as you stepped past, a wave of quiet rolling downwards, and you could feel the weight of dozens of curious eyes on you. With each step, arm in arm with the duke, it seemed that more and more attention broke away to hone in on you. You wondered vaguely if your father was anywhere among them — you wondered what he thought. You managed to spot Lord Thibeault in the throng — a disapproving scowl pulled at his wizened face.

Finally, the two of you reached the ground, the shimmering sea of polished marble spread out before you, empty but for the reflection of the night sky in its depths. It waited for you, the symbol of a successful evening of new partnerships and futures to be shared. You’d seen many a pair spin upon this floor — never once had it been you. You had never intended for it to ever be you.

All the world’s a stage, after all.

The duke gently shifted your body so that the two of you were facing one another. He bowed, an elegant bending of his knees and lowering of his head, far more graceful than a man who had his history etched into his skin should be capable of. He made it look effortless.

Icy blue seized you as he straightened back up, eyes crinkling ever-so-slightly at the corners. "Might I have this dance?" he asked, holding out a hand.

His mirror, you curtsied, slow and deliberate. You smiled, a small and surreptitious thing, and placed your gloved hand in his. "You may. Don't trip on your feet now, Your Grace. Rule number one for fitting into high society — you must be as graceful and confident in a ballroom as you are on a battlefield."

He pulled you in closer; too close to be strictly proper. "Call me Wriothesley. We want this to be convincing, don’t we?” he murmured into your ear. Another pulse of low whispers spread throughout the spectators as a few more pairs joined you on the Icewind Suite. “And you wound me, my lady. I think you will find my performance to be more than satisfactory.”

You swallowed thickly. "That remains to be seen, Wriothesley. Let's hope you can convince them better than you can me."

The grand ballroom and every last soul within held their breath as the duke placed a rough, scarred hand on the small of your back. You could feel the weight of it through layers of thin lace and silk as you wove your free hand under his arm and anchored it against the back of his broad shoulder. Your fingers on his back felt inexplicably cold, but the rest of your body burned hot. Your heart pounded. Your eyes locked onto his. Time came to a standstill.

“I intend to,” he said.

The music began to play, and you allowed him to lead.

a/n: so here she is!! i am really excited to get into this one, and i know there was a bit borrowed here from bridgerton itself, tho i promise this is where most of the direct similarities will end. i simply wanted to pay homage to where this idea initially came from <;3 hope you all enjoy

i didn't initially plan to have a taglist for this one, but if there are enough requests for one, i'll consider it. if anyone knows of a better way to notify people when i update (besides pointing them to ao3, anyway) im all ears

til next time!

[katerina-marie]

Don't Go Slowly, Tell Me If You're Lonely (Series)

Chapter 5

Gojo Satoru x Reader & (Past) Geto Suguru x Reader

Your relationship with Geto Suguru came to an end somewhere between the day of his betrayal and the day of his death. Your relationship with Gojo Satoru began somewhere in the midst of it all, even without you realizing.

WC: 11.8k (whew)

Content: Canon Divergence, Gojo x Female Reader (referred to as such but left descriptively vague), (past) Geto Suguru x Female Reader, Geto's canonical death, friends to lovers, angst, eventual happy ending, fluff, reader is a sorcerer (left vague tho), no use of y/n, vaginal sex (though not super explicit) so please avoid accordingly! More notes below.

Chapter Count: Chp 1, Chp 2, Chp 3, Chp 4, Chp 5, Chp 6 (Final)

Notes: Peep the cw, because in case you missed it there will be 18+ content in this chapter. But warning, I do not have the talent to write explicitly detailed sex so it's more narrative/vaguely described. I applaud all authors that have that ability! Also, this is 99% fluff and vibes because that's what we all need, right?

P.S. If anyone recognizes where part of the title/included line is from.....no you don't and I'm sorry, not sorry lol

------------------------------------------

Chapter 5: Heart of None, Heart of One (Don't Be Afraid, I Feel It Too)

Neither you or Suguru were dressed for the affluence of this particular part of the city, the two of you wearing light and airy clothing to help ward off the oppressiveness of the summer sun. Names of restaurants and boutiques that you hardly recognized lined each side of the street full of ostentatious vehicles, and you couldn’t help but wonder why exactly Suguru had dragged you to a place neither of you had any real business being in. His fingers were twined through each of yours and had been since the two of you hopped off the train to begin your stroll towards a destination unknown. You weren’t sure if he was being intentionally vague with where you were going, or if Suguru had failed to think any further than necessary and inform you of your day’s plans. 

Men and their inability to consider five minutes ahead of themselves for anyone else’s sake. 

You passed a building with black bricks and golden writing emblazoning its name above the door, and you felt your mouth begin to water as you recognized that the style of the restaurant lended itself to your favorite foreign food. A certainly more upscale version of it anyway, if the valet’s podium and immaculately dressed patrons were any indication. 

“We should come here one day, Suguru,” you told him wistfully, inhaling deep the scent of rich food before it faded from your nose as your steps took you further and further away. Suguru huffed a noncommittal chuckle and gave you an incredulous look of question. 

“Sure, I’ll just swipe Satoru’s credit card when he isn’t looking and we’ll have ourselves a night out.” His voice was full of sarcastic humor and you rolled your eyes at him, because of course you were aware that your meager student allowances couldn’t afford such luxury, nor would Satoru be willing to part with his card without an invitation to join what would have been a date night for the two of you. The idea of it was fun to imagine in the least, and you filed the name of the restaurant away in the back of your mind for an unspecified day in the future somewhere. 

“So what are we doing here?” you asked, peering around the city as you both came to a crosswalk and minded the traffic currently flowing through it. “I can’t say that I have a suspicion, and I would like to enjoy the last afternoon of the weekend together if you don’t have something already planned.”

Suguru was quiet as he glanced up and down the street once the vehicles cleared the road, and he tugged at your hand to spur you into movement once the signal had been given to ensure your safe crossing. “We are having to make a quick stop to retrieve something,” he said, intentionally avoiding your narrowed eyes by keeping himself one step ahead of you. You’d yank your arm back and hold your ground in a juvenile display of defiance at his reticence, but you didn’t favor being run over in the middle of the street, nor were you confident of your victory in strength should it be put up against his; you’d count on being pulled along no matter how hard you dug your heels in. 

“And what is it that we are retrieving?” You grew annoyed at Suguru’s reluctance to speak anymore than what was barely necessary, and now that the two of you were again on the safety of the sidewalks, you had half a mind to start testing his patience as he was doing yours. Your boyfriend must have been able to pick up on the change in your disposition, and he turned to you with a weary sigh as the two of you came to a stop. 

“Satoru called me earlier,” Suguru admitted, and your face dropped into distaste, mouth open to offer your dissent for whatever moronic task your boyfriend’s best friend has saddled the two of you with, but he shot you a warning glare that stayed your tongue. “He’s still on that assignment, but he forgot to finish up his reports for the last one and Yaga’s going to have his ass if he doesn’t turn them in first thing tomorrow. I told him we’d take care of it this once.” 

You scoffed, offended disbelief fueling your ire for the white-haired sorcerer, and you fixed your withering look on Suguru. “You coddle him,” you hissed, promptly snatching your hand from his and marching forward on your own even though you hadn’t the faintest clue to where you were. The surrounding buildings were no longer fancy restaurants and expensive retailers but instead towering, dark-windowed monoliths with impressive double glass doors at their entrance. Still swanky, but more unassuming. 

“I’m helping,” Suguru argued, jogging up to your side to keep pace with you. “Friends do that for each other.” 

“I mean, yeah they do, but this feels more like Satoru is intentionally being lazy, unable to deign himself to possibly do his own work and would rather put it off to the less fortunate of us.” Your tone was scathing and your words mean for meanness sake, even if they held a scant bit of truth, and from the look on your boyfriend’s face he didn’t appreciate the disparaging of his best friend’s character. You supposed Satoru could now be considered your friend as well, now that nearly a year and a half had passed since you met your significant other’s “other”, but it had been slow building between you and Satoru, if not for the complete opposite personalities and upbringings you each had then for becoming accustomed to sharing Suguru. 

“Cut him some slack,” Suguru said, his expression knowing and slightly irritated, but his voice for you was softer than it was moments ago, and he brought you to a halt with a hand on your shoulder. “I’m not ignoring the fact that Satoru is not the most apt student when it comes to his paperwork or always considerate of other people’s time, but he has a full plate and even heavier burden attached to his name, so I’ll let it slide sometimes.” 

You weren’t sure if you’d agree, but you didn’t want to taint the afternoon with Suguru just because of your disdain for Satoru’s lack of planning, so you gave him a half-hearted shrug and glanced over his shoulder at the building the two of you came to a stop in front of. “This it?” 

Suguru nodded and took your hand again to lead you through the frosted glass doors serving as the entrance. “He has an apartment here for when he wants solitude, so we’ll just pop in to grab the reports and then be on our way. We’ll stop for lunch after, how about that?” 

The noise of affirmation you made lacked enthusiasm, mostly because you had been thoroughly chastised by your boyfriend and not because you didn’t want to share a meal out with him, but Suguru was undeterred and you turned your attention to the details of the front lobby. The high walls were painted alabaster and arched over certain hallways you guessed lead to various amenities. The slightly darker beige floors gleamed under rich lighting, leaving the forest green and muted mahogany fabrics of plush looking couches and other luxe decor to stand out in their superiority. You and Suguru continued through an archway and came upon an older man situated at a stately wood desk sandwiched between floor-to-ceiling glass doors that prohibited your entrance. You bristled at the idea of having to convince someone to allow you through to somewhere the two of you didn’t look to belong, or worse, have to stand by the desk as other residents came and went while Suguru beckoned Satoru to pick up his phone and petition you two through. However, to your shock, Suguru simply smiled and waved at the gentleman—who returned his greeting in kind—and he had the glass doors sliding open with a touch of a button just in time for the two of you to walk through them.

“A silver spoon Satoru does use,” you commented wryly. The two of you stepped into an open elevator, and you were pleased to see a stifled grin on Suguru’s face. 

“That I won’t deny,” he said, pressing the button for an obnoxiously high floor. You chattered between yourselves about lunch options and other plans for the rest of the day whilst traveling up, and your arrival to Satoru’s floor was announced with a pleasant trilling of a bell. As you walked down a hallway, you took notice of the distance between the doors of each dwelling, marking the considerable size of each one. Suguru came to a stop at the very end of the hall and pressed a series of numbers into a shiny keypad before motioning you through the now opened door. 

Satoru’s apartment was as beautiful as you imagined, with its sprawling living area and enormous windows the first thing to appear after making it through the entrance, and then an extensive gourmet kitchen was located on the left. There were a couple other hallways you assumed lead to various rooms, and you had a thought to explore (snoop) when you felt a hand at your back.

“Satoru should have some sweets in his fridge,” Suguru said, dropping a brief kiss at your temple and then another at your cheek as he brushed by you. “I’m going to his office right quick if you want to help yourself. It’s the least he can offer.” 

That brought a grin to your face, and you immediately turned towards the kitchen as Suguru’s footsteps faded in the opposite direction. Satoru’s fridge was nearly twice your height and the stainless steel was polished so perfectly that you could nearly see your reflection in it. It was all so grandiose, but the excitement immediately abated when you opened the fridge and saw nothing but a couple bags of sweets and water bottles taking up a minute amount of its expansive capacity. You grabbed one of each and brought them to the large island across from the fridge and tucked into your snack. As you munched, you let your eyes drift from space to space, everything meticulously placed and artfully decorated. Though you couldn’t help but notice the absence of anything that made it personal. There were no photos or cookbooks or trinkets of any kind. The copious amounts of furnishings and state of the art appliances all made up an impressive looking home anyone would be thrilled to make use of, but there was not one sign of usage or life that would indicate that Satoru did anything of the sort. The thought humbled your opinion of him a touch, and the quiet melancholy of his apartment made the sweet in your mouth taste oddly of cardboard.

How lonely. 

Now, years later, as you marveled up at the building that scraped the sky, you wondered if Satoru was sitting in the quiet of his apartment cutting a lonesome figure and feeling as such. 

You had taken most of the morning to scour the school grounds in pursuit of him, but no evidence had turned up to support his stay there. Megumi had confirmed it when you ran into him in your frenzied search and mentioned that Satoru had texted him to cancel their end-of-week training because he’d be off campus. The thought of having to transport yourself all the way to that part of the city where his apartment was located felt daunting in your exhaustion, but when you closed your eyes or let your mind wander, the images of Suguru and Satoru walking away from you after turning their backs superimposed over each other and sent a new wave of panic over you every time. 

So you cleaned yourself up the best you could in the least amount of time you were willing to give, and then set out on a train. After that, the walk from the station to his apartment was about ten minutes, but you had only been there once, and you had started to worry when recognition of the area still hadn’t struck. You were only half certain you had found the correct building until you made your way inside the lobby and found familiarity in the arch of the walls and luxuriousness of the furnishings. Ahead, still seated at the same wooden desk, was the gentleman from the one time you had visited with Suguru. Age had greyed his hair and added lines under his eyes, but you recognized him the same. As you walked up to his desk with a nervous smile, you hoped you looked more put together than you felt, and you had just opened your mouth to try and convince him to let you up when he grinned at you. 

“For Gojo, right?” 

You were taken aback at the friendliness in his voice and the expectant way he looked up at you from where he was seated, and you were sure your mouth had flopped open inelegantly. “Uh, yes, but how did you—,” 

“Years ago, he left me a photo of you and a man with black hair and explicit instructions to let either of you up at any time without questions asked.” The gentleman glanced down at his desk and you could just make out his hand scribbling at a large notepad. When he looked back up at you, his gaze was inquisitive. “I just barely remember you from the one time you came with him—the boy appeared often enough that I recognized him—but I haven’t seen either of you since.” There wasn’t any judgment in his voice, just simple observation, but the whole encounter was picking at the fraying threads of your already frail emotions. 

“Yes,” you bit out, swallowing to clear the hoarseness of your voice, “it’s certainly been, uhm, a long time and…” There wasn’t anything you could come up with to fit into a brief enough explanation, and thankfully the gentleman picked up on that fact. 

“Would you like me to call up to him and let him know you’re here?” He offered, his hand already drifting towards a phone on the edge of his desk. You shook your head and flailed your hands in an effort to dissuade him from doing so. 

“No, no, please. I’m…surprising him.”  

The man smiled gently and gestured with his head towards the glass doors as he opened them with a push of a button. “Off you go then.” 

You gave him a hurried thanks and rushed off through the doors before you could lose what little courage remained in you, and when the elevator shut just after you stepped through it, you leaned back against the wall of it to take in large mouthfuls of air. Satoru was definitely home, and you maybe had two minutes to compose yourself into something presentable before you were face to face with him. You took it as a positive sign that he hadn’t immediately revoked your extended invitation into his building (unless he had simply forgotten to and now you had another idea to fret at) and you hoped that when you knocked at his door he would neither ignore you entirely or answer and then proceed to slam it shut in your face. If you made it far enough that he welcomed you in, you had absolutely no idea what you were to say to him, and the pinging of the elevator bell signaling your arrival to his floor made it clear you were running out of time to come up with anything. 

Your steps on the tile echoed loudly in the empty hallway, and you were positive it was your tired mind that made them sound reminiscent of Satoru’s name. By the time you came to his door, it was ringing in your ears and beating to the same rhythm of your pulse, and you wondered if Satoru could hear it from wherever in his apartment he remained hidden from you. The stress of it had you wanting to linger outside to come up with a speech or some kind of plan before you knocked on his door, but the thought that he could sense you waiting—hesitating—drove you deeper into embarrassment, so you lifted your hand to knock your knuckles against the door without a second consideration. The time it took for him to answer left your thoughts to scramble. 

Would he look at you with the same anger he surely saw reflected in your own eyes just hours prior? You figured you both had a right to feel such a way, but whereas you had hurled word after word of condemnation at him without ceasing, regardless of their truth or lack thereof, he hadn’t been given a moment to offer scant more than a stuttered reply. Was it presumptuous to have the hope that he would repay you in kind? That he would offer what you hadn’t and listen to what you had to say? Never again did you want to live with the regret of last words unspoken.

The beeping of his door unlocking snagged your attention, and you inhaled sharply when the knob began to turn. Through a small crack in the door, you saw Satoru peer his head around it, just offering you a sliver of a singular blue eye and the glimpse of a closed off expression on his face. You tangled your fingers together in the hope he didn’t see them shaking, and you gave him the barest of contrite smiles.

“May I come in?” 

Satoru didn’t hesitate to give a single nod of his head and you took a step back when he pushed open the door wide enough for you to walk through, murmuring a small ‘thank you’ as you passed by him. You didn’t wait for him to continue further into his apartment, eager to get out of the small entryway and into the openness of his living space if only so you could feel slightly less confined. In a quick glance around, you noticed that Satoru’s apartment looked nearly identical to how it did the one and only time you visited it. There was still a museum-esque quality to the cleanliness of it, but you could see a half-full glass of water on the island in his kitchen, and you had spied his pair of black shoes by the door next to where you had toed yours off. 

The susurration of his house shoes on the wood floor could be heard coming up behind you, and you turned slowly to face him. You took in his casual clothes, a dark grey sweater and navy lounge pants, and noticed him doing the same to your similar but more feminine outfit. When your eyes met, it pained you to see how his were guarded, lacking their usual brightness and enthusiasm, and you knew it was somewhat your fault. 

“I should have let you talk more,” you blurted, head cleared of any logical thought. “I was within my right to be angry with you, but I should have heard you out, and I’m sorry I didn’t.” 

Satoru’s expression eased and you wrung your hands. “I want to respect your space. I’m willing to give that to you, but I’m afraid of leaving things unsaid and—,” 

You were horrified when your eyes began to sting and the inside of your nose burned. You flicked your focus down to the floor in the hopes that not looking at him would keep you composed enough to get the rest of your words out. “If you’re willing, I’d like to talk this out with you. I would hate for things to end the way they did.” 

When you looked back up at him, his eyes were wide, and Satoru shuffled forward to reach a hand out to press against the back of your arm. “Of course,” he said, his voice so emphatically eager that it panged your heart. “Of course I’ll listen to you.” 

The pressure of his hand guided you towards the ample seating in his living room, and the two of you made yourselves comfortable on the sofa placed in front of a massive entertainment system. Satoru sat just far away enough that two of you wouldn’t touch, but he laid out his arm along the back of the sofa, turned on his hip, and leaned forward slightly on his thigh so he could face you. You mirrored his position but kept your hands in your lap. 

“I don’t hate you. I never could,” you breathed out, and a part of you died inside when relief slackened Satoru’s features and his shoulders lowered as tension bled out from them. “I was angry, and maybe even felt a little betrayed, but it wasn’t you I hated.” 

There must have been a stricken look on your face, because his hand that rested on the back of the sofa lifted and hovered in the air for a moment before he moved it close enough that he could just graze his fingertips along the top of your arm. 

“I think I hated him. I hated Suguru in that split second.” The words felt heavy and disjointed in your mouth, not quite understood by your brain, but you felt palpable liberation once they were out. Satoru kept his eyes on you attentively, and you were powerless to the words that spilled from your tongue. 

“I hated him for what he did. I hated that he left me, and I hated that he chose to speak with you one last time instead of me. I hated that you had to kill him, and that we have to wake up everyday to live in the aftermath of it.” You were interrupted by a hiccuping cry that forced its way through your teeth, and when you looked up at Satoru helplessly, his hands shot out to take yours into his own. 

“But not you, I would never hate you,” you said once you had regained your composure, “and I would like to hear what you have to say. To help me understand what you were going through and why you made the choice to keep what Suguru said a secret until now. I’d like us to be completely understanding of the other, with the intention of being able to move forward.” 

Feeling much like you had just finished a sprint, you drew in a few deep breaths to steady the racing of your heart and calm the adrenaline running through your body. Satoru didn’t look angry or upset. He had an open, albeit cautious, look on his face and he studied your hands in his grasp momentarily before gently releasing them, and you both withdrew your hands to let them rest on your respective laps. 

“It was panic,” he started, pausing to meet your eyes. “I was so panicked that evening, about what I had just done and how I was supposed to reveal that to you. I could barely think straight enough to tell you I killed him, and I couldn’t stomach the idea of having to relay to you what Suguru said when I could hardly make sense of it myself.” 

You watched Satoru closely as he wiped his hands down over his legs and you both heard and felt the stuttered breath he pushed out from deep in his chest.

 “I’m not saying that to excuse my behavior, but it felt like the easiest thing to do for myself at that moment, and I regret it. If I could go back…well, I don’t actually know what I would have done.” Satoru inched a little closer to you and raised a questioning brow. “Would you have been okay if I had told you that he had said something, but couldn’t yet share it with you? Would have it been better to tell you everything he said, but warned you that I didn’t have the capacity to explore the implications of it right then with you? Or—god—I should have told you at any point between then and now.” 

The ideas Satoru was presenting caught you by surprise. You hadn’t ever really considered before what you had wanted to hear in the moments when your entire world was collapsing around you. Surely you would have wanted to know, but the anticipation of waiting to hear what those words would have been had you chosen the first option probably would have driven you to madness. In regards to the second, knowing what Suguru had said would have prevented the whole mess the two of you were in now. However, knowing yourself, you very well might have fled the school like you did to avoid discussing things with Satoru once he was ready, keen on never once touching such a topic for the rest of your life, and who knows what outcome would have resulted from that. And him revealing what Suguru said any time after that day and between now would have mostly likely played out the same way it did last night.

“I don’t know,” you answered honestly, and you couldn’t help but let out a tired laugh. “Either alternative has its merits and its corresponding negatives. In the future, I think open communication would be best, but for things past I don’t see much point in dwelling on what should have been.” 

Satoru nodded, seemingly agreeing with what you had said. You chewed your lip, considering the weight of the question you wanted to ask him before ultimately deciding that he deserved the chance to let himself be heard. 

“How have you been?” Your inquiry had his mouth opening to respond, but he was silent in the aftermath, and you assumed that he needed time to condense his thoughts into words. 

You empathized with that particular plight.  

“Tired,” he said finally, solemnly, and you moved closer towards him until your knees knocked against each other. “I would give anything to have a night’s rest where I didn’t dream about killing my best friend.” This time, you reached out your hand to grip his fingers in yours, and his answering smile was full of gratitude. “Or have a nightmare where you hate me,” he added, squeezing your hand to balm the sting of his words. 

The two of you were silent after that, each of you taking turns glancing at one another and then back at your tangled hands before focusing on anywhere else in the room. However, there was a collective sense of expectation hanging above you both, and you had a good idea of what topic was waiting to be broached. 

“Satoru,” you murmured, biting down on the inside of your cheek as he lifted his head to listen to you. There was trepidation in the way he held himself, and you wondered if he anticipated what you were going to say next. “I tried to kiss you.” 

He was rapt in his attention on you, his face giving away nothing as to what he was feeling, but he fiddled with your fingers and ran his thumb along the inside of your wrist. He ducked his head just barely, and when his hair shifted over his forehead, it was just enough to conceal his eyes from you. “You did.” 

Satoru’s evasion grated you, but you set aside your frustration to focus on what you were trying to convey to him, to get him to understand what you couldn’t even quite wrap your head around fully. 

“I don’t want you to feel obligated to me because of what Suguru said.” His head snapped up and his brows furrowed at your words, but you kept going before he had a chance to interrupt. “I think you probably have an idea about what I feel for you, but I don’t expect you to reciprocate just because you might have some misguided sense of duty or responsibility towards me, and I can forget about that near-kiss if that’s—,” 

“I want you,” Satoru said on a exhale, and he looked to be fighting a bashful grin that pulled at the corners of his mouth. Your noise of surprise filled the heady silence following his declaration, and you felt as though the two of you teetered on the edge of some great precipice. 

A quiet “oh,” was all you could get out, breathless in a mounting giddiness, and he chuckled at whatever flush warmed your cheeks before his features smoothed out into something more solemn. 

“I do,” he insisted, and you could sense the ‘but’ following his statement and it made all the butterflies that had erupted in your chest fall leadened into your stomach, “but I can’t help feeling a little…unsettled about it, maybe? Not in a bad way necessarily, never with you—,” 

Satoru stammered, an overwhelmed breath heaving his shoulders, and you watched him with a pang of sympathy as he struggled to grasp at the words clearly evading him. “I don’t want you to think I feel entitled to you, and I don’t feel like I’m betraying Suguru by wanting you. I don’t even think I need his permission or anything like that. In fact, he seemed to give it in his own twisted way that night, and it’s just…you were his, once, and now you’re…” 

He trailed off, at a loss for the proper words to adequately explain a concept you both seemed to wrestle with, and the look he gave you was helpless and beseeching in a way that was delightfully captivating to you: eyes wide, lips slightly parted, and if his gaze could be anymore adoring you’d melt into the fabric of his fine linen couch. 

What was previously off limits had become an alluring possibility. A person who had always occupied a strictly friendly role had begun to appear in a way not thought of before. It was overwhelming, exciting, terrifying in what it could mean to want someone who had once been unobtainable, who you had not once considered for yourself before the loss of someone precious to both of you. But Suguru was gone now, and what more could be owed to the two of you than indulging in a shared happiness?

You giggled, catching your bottom lip between your teeth to try and contain the smile that was surely about to overtake your face, and you tugged on Satoru’s hands to pull him in close to you. 

“Don’t be afraid,” you whispered, your voice light and playful while the blue of his eyes danced and his cheeks went round in elation, “I feel it too.” 

————————————————

Later, as you contemplated your existence in the quiet sanctuary of your room, you would berate yourself for not taking the opportunity to kiss Satoru senseless. Alas, you had remained dutiful to your mutual agreement to let the enormity of the morning settle before getting carried away with frenzied touches and the mingling of panted breaths. Instead, the two of you stayed seated on his couch for another hour, close in the way you had both drifted to lean against the other while chatting idly about anything ordinary. 

You had taken moments to gently lift strands of hair from his eyes, goosebumps erupting over your skin when his focus couldn’t decide whether to fix on your face or follow the movement of your hand. When you had later regaled him with a forgotten tale from your time abroad, Satoru had spent his time listening by swirling a finger over the top of your kneecap before letting it drift just slightly over your thigh so he could squeeze it gently. The pressure had you stuttering over your words, and you used the increased need to jump from your skin as an excuse to leap from the couch and beg for a glass of water. Satoru smirked at you in that annoyingly smug, but persistently charming habit of his, and had simply sauntered off to his kitchen to leave you to follow in his wake. 

When the afternoon sun began to push shadows further into the depths of his apartment, you begrudgingly announced your intended departure, pointing out to Satoru the exhaustion that clung to you both when he began to protest. A much-needed nap was in order, and he only surrendered his disagreement when you let out an exaggerated yawn. He followed you to the door with your sleeve caught between two of his fingers. The two of you stared at each other after you had slipped on your shoes, neither quite ready to bid the first goodbye. You eventually took the initiative to rock onto the tips of your toes and wrap your arms around his neck, resting your cheek on his shoulder as you squeezed him to you. Satoru arms circled your waist and after nudging his nose against the top of your head, you heard him breathe in deeply before letting it out in a long exhale, and the yearning of it made you ache. 

You had to pry yourself from him, and you didn’t turn to look back as you walked down the hallway lest you lose any remaining self control and skip your way back to Satoru. It was only once you crossed the threshold of the elevator that you heard the click of his door closing shut. If you had a dopey look on your face as you made your way home, evidenced by the knowing grin on the mouth of the gentleman working the door in the lobby, then who were you to deny it?

As you lay in your bed, huddled under blankets and your head cushioned by pillows while waiting for the swiftness of sleep to weigh down your eyes, you stared at a couple of pictures now decorating a small cork board hanging above your desk. None of them contained a singular person more present than the others and were all full of various friends and toothy grins. For once, the appearance of black hair and pierced ears didn’t evoke a dull throb in your chest at a future lost, but instead welcomed a feeling of contented nostalgia for memories treasured. When your eyes started to flutter and you sensed that your battle against sleep was coming to an end, the sight of brilliant blue from the corner of one photo held your fading attention and beckoned the prospect of enduring happiness by a relationship newly minted. 

————————————————

A dreary midmorning wasn’t something that could keep you cooped up on a Saturday free of obligation, and in an endeavor to make the most of your spare time, you busied yourself with errands in the city. If you found yourself standing in line outside the building of your favorite sweet shop, you would insist it was only to fill your own belly. Any extras that made it into your bag would surely serve as a snack over the rest of the weekend and not linger in your room in the hopes a certain white-haired man would make an appearance and find them. 

The thought of Satoru had you reaching for your phone as you shuffled another step further in line. You had texted Satoru a simple ‘good morning’ right before leaving your room then promptly threw the device into the bottom of your bag to be forgotten until after your errands. Otherwise, you would have worried yourself beyond what was considered healthy about whether or not that message presumed too much in light of yesterday’s breakthrough. 

Maybe overkill would lend itself to your passions too. 

To your dismay, your phone remained disappointingly devoid of new messages, but the sudden appearance of small raindrops on your screen took your attention before you could waste more time wishing it would flash with Satoru’s name. While the sky looked quite grey in your perusal of it, the drops never fell faster or increased in size while you waited for your turn to step into the shop, and you hoped the weather would stay its course until you returned home. Because you, in your distraction, had forgotten to snag your umbrella as you scurried out the door that morning. Instead of dwelling on your possible misfortune, you gave a cursory glance at the shop’s menu board sitting by the door and when you were nearly halfway through reading it, a shadow came over you. 

“Dessert for breakfast again?” 

You jerked your head towards the familiar voice and came face to face with Satoru. He hovered close enough to you so that the large umbrella he carried could shelter both him and yourself from the faint pattering of rain, and you met his beaming smile with one of your own. 

“Satoru! What are you doing here?” His arrival wasn’t at all expected, but you drank in the sight of him no less, pleased to see him in casual clothes instead of his uniform and sporting a black coat to ward off the last of the morning chill. 

“You know, just out and about,” he offered, and mischievousness made the corners of his mouth twitch. You suspected his eyes would twinkle just the same if you could see them through his blindfold. 

“Right,” you drew out, not quite sure if you believed that he just so happened upon you by chance, but you were too preoccupied with the fact he was standing in front of you again to question it any further. “Are you busy? Or do you have time to join me?” 

He was quick to nod, and you reached out to wrap your hand around his bicep when someone cleared their throat pointedly from behind. You jolted, heat flushing your neck and cheeks when you realized that there was a large gap in between you and the door to the shop, and you scurried forward. Satoru beat you to the door, swinging it open for you before you had a chance, and you ducked in while he sat his umbrella off to the side. 

You came to a stop a reasonable distance from the person in front of you and crossed your arms with a small huff as you pretended to study the variety of different sweets sitting in their display cases. Satoru’s coat brushed against your back as he came up behind you, and you prayed he didn’t notice the shiver that shook your shoulders when he leaned down to whisper right by your ear. 

“Distracted?” he asked, voice deeply flirtatious, and a scent a bit spicier than the mild soap you recall him smelling of wafted to your nose and made your thoughts hazy. 

“Nope,” you said as casually as you could manage, trying your best to make a mental note of what options you wanted to order so that you didn’t look like a bumbling fool when it was your turn. His answering chuckle was not only heard, but felt against your back. 

“You sure about that?” 

You whipped your head to the side to glare at him out of the corner of your eye, and your cheek nearly made contact with the tip of his nose. “Positive.” 

There would never be any certainty with his eyes hidden, but you swore you could feel his gaze on your lips, and if you ignored the thought and turned your attention back to what was in front of you, it was only because there was nothing you could do about it in a crowded little sweets shop. 

Thankfully—begrudgingly—it was your turn to order, and you stepped away from Satoru and approached the counter while taking in a much needed deep breath. He didn’t stray far from you, however, and you were conscious of how he lingered at your side while you ordered a couple things for yourself and one or two for Nanami in exchange for the few times he had bought you something from the bakery. 

You were just about to pay for your portion when Satoru came up and bumped you aside with his hip and a smirk on his face, and you watched with mild horror as the employee set down a bag of sweets nearly bulging in its fullness. 

“You have a problem,” you commented warily, imagining the amount of sugar in that bag alone and feeling phantom pain in your teeth. You eyed Satoru as he placed down his card to pay for both orders. 

“If you say so.” His shrug was light hearted and drenched in boyish charm, and you shook your head at him. Before he could find any more opportunities to indulge random acts of chivalry, you swiped your bag off the counter and made haste for the exit, pausing only to throw a wink over your shoulder as you stepped outside the door. You barely caught his indignant protest as he finished up his transaction but paid it no mind as you bent down to grab his umbrella and trotted off down the sidewalk. You only made it to a cross walk a couple yards down and had to come to a stop before he was jogging up to your side. 

“Rude,” Satoru pouted, sidling up next to you to slip the opened umbrella from your hand. 

“I can’t let people think I willingly associate myself with someone who has the taste buds of a child.” You giggled and snuck your hand in the slim space between his side and his arm to curl your fingers into the crook of his elbow. Something fluttered pleasantly in your belly when the action softened the deepening frown on his face. 

“Not all of us can have such sophisticated palettes,” he grumbled, but you could see the hint of a smile on his cheeks, so you leaned just a little further into his side. The delicate kiss he dropped onto your temple had you choking down any retort you were prepared to give him back, and the two of you stood in shy silence until the traffic signal changed in your favor. 

“Follow me to the school?” you asked, already in motion by the time the words left your mouth, and the answering look Satoru gave you made it clear that he never intended anything else. 

————————————————

Twenty minutes later had the two of you back at the school and seated on Satoru’s coat under the large tree nestled in the corner of the campus training grounds.

“Leave my bag alone,” you hissed, slapping at the wandering hand Satoru kept trying to sneak into your own stash of sweets. 

“I wanted to try one of yours. They’re different,” he whined. He stretched over your lap in an attempt to grab said bag from where you had moved it to your other side, but you stopped his progress with a hand on his chest. You pushed back against him until he was seated again. 

“No, what’s left are mine and the ones I bought for Nanami.”

“Nanami?” he asked in offended disbelief. “And you didn’t think to get any for me?”

“I’m surprised they aren’t already in your bag, Satoru. I think you bought the whole store,” you said, feeling a little sick to your stomach when you took note of the dwindling size of his own purchase. He scoffed in disapproval and hunched down further against the tree the two of you were resting against. His antics had your eyes rolling, but you went ahead and pulled one of your treats out from the bag as you had intended to do before he decided to try and pilfer them on his own. 

“Here,” you told him, feigning the exasperation in your voice. You held the treat out in your hand, expecting him to take it from you with his own, but Satoru—with uncovered eyes gleaming—leaned forward and ate the snack right from your fingers. You had a brief second to register the heat of his lips and the way his teeth had just grazed your skin before he was sitting back with a self-satisfied smirk on his face. 

“Tasty,” he said, looking all too pleased with himself, and all you could do was sit there with your heart pounding. The thought of kissing Satoru had been plaguing your mind since even before the two of you had fought, and now, when his lips were flushed pink and there were crystals of sugar caught on a corner of them, you were weak in your resolve. 

You curled your fingers into the neck of his shirt and pulled him in to meet you, eyes already closing so you didn’t scare yourself out of the idea if there was a shocked look on his face. Your lips met his with an urgency, but you were mindful not to clash teeth or press too hard, and you felt marginally better when Satoru knocked his nose against yours in order to tilt his head and deepen the kiss. His chilled fingertips were a shock to your skin when they settled on the edge of your cheek and under your jaw, and he hummed pleasantly into the kiss when he felt you jump. Satoru’s other arm came to wrap around your back, and his fingers dug into your shirt when you used the tip of your tongue to swipe away any remaining sugar on his lips. 

You were vaguely aware of Satoru pressing closer to you, inching you back incrementally, but you were too lost in the feel of his mouth moving against yours and slipping your arms up and around his neck to pay much mind to it. So when you felt yourself falling back against the ground with Satoru’s hand bracing the back of your head it didn’t trigger the urge to stop, especially not when his free hand landed heavily in the dirt next to your head so he could lower himself down and chase after your lips. However, you could only avoid the cold wet of the ground seeping through your collar for so long, not to mention the fact you two were in public, and you ducked your chin slightly to break away from Satoru. 

“It’s unlikely,” you murmured, feeling him trail his mouth over your cheek to press a kiss just below your ear, “but any of our students—or our peers—could walk by at any given moment.” 

The noise of disagreement he made tickled the skin under your ear that he was nibbling at, but you didn’t have to tell him twice before he was pulling away just hair. All you could see above you was white eyelashes framing bright blue eyes, and the tips of his hair tickled your forehead when Satoru lowered himself just a little so he could nudge his nose into your cheek affectionately. 

“You’re not wrong,” he sighed, sitting himself back up and tugging you along with him by your arm. You pat down your hair and brush some dirt from your sleeves while keeping a watchful eye on his expression from your peripheral. Satoru didn’t seem particularly disappointed or upset at your words, but you, in your habit, worried about the implication of them anyway. 

“I’m not embarrassed,” you reassured him, drawing his focus as you hurried to get your thoughts out to him. “I’m not ashamed to be seen with you either, but this is…” you trailed off as words failed you. 

This was new and something precious to you. For the first time in years, you had someone by your side that cared to know everything you thought and longed to be near you. It was all a touch overwhelming to fall for someone you hadn’t ever pictured in a romantic role, and you were eager for the time to understand it fully yourself before allowing others to fix their attention on it. 

“Don’t worry,” Satoru said, and he was cheerful and giddy in the way he smiled while he dragged a finger across the back of your hand. “I feel it too.” 

————————————————

Your burgeoning relationship carried on in secrecy for the next three months. In between classes and training of students, you and Satoru would find yourselves in an obscure hallway or forgotten classroom to share whispers and fleeting touches. It was nothing torrid or salacious as of yet, but everyday you longed for the moments you had alone with him to bask in muffled laughter and give in to lingering kisses that he would pull you into when you would try to leave for the umpteenth time. More than once you caught his head following you as he and the students walked by you on school grounds, and the previous week Kugisaki had commented on how keenly you studied Satoru while he demonstrated a fighting technique to Itadori. 

And now, when the school day was long over and the sun was beginning to set, you felt at ease walking through the door of Satoru’s office door to surprise him with spoils from your day. 

“Knock, knock,” you called out gently, peeking your head around the doorframe to find Satoru already looking up at you, blindfold nowhere to be seen. Fatigue clearly was gnawing at him. His head dropped from where his chin was propped up in his hand, and there was the faintest hint of purple under his eyes. A pen was clasped in his right hand where it rested on a large stack of paperwork, and you took notes of the various others crowding his desk as you walked in. “How are all the reports coming along?” 

Satoru groaned and threw himself back against his chair. “It’s been terrible! I’ve been stuck here finishing these reports since this morning. I didn’t even have lunch!” 

You laughed at his plight as you came to stand next to him and lean back against his desk before pulling a small brown sack from your bag. “Here,” you said, passing it to him, “I got you something while we were out today.” 

His face lit up in excitement ,and he eagerly snatched the bag from your grasp and buried his hand in it to pull out the pastry located inside. “You’re incredible,” he said, pausing to express his gratitude before he shoved half of it into his mouth. 

“You’ll choke one day,” you warned, vaguely impressed when he ate the other half in just as big of a bite. Satoru shook his head, and his grin told you he was proud of himself. 

“Was that from our bakery?” he asked, and you were grateful he had swallowed before speaking. 

“Yup. The first years did so well in training today that Nanami and I decided to end things early and treat them. We ended up running into the third years on the way, so they joined us and we all had a happy time together.” Satoru’s face fell somewhere in the beginning when you started talking, and by the time you were done his mouth was turned down into a full blown frown. 

“Without me?” He pouted, and the sad, puppy-esque face he gave you would have worked if you didn’t know what would be awaiting you if he didn’t finish his reports. 

“Ah, ah, ah,” you tutted, shaking a finger at him, “you needed to get these done, or else it would have been me taking over the extras and then we would both be miserable.” Satoru scowled, but the sigh he let out was resigned. 

“You’re not wrong.” 

You reached out and ruffled his hair. “Of course I’m not,” you teased, “but I brought you a treat to make up for it.” 

Satoru cocked a brow and stood from his chair so he could take a step towards you. Your lower back was already pressed into the edge of his desk, so you had to crane your head back to meet his eyes. “That’s true,” he said playfully. “You do make everything better.” He closed the space between your chests and the audible hitch in your breathing made him smirk. 

“Cheesy,” you muttered, but exhilaration flowed through you when his hands came up to cradle your jaw and he lowered his head enough that you could feel the warmth of his breath against your nose. Satoru hummed an amused sound before finally taking your bottom lip between his. You tucked your arms below his so you could fist your hands into the fabric of his uniform as his sides and a fluttering burst into your chest when he started stroking the apples of your cheeks with his thumbs.

It wasn’t wrong to say that Satoru had transfixed you. Everything about him—the way he smelled, the depth of his laugh, how his fingers felt when they danced over your skin—was alluring to you, and you couldn’t help but clutch him closer as your lips moved against his. In response, Satoru’s hands dropped down to grip at your waist, and you let out a noise of surprise in the brief moment your lips disconnected when he lifted you up, only to set you back down on his desk. He was quick to kiss you again, chasing you when you leaned back to make space for him in between your legs.

His hands seemed like they were everywhere at once: between your shoulders to press you into him, cupping your chin to angle it up and allow his lips to ghost over your neck, and then spread over your thighs to grasp and knead. The room was quiet except for the heady exhalations and gasping breaths of the air you shared, and you heard the rustling of paper being scattered as he cleared a spot behind you. 

Somewhere deep in your mind, your brain supplied you with the thought that Satoru’s office was not the ideal first place to do this—to have him. Certainly not as his hand started to sneak under the bottom of your shirt or your fingers toyed with the button on his pants, but every inch of him was plied against you and it would take something monumental to separate—,

“Ahem.” 

As it turned out, your principal clearing his throat outside of the wide open door of Satoru’s office was catastrophic enough for the two of you to spring apart at something close to the speed of light. You propelled yourself off Satoru’s desk to stand rigid at the side of it while turning your head to gawk accusingly at him, because surely the honored one should have sensed Principal Yaga way before he ever arrived. But from the way he immediately dropped straight into his chair to conceal himself from the waist down proved that, astonishingly, Gojo Satoru could be caught unaware. 

 Neither of you three said a word. Principal Yaga eyed you and Satoru with his arms crossed and brow furrowed, and you couldn’t decide whether hurling yourself out of the window behind you would be less painful than the scrutiny coming from the large man at the door. 

“There’s paperwork for this. You two can each get a copy from my office tomorrow,” he said eventually. You were relieved to hear a lack of judgment or disappointment in your principal’s voice and decided you could live with the resigned finality that colored instead. He didn’t offer anything else and had just begun to turn away with a shake of his head and a hand rubbing at his temple when he spun back around suddenly, making you flinch from where you were still rooted next to Satoru’s desk. 

“I want those reports finished and on my desk first thing in the morning, Satoru.” His tone brokered no discussion and—in all the time you’ve known him—you witnessed the loud-mouthed sorcerer at an apparent loss for words. He simply nodded in agreement and then Principal Yaga was gone. 

“Well,” Satoru started slowly, turning to face you in his chair, “I think that makes things official.” His mouth then tilted upwards into an unbothered grin, and he looked at you expectantly. Strained laughter died in your throat. 

“I guess so.” 

————————————————

In an effort to help make up for last week’s incident , Satoru called you midway through the Friday afternoon to, not ask, but summon you for a late night dinner date. In exchange, you got to pick where the two of you would eat and what dessert you would share at the end. It had taken little to no convincing on your part to get you to agree, and when the name of a restaurant in the upscale part of the city near his apartment slipped from your mouth, you were surprised to find that no guilt came along with it. 

Once upon a time, you might have wistfully imagined yourself seated and dined at that particular restaurant with Suguru, as you had told him when the two of you first passed it on the street. However, that daydream never came to fruition, and you refused to let a faded prospect with your long-lost ex-lover get in the way of creating new memories. So, in order to do just that, you took time getting yourself ready and slipped into a new dress before taking a train to the city to meet Satoru. 

The restaurant was everything you expected, and you took in with a small smile the low light atmosphere and your secluded table illuminated with flickering white candles. Waiters bustled to and fro, and the soft plinking of a lounge piano underscored the muffled murmurings of the restaurant’s patrons. You and Satoru talked about anything and nothing as you looked over the menu. The establishment wasn’t overabundant in the options it provided, instead taking great care to provide a few exceptionally well crafted meals, but you still had a difficult time making your decision nonetheless. Satoru offered to select one of the two dishes you went back and forth between for himself so you’d have the opportunity to try it, and while the idea melted your heart into a little puddle, you urged him to pick what he wanted for himself. 

A waiter came by and presented you with an extensive wine list, and while Satoru didn’t partake, he guessed with unbridled enthusiasm at which type you’d choose. His answer had been wrong, but the determined gleam in his eyes told you he’d never again make that mistake. After eventually making up your mind and successfully placing your order, the rest of the dinner flew by. The two of you spent time exchanging bites of each other’s food and sharing stories about the progress of the first year’s training. 

When you were brought the dessert menu, you both leaned over the table towards each other to look over it together, and when the two of you couldn’t decide on just one, you suggested ordering two. Satoru had raised a brow at you, having already heard twice by then how you were too full to have your own dessert and, despite his protest, insisted on sharing one with him. He relented, and you ordered two. When the waiter was out of earshot, you told him in a pointed few words that you had every intention of sharing that second dessert with him as a middle of the night snack. Satoru immediately sat straight in his seat, eyes flashing with heat and want and a whole other amalgamation of emotions that set your blood alight. 

By the time dessert came, you were two minutes shy of snatching the check and hauling him out the door, sweets be damned. But Satoru simply laughed and passed you a spoon while he situated the plate of dessert halfway between you two. When you were two bites in, stomach protesting and your eyes feeling just a bit heavy from the dimness of the restaurant, you tucked your foot under Satoru’s to rest it against his ankle. His answering smile was tender and maybe a little bashful, and while it could’ve been the second glass of wine that caused the stirring in your chest, you wouldn’t have been surprised if it was your heart expanding enough to make room for him. 

————————————————

“I want to go there again next week,” you said blissfully, both satisfied from a delicious dinner and feeling relief from the cold floors of Satoru’s apartment on your sore feet. If you never again picked up the heels you had kicked off at his door, it would be too soon. You meandered into his kitchen and plucked a water bottle from his fridge to down in just a few swallows. 

“I suppose we could go back once a week until we finish trying every dessert and dinner option available,” Satoru responded, coming up behind you to curl one arm around your waist and press a kiss into your hair. “Thank you for being my date.” You lifted your arm to reach behind you and drape it around his neck, and he let his mouth glide across the skin that he could touch. 

“Always,” you murmured, and while the implications of the word felt a little heavy and maybe a bit presumptuous for the early stages of your relationship, it didn’t diminish the truth of which you spoke it with. Satoru didn’t seem to have an objection to it and merely pasted every inch of his front against your back. 

“If you’re tired, or if the second glass of wine was too much, I’m happy to lend you a change of clothes and offer you a guest room for the night. We can make breakfast in the morning if you’re willing to supervise.” His laughter tickled your skin, and you were quick to shake your head and turn in his hold.

“No to the guest room, but yes to breakfast.” 

He smiled into the kiss he placed onto your lips and you fisted your fingers into the collar of his shirt in an attempt to keep him against you when he stepped back and nodded in the direction of a hallway. You caught his hand from behind when Satoru turned to walk towards what was presumably his bedroom and held on to it as he led you. He glanced back at you over his shoulder, eyes promising and mouth slightly parted, and when he whirled around completely to tug you through the open door of his room, you caught yourself on his chest and giggled. 

While Satoru busied himself with nuzzling his lips against the curve of your shoulder and fiddling with the various clasps and a zipper at the back of your dress, you peeked around his arm to study the vastness of his bedroom. It was as expertly put together as the rest of his home, but still mostly lacking in its signs of life. The high beamed ceiling and towering window framed by lush dark curtains created a feeling of openness, but the plush comforter on his bed and the stone fireplace set across from it helped cultivate a sense of coziness. You spied his uniform draped over the back of a chair nestled under a desk, and a thrill went through when the computer sitting atop it flashed a screensaver familiar to you—the picture of your dessert from the cafe a thousand miles away. 

You had the mind to ask Satoru about it, but before you could he was peeling your dress off your shoulders and down your arms. His eyes flicked up to yours in silent permission and it only took a subtle dip of your chin before he was pushing it the rest of the way down your torso, and you squirmed when his fingers danced over your ribs in a way that tickled. Hands started to move in a hurry after that point. Yours flew to the buttons of his shirt while his traveled up your arms to cup your cheeks so he could kiss you again. When you divested him of the fabric concealing his chest, seeing it land in a flutter next to your dress on the floor, you immediately started in on his belt, taking pleasure in the stuttered breath Satoru let out above you when you yanked on it in your efforts to get it off. 

As soon as he stepped out his pants, Satoru was turning you to the bed and he just barely caught himself above you when the two of you fell back against it. You grinned up at him as you shuffled up towards the pillows, and he followed obediently to settle between your legs when you opened them for him. It wasn’t until Satoru had already shimmed your underwear off your legs and did the same to himself did you feel a prickle of nervousness in your belly at the sight of him. There had been a few others in the time between Suguru and now, but they all had blended into faceless bodies and blurred memories of dark bedrooms, none ever so important that you bothered to recall them in times of loneliness. But this—Satoru—would be different, and you had only ever known one other man in such a deeper level of intimate feelings.

“Comparing me to someone?” The sarcastic quip from Satoru reclaimed your attention and nearly had you leaving the bed altogether, but the hidden undercurrent of vulnerability in his voice kept you under him. One day, the two of you would have a discussion about appropriate boundaries and how to express one’s emotions with proper words, but for now, you would reassure him that he would not have to spend his entire life worrying that he would never be enough for you. 

“No,” you said pointedly, cocking an eyebrow at him, and he actually looked chagrined. “I was actually thinking about how you were longer than I expected.” You punctuated your words by reaching down and wrapping your hand around him, and all the air rushed out of his lungs in a forceful exhale. It wasn’t a lie on your part. Where Suguru had been impressive in his width, Satoru excelled in his length, but that wasn’t any of his particular business. 

“I always thought you’d wear some expensive cologne everyday,” you continued in a whisper, tightening your grip around him until he sagged against your chest and let out a low moan in your ear, “but you smell faintly of clean scented soap and that surprised me.” You trailed the hand not currently occupied over the ridges of his spine and had to bite at your lip when Satoru shuddered against you. “Your skin doesn’t run as hot as I imagined it would, but I don’t mind it.” 

He chuckled a bit at that, and the breathless sound of it made you shiver. In a strained voice he asked, “anything else?” You let out a questioning hum, feigning your need to contemplate the idea, and Satoru nipped at your neck in retaliation. 

“Okay, okay!” you squealed, wriggling under him as he continued his assault up over your ear before replacing them with soft kisses over your cheek. “Your hair feels as soft as it looks and not a day goes by that I don’t think about running my fingers through it.” To emphasize your point, you raked your nails over his scalp and a pleased grumble sounded low in his chest. You debated sharing your next thought with him, but he was searching your eyes in a way that was a little desperate and heart wrenching, so you obliged. 

“The night of that failed date, right before we fought,” you began quietly, tracing your finger over Satoru’s cheek and the bridge of his nose, “I spent the whole time wishing it had been you.” 

The admission must have taken him off guard because his eyes widened and a pink flush took over his cheeks. His chest brushed more firmly against your breasts as his breathing accelerated in the slightest, and you reached up to nudge the tip of your nose against his. You didn’t bother waiting for his reply, and arched your hips upwards to grind them against his, this time you both let out echoing moans. Much of what came next happened in blurs of frenzied movement; his hand slipping between your legs and moving about in a way that had you throwing your head back into his pillows until his room was filled with the sound of you chanting Satoru’s name. When you were breathless and panting, he trailed back up your body with his lips straying to the dip of your waist, the curve of your breast, and then back to your mouth. 

When he finally made space for himself inside you and pulled your thigh higher over his hip, all you could do was grasp at his back and grip at his arms while he murmured your name into the crook of your neck. His movements stole your breath and overwhelmed any other thoughts in your head, but you didn’t mind how much room Satoru took up. Not when his fingers traced your features in delicate awe and wonder, and not when he had you calling his name in response to the sudden burst of warmth that poured over you a second and third time before he followed in kind. 

Satoru rolled the two of you over when your chests were still heaving and limbs were trembling, wrapping you up tightly in the breadth of his arms so you could rest your cheek just under his collarbone while he whispered soft affirmations and praises in your ear. You decided then, when he was still nestled inside you and spoke excitedly of a midnight snack in a plastic to-go bag and of shared breakfast in the morning that Gojo Satoru would never be too much for you. 

————————————————

When Satoru blinked awake, the first thing he noticed was the calmness with which he came out of sleep. His skin wasn’t slicked with sweat, nor were his blankets tangled around his legs. He hadn’t thrashed into consciousness, tormented by an endless loop of nightmares filled with his dead best friend’s face or your vehement ire. Instead, his eyes opened drowsily to take in the blue-black of twilight peeking through his curtains and became instantly aware of the sound of rhythmic breathing to his left. You slept soundly on your side facing away from him, but with your back pressed against his arm. Satoru let out a long breath, feeling more rested than he had in months, but he was in no hurry to find his way out of bed and away from you. In an attempt to coax his mind back into slumber, he shifted onto his side and wiggled down into the bed until he could snuggle his face against the back of your neck. You made a sleepy noise of annoyance when he wrapped his arm around your hips to pull you against him, but you didn’t wake and Satoru sighed in contentment before letting his eyes fall closed.

-----------------------------------------------

I hope y'all enjoyed this sweetness as much as I did!

The next chapter with be the last, but will not be nearly as long and will wrap things up and give a happy ending to our couple. I'm excited to share it will y'all soon<3

Have a good weekend!

Taglist: @paprikaquinn & @kafanizdakicokiyi

[bullet-prooflove]

Flowers: Filip 'Chibs' Telford x Reader

Tagging: @corruptedcoffin @anime-weeb-4-life @redpoodlern @ravencrow83 @kishie8 @nu1freakshow @oureternalbond  @im-just-a-mississippi-girl @jtelford @the-wandering-lunatic @darqchilddaydreamz @yourwinchesterbros @lexondeck @keyweegirlie @poppyrose33 @belovedbastardremus @trublu2u @thebaileybugle @legally-a-bastard

There’s flowers on your kitchen table. Flowers that Chibs did not buy you.

He investigates the vibrant boutique as you head into the bedroom to change out of your court clothes, the sound of your high heels clicking on the hardwood flooring. He knows there’s a slew of other men that want to bed you, ones that don’t know about him. You don’t hide the relationship, the same way he doesn’t but the two of you move in separate circles. The outlaw and the lawyer, it shouldn’t work but it does.

He tries to think of the last time he bought you flowers…

He doesn’t think he ever has.

This fucking thing is huge, and he knows from the range of flowers that it’s expensive. There’s lavender, orchids, and all sorts of shit bursting out of it, classy shit. It’s set up in one of those fancy water boxes.

It’s when he spots the card that his heart sinks.

It’s an ornate rectangle of cardboard, embossed with gold swirls in each of the corners. He plucks it from the holder before examining the thing, his thumb tracing over the writing.

Love Al x.

The name is written in a cursive scrawl he doesn’t recognise. He runs through everybody you’ve ever mentioned trying to find the source, but you’ve never mentioned an Al. He’s sure of it. He wonders if it’s that prick prosecutor, the one that’s been trying to get into your pants when the gun charges came down on Jax and the others. He’d wanted to smack the shit out of the guy back then, he wants to murder the fucker now.

He thrusts the card back into the holder when he hears the bedroom door open, busying himself by pulling out a bag of freshly ground Columbian coffee and setting it down beside the French press. It’s when he opens the coffee bag, that rich, delicious scent flooding his nostrils that he has his epiphany.

He’s not supposed to be here. He doesn’t belong in this house with you. He’s not meant to be with you. He’s too rough around the edges, he doesn’t fit into your life the way someone like Al would. He doesn’t go to the fancy dinners, or the conferences. He doesn’t have the patience for the fundraisers or the Mayor’s Christmas party, and you know that which is why you never ask him.

He places his palms on the counter, the line of his jaw tightening. You deserve better than this, better than him. He’s not good enough for you, he never will be. He senses your presence behind him, your perfume is light and airy flooding his nostrils in a way that makes his heart ache because he can’t be around you right now. He can’t do this with you anymore.

Your palm comes to rest in the space between his shoulder blades, thumb skirting lightly over the leather of his kutte. You lean in close, lips brushing over the stubble of his cheek. He closes his eyes and savours the moment, the sensation of having you in his proximity before he pulls away.

“Jax just called.” He tells you, jerking his thumb towards the door. “I need to head back out.”

“Oh O.K.” You say with understanding before flicking the kettle on. “Do you want to leave you something to eat for later?”

“Don’t worry yourself love,” He tells you, pulling his leather gloves out of the back pocket of his jeans. “I won’t be coming back tonight.”

********************

You don’t see Chibs for days. He doesn’t call and he doesn’t text. He can’t stop thinking about Al and the bouquet of flowers on your kitchen table, it haunts his thoughts through random moments throughout his day. He’s always been confident in himself, self-assured but seeing those flowers has rocked him, it’s the first time he’s felt inadequate, the first time he’s caught a glimpse into the life you could be having if you weren’t with him.

He takes the bracelet out of his pocket, the one that he’s been working on the past couple of months. He knows you prefer jewellery that has a beaten look to it, hammered metal he thinks it’s called. He looked up the technique a while back and realised they had all the tools he needed to create something for you in the workshop out back.

It’s been a labour of love, there’s been a lot of trial and a lot of error, but he’s finally managed to complete the piece he set out to make. Each selection of precious metal is the size and shape of a ring pull and he’s spent hours hand crafting each one to give it the look that you love. It seems ridiculous now, he thinks as he runs his thumb over each of the dimples in the metal.

“You have been avoiding me.”

It’s rare that anyone gets the drop on him, but he’s been so lost in his thoughts that he hasn’t even registered your presence as he perches on the rolling stool in the garage.

“Jesus Christ love.” He jolts at the sound of your voice, the bracelet tumbles from his fingers and hits the concrete with a clatter. He feels the colour rise in his cheeks as you reach down to pick it up. It’s beautiful, silver, gold and bronze fragments all pulled together to make one unique piece. You study the craftmanship, running your thumb over the veins of metal, it superb. You think Kerrianne will love it.

“It’s stunning.” You tell him as you try to hand it back to him. Chibs shakes his head, his hands delving into the pockets of his overalls.

“No love.” He says softly. “I made it for you.”

There’s something in the tenderness of his expression that breaks your heart. You can’t speak for a moment, the well of emotion builds up in your chest as you clutch the bracelet tightly in your hand

“Filip…”

The way you say his fucking name, it ruins him.

“Fuck Filip, I love you.” You say quietly, your hands coming to cup his face, guiding his gaze up to meet yours. “I know we don’t say it, but I do.”

He sees it in your eyes, and you see it in his. There’s a depth between the two of you, a connection that’s raw and otherworldly. He swears when he looks into your eyes it feels like he’s lived a thousand lifetimes with you by his side. He thinks in this world and the next, that you were always destined to find each other. It’s not the shit a good Catholic believes but then again Chibs has never been a good Catholic. He’s lost track of the multitude of sins he’s committed.

“The flowers they were from Lowen, Ally Lowen, my practice partner.” You tell him as your thumb traces over the scar on his left cheek. “She knows what Peter was like, she was congratulating me on the divorce. I realised after you left that you may have thought…”

“Fuck.” He exhales the word as a small smile tips up at the edges of your mouth. “I…”

“I know what you thought.” You tell him. “And I want you to know that the relationship the two of us have means the world to me. There’s no one else and there will be no one else. I want to make that very clear.”

“C’mere.” He mumbles, his hands coming to rest on your waist as he pulls you down onto his lap. His arms wrap around your body, holding you in place against him as he buries his face into the curve of your neck. “There’s never going to be anyone else for me love. There’s just you, there’s only ever going to be you.”

Love Chibs? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[revelry-in-severity]

Daemon Sanrio AU!! (From someone who doesn't know anything other than names and appearances of the sanrio characters)

Miku owns the nice fancy restaurant in town where Tsukasa and Mafuyu work at as waiters, though Tsukasa usually takes over most of the work and leaves Mafuyu with seating people which is fine by her as that doesn't involve much most of the time. She does have to push him around a little if he's thinking to much about Rui though. Haruka and Nene rotate on who's going to be the show at Miku's restaurant. It's a very good night if the three of them decide to perform together.

Almost everyone ends up here anyway due to it being in the center of town and a nice meet up place

Kaito is Rui's first mate despite being older and owning the ship they all work on and Rui often returns to the city when they are running low on supplies. Minori had joined thinking it would be easier to possibly see some of Haruka's shows if she were traveling. Until Haruka decided to station herself, but Minori sticks around on the ship because it's fun.

Kaito's main job is supposes to be cargo delivery but if most of the cargo actually belongs to Rui and is mostly parts, then that's neither here nor there. Minori works as a waitress, but mostly sticks to Kaito and Rui as she's very slow due to not wanting her clumsiness to get the better of her due to the waves

Rui also returns often to see Tsukasa and the others. It's always a big scene between Rui and Tsukasa when they are reunited or saying goodbye

Airi, Ena, Mizuki, and An all work at a boutique shop with Airi and Mizuki on the clothing side and the other two on the accessory side. An mostly joined as a way to get back at Akito and poke fun at Ena liking her more than him. Ena did it to see who would get more customers, while the others are just a bonus for her

Emu and Shiho work at a bakery and Honami often stops by to buy food. Shiho does have to be on the look out sometimes as Emu likes to be experimental if she can. Honami also has her own apple orchard and she'll drop off fresh apples for them to use.

Luka is actually the owner of the boutique, but Airi is the one who usually ends up doing more of the business work for her as she would likely ends up losing the papers. Meiko used to help her out, but now she mostly roams around and helps any of the stray animals she sees. It doesn't matter how dangerous. Everyone has to hold Shizuku's hand when she's out making deliveries and they often wonder who's bright idea it is to let her keep the job. They usually get a nice walk out of it though

The three who never leave their houses. Kanade still likes composing music as often as she can. She still needs to be check in on as she doesn't leave the house. Meanwhile, Rin and Len are often working on their art projects. Rin likes writing while Len likes experimenting with 3d builds

Touya skates around town to make his dad angry and Akito joins him every chance he can. It's because Touya didn't actually know how to skateboard beforehand and Akito needed to be the one to teach him how after he wondered if he would be able to jump down the stairs with the board because he knew the physics of the jump

Saki is a frequent visitor to any and all places. She'll make Ichika and Kohane join her and they'll often just sit around and talk. Ichika has been learning photography from Kohane and Kohane uses the chance to take care of all the flowers in town as they walk around. They've been putting together a scrapbook for everyone

[fictional-idol-tournament]

WELCOME TO THE FICTIONAL IDOL TOURNAMENT

64 unique idols are gathered here to see who among them, truly, is worthy of being the top idol. this is a friendly competition and there is no threat of the idoluminati anywhere at all.

ROUND 1 MATCHUPS:

Side A:

1: Lily Hoshikawa (Zombieland Saga) vs Pearl (Splatoon) -> Lily Hoshikawa (WINNER!)

2: Minori Hanasto (Project SEKAI) vs Rise Kujikawa (Persona 4) -> Rise Kujikawa (WINNER!)

3: Rosie Mayfield (Style Boutique) vs Misa Amane (Death Note) -> Misa Amane (WINNER!)

4: Idol (Miitopia) vs Amari Katasumi (PriPara) -> Idol (WINNER!)

5: Mona Narumi (Confession Executive Committee) vs Mima Kirgoe (Perfect Blue) -> Mima Kiroge (WINNER!)

6: Rina Tennouji (Love Live!) vs Kanon Ichinose (Girls x Heroine) -> Rina Tennouji (WINNER!)

7: Ayu Yumesaki (Idol Royale) vs Zakuro Fujiwara (Tokyo Mew Mew) -> Zakuro Fujiwara (WINNER!)

8: Iris Sagan (AI: The Somnium Files) vs Sophy Houjou (PriPara) -> Iris Sagan (WINNER!)

9: Tsubasa Kazanari (Symphogear) vs Yumemi Yumemite (Kakeguri) -> Tsubasa Kazanari (WINNER!)

10: Minako Aino (Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon) vs Tae Yamada (Zombieland Saga) -> Tae Yamada (WINNER!)

11: Momo Kisaragi (Kagerou Project) vs Miruki Amauri (Waccha Prigami!) -> Momo Kisaragi (WINNER!)

12: Shion Kamiya (Aikatsu) vs Uta (One Piece) -> Uta (WINNER!)

13: Yoko Okino (Detective Conan) vs Marina Ida (Splatoon) -> Marina Ida (WINNER!)

14: Ai Hoshino (Oshi no Ko) vs Rui Wakaouji (Tokyo 7th Sisters) -> Ai Hoshino (WINNER!)

15: Yukito (Yuki) Orikasa (Idolish7) vs Asahi Mogami (Phantom of the Idol) -> Yuki Orikasa (WINNER!)

16: Onpu Segawa (Ojamajo DoRe) vs Tsubasa Oribe (Fire Emblem) -> Onpu Segawa (WINNER!)

Side B:

1: Nico Yazawa (Love Live!) vs Yū Morisawa (Magical Angel Creamy Mami)

2: Airi Momoi (Project SEKAI) vs Barbara (Genshin Impact)

3: Yuni (Pretty Cure) vs Riamu Yumemi (THE iDOLM@STER)

4: Riku Nanase (Idolish7) vs Utau Hoshina (Shugo Chara!)

5: Urara Kusanago (Pretty Cure) vs Shun Shimotsuki (Tsukiuta)

6: Lisia (Pokémon) vs Maina Ichii (Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu)

7: Mem-Cho (Oshi no Ko) vs Haruka Sawamura (Yakuza)

8: Eri Karan (Digimon) vs Cheri Sono (AKB0048)

9: Arashi Narukami (Ensemble Stars) vs Mira Hanayashiki (Sekko Boys)

10: Jennifer Sumire Sol (Waccha Prigami!) vs Gold Ship (Uma Musume Pretty Derby)

11: Ayu Maruyama (BanG Dream!) vs Kou Seiya (Sailor Moon)

12: Rin Chan (Evillious Chronicles) vs Hiro Hayashi (King of Prism)

13: Ao Yodogawa (Selection Project) vs Akira Kogami (Lucky Star)

14: Ming-Ming (Beyblade) vs Mika Kagehira (Ensemble Stars)

15: Aira Harune (Pretty Rhythm) vs Hina Hikawa (BanG Dream!)

16: Kerori Crocell (Mairimashita! Iruma-kun) vs Sayaka Maizono (Danganronpa)

[shizukufangs]

First set of the lupinranger au refs!! We have the lupinrangers themselves. The thieves who fight to recover what they've lost!

Mizuki Akiyama - 19, the main tailor at the boutique that all of the thieves work at and live in as their cover story. The person they're trying to save is Rui Kamishiro, their old friend who disappeared while they were ditching.

Shizuku Hinomori - 20, the head of embroidery at the boutique all of the theives work at and live in. The person she's trying to save is Airi Momoi, her girlfriend who disappeared while Shizuku was in the middle of leaving her old idol group.

Saki Tenma - 19, a stylist and clerk at the boutique all of the thieves work at and live in. The person she's trying to save is Tsukasa Tenma, her brother who disappeared while they were on their way home from Phoenix Wonderland.

Kohane Azusawa - 19, a stylist and clerk at the boutique all of the thieves work at and live in. The person he's trying to save is Minori Hanasato, one of his best friends from school, who disappeared when they were walking together to an idol audition for Minori.

[agnes-anezka]

Magical Chibis🦄

Magical Chibis is drastically different from all other Bella Sara series both in appearance and game-play. When you open a pack of card, you also get a rule book for the game that you can play with the cards.

This series has 55 regular cards, 55 shiny cards and 2 promo cards.

There's my collection of Czech cards:

(Left row: regular cards. Right row: shiny cards.)

🟢 | ⚪️ Airy

⚪️ | ⚪️ Bella

⚪️ | 🟢 Bella & Sara

🟢 | ⚪️ Bluebell

🟢 | ⚪️ Bluma

🟢 | ⚪️ Bubble Turtle

⚪️ | 🟢 Bunnyfly

🟢 | ⚪️ Chibi's Boutique

🟢 | ⚪️ Chucklepuck

🟢 | ⚪️ Citrustack

🟢 | ⚪️ Cobalt Bear

🟢 | 🟢 Coral

🟢 | ⚪️ Crimson

🟢 | ⚪️ Emma

⚪️ | ⚪️ Fiona

🟢 | ⚪️ Frostfire

🟢 | ⚪️ Icicle

🟢 | ⚪️ Islandar

⚪️ | ⚪️ Ivenna

🟢 | ⚪️ Jewel

🟢 | ⚪️ Leolynx

🟢 | ⚪️ Lien

🟢 | ⚪️ Lotus Hedgehog

🟢 | ⚪️ Minty

🟢 | ⚪️ Mireldis

⚪️ | ⚪️ Mote

🟢 | ⚪️ Mustang

🟢 | ⚪️ Myrfor

🟢 | ⚪️ Nike

🟢 | ⚪️ Pantheon

⚪️ | ⚪️ Philenia True

🟢 | 🟢 Pink Lady

🟢 | ⚪️ Purrwing

🟢 | ⚪️ Rose Dragon

🟢 | ⚪️ Sara

🟢 | ⚪️ Shahazar

🟢 | ⚪️ Shine

🟢 | ⚪️ Snowdreamer

🟢 | ⚪️ Snowy Otter

🟢 | ⚪️ Starlight

🟢 | ⚪️ Starstone Otter

🟢 | ⚪️ Steampoppo

🟢 | 🟢 Sunflower

🟢 | ⚪️ Sweetpea Reindeer

🟢 | ⚪️ Tassel Mouse

🟢 | ⚪️ Tea-Leaf Panda

🟢 | 🟢 Thunder

⚪️ | 🟢 Tiara

🟢 | 🟢 Tomtomme

🟢 | ⚪️ Twinkle Imp

🟢 | ⚪️ Ursa Minor

🟢 | ⚪️ Valeryk Husky

🟢 | ⚪️ Rainbow Wheebee

🟢 | ⚪️ Whiffle Bear

🟢 | ⚪️ Wings

I also have both promo cards!

[toussainttwins]

The Dreamveil

An extract from “Duchy of Toussaint: A land of Love and Wine. The Richest, Most Detailed and Entertaining Guide for a Curious Traveller”.

A native and a traveller alike might reasonably expect the famous masquerade shop to be located at The Gran'place, the main square of our fair Beauclair, where any wish and whim can be found amidst colourful stalls and loud cries of motley merchants.   

However, one shall find ‘The Dreamveil’ at the north-west from The Gran'place, at Knights Dormant Square. And in our opinion no better place could have been chosen, for the trade of disguise ( as is the art of love ) bears no rowdy bustle or haste. The boutique has found its home amidst merry talk and soft murmurs. Many made the secluded, peaceful square their favourite spot for enjoying a meal, or a view of Sansretour River rolling its azure waves on a sunny day.

Our direction-seeking readers would agree that all the above activities are better done hand-in-hand with a good friend or a fair beloved. And it is no wonder that quite a few knights or ducal guards, after a visit to the Ducal Camerlengo nearby, find an excuse to cross the threshold of the Dreamvel - even the solemn warriors are allowed to put their weapons down and savour a bite of festivity. It is a well-known, albeit veiled truth, that kings and queens - and even Her Illustrious Highness, Duchess Anna Henrietta! - did not shun the playful craft of masks and make-belief that the Dreamveil offers.

Left of the statue of the maiden holding a basketfull of grapes, one shall find a two-storey stone house, painted in a shade of the blue sky, particular to our beauteous, cheerful Toussaint, and a dainty balcony, adorned with vines and roses. Many serenades were sung under it, and many shall be, for despite  its almost humble appearance - a true wonder lies within the walls of the illustrious Dreamvel. From there it is no chore to see the plague with a tale-telling masquerade mask. 

Inside one is greeted with a view, verily heavenly. Owning to the wondrous fact that the airy, high-ceilinged hall is full of…clouds. The clever contraptions are suspended from above on the practically unseen web, soft to the touch as fleece from Toussaint merinos. The light from the windows, crafted from many-coloured, tiny pieces of glass, paints the room in enchanted colours, making the clouds as believable as those floating in the sky outside. In the midst of them appears a half-crescent moon and several stars, in a style you see in the astronomical engravings. All can be moved around the hall, thanks to the ceiling web, and constructed thusly they can be used as swings. It is the favourite pastime of awaiting customers or mischievous errand boys.

Amidst the clouds one finds ready-made costumes, created for almost any emergency, a wall full of masks, that can serve as an illustrated encyclopaedia to the whole kingdom of beasts and plants, pieces of textile, patiently waiting to be made into a fanciful attire, and rows of marchande de modes tiny dolls, showcasing even more wonderful assembles. At the end of the hall there is a painted counter, with a small door behind it, from which the brightest wonder of the shop appears - mistress Natanis.

Before one has a pleasure to meet  the petite blonde marchande in person, one can already admire her likeness - just above the counter hangs two portraits of her, different in pose and in mood, yet clearly alike in the face  - a vivacious summer and a dreamy spring, (note: one depicts Natanis and the other - Nistana).

Somewhere behind  the clouds hides a small clandestine changing chamber, guarded with painted screens, for those who desire to put their costumes on right away. The second floor is off to the visitors and contains the workshop chamber and other living arrangements of the hardworking, imaginative seamstress.

[littlequeenies]

Colors!A night out with Pamela Courson

Information from the great site: Pam and Jim Morrison: A Place Where The Creatures Meet

“Strictly From Hunger!” a memoir of musician John Morton’s experiences as one of the hottest bands in L.A.

One of our songs, “Colors”, came about because we met Pam Courson at The Whisky. She came back stage and I just figured she was a groupie wanting a piece of the band. She said her name was Valerie Sunshine (this may not have been unusual for Pam in an article about her boutique, Themis, Pam used the pseudonym Pamela Roselilly). She told us she wasn’t interested in sex but she had some LSD she wanted to share and go down to Santa Monica beach. Mike Lane and I said, “What the hell! Why not!” We were done with our set and it wasn’t the first time we spent late hours with chicks getting high.

Me, Valerie, and Mike walked on the beach in Santa Monica. The night was perfect on the beach, full moon and turquoise ocean with beautiful waves rolling in. In the distance you could see the lights on the pier. Valerie was like a goddess in a white lace see through blouse and an airy short white skirt with long red hair. She was running and skipping on the sand like a carefree child. She just breezed through the air, floating like a leaf, a beautiful white leaf. Valerie had that magical quality that just drew you in, it was her night. We were all high on Blue Owsley one of the strongest mind altering acid you could take. Some people experienced peace and calm, others experienced wild and frantic abandonment. If we had been with anybody else it would probably have been the later. Valerie was just this innocent soul who wanted to share herself. At least that’s how I was envisioning her as an angel passing through time that just so happened to catch the attention of two wiley musicians. She was magical. All of sudden the intensity of colors just emerged from nowhere. She smiled and said: "can you see how fantastic the world is?” She looked at Mike and me and said, “Create me a song!” We looked over at the pier and flashed on the beautiful lights and colors and watched the waves roll in simultaneously from the turquoise sea under a bright moonlit sky and Mike Lane sang: “lights flashing, images before my eyes, people turning finally/all the colors in the world have come from me.” How profound in that moment, I finished with: “try and realize what life is worth if you don’t have a disguise.” At that moment there was a full orchestra at my command and the music just flowed in, the violins and strings just resounded as if I was conducting the song. Valerie said “Bravo! You did not let me down!” Valerie Sunshine had made an unforgettable night! Who would have thought we would of experienced something greater than sex? It was as orgasmic as it gets. She then became the mad hatter and said “I’m late! I’m late for a very important date.” We drove back to The Whisky and Valerie said as she got out of the van, “in the real world my name is Pam—Pam Courson.” Then she disappeared into the crowd.

The next day as we were rehearsing we put together our new song “Colors”. It just came together seamlessly, guitars, keyboard and vocals. The song instantly became part of our set list. I didn’t put two and two together till years later that Pam Courson was Jim Morrison’s girlfriend. That night in 1968 I’ll always remember her as Valerie Sunshine.

[dxmedstudent]

Wedding Updates

I picked a dress! It involved looking at a few places and being disciplined with myself on my dress budget. technically, my parents offered to pay for my dress because they know I'm probably too pragmatic and didn't want me to make decisions based on cutting costs alone. As it is, I got my dress 20% off as the boutique was having a sale, and it was one of their more affordable dresses to begin with. It's a floaty A line dress with lace and tulle, and gives me the ethereal Elf princess vibe I was hoping for - certainly it will do when I add a cape veil. I was thinking over various deep V dresses and trying to work out how to alter them to make them closer to my vision, and couldn't entirely see the dresses looking quite like I wanted. In the end, the dress I picked has an illusion halter neck with a boob window! Which I find hilarious. Plus unlike the plunging necklines the mesh helps me feel that the girls won't be falling out on the day. I love that it feels light and airy - a lot of the dresses felt kind of heavy and rigid to wear. And we're hopefully almost sorted on venues and catering, which will mean most of the important stuff is chosen. Can't move forward on the rest til the date is fully confirmed and everything is signed, but I'm hopeful. It feels like there's a lot more SLOOOW emailing to and fro than I expected. Filling forms, then filling more forms, then meeting again. Then more forms. Can I just say, for an institution that should WANT people to get married, the Church of England doesn't have the easiest criteria for letting people marry in any particular Church. You have to either lived in their catchment area, or have been baptised/confirmed there or have your parents do the same. But like, people move around. I've lived in a ton of places, but they aren't necessarily places I want to drag my friends and family to, just so I can get married. Fortunately we've found somewhere near a venue we like that is also in a catchment area DXDude has lived in, so hopefully we'll be OK. We're aiming for Spring 2023, and that's going to come sooner than we realise!

I'm already looking ahead to decor. I'm loving thrifting mismatched decor at present, and you can usually find things for really affordable prices. I reckon I'll be more likely to find new homes for decor after the wedding (or keeping some of it, when we move somewhere bigger) if it's not like 12 identical vases, candle holders etc. I do love that it's feeling more real, and that DxDude has his own ideas for the wedding. Like a lot of guys he didn't have much idea of what he wanted initially, but as he's taken time to think about things and realise that we don't have to have a traditional wedding, or a wedding that looks like other people's weddings, he's gotten a lot more into adding personal touches or thinking up ways to reduce the cost together. I also wan't really sure what I wanted at first, so it's been fun trying to work it out! Ultimately, it'll just be really nice to see our friends and family in one place.

[webbyweeb]

I’m feeling down, so here’s a quick hxh insert with a 13 year old girl in mind. Strictly platonic.

“Thank you for having us!” You politely bow in front of Gon’s aunt Mito and great grandmother Abe. The older lady chuckles. “Thank you for visiting! I’m sorry about the mess, I wasn’t expecting guests today.” Mito chirped. “Goodness Gon! You should have told me you were heading home! I wasn’t able to prepare anything!” She chided. You looked at your friends warmly and took a sip of your offered beverage. “It’s not that big of a deal. It’s fine.” Gon says going to take a seat. “What do you mean? Your friends came all the way here to visit!” Mito countered. “No, it’s okay.” Killua says, you nod. “It is quite alright ms!” You giggle. “Really, you should have said something so I could prepare!” You smile and close your eyes, the two boys exchanged an awkward smile. “Are you listening to me?!” Mito startles Gon and you lost it laughing, Killua shortly joining in. “Why don’t you wash up while I make you all something? Please leave your dirty clothes, I’m doing laundry later!” Mito says, getting ingredients “Thanks ms!” You exclaim. “Okay! Later?” Gon asks, “Now!” Mito huffs. The boys scramble about. “Excuse me Ms Mito?” You inquire. “Yes?” She turns to face you. “All my clothes are dirty so I’m going to pick up an outfit from the shop while I wait for my turn.” You say, sheepishly trailing off. “Alright! The boutique is on north sunbear creek, please be safe!” Mito responded. “Alright! I’ll be back-“ “Wait! Wait, wait!” Mito exclaims. She goes to a caddy near the door and pulls out a paper, scribbling down something on the back. “Here! I wrote the home phone number on the back just incase.” You look down at the map of the land and nod. “Thank you! Now I won’t get lost!” You grin “I’ll be right back!” You close the front door, looking on the map for the street name. “There it is! I wonder what kind of clothing they have here.”

You open the door to the shop. “hello?” A young woman comes from behind the counter, she seems about Kurapika’s age. “Hi, I’m Val. Can I help you?” She introduces herself. “Please do! I need a simple airy outfit, do you have any recommendations?” Val nods and guides you to a rack on the wall. “This shirt waist dress has matching stockings and a hair tie! It would probably fit your height.” You looked at the paw-polka dot stockings and pastel plaid dress and cute bear charm in the hair elastic, inspecting to see if it would last your adventures. “The seams are really neat on this! And the remaining thread on the socks seems to have been woven in perfectly. The work on this is amazing, and the material seems good quality.” You think out loud. “How much for it?” 17,300 Jenny she responds. “Really? I’ll take it!” You skip out of the shop, new outfit in its bag. You can’t wait to show your friends!

End bc I’m lazy need to post smth and might continue later. I’m writing mainly platonic stuff since I want to have a safe space for minors and aro/ace ppl to get content from.

[roguebox-writes]

Chapter 3 - The Story of One

Kaeya x OC

Genre: Angst(?) to fluff

Summary: Childhood friends mean something different when you believe you're the sole survivor of a fallen nation.

Word count: 7387

Warnings: Anxiety, PTSD, Blood, (If there's anything else, let me know)

Back to Venti's Tales

Previous Chapter

One day in Mondstadt

Elara’s eyes fluttered open, her hands rubbing the sleep from her eyes. When her eyes adjusted to the space, she noticed she was back in Kaeya’s room. For a moment, she wondered if last night was just a dream. Had they actually sat on the roof of the Favonious Headquarters? However, when Kaeya smiled at her when she walked into the living room, she knew it wasn’t just a dream.

Dressed in his captain’s uniform, Kaeya watched her from the kitchen as she sat on the couch.

“Morning! Or rather, good afternoon.” Kaeya greeted.

“G’morning, your highness.” She teased.

“Did you sleep well?”

“As well as well can be, I suppose. Sorry, you had to carry me back,” Elara laughed sheepishly. “Did you sleep?”

“Looks like you’ll have to think of some way to repay me, princess… Not that I minded anyway.” He smiled. “But yes, I got a few hours before I left for the knights. Speaking of which, I brought you something.”

Kaeya took a plate on the kitchen counter before holding it out to Elara. Her eyebrow raised, looking at the food with both curiosity and caution. Kaeya chuckled at her expression.

“They’re called tea break pancakes. One of the knight’s maids, Noelle, is very good at making them. You’ll love them.”

Elara took the plate from him before sitting at the small round table next to the kitchen. She eyed the food for a moment. A juicy-looking berry sat at the top.

Taking the fork that Kaeya gave her, she hesitantly cuts into it, the syrup following her fork as it flows through the missing piece. Her eyes lit up when it finally met her taste buds. The food was light and airy, mixed with the perfect amount of sweetness from the syrup.

“It’s good.” Elara smiled, covering her mouth with her hand.

“Glad you like it.” He returned her smile.

After Elara finished eating, Kaeya wanted to take her on a small tour of Mondstadt. As soon as the pair stepped outside, Kaeya had to stop for the woman as she stood in place.

Now that she wasn't bleeding to death, she could finally take in the whole experience of being outside for the first time. She admired the rays of sun that made her feel like she was seeing colors for the first time.

Kaeya smiled to himself as he watched Elara’s eyes flutter close with a slight smile on her face. He knew she was enjoying the way the sun felt on her skin. Seeing her like this reminded him of his first time seeing the sun. It was the day after he arrived in Mondstadt when the rain had cleared. Diluc and his father eyed him curiously when he reacted the same way Elara is now, letting his eyes close as he enjoyed the sun's warmth. However, back then, he also remembers the bitterness and guilt he felt experiencing that warmth alone instead of with his friend he promised to share it with.

Yet, here she was now, swiveling her head around as they walked the cobblestone streets, taking everything in. Kaeya admired the blissful smile spread across her face. He spent his childhood in darkness, but Elara spent her life in it. He could only imagine the peace she must feel.

It was early afternoon, so the people of Mondstadt were moving about their day normally. Merchants sold goods to those who passed by while an incredible smell came from a restaurant near the fountain, almost making her hungry again despite her full stomach.

There was a sense of awe as she observed the people while walking by Kaeya’s side. In the Abyss, humans were scarcely seen, not to mention fairies, who were presumed extinct. So seeing so many people in one space was fascinating to her.

“Here we are.” Kaeya, regretfully, drew her from admiring the town.

The cavalry captain held the door open, allowing her to enter first. He had brought her to a family-owned boutique that he’s heard people speak of plenty of times.

A woman behind the counter smiled at the sight of the captain.

“Ah! Captain Kaeya! Welcome! What can I do for you today?”

“Hello, Amelia,” He gave her a charming smile. “I was hoping to find some clothes for my friend here.”

Elara awkwardly waved while Amelia eyed her up and down, flipping her brunette strands over one shoulder.

“… Sure! Anything for you, captain.” She winked.

As Amelia helped Elara pick some clothing, she was confused by Elara’s requests. She only picked clothes with an open back or a thin strap connecting the cloth in the middle.

In the end, they found an outfit that worked for the woman. While Elara changed, Amelia took the opportunity to talk with the captain, complimenting his uniform and telling him how she felt safer knowing he was protecting Mondstadt.

Kaeya chatted with her out of politeness, smiling and giving small ‘thank you’s’. He took care to listen to her carefully and respond in kind to everything Amelia said, but his main focus was on the dressing room in the back as he waited for his friend. His concern was that she wouldn't like the cloak he helped her pick out, hoping it was more comfortable on her wings than her previous jacket.

Amelia frowned when Kaeya immediately stopped talking to her once his friend came out of the dressing room. The captain smiled at Elara as she did a small spin for them.

Her cloak matched her eyes perfectly; the hood laid gently behind her. The body of the cloak fit snuggly around her torso before fanning out past her waist and to her knees while the purple sleeves covered the markings on her arms. Kaeya made sure to pick one with the inside made of silk, hoping it would lay more comfortably on her skin. While underneath, the black tank top connected with two thin straps that lead to a choker around her neck, closing with a zipper. It left her back and shoulders bare in case of emergencies.

“Well?” Elara asked, spinning her new coat around with her hands.

“As enchanting as ever, princess.” Kaeya smiled.

Elara flushed at the compliment while Amelia rolled her eyes.

Amelia continued to flirt with the captain as he paid for his friend’s clothes while Kaeya indulged her advances with a sly smile and a melodic voice. Despite his voracious flirting, his eyes never seemed to leave Elara for long, as he unabashedly stared like she was the most fascinating thing he had ever seen. The fun ended when Kaeya, much to Elara’s surprise, declined Amelia’s invitation for a drink at Angel’s Share later that evening.

Elara felt sympathy at the dejected look on the woman’s face as she and Kaeya left. Yet, the sympathy quickly faded when Amelia glared daggers at her back as they left the boutique.

“I didn’t expect you to turn her down like that,” Elara said as Kaeya led her through the streets of Mondstadt again.

“Why do you say that?” Kaeya asked.

“You seemed to have enjoyed talking to her. So, I thought you would’ve accepted her offer.”

“Being a knight means I have to be kind to everyone. Besides, even if I wasn’t a knight, I’m showing you around… and I’d much rather spend time with you.” He smiled.

Elara gave him a gentle smile in return.

“I want to show you where I work next. I spend almost every day there; it only seems right to show you where I spend my days without you,” Kaeya said as he looped Elara’s arm through his with a smile.

They walked through the hallways briefly the night before when they sat on the roof together, but he wanted to show her more.

When they arrived, Elara could see the headquarters in full motion. Boots clicked on the brown and white tile as knights walked around the main floor, moving from different rooms and completing their daily tasks.

As the pair reached the top of the stairs, a man with ash blonde hair ran into them, taking his head out of his notebook.

“Apologies, Kaeya.” He greeted the captain before turning to the woman. “Who is this?” He asked bluntly.

“Ah, Albedo. I’m glad we ran into you. This here is Elara, an… old friend of mine,” He said before turning to his friend. “Elara, this is Albedo Kreideprinz, Chief Alchemist and Captain of the Investigation Team of the Knights of Favonius.”

Kaeya questioned if he should say more than that. Albedo was bright, and he didn’t want to say anything that gave Elara away to the Chief Alchemist.

The two captains shared an unspoken trust in each other, but it wasn’t out of friendship, nor was it a trust formed from being co-workers. Instead, it had to do with the identical star shape that branded Albedo’s neck that could be found in Kaeya’s eyes.

Their unspoken bond formed the day Albedo pulled the cavalry captain aside and bluntly asked if he, too, was from Khaenri’ah. Kaeya had to stop in his sting of excuses when he finally registered the ‘too’ from the blonde. Albedo revealed himself to be a synthetic human created by the same alchemist who made the fairies all those years ago. So, Kaeya reluctantly admitted to being from the nation without a god as well; however, he kept his status to himself.

So, as he introduced Elara to him, Kaeya worried that Albedo would somehow be able to figure out she was a fairy.

Elara extended her hand to the alchemist, who took her hand cautiously while his eyes never left hers.

“Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kreideprinz.” Elara smiled.

“... Pleasure is all mine,” He paused. “And please, Albedo is fine.”

“Elara is new to Mondstadt. She arrived late yesterday, so I’ve been showing her around.” Kaeya intervened. “We’ll let you return to whatever it was you were doing before.”

Kaeya quickly bid Albedo goodbye before taking Elara’s hand and leading her away.

Albedo’s eyes burrowed in the woman’s back as they continued walking away before flipping to a new page in his notebook, sketching the woman’s amethyst-colored eyes while being sure to detail the star-shaped pupils perfectly. The sole indicator of where she came from.

One week in Mondstadt

Elara’s fingers gently went over the bindings of new and old books that occupied the shelves in the Favonius Library. She made sure to put the books away as the head librarian, Lisa, asked of her.

The woman had been working in the library for a few days after Kaeya had tried to persuade her to join the knights. However, Elara was extremely against it. She strongly insisted that she never wanted to fight again. Kaeya was confused at first, but she assured him it was merely because of her long and treacherous battle to claw her way up the twelve floors of the Abyss. She played it off as if she was simply tired of fighting. Which… wasn’t entirely a lie.

Working in the library under Lisa was the next best thing for working with Kaeya and the knights. Elara was appreciative of Lisa’s kindness and patience. After giving her a job, the librarian noticed how she would frequently end up reading different books about Teyvat. So, she gave her book recommendations to read in her free time and explained things when Elara approached her with additional questions about Teyvat. Lisa found her curiosity intriguing but rather cute.

When Elara finished sorting the books away, she checked to make sure that Lisa had nothing else for her to do at the moment before sitting at one of the tables to read. The book she was most recently given was about Inazuma, the nation of eternity. The woman found the title ironic, considering where she comes from. Elara became so invested in reading that she didn’t hear the door to the library open.

Kaeya didn’t usually enter the library unless he needed to speak with Lisa or was looking for Albedo. Yet, since Elara started working there, the head librarian was considering banning him from entering the library more than once a day.

“Good afternoon, Lisa.” Kaeya greeted her.

“Cavalry captain…” Her voice was sickeningly sweet. “My, I wonder what brings you here today?” She teased.

“Would it be so hard to believe I stopped by to say hi to my favorite librarian?” He gave her a charming smile.

“Of course not. She’s reading downstairs.” Lisa smirked, bringing her tea up to her lips.

Kaeya thanked her, chuckling to himself before walking down the stairs. He smiled as he approached his friend. However, as he got closer, he couldn’t help but notice her tense shoulders as he approached her from behind.

“Excuse me, beautiful. You wouldn’t happen to have seen my friend around, have you? She’s–”

The sound of Elara slamming her book shut echoed through the library, cutting off Kaeya’s flirtatious remark and making the few patron's heads snap toward the two. A little girl on the library's far side brought her index finger to her lips, silencing the woman.

“El? What is it?” Kaeya was suddenly on alert, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder to hopefully soothe her.

“... It’s nothing.” She lied. “Sorry…”

Kaeya could tell that it was obviously not nothing. But, he decided best not to push her. So instead, he gave her a charming smile when she looked up at him.

“No need,” He smiled. “I’m on my break if you have nothing to do at the moment. It’s a beautiful day, and the sun is out. So I figured you would share my eagerness to go out and enjoy it.”

Elara forced a smile on her face.

“Actually, that sounds lovely. I need to use the restroom first; I'll meet you out front.”

“Great. Don't worry; I'll put your book away for you.” Kaeya smiled, taking the book from the table.

Elara thanked him before leaving. As soon as she was out of eyesight, the cavalry captain examined the book.

Now, what could have possibly gotten you so frightened about the nation of eternity, princess? Kaeya flipped to the bookmarked page, and recognition flowed through him immediately.

There was a hint of resentment at the illustration on the page… The Raiden Shogun, the Electro Archon, stared back at him mockingly. Now he understood Elara’s reaction. Seeing the god that nearly killed her, and finding out that she still lived, must've taken her by surprise.

As he put her book away, he silently vowed that the Shogun would never touch her… Along with any other Archon.

Elara opened the double doors of the Favonious Headquarters. Kaeya greeted her with a smile as she descended the steps.

“Ready?” He asked.

The woman simply nodded her head with a strained smile. Kaeya could still see the lingering fear in her composer. So, he tested the waters by extending his hand to her. Elara gave him a questioning look before intertwining their fingers, and as soon as she did, he could feel the slight shaking in her hand.

As the pair walked through the streets of Mondstadt, Kaeya spoke to her about his day, attempting to take her mind off the book. However, the conversation was primarily one-sided, with Elara only responding in small hums, nods, and shakes of her head.

It wasn’t until they reached Windrise far outside the city walls that Kaeya stopped them. He made sure no one was around before speaking to her.

“Alright, El. Talk to me.”

“What?” Elara’s shoulders tensed more than they already were.

“I can see right through you, you know. You’ve been acting strange since the moment we left the library.”

“I’m just tired, that's all.” She blinked.

Elara felt heavy under his gaze, his periwinkle eye attempting to meet her own, but she avoided it. Kaeya’s sudden chuckle made her snap her head back up to look at him with a curious gaze.

“You have the same tell that you did when we were kids,” He chuckled. “You blink a lot when you lie.”

Elara’s cheeks tinted before sighing.

“The book… I was reading. It was about Inazuma…” She took a shaky breath. “There was a picture… Of the Electro Archon and…”

Elara trailed off, looking anywhere but at the cavalry captain. When she saw the picture of the god she assumed was dead, fear struck her like lightning from the Archon herself. After Aether struck her, the woman believed she bled out from her wounds. However, that didn’t seem to be the case. Instead, it appeared that she lived today, installing a new fear of being found by the Archon.

“El,” Kaeya drew her from her thoughts. “Look at me.”

He gently cupped the woman's cheek when she wouldn’t meet his eyes. Kaeya could feel her shaking still, but as he spoke, she melted into his touch.

“I promise you. They won’t ever touch you. Okay?”

Elara’s anxiousness melted into a gentle smile. When her lips parted to respond, a scream escaped her throat as an arrow lodged into her leg. Kaeya grabbed the woman and hid behind the giant oak tree. He carefully peered around the corner; a group of hilichurls aimed their crossbows while a blazing axe mitachurl charged the tree.

He quickly presses his back to the tree once again as an arrow zips past his face. With a swift wave of his hand, he summoned his weapon.

“Are you alright–”

Kaeya’s eye widened when he looked over at his friend. Elara pulled out the arrow from the back of her leg with one quick pull. Her hands shook as she tossed the arrow aside.

“El?”

He attempted to get her attention, but she just muttered to herself as she squeezed her eyes shut.

Elara muttered reassurance to herself, urging herself to calm down as she felt memories from the Abyss flood her. The fear and hopelessness at the thought that she would never make it past the corridor of the Abyss, let alone make it out of floor twelve alive, flowed through her. She repeatedly hit her head on the tree’s trunk as if she could knock the thoughts and fear from her mind.

“Elara. Everything’s going to be okay. Just stay here.”

Kaeya left her side just in time for the mitachurl to reach them. When the axe was swung in his direction, he ducked, the axe finding a home in the oak tree's trunk instead. Before he could counter-attack, a purple blur zipped past him.

Elara’s electro-infused fist connected with the mitachurl’s face, sending it flying back. Her coat was long discarded as she let her wings carry her from hilichurl to hilichurl, leaving the cavalry captain to stand back and watch with his mouth slightly agape.

When the hilichurls were discarded, the mitachurl had attempted to pick itself back up. Yet, Elara tackled it to the ground again, repeatedly sending her electro-infused fists into the creature even after it had long stopped moving. Crimson splattered on her face as she defaced the mitachurl.

“El!” Kaeya tossed his weapon to the side, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her from the mitachurl’s corpse. “That’s enough!”

She flailed in his arms, trying to attack the creature more. It was like her mind was completely blacked out, attacking what she believed to be a threat to her life.

To Kaeya, the mitachurl lay long dead in the lush grass below. But to Elara, the world was dark, and the grass was withered under the creature that could get up at any moment. The world around her was utterly warped as her mind tried to convince her she was back in the Abyss, and her fight for survival continued.

It was the cold hands that gently cupped her cheeks that made a small amount of color return to the world, her vision refocusing on the periwinkle eye that stared back at her with concern.

“Elara. It’s okay. You’re safe.”

Kaeya’s silky voice finally reached her ears. Amethyst irises sporadically searched the area as his reassuring words sank in. The grass was green and luxuriant with life, letting her kneel comfortably on the ground. It wasn’t dark, but in fact, the sun’s rays danced in her vision as they shone through the leaves of the giant oak tree above them. While Kaeya, her prince, sat in front of her, holding her as if she was made of glass, he continued reassuring her that she was safe.

“Kae…?” She breathed out, tears forming in the corners of her eyes as her wings drooped behind her. “I–I’m sorry…”

The man’s hands found their way to the back of her head, pulling her into him as she sobbed.

“No need to apologize, princess…” He cooed.

“I told you…” She spoke through cries in his chest. “The Abyss… it messes with your mind…”

Kaeya realized that this must have been why she was so adamant about not joining the knights, her fear of the Abyss still installed deep in her mind.

They stayed like that for a while, Elara’s tears soaking his chest as he soothed her. Once her sobs died down, he brought her coat back to her, thankful that no one was around to see her without it.

Though she protested, Kaeya picked her up, telling her she shouldn’t put weight on her injured leg. He kept one hand under her knees and the other behind her back as they walked to Mondstadt.

The woman buried her face in his chest, hoping he wouldn’t see the growing heat in her cheeks. Unfortunately for her, he did. Which made the entire way back filled with flirtatious teasing from the cavalry captain, leaving her to hide further into his chest and feel the deep rumble as he laughed at her reactions. Surely, this would be a long walk.

One month in Mondstadt

“What the hell is wrong with his lab in the headquarters?”

Elara continued to complain to Kaeya as they trekked through the bitter cold of Dragonspine.

The cavalry captain once again dragged his friend away from the library to deliver urgent paperwork to the Chief Alchemist in his lab in Dragonspine. However, he might’ve misled her when telling her what Dragonspine was.

Elara held her arms close to her body, hoping to keep any form of warmth from leaving her, while Kaeya snickered beside her.

“Albedo likes to be secluded,” He stated. “What’s the matter, princess? Can’t handle the cold?”

The woman glared at the smirk on his face.

“Not everyone can have a Cryo vision, you know.” She huffed.

When the pair finally arrived at Albedo’s camp, Elara looked curiously at the scene before her.

Inside the cave, Lumine had a needle in her arm while Albedo drew some of her blood, putting it in vials on his workstation. There was a board with various notes and studies on the traveler that she didn’t understand. Clearly, they’ve been here for a while.

“Ah, traveler,” Kaeya approached the two as if this were an everyday occurrence. “What a pleasant surprise to see you here as well.”

“Hey, you two!” Lumine waved with her free hand. “I was just helping Albedo with some tests he was running.”

“Is there something you two needed?” Albedo asked bluntly.

“Always work and no play,” Kaeya tsked. “As a matter of fact, there is. Jean asked us to bring you these–”

“No, Jean asked you to bring them. I was nice and warm in the library.” Elara grumbled.

“And yet, here you are, princess. Agreeing to follow even though it wasn’t your task to bear.” He smirked.

“Kaeya didn’t tell you how cold Dragonspine was, did he?” Lumine snickered.

Kaeya ignored the laugh from the traveler when Elara shook her head, setting the paperwork for Albedo in a place he would see them when he was finished.

“Don’t worry, Elara. Going down the mountain is faster than up as long as there are no blizzards. You can just glide down!” Lumine smiled.

Elara's blood went cold despite the fire and torches that warmed the cave. How did she know? The only time I ever take my coat off is at Kaeya’s home. Could she have seen–

“Alas, I don’t have my glider with me at the moment,” Kaeya’s voice halted his friend’s racing thoughts.

“... Glider?” Elara breathed out.

“Kaeya!” Lumine snapped. “You know it’s dangerous to come to Dragonspine without a glider!”

“She’s right, Kaeya. As a captain, you should know this, especially if you bring someone inexperienced to the mountain. It’s even more dangerous for Elara.” Albedo added.

“Unfortunately, Amber took away my license to fly the other day. So I couldn’t even if I wanted to. Besides… heights don’t exactly scare El.”

Elara ignored the urge to hit his shoulder at the smirk in the cavalry captain’s voice.

“Still. I believe it would be best if the traveler and I escorted you both back down. The mountain can be extremely unpredictable and shouldn’t be underestimated.” Albedo cleaned up Lumine’s arm before setting his tests aside.

“If you say so, Mr. Chief Alchemist. I’ll accept your excuse to spend more time with me.” Kaeya smirked even if Albedo ignored his comment.

Elara raised an eyebrow at the flirty tone in her friend’s voice. She felt a slight pang in her chest to which she couldn’t put a name to. Strange. She thought.

Lumine walked side by side with the blonde woman, letting Kaeya and Albedo walk ahead. The traveler couldn’t help but notice the small pout on Elara’s face.

“Everything alright?” Lumine asked, drawing Elara’s gaze from the men to her.

“Oh– Um… yea. I don’t know. I think I’m just in a strange mood.” Elara spoke honestly.

The traveler raised an eyebrow at her before looking back at the men and then back at her. It was only then that the realization came over Lumine. Her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped as she came to a sudden realization that appeared to be all too obvious to Lumine yet remained a mystery to Elara.

“Uh… Yes?” Elara asked.

“Elara,” Lumine lowered her voice to a whisper. “Are you jealous?”

“Jealous?!” Elara whispered to her. “What? N-No. Don’t be silly. It’s just… the cold! I’m not used to it, is all.”

Lumine smiled at the redness in the woman’s cheeks. Before she could comment on it, she heard a growl to their side. She squinted through the snow, only to see a shielded mitachurl charging the men from the side.

“Move!” Lumine shouted.

The men snapped their heads to Lumine, but not in time to see where the danger was coming from. The mitachurl’s shield struck Albedo, sending him flying into Kaeya.

The pair were flung to the cliff’s edge; Lumine was quick to reach out her hand, grabbing Albedo’s to pull him to safety. Yet, her hopes to haul Kaeya with him faltered when Kaeya’s grip on the alchemist slipped, sending him over the cliff.

“Kaeya!” Elara and Lumine screamed.

Elara discarded her cloak with ease before diving off the cliff without hesitation.

“Elara, no!” Lumine cried after her.

Before either she or Albedo could follow them, the mitachurl attacked them again, forcing them to defend themselves.

Elara’s wings fluttered behind her, making her fall faster through the air. She ignored the snow that burned her skin, focusing on the man below her, who reached out for her as he fell. Her heart pounded in her chest as her numb fingers brushed over his. Elara ignored the panic in her as the ground became visible.

Come on! Almost– With a final stretch, she grasped Kaeya’s hand and pulled her toward him. Their bodies collided, knocking the air from both their lungs. Elara wasted no time before using all her strength to hold onto him as she flew up.

However, Kaeya and Elara’s grips were numb and weak, making him slip from her. But as he slipped, she caught his hand again, gripping it with both hands as she slowed their plummet to the earth.

The pair collided with a hill, collecting cuts and bruises as they tumbled down it, eventually slowing to a complete stop. Their bodies lay unmoving in the snow before a groan came from the man.

Muscles that Kaeya didn’t even know existed ached, and he was sure that one of his ribs was broken as he lay on his stomach in the snow. Finally, the sudden realization hit him, making him lift his head up to look around. He spotted Elara’s seemingly unmoving body that lay on her back a few feet away from him.

Ignoring the pain in his side, he used what was left of his strength to pull himself toward her.

“El?” His voice was hoarse from the cold.

Upon reaching her, he pulled himself over her, propping himself with one arm while placing a cold hand on her cheek with the other.

“Come on, princess. Let me see those enchanting eyes.” He lightly tapped her cheek as he continued to plead with her. “Elara, please…”

Kaeya felt tears fill his eyes as he continued to plead with her, but when a small groan came from the woman, he drew his face closer to her to hear the words coming from her lips.

“Definitely… faster… going down…” She mumbled before fluttering her eyes open.

The cavalry captain released a breathless chuckle, pressing his forehead to hers in relief.

“See. No gliders needed.” He smiled down at her before taking a shaky breath, his voice turning uncharacteristically serious. “Please… don’t do that again.”

“You mean save your life, your highness?”

“... Scare me.”

Elara was taken aback by the honesty in her prince’s voice, but she was even more stunned when his lips pressed gently against hers, cold lips stealing a kiss from her. It was short and sweet before he pulled away. His thumb brushed over her tinted cheeks.

Once she processed what he had done, her hand cupped his cheek before guiding his lips back to hers. This time she kissed him back passionately, the cold bite from the snow around them melting away as their lips moved in perfect sync together, making up for the time that was stolen from them. Elara’s hands tangled in his blue locks, a silent plea to stay by her side while Kaeya’s arm hooked under her, bringing her closer to him as a silent promise that he wouldn’t leave her again.

Regrettably, they parted; their need to breathe overruling their kiss. Kaeya rested his forehead against hers again, attempting to catch his breath as he smiled down at her.

Lumine’s voice cut through the snow, shouting at Albedo that she had found the pair. Albedo and Lumine’s gliders closed behind them as their feet touched the ground. However, their sprint slowed as they got closer to them. Their eyes caught onto the electro crystalfly wings spread out underneath the woman. Albedo’s eyes widened while Lumine could put two and two together as to why Elara’s jacket was such a big deal on the day they met.

Kaeya helped Elara sit up, checking her for any significant injuries.

“Are you guys alright?” Lumine rushed to their side.

Elara’s eyes widened at the sight of Albedo and Lumine. She flattened her wings to her skin, but even if they hadn’t already seen them, Elara realized she had discarded her coat. There was nothing to hide the glow from her tattoos.

“You’re a fairy…” Albedo stated.

“A fairy?” Lumine questioned.

The woman didn’t answer. Instead, she only continued to stare at the two of them, watching to see if their expressions would turn hostile.

However, Lumine only kneeled beside her. When she attempted to hand her something, Elara quickly flinched away from the action, cowering into Kaeya’s side.

“El, it’s okay… Look.” Kaeya prompted her to look at what Lumine was trying to offer.

When Elara looked back, the traveler had been holding out her discarded cloak.

“Your secret is safe with us.” She smiled softly.

One year in Mondstadt

Elara’s arm looped around her boyfriend’s as Kaeya continued to lead her through the streets of Mondstadt. He had taken the day off to spend with her, filling her day with surprise after surprise. He was determined to make her first birthday in Mondstadt special.

The day started with Kaeya bringing her Mondstadt Hash Browns in bed, peppering her with kisses, and telling her he had planned an entire day for her. He planned to take her all around Mondstat to visit the friends she had made in the year she had lived in his home. He was endlessly grateful he had their companions to rely on to make her day feel all the more special.

The pair first met with Lumine, who gave her a hair clip she got while in Liyue. Kaeya took the liberty of putting the floral clip in her hair, pinning the side of her hair back. After spending a few hours and getting lunch with the traveler, their pair moved on to visit Lisa, who waited for the couple in the Favonius Library. Elara’s eyes lit up at the stack of new books and pictures that the librarian handed to her. All of which showed her new parts of Teyvat that she’s never seen before, and the way Kaeya stared at her with eyes overflowing with affection as she went through all the pictures, being sure to show him every one, made Lisa smirk to herself.

Now, the pair stood outside Angel’s Share as it got later in the day. Kaeya smiled at her as he opened the door for her.

“Happy Birthday, Elara!”

Elara jumped at the sudden yelling but burst into laughter as a wide smile graced her features.

Diluc had closed the tavern for the woman’s birthday. Leaving Jean, Diluc, Lumine, Albedo, and Lisa to occupy the room with balloons and decorations. Usually, any request from Kaeya never had a chance to leave his lips, but when he heard the request was something he wanted to do for Elara, he allowed it. Of course, the redhead would rather die than admit it, but he liked the influence the woman had on his brother. Kaeya seemed different this past year. His usual smile seemed more genuine… like the one he wore back when they were children. It also seemed that he had lessened his drinking habits, now only drinking socially or when Elara was around to keep him company. The cavalry captain indeed seemed more at peace with her by his side. Knowing that someone was watching over his brother, saving him from the loneliness he never dared admit, gave Diluc a sense of peace.

Kaeya toted Elara around the bar like a shining jewel as he showed her everything their friends had prepared for her. It was clear to her that they went to great lengths to make her birthday a special one as she looked upon the spreads of food and gifts laid before her. She spent her time dining and laughing, feeling safer than she had in ages, basking in a glow from her friends' warm smiles and infectious laughs. As the night winded down and the group began to settle, she found herself on the second-floor balcony looking over the place she now called home.

Elara took a content breath as she leaned on the railing, watching her friends laugh and talk with each other.

“Now, what are you doing up here?”

Kaeya’s arms wrapped around her waist, kissing her cheek before resting his chin on her shoulder.

“Just watching everyone,” She smiles. “It’s nice to see everyone having fun. Especially Jean and Diluc… Archons know they need to learn to take breaks.”

Their eyes wandered to the redhead at the bar who poured what appeared to be coffee for the acting grandmaster, laughing at something the traveler said. A rare smile spread across Diluc’s face as he mingled with the people around him. Though Kaeya would never admit it, a twinge of warmth filled his chest at the sight.

“Well, I hope you aren’t too tired. I still have another surprise for you.” Kaeya’s breath tickled the woman’s ear, causing a chill down her spine and her cheeks to tint at his words.

When the man noticed, he raised an eyebrow at her and pulled away slightly.

“My, my, princess. Where did your mind wander, hm?” He smirked. “I mean, that’s not what I had in mind, but if you want–”

Kaeya’s voice lowered, leaning closer to his lover's face… but was denied a kiss when Elara playfully pushed his face away from hers, leaving him to walk back downstairs.

“Was it something I said?” Kaeya chuckled, following after her.

Later, after the party died down, Kaeya and Elara left the tavern, and Kaeya brought his lover to the Favonious stables to retrieve his horse.

Kaeya’s horse, Molly, had a beautiful white coat, matching perfectly with her Cryo user owner. She nuzzled him with her head while the man affectionately petted the horse’s neck.

“Kaeya… The sun has well gone down. Is– Is now the best time for a night ride outside the city?” Elara’s voice wavered as she spoke.

Though she’s been in Mondstadt for a year, the fear of the dark loomed over her at the thought of going somewhere without light. She only agreed to walk the cobblestone streets of Mondstadt because of the lamps that lit the way. But past the city walls, there were no lights to reveal anything that may be creeping in the dark, making Elara feel as if creatures would form from the shadows behind her.

“It’ll be alright, princess. How about I ride behind you so you don’t feel like anything is behind you?”

Kaeya hopped up on his horse, offering a gentle hand down to the woman who stared back at him affectionately. She snickered to herself before taking his hand.

“And what’s so funny?” He smirked as he helped her up.

“Nothing. Just the sight of you on a white horse. Can’t decide if I want to call you prince charming or my white knight.”

Elara felt the rumble in his chest as he pressed to her back, reaching for the reins. The pair held on to the horse’s reins as they took off into the night.

Usually, Kaeya took his time if he went on night rides, but he wanted to hurry and reach their destination so Elara wouldn’t feel uneasy in the dark.

Once they reached the base of Starstach Cliff, Kaeya instructed the woman to close her eyes. To which, Elara raised an eyebrow at him but did so anyway. And when they reached the top, the cavalry captain helped her down from Molly, leading her to stand in a particular spot.

“Alright, you can open now,” Kaeya told her.

Elara’s eyes fluttered open, her breath hitching at the sight before her. A picnic blanket was laid neatly in the grass, overlooking Mondstadt to their left and the sea to their right. Trusty portable lamps were scattered throughout the area, giving the space a romantic glow that took away her worries about the dark.

She turned to Kaeya with a broad smile on her face. The man’s eyes filled with affection, but unknowingly to her, his surprise didn’t end at just the picnic.

“Although this place is pretty secluded during the day, I guessed it would be too risky to do when the sun was out.”

Elara’s eyes widened slightly as his hands found the buttons of her coat. His nimble fingers made quick work of her cloak before sliding it off her shoulders completely. A purple hue glowed through the dark, revealing her tattoo to the captain.

“You never get a chance to stretch your wings. Go ahead.” He smiled down at her.

The woman’s smile brightened before her hands found his cheeks, bringing him into a passionate kiss that told him the thanks she couldn’t put into words. When she pulled away, she took off in a sprint toward the cliff’s edge.

Kaeya sat on the blanket as he watched her dive off the edge. Then, after a few moments, Elara shot straight into the air, flying high above him as her wings fluttered at full length behind her. His lips formed a soft smile as he watched her soar through the air, her laugh warming him like a fire on a cold day. He watched in reverence as she flipped and spun through the air, flying with a grace that would be envied by any dancer.

Elara was out of breath when she landed, letting her wings rest behind her as her lover stood to greet her. Kaeya tucked the messy blonde strands behind her ear before cupping her cheek, marveling at how beautiful her smile was. She kissed the palm of his hand before leaning into his touch.

“Thank you, my prince.” She smiled.

“Don’t thank me just yet. I still haven’t given you my gift yet.”

“Kae… this was all more than enough.” She chuckled, wondering what else he could possibly surprise her with.

On the outside, Kaeya kept his cool composure as he took his hand back, but on the inside, his heart pounded in his chest as he brought it up to his eyepatch, taking it off slowly. Elara’s eyes widened at the action, and her heart broke when the black cloth was discarded onto the blanket.

Kaeya’s mismatched eyes stared back at her for the first time since their childhood; only now, a large scar from burns littered the area around his golden eye. The woman’s hand reached out to touch his cheek, her thumb gently going over the uneven skin.

Before she could ask anything about it, his hand took hers, moving it away from his face. She raised an eyebrow as he took his free hand, reaching for something in his pocket. The woman’s breath hitched, and her mind raced as Kaeya kneeled, opening a small box before her and revealing a beautiful ring. It was an intricate band with small vines encircling a dark blue gem that glittered beautifully.

“Elara,” Kaeya started as tears spilled from his lover’s eyes. “I’ve never had a problem with words. I somehow always know what to say to get people to reveal anything I want… but here I am before you, as my whole self, and I’ve somehow forgotten the entire speech I’ve practiced for the past week with Jean.”

Elara laughed, covering her mouth as her wings fluttered excitedly behind her.

“I love you more than I could ever put into words… So much time was stolen from us. The world tore us apart, but we still somehow found each other again, and I want to stay by your side for the rest of my life. So will you do me the honor of marrying me? Will you be my queen?”

“Yes, yes, a million times yes!”

Elara threw her arms around his neck, throwing him off balance and falling back. They laughed as Kaeya’s back hit the blanket. Holding out her hand to him, the man slipped her ring on with ease. It fit perfectly.

For a moment, they admired it together, the sapphire gem shimmering from the lamps around them. Then Elara’s hands cupped his face before closing the distance between them. Kaeya’s arms wrapped around her, carefully avoiding her wings as his need to pull her closer took over him. Their lips moved in sync as Elara deepened the kiss, sharing the same need to be closer to him.

A silent promise fell over them. A promise that they'd find each other if they were ever separated again. If one said to run, the other would always come back.

This was their one promise.

~~~

“Not even the gods can interfere with love, my friends.” Venti strums his lyre.

One… promise.

One dream… to stay by each other's side.

One moment… where they stood in front of each other as their true selves.

As our story comes to an end, I ask you, dear friend, have you learned the importance of one?

One human… a prince who found solace in his fairy turned queen.

One... not so human… a fairy who found tranquility in her prince turned knight.

One tale… that's come to an end.

Two beings… One heart.

AN: Just gonna leave some random stuff about this story now that we're done. :)

This was supposed to have two endings. I wanted to make a choice thing, and one would be a happy ending, and the other would be a tragic ending. However, when I finished this ending, I was too happy with the happy ending to turn around and make a sad one. :)))

There was a horse I liked to visit as a kid. Her name was Molly. So I brought her into the story. :)

Maybe I'll make the ending B later if anyone wants to see an angst ending.

Albedo definitely follows Elara around from time to time after finding out she's a fairy.

Elara, please let him sketch your wings, he's never seen a fairy before, and he's interested in everything his master created.

I'll make some more headcanons later in a separate post. :)