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genshinluvr · 1 year

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Tragic Outcomes 6

Pairings: Xiao x fem!reader x Zhongli

Summary: It's Xiao's birthday! You and Zhongli plan on making almond tofu to celebrate Xiao's birthday. While you and Zhongli are waiting for Xiao to return, Xiao seems to be a little bit occupied with something on his end that's keeping him out late.

Note: Omg, an update for Tragic Outcomes after how long? I made this angst special for Xiao's (belated) birthday because why not? This chapter is very Zhongli-focused because ✨ Zhongli ✨ and I am biased /j I'm working on updating the individual character fics that haven't been updated in a while! :> I will be updating Ayato's fic next week! Ayato's fic is coming to an end! Not sure if this has painful angst like the first part, but you guys be the judge, I guess! Anyway, I don’t post anywhere else but on Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and on AO3 (Aaliah_exo).

Warnings: Mostly fluff between Zhongli and the reader. Would this chapter be considered angst? Or maybe has light angst? Reader has to make a decision in the end.

Word Count: 7.5k

Tragic Outcomes chapters: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]

You’re used to waking up alone in the morning. Xiao is usually awake before you are and would leave Wangshu Inn before dawn. But now, you wake up next to Zhongli. Sometimes you wish Xiao could wake up at the same time as you and Zhongli, but knowing his commitment to his duties, you don’t push him about it. It’s only seven in the morning, and you’re standing in the kitchen steeping tea for you and Zhongli.

Zhongli walks up from behind you, wraps his arms around your waist, and rests his chin on your head. You let out a content sigh and relax in his arms, closing your eyes and breathing in his scent. Zhongli’s chest rumbles when he chuckles. Zhongli leans down and presses his lips against your temple, rocking the two of you side to side.

“How’d you sleep last night, dearest?” Zhongli murmurs into your ears.

You turn your head to the side and press your lips against his cheeks. “I slept well. Although, I would much rather be in bed instead,” you mutter, pouting at him playfully.

“That sounds like a nice day, but if my memory is correct, today is a special day for a certain Adeptus,” Zhongli says, nuzzling into the crook of your neck.

You freeze in Zhongli’s arms and rest your head on Zhongli’s shoulders. Today is a special day for a certain Adeptus, according to Zhongli. Your memory has gotten slightly worse ever since the… incident a while back. You waddle over to the calendar with Zhongli latching to your back. You scan your eyes on the calendar and see a specific date circled with small doodles of a birthday cake and birthday hat on the particular date.

You turn to Zhongli, cupping his face in your hands. “It’s Xiao’s birthday!” You exclaim.

“Yes, that is correct,” Zhongli says, his cheek squished in your hands. “Do you have anything planned in mind for his birthday?” Zhongli asks.

The timer chimes, startling you. You release Zhongli’s face from your hands and walk over to the tea and pull the teabags out from the teacups, tossing them into the trash. Zhongli leans against the counter, watching you pour a small amount of sugar into your and his tea.

Xiao isn’t the type to be interested in a huge birthday celebration. Maybe a small gathering is something he would be interested in. Still, other than that, it’s usually just you and him that celebrate his birthday. You slide the teacup over in Zhongli’s direction and pucker your lips, contemplating how you’ll celebrate Xiao’s birthday this year.

“Well, I usually make almond tofu for Xiao to eat on his birthday. It’s usually just the two of us celebrating his birthday rather than having a big celebration,” you reply, lightly blowing on the tea and taking small sips.

Zhongli nods, sipping his tea. “Do you, perhaps, need any assistance with preparing?” Zhongli asks, his cheeks slowly turning pink.

“I don’t know! Don’t you have work today, Mister Consultant?” You ask, poking the former Geo Archon’s chest while hiding your smile behind your teacup.

Zhongli clears his throat, puts his teacup back on the saucer, and pulls you toward him. You nestle up against Zhongli and look at him through your lashes. Zhongli places his index finger under your chin and tilts your head up. Zhongli slowly leans down to kiss you, but the door to the Inn’s room slams open, startling you and Zhongli.

Childe walks through the entrance with a huge smile on his face. You and Zhongli step away from each other. You put your teacup down while Zhongli lifts his teacup to his lips and takes deep gulps of the tea. It’s too early to deal with Childe and his shenanigans, but as his friend, you and Zhongli learned to deal with the ginger-haired Harbinger.

“So! How did that little meeting with the Adeptis go? Meet anyone cool or learn anything new?” Childe asks, hopping up on the island and sitting on it, swinging his legs back and forth.

You and Zhongli trade look with each other. You make a so-so gesture.

“Kind of? It’s more information than what I knew before, but it’s not enough. If that makes sense,” you said.

Childe’s face pinches up, and he shakes his head. “I’m going to be honest with you, [Y/N]. That doesn’t make sense.”

“Fair enough,” you sigh. “The information given to me is helpful, but I wanted to know more about my parents and the things that happened before I was sealed away and before they died,” you said, stroking your chin.

“Like in detail? If so, I’m pretty sure Mister Zhongli over there have some answers since he has much knowledge of Liyue’s history and of the Adeptis,” Childe says, gesturing in Zhongli’s direction.

You stare at Childe blankly and look at Zhongli from the corner of your eyes. Is Childe hinting that he knows that Zhongli is the (former) Geo Archon, or is he just mentioning that Zhongli knows a lot of things? You rub your temples and shake your head.

“Listen, Childe, as much as I would love to talk about what I learned about my deceased parents, I have things to do,” you said, pulling the curtains of the kitchen open and letting the light pour into the room.

Childe perks up and looks at you with interest and curiosity, hopping off the counter and walking over to where you stand. Zhongli continues to sip his tea while eyeing Childe closely. You open the cupboards and pull out a plate. You’re planning on making almond tofu for Xiao to eat. Although, you’re not entirely sure if you have enough ingredients to make a lot of almond tofu. You walk over to the pantry, pulling out a bag of almonds. You shake the bag and weigh them in your hands.

Childe peeks his head into the pantry. “What are you doing in there?” Childe asks, leaning against the door frame.

“We’re going to need to buy more almonds,” you murmur.

You walk out of the pantry, and place the almonds on the counter, then walk to the refrigerator. You open the fridge and stick your head inside, searching high and low for milk. You grab the small bottle of milk and sigh, grumbling about having to spend more Mora on Xiao’s birthday to make him his favorite food for his birthday.

“I’m debating whether I should make almond tofu with what I have and go to the market to buy some more ingredients after. Or go to the market now and make almond tofu once I have more ingredients,” you mutter, putting the milk on the counter beside the almonds.

“It’s all up to you, dearest. Do you think Xiao would eat that much almond tofu? I think you have enough for one plate,” Zhongli says, untying the rubber band.

Childe grabs the milk bottle and holds it up, then glances over at the bag of almonds in Zhongli’s hands while squinting his eyes.

You raise your eyebrows at Childe. “What are you thinking?” You ask, propping your hands on your hips.

“You don’t have enough milk for one plate of almond tofu. It’s barely enough. You and Mister Zhongli can stay here while I go out and get some milk for you two.” Childe offers, putting the milk back down on the counter.

Childe? Getting milk for you to make Xiao almond tofu? Childe turns to leave, but you quickly grab onto his wrist, and you shake your head. Childe and Zhongli look at you, surprised. Their eyebrows are either raised or furrowing with confusion. You release Childe’s wrist from your grasp and clear your throat.

“Thank you for the offer, Childe, but I got this! I’ll go out into Liyue Harbor and buy some milk and maybe some extra almonds!” You say.

Childe puckers his lips. “Hey, come on! I offered to buy you milk to make your little Adpetus boyfriend some birthday almond tofu, but you declined that offer?” Childe asks.

The way Childe looks at you reminds you of a kicked puppy. He’s batting his eyelashes at you while giving you puppy dog eyes, his bottom lip jutting out. Zhongli rolls his eyes at Childe, crossing his arms over his chest. You snort and flick Childe’s nose, making him flinch and scowl at you while rubbing his nose.

You sigh and look over at the almonds and milk on the counter. “As much as I appreciate your offer and your volunteering, how do I know if you won’t poison the milk?” You ask.

Childe lets out an offended gasp, pressing his right hand against his chest. “How dare you assume I would do such a thing! For your information, I would never poison an Adeptus!” Childe says, sticking his nose in the air with a ‘hmph!’

You glare at Childe and cross your arms over your chest. You know Childe and his distaste toward your Adeptus boyfriend. There’s a possible chance Childe will try to poison Xiao, but knowing Childe, he’s more calculated about it and will take his time with slowly killing someone he doesn’t like.

“How about this! How about you keep Zhongli and me company while we go to the market to buy more milk and almonds?” You suggest.

You walk back to the kitchen counter to put the milk back in the refrigerator and the almonds back into the pantry. Childe makes a disgruntled noise and flops on the couch in the living room, ignoring the amused look Zhongli has on his face.

“Well? What’s your answer?” You ask, walking to the living room with Zhongli by your side.

Childe grumbles and props himself up on the couch, staring at you and Zhongli blankly. The two of you stare at Childe in return, waiting for his answer. Childe sighs loudly, dragging it out before flopping back on the couch; his long legs dangling off the edge of the sofa.

Childe runs his fingers through his hair. “I would love to join you two, but I’m going to be a third wheel!” Childe says dramatically.

“You’re not going to be a third wheel, Childe.” You deadpan.

“You two only want me to tag along because I’ll be your human wallet and pay for the groceries!” Childe says, getting off the couch and pointing an accusing finger at you and Zhongli.

You groan loudly and look over at the clock on the wall to check the time. It’s nearing eight in the morning, and you need to head down to Liyue Harbor and buy milk and almonds (and maybe other groceries) before many people start to show up.

You pinch the bridge of your nose and exhale sharply through your nostrils. You’re trying your hardest not to stomp over to where Childe is sitting just to smack Childe upside of his head for making things complicated for you.

“You know what, Childe? You don’t have to join Zhongli and me. It’ll be just the two of us while you do your Fatui Harbinger duties,” you say, walking over to the door and grabbing your satchel.

“What?!” Childe asks, looking at you with disbelief.

You nod without looking at Childe, putting your shoes on. “You heard me! Since you decide to be a little shithead and make things complicated for Zhongli and me, you might as well tend to your Harbinger duties while Zhongli and I are shopping,” you say, gesturing for Zhongli to come over.

Zhongli walks past Childe, ignoring the dramatic pout on Childe’s face. You snort and shake your head, reaching your hand out toward Zhongli. Zhongli grabs your hand and pulls you to his chest, wrapping his arms around your waist. Childe scrunches his nose at the sight of you and Zhongli cozying up to each other.

Childe clears his throat. “You know what? I will do that! You two have fun at the market!” Childe says, waving his hands around.

Childe is the first person to walk out the door while you and Zhongli follow after. You lock the door behind you, and the two of you set off to Liyue Harbor. At Liyue Harbor, there weren’t as many people as you expected, which is a huge relief. But there’s still a decent amount of people roaming around Liyue Harbor, making it a little bit complicated to get to the shops you want to visit for the key ingredients you need for almond tofu.

Zhongli keeps his hands on your hips while the two of you navigate through people, searching for a specific shop. You feel warmth blooming in your chest; the feeling of Zhongli’s hands on your hips and the lack of gap between your and his body makes you feel some type of way.

“We’re here,” Zhongli says, snapping you out of your thoughts.

You and Zhongli stand in front of the vendor, searching for the almond. While you’re searching for the bags of almonds, Zhongli quietly converses with the food vendor before you two. You hear Zhongli chuckle, causing you to look up. The two of you make eye contact for a brief second. Zhongli smiles at you and looks at the vendor, nodding his head while talking about his favorite Liyue cuisine before adding in how both of you are searching for almonds and milk to cook almond tofu for Xiao’s birthday.

The vendor’s eyes light up. “Oh! Are you two making almond tofu for your son’s birthday?” The vendor asks, smiling at you and Zhongli.

Zhongli’s eyes widen slightly. “Son?” Zhongli asks.

The vendor nods his head. “Yes! You say his name is Xiao, right?” The vendor asks, tilting his head to the side.

You clear your throat and look away shyly, heat rushing to your face after hearing the vendor’s comment. You’re unsure how to answer the vendor’s question. Would the vendor judge you for dating both Zhongli and Xiao? You’ve chatted with the vendor before, but he doesn’t know about your relationship with Xiao.

Since you’re here with Zhongli, he must’ve assumed that Xiao is your and Zhongli’s son. You don’t know how he interpreted that when there’s no wedding ring on your and Zhongli’s left ring fingers.

“Mister Dongsheng, you have mistaken! Xiao isn’t my and Zhongli’s son!” You say, frantically searching for the almonds with your eyes. “Anyway! I would like to buy one hundred almonds and one hundred bottles of milk, please!”

Zhongli’s eyes widen. “One hundred?” Zhongli murmurs.

“One hundred milk and almonds?” Dongsheng, the owner of Second Life, asks.

Zhongli leans down and whispers into your ears, “Dearest, I thought we were getting the number of almonds and milk needed for the almond tofu you’ll be making.

You shrug your shoulders with a sigh. “I might as well buy them all just in case I want to cook something with the milk and almonds!” You reply.

“But do you need that much milk? They expire fast,” Zhongli says, stroking his chin.

You pause and pucker your lips, debating with yourself if you should buy one hundred bottles of milk or not. Zhongli’s not wrong, considering you can fit a few milk bottles in the fridge. Why did you think about buying one hundred anyway other than to divert the conversation elsewhere with the owner of Second Life?

“Right! Then I’ll take ten bottles of milk then! While I will use them for the almond tofu, I’ll use the extras for something else,” you said.

Dongsheng looks at you and hesitates for a moment. “And what about the almonds? Are you going to buy one hundred bags of almonds as well, or the same amount as the milk?” He asks.

You sigh in defeat. “The same amount as the milk bottles,” you answer.

Dongsheng smiles at you and Zhongli before getting you the almonds and milk bottles. Zhongli gives your hips a squeeze and reaches for the bags that contain the almonds and bottles of milk from Dongsheng. You reach into your satchel and pull out the bag of Mora, handing the total price of Mora to him.

You and Zhongli bid Dongsheng goodbye before making your way back to Wangshu Inn. You and Zhongli walk beside each other. The day has barely started, and you’re already feeling flustered because of one mistake by someone that isn’t you or Zhongli. Zhongli grabs your wrist, making you stop in your tracks. You turn and look at Zhongli curiously.

“Why don’t we relax for a little bit before returning to Wangshu Inn?” Zhongli suggests, pulling you over toward the concrete bench. “After all, it’s still early in the morning, and there’s no need to rush back to the Inn.”

“Hm… alright! We can rest for a bit before returning to Wangshu Inn!” You nod, smiling at the ex-Archon.

Zhongli places the bags of milk and almonds on the ground beside his feet while the two of you sit and look out toward the sea. Two birds land a few feet in front of you and Zhongli, bouncing around and standing beside each other. You and Zhongli watch the two finches interact with each other.

“They’re so round and cute,” you whisper.

After not hearing a response, or a sound, from Zhongli, you turn to face the dark-haired man, only to see him staring down at you. Your face turns warm, and you loop your arm around his, leaning against him while trying to cover your red face. Zhongli grabs you by the chin and tilts your head up.

The two of you stare into each other’s eyes. Your gaze quickly falls to Zhongli’s lips before looking into his eyes. Zhongli smiles and leans down to kiss you. Before Zhongli’s lips could touch yours, you and Zhongli felt arms over your shoulders.

“It’s a beautiful day out at Liyue Harbor, isn’t it? It’s warm and sunny outside with a nice cool breeze accompanying it!” Childe exclaims, startling you and Zhongli.

You and Zhongli flinch and pull away from each other, looking away with a sigh. Zhongli gives Childe a fake smile and clears his throat.

“Childe! You have an interesting timing there,” Zhongli says, looking away from Childe.

Childe grins at Zhongli cheekily and nods, weaseling his way to sit between you and Zhongli. You and Zhongli grumble under your breath while scooting over to give Childe space to sit in between you two. What’s with Childe and being a cockblock? You and Zhongli don’t mind having Childe around— after all, he is the reason why you and Zhongli got together in the first place. But it’s just… you want some alone time with Zhongli. Sitting on the concrete bench, watching birds fly and hop around with each other before returning to Wangshu Inn to make almond tofu for Xiao’s birthday is something you want to do uninterrupted.

Childe sighs loudly and leans back on the bench. “I saw you two here and wanted to stop by and say hi before going to the Northland Bank!” Childe says nonchalantly, brushing his fringe away from his eyes.

You turn to look at Childe quizzically. “You left before we did. I thought you’d be at Northland Bank before Zhongli and I arrived at Second Life for the almonds and bottles of milk,” you say, crossing your arms over your chest.

Childe chuckles and shrugs. “I had to stop by somewhere to handle a business. You know, life as a Fatui Harbinger isn’t as easy as it seems. I have some Fatui trainees to train later today after completing some paperwork, so I won’t be able to stop by and celebrate the little twerp’s birthday with you and Mister Zhongli today,” Childe sighs dramatically.

You scoff and elbow Childe in the gut before getting up from the bench and dusting your clothes. “I believe that’s enough relaxing for today. Zhongli and I have almond tofu to make, and you have Fatui duties to tend to!” You said, turning to look at the two men before you.

Zhongli and Childe get up from the bench. Zhongli reaches down and grabs the bags of almonds and milk from the ground, holding his arm out for you to take. You link your arm around Zhongli’s and give Childe a smile.

Childe pouts at you and extends his arms out. “What? You’re not going to give your brother figure a hug before leaving?” Childe asks, batting his eyelashes at you.

You roll your eyes playfully and unlink your arms from Zhongli’s before walking over to the ginger-haired Harbinger. You wrap your arms around his waist and let out a strained grunt when Childe hugs you tightly, ruffling your hair with a shit-eating grin on his face. Childe releases you after ten seconds, watching you return to Zhongli’s side while fixing your disheveled hair.

You grab Zhongli’s wrist and begin tugging him toward the entrance of Liyue that leads to Wangshu Inn. “Bye, Childe! I’ll see you next time!” You say, patting his arm.

Zhongli and Childe nod to each other when they walk by each other. While you and Zhongli are walking to the entrance of Liyue Harbor, Childe stops in his tracks and watches the two of you get farther away. Childe lets out a sigh and shakes his head, propping his hands on his hips.

“When will [Y/N] just break up with that Adeptus twerp? He doesn’t deserve her,” Childe mutters, turning to walk to Northland Bank.

Back at Wangshu Inn, you and Zhongli stand in the kitchen beside each other, making almond tofu for the beloved Adeptus, who protects Liyue from evil. While making almond tofu, Zhongli tells a story of his and Xiao’s past. Now that you think about it, if you weren’t sealed in amber by your parents, you would’ve known them during that time. But you were sealed away, and you grew up without your birth parents— raised to be human instead of an Adeptus.

“Do you think this is enough? I don’t want us to make too many only for Xiao to not finish it all,” you mutter. You look over at the plate with many almond tofu stacked on top of each other.

Zhongli hums. “That would depend. Are we going to be eating them as well, or is it only for Xiao?” Zhongli asks, washing his hands under the tap water.

You can’t help but stare at Zhongli’s arms. Zhongli took his coat off before the both of you began making almond tofu for Xiao’s birthday. His sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, his gloves are off, and you can see the veins protruding from his arms.

“[Y/N]?”

You snap out of your thoughts and blink at Zhongli owlishly with wide eyes. Zhongli looks at you curiously, his eyebrows raised, the corner of his lips curling up. You clear your throat and look away, rubbing the back of your neck.

“We can eat some of the almond tofu! I don’t think Xiao can eat all of this on his own, so we might as well have some! Of course, almond tofu won’t be the only thing we’ll be eating. Speaking of eating, we should make something for us to eat now. I’m starting to get hungry,” you say.

You turn around and walk to the pantry, searching for something to cook for you and Zhongli to eat while waiting for Xiao to return from his duties. You stand in the pantry, eyeing every ingredient while stroking your chin. Zhongli snakes his arms around your waist and presses his chest against your back, resting his chin on your head.

“You seem distracted a few minutes ago,” Zhongli murmurs.

You clear your throat for the umpteenth time. “I was, uh, thinking about food! After all, we did leave Wangshu Inn without having breakfast other than tea. I’m starting to feel famished,” you lie.

“What do you want to eat? Do you have anything in mind?” Zhongli asks, tilting his head over and peppering kisses on the side of your neck.

You pucker your lips, and your eyes land on the bamboo shoots. Your eyes light up, and you waddle to the bamboo shoots with Zhongli behind you. You grab the bamboo shoots and look up at Zhongli, lifting the bamboo shoots to Zhongli’s face.

You poke him in the chest. “I would like to have your specialty!” You say, handing the bamboo shoots over to Zhongli. “It’s been a while since I’ve had bamboo shoot soup.”

Zhongli grabs the bamboo shoots from your grasp, and pecks your cheek. “If that’s what you desire, then I shall make them for you,” Zhongli says.

Zhongli walks out of the pantry with you following close behind. You watch Zhongli prepare the ingredients. Archons, Zhongli somehow manages to make cooking look attractive. It’s making you feel tingly on the inside. You shake your head and lightly slap your forehead. You walk over to where Zhongli stands and begin to help him prepare and cook the bamboo shoot soup. But before doing so, you walk to the almond tofu and put them in the refrigerator.

“What time do you think Xiao will return to Wangshu Inn? We wouldn’t want the almond tofu to sit in the refrigerator for a long time,” Zhongli murmurs, turning the stove on and placing the pot over the stove.

You shrug your shoulders. “I don’t know. Xiao doesn’t have a consistent time on when he’d return to Wangshu Inn after his duties. He usually returns whenever,” you say.

Zhongli pauses and stares at the pot with furrowed eyebrows. “Is that so? So there’s no specific time on when he gets home?” Zhongli murmurs.

You nod. “That’s correct! At first, it was a little bit…. Frustrating? That’s not the right word, but you know what I mean. It’s only frustrating because when I try to stay up until he gets home, it would be almost four in the morning, maybe five,” you reply.

“Will you be doing the same thing today for his birthday?” Zhongli asks, turning to look at you.

You poke the inside of your cheek with your tongue. It is Xiao’s birthday, and you usually stay up until he gets home from his duties. That was before the whole incident happened, and now you would go to bed before he gets home because, well, you have Zhongli with you now.

“I’m going to try to stay up late, yes! But if he ends up coming home late, which I hope he doesn’t, then I’ll go to bed!” You say.

Zhongli stares at you before letting a long exhale through his nose, nodding. If you’re going to be staying up late to greet Xiao on his birthday and to celebrate his birthday, Zhongli might as well do the same. After all, Adeptis and Archons don’t need sleep, so staying up late shouldn’t be an issue for Zhongli. However, because you were raised by mortals, Zhongli’s unsure if you’ll be able to stay up past five in the morning.

The day ends up flying by before your and Zhongli’s eyes. Before you know it, you’re setting the table up and taking the almond tofu out from the refrigerator, placing them on the table. Zhongli suggested decorating the living area to surprise Xiao, and the two of you went out into the market to get decorations.

“Do you think Xiao will like it?” You ask, turning to look at Zhongli.

Zhongli smiles and kisses the side of your head. “He’ll love it,” Zhongli murmurs, pulling you to his chest and snaking his arms around your waist.

Zhongli looks at the clock and sees it’s almost eight in the evening. You and Zhongli sit at the table, quietly conversing with each other while adjusting the table and almond tofu here and there while waiting for Xiao to show up.

While you and Zhongli are waiting for Xiao to make an appearance at Wangshu Inn, Xiao is sitting on the highest mountain in Liyue, looking at the view. Xiao finished his duty not too long ago, and now he’s having a breather. Today is his birthday, the day is coming to a close, and it’s time he heads home to you (and Zhongli).

A twig snaps behind Xiao, causing him to turn his head sharply in the direction where the sound came from. Xiao’s polearm materializes in his hands and prepares to lunge toward the direction of the twig snapping, but pauses when he sees Lumine standing there.

Xiao swallows a lump in his throat. “Lumine, what are you doing here?” He asks, staring at the blonde girl before him.

Lumine tucks her hair behind her ear and clears her throat softly. “I came here to wish you a happy birthday, Xiao.” Lumine smiles at the Adeptus and takes a small step toward him.

“How did you know I was here?” Xiao demands, narrowing his eyes at Lumine.

Lumine looks away from Xiao and gazes up at the stars that hang above them. When Lumine didn’t answer him, Xiao let out a frustrated sigh and put his polearm away. Before Xiao could open his mouth to speak, rapid footsteps approached Xiao and Lumine, making the two look in the direction of where the footsteps were coming from.

Aether pants and puts his hands on both his knees, glaring at Lumine. “Lumine! I told you not to run off, and this is where I find you!?” Aether exclaims, propping his hands on his hips.

Lumine rolls her eyes. “Oh, please, Aether. You go on adventures with Dainsleif all the time, and yet you can barely catch up with me?” Lumine snickers, ignoring the glare Aether shoots in her direction.

“I wanted to be alone,” Xiao states, crossing his arms over his chest.

Aether gives Xiao a sympathetic smile while Lumine pulls a container out of her bag. Xiao looks at Lumine curiously and holds his hands out when Lumine gestures for him to do so. Lumine places the container on Xiao’s hands and watches the Conquerer of Demons open the container.

“You made almond tofu for me,” Xiao murmurs.

Lumine smiles and nods. “I wanted to make your favorite dish for your birthday. I didn’t know if you had anything to eat today while you were out protecting Liyue,” Lumine says, twirling her hair around her index finger.

Xiao stares at Lumine, then looks at the container of almond tofu in his hands. Xiao nods and mutters a silent thank you to the blonde girl.

“Is it okay if I hang out with you while you eat your almond tofu? I don’t want you to eat your almond tofu alone on the day of your birth,” Lumine says.

Aether stares at Lumine like she grew two more heads. Xiao sighs and nods, walking away from the twins and sitting at the edge of the mountain. Lumine sits beside Xiaom, keeping a decent size gap between them. Aether looks up at the night sky and mouths, “I’m sorry, [Y/N],” to himself before sitting beside Xiao.

Back at Wangshu Inn, you yawn and lean against Zhongli, rubbing your eyes. The almond tofu is getting warm the more time goes by. You can’t help but glance at the clock every few minutes, hoping Xiao will show up so the three of you can celebrate his birthday. You lean on the table and close your eyes, yawning for the umpteenth time.

Zhongli sighs and rubs your back. “Dearest, if you’re tired, we can go to bed,” Zhongli murmurs.

You shake your head stubbornly. “I’m okay, Zhongli. I can stay up for a few more hours and wait for Xiao to come home,” you reply.

Time seemed to have gone by so fast because you recalled that it was only eight in the evening. Now when you look at the clock, you notice that it’s almost midnight. Once the clock strikes midnight, it will no longer be Xiao’s birthday. You know Xiao is busy protecting Liyue. Therefore, you’re not going to be upset if he ends up coming home past midnight. After all, he’s always busy with his duties.

“I’ll be right back. You two, don’t go anywhere! I think I dropped something on my way up here,” Aether says, getting up from the ground and dusting dirt off his pants.

Xiao and Lumine stand up.

“Do you want us to come with you? It’s dark out, and we don’t want you to get hurt,” Lumine says, gazing at her brother worriedly.

Aether shakes his head. “Nah! It’s okay! Plus, I won’t be far or be gone for a long time,” Aether replies.

Lumine and Xiao watch Aether scurry off into the night. Xiao takes a deep breath and turns to look at the view before him and Lumine.

“Thank you for keeping me company on my birthday. Even though it wasn’t necessary, I appreciate it,” Xiao murmurs.

Lumine smiles bashfully and rubs her arm. “You’re welcome! Uh…. I was hesitant to come here because I didn’t want to disturb you. But thinking about you and celebrating your birthday alone motivated me to follow my plan,” Lumine says.

A small smile appears on Xiao’s face. “Thank you, I appreciate it, really.”

Lumine looks at Xiao with wide eyes, her cheeks turning bright red after seeing the tiny smile on his face. Lumine looks away shyly and spots a lone flower from a distance. Xiao follows Lumine’s line of sight and sees the Qingxin flower. Xiao walks over to the flower without saying a word, plucks it from the ground, and walks to Lumine. Lumine looks at Xiao with curiosity, tilting her head to the side.

Xiao hands the flower to Lumine. “Having you around would make even Qingxin feel like a treat. The beauty of the Qingxin is nothing compared to yours,” Xiao murmurs.

Lumine looks at Xiao with wide eyes, her breath caught in her throat. She gulps and grabs the flower from Xiao’s hands, her eyes falling to Xiao’s lips. Xiao brushes a stray hair from Lumine’s face, tucking them behind her ears. Lumine’s heart is beating so fast and so loud that she wouldn’t be surprised if Xiao could hear it.

Lumine closes her eyes and leans toward Xiao, her lips grazing his. Before Lumine can press her lips against his, someone clears their throat loudly. Xiao turns away and looks at Aether, who lets out a loud ‘ahem’ after witnessing what happened. Lumine tenses up and glares at Aether, slowly backing away from Xiao.

Aether approaches the two with a strained smile. “I believe it’s getting late! You should head back to Wangshu Inn! I’m pretty sure there’s someone else that’s waiting for you. And by someone, I mean your girlfriend,” Aether says through clenched jaws.

“He doesn’t have to if he doesn’t want to, Aether!” Lumine exclaims, glaring at Aether while gripping the Qingxin flower tightly. “Besides! He already celebrated his birthday with me— I mean us!” Lumine huffs.

Aether rolls his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Xiao, you’re a dear friend of mine, but I…” Aether trails off, shaking his head. “I can’t believe you’d do this to someone you claim to love. You either pick my sister, or you pick [Y/N]. You can’t have both at once, especially when my sister tried to kill your girlfriend,” Aether says.

Lumine stomps toward Aether and shoves him. “Why are you bringing this up now, huh? It’s Xiao’s birthday, and he shouldn’t be dealing with this right now!” Lumine says. “Plus, if he’s not allowed to have both me and [Y/N], then how come [Y/N] can have him and Zhongli!? Do you even hear yourself, Aether!? Why are you on her side and not mine!?” Lumine shrieks.

“It was his birthday, Lumine. It’s midnight now, and he should’ve been spending his birthday with his girlfriend too. She’s probably waiting for him back at Wangshu Inn right now!” Aether exclaims, throwing his hands in the air out of frustration.

It’s past midnight, and you feel your eyelids grow heavier with each passing minute. Zhongli’s in the kitchen, brewing tea for you to drink. You lay your head on the table and close your eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep. Zhongli walks into the dining room and places the cup of tea before you.

“Dearest, you should go to sleep. It’s getting late, and I’m afraid you won’t be able to stay up any longer waiting for Xiao,” Zhongli says.

You sit up and stretch your arms in the air with a yawn. “It’s okay, Zhongli. I don’t want to miss out on celebrating Xiao’s birthday,” you say.

Zhongli exhales through his nostrils and pinches the bridge of his nose. “If you insist,” Zhongli murmurs, sitting beside you.

You rest your head on Zhongli’s shoulders and reach for the teacup. You hold the cup before your face and blow on the hot tea. It’s normal for you to not be able to stay up later than midnight. You want to stay up until Xiao gets home from his duties so you can at least tell him a happy birthday, well, belated birthday, since it’s past midnight now. You gulp down the tea and put the teacup back on the saucer, and wrap your arms around Zhongli’s waist.

“Did I make a mistake?” You ask, barely above a whisper.

Zhongli makes a confused noise and looks at you quizzically. “What do you mean?” Zhongli brushes your hair away from your face.

You stare at Zhongli, not saying a word. Your heart hurts, and even if you have Zhongli present with you at Wangshu Inn, being at the Inn while Xiao is out and about doing, who knows what makes your heart hurt. You can’t help but doubt your relationship with Xiao, asking yourself if it is still salvageable.

You bite your lower lip and hug Zhongli tightly. “Let’s go to bed,” you whisper, tugging on his shirt.

Zhongli nods, getting up from the couch with you latching to his side. Zhongli wraps his arm over your shoulders and guides you to the bedroom. You and Zhongli collapse on the bed, you lying in his arms while he’s carding his fingers through your hair.

You lean up and kiss his jaws, giving him a small smile before snuggling into the crook of his neck. Zhongli smiles and kisses your forehead, watching you slowly drift off to sleep. Zhongli closes his eyes and begins to fall asleep, wondering what’s keeping Xiao out for so long. Zhongli shakes his head, pulling the blanket up to his and your torso.

Zhongli doesn’t know how long he and you have been asleep. The sound coming from the living area roused him from his sleep. Zhongli slowly gets up from bed, kissing your forehead before walking to the living room where the sound came from. Zhongli steps out of the room and quietly closes the door behind him, walking toward the living area.

Xiao freezes in his spot when he sees Zhongli enter the room while he is inspecting the decorated room. The thing that caught Xiao’s eyes was a small cupcake in the center of the table, the candle on the cupcake was blown out, and the almond tofu was warm and untouched. A tsunami of guilt hits Xiao, making him clench his fist and crushing the flower in his hands.

Zhongli leans against the archway of the room, his arms crossed over his chest while gazing at the Yaksha— his face void of emotions.

Xiao whispers, “I apologize for not showing up on time.”

Zhongli shakes his head. “There’s no need to apologize, Xiao. It seems like you have already celebrated your birthday with someone else,” Zhongli’s eyes lock on the familiar flower in Xiao’s hands.

The very same flower a certain blonde Outlander has in her hair. Zhongli lets out a humorless hum and closes his eyes, leaning his head against the wall. All kinds of emotions rush through Zhongli simultaneously— anger, sadness, shock, and heartbreak.

“I was going to return to the Inn, but Aether and Lumine showed up before I could, but it would be rude of me to leave,” Xiao says.

Zhongli holds his hand up to stop Xiao from continuing even further. “I’m not the person you should be explaining this to, Xiao. It is [Y/N] you should be worrying about, not me.”

The two men stare at each other in silence. What else is there to say? Xiao returned to Wangshu Inn late, past his birthday, when you and Zhongli were waiting for his return. You and Zhongli made almond tofu for his birthday, went out of your way to add minimal birthday decoration in the living area, and a cupcake with a single candle stuck in the center of the cupcake.

And what was Xiao doing while you and Zhongli were waiting at Wangshu Inn? He was celebrating his birthday with the same girl that nearly killed you, the same girl with feelings for him, and the same girl he almost kissed before Aether interrupted. Xiao sighs and runs his gloved hands through his hair, cursing under his breath while Zhongli continues to stare at him with an unreadable expression.

The door to the bedroom creaks open. The two men turn towards the door and see you emerging from the dark bedroom, rubbing the sleep from your eyes. You look at Xiao and Zhongli cluelessly, wondering why the two men look like they’re about to kill each other. Well, Zhongli looks like he wants to kill someone. Xiao looks incredibly guilty and nervous.

“Xiao, you’re back. I, uh, I tried to stay up late to wish you a happy birthday, but—”

Xiao cuts you off.

“Why did you try to stay up and wait for me? There’s no need for you to do it at all, and yet here you are, losing sleep because you wanted to wait for my return,” Xiao narrows his eyes at you, crossing his arms over his chest.

You visibly deflate and sigh in defeat, your gaze falling to the ground. You swallow the lump in your throat and open your mouth to respond, but the flower peeking from behind Xiao’s arms catches your attention. You stare at the flower and point at it with shaking hands.

“That flower….” you trail off. “You were with her this entire time.”

Xiao lets out a sigh. “I can explain,” he starts.

You shake your head. “There’s no need to explain, Xiao. It seems like you have already made your decision,” you give Xiao a weak smile. “I’m too tired to fight and argue right now. I’m going back to sleep.”

You look at Zhongli, who stares at you intently. You hold your hand out, making grabby motions. Zhongli pushes himself off the wall and walks toward you without sparing Xiao a second glance. He grabs your hand, and the two of you return to the bedroom, closing the door. Xiao stands in the living room alone. Xiao lets the flower drop to the ground, slowly approaching the table where the cupcake and almond tofu are waiting for him.

You plop on the bed and stare at the ground. Zhongli sits beside you and wraps his arm over your shoulder, pulling you to his side. You rest your head on Zhongli’s shoulders and close your eyes. You want to cry and scream, but you’re exhausted.

“I don’t know how much longer this will last, Zhongli. I think I lost Xiao to her already, and he’s only with me because he sees I have other options that aren’t him.”

Zhongli looks at you curiously. “What are you implying?” Zhongli murmurs.

“It’s not fair for either of us if this continues. Xiao made his decision long ago, and I needed to accept it. He’s only with me because he doesn’t want me to be with you. And I stayed with him because I didn’t want to lose him to someone better than me, but I’m only hurting everyone if I stay.”

You open your eyes and turn to Zhongli. Zhongli wipes the stray tear that made its way down your cheek. You let out a weak and defeated sigh, grabbing Zhongli’s hand and circling your thumb over his knuckles.

Zhongli gives you a faint smile. “That decision is up to you, dearest. If you choose to stay, then stay. If not, then you leave. Whatever decision you make, I will always be there with you every step of the way.”

Your lips tremble as tears continue to pool in your eyes and spill down your cheeks. The problem is you’re unsure if you’re doing the right thing if you stay or leave. You love Xiao. He was your boyfriend before Zhongli was something to you other than an acquaintance. But you also love Zhongli just as much as you love Xiao. Zhongli has been at your side since the incident. He cared for you and protected you.

You shrug your shoulders and shake your head. “I don’t know what to choose, Zhongli.”

How do you know if you’re making the right decision without hurting the people involved?

Note: Damn, it's been a few months since I've posted something for Tragic Outcomes, huh? I will be updating Caught in the Crossfire next week! It's coming to an end, and I want to give it a final "chapter" because I don't want it to end there. I'm not sure how much longer Tragic Outcomes will go on. I think it'll have about ten chapters, maybe? Who knows. Also! I am currently working on a mini-fic for the Isekai'd!Reader series right now! It should be out in a few hours since I am still working on it! Anyway! I ONLY post on my Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and my AO3 (Aaliah_exo)! Nowhere else except Tumblr and AO3!

My overall taglist: @deartoru, @luminarymoonlight, @exhaustedcommunist, @thelost-in-time, @hispasian-otaku, @samarill, @kazuhaprnt, @vinnie-w, @eliciana, @jjvr4yxc, @nightlysunn (Accounts that I was unable to tag have been removed. Those who don't want to be tagged in certain stories are not tagged in this particular post. Remember to check your settings if you're allowing people to mention you/tag you in posts or not)

Read more of my works on my Masterlist | Maybe support me by tipping me on Ko-Fi or by reblogging my fanfics! ^^ I will also be posting exclusive fanfics on Ko-Fi as well very soon! I might post all of my stories on there too, but who knows. You can also tip me on Tumblr if you'd like as a way to show support! ^^

#Genshin impact imagine #Genshin Impact fanfic #Genshin Impact Xiao #Xiao x fem!reader #Xiao x reader #Zhongli x reader #Zhongli x fem!reader #Xiao x fem!reader x Zhongli #Xiao imagine #Zhongli imagine #Xiao fanfic #Zhongli fanfic #genshinluvr

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lemonadecandy · 1 year

Note

Oh! This also reminds me. What about Zhongli’s birthday? Will Y/N give him a gift? What about vice-versa?

Based on the game, apparently when it’s ur birthday, the people in Teyvat, send a letter to the person that’s a dear friend??? to them including a gift to that person as well???

Which makes no sense bc why would u want to give a gift to someone when it’s ur birthday.?!?! (Wander is asking the real questions here. 😂) Of course the traveler does give the vision users a gift for their birthday as well (in official art that is).

So what about Y/N? I’m pretty sure if it was her birthday she wouldn’t do letters and probably just play her birthday as any other day, maybe perhaps eat a small cake and buy something for herself but that would be pretty much it?

Or perhaps our trio girls would have a girls day and go shopping? Take the day off of commissions and just have fun.

I feel like Y/N would want to give a gift for Zhongli for his birthday but doesn’t know what to give. Maybe a self made creation (like the piano example)?

Such as . . . Y/N could create a glaze lily umbrella with an extension that could create a hydro barrier + shield, can also act as a patio umbrella (maybe Y/N dan make the umbrella float by itself somehow), for when it’s raining (I know that he can make a shield for himself {dur} but hey, it’s the thought that counts 🙂🫠) and have to fend off mobs in the rain.

Basically the umbrella is also a magic umbrella [that can act like a catalyst????] that acts as a weapon, fusing the hydro element & geo element together).

As long as there’s the elements hydro and geo in the surrounding environment then the umbrella will be useful, if there isn’t . . . Welp! It’s gonna act like a phone until elemental energy runs out and would need an elemental charger (hydro & geo slimes for example).

The umbrella would also need hydro + geo elemental energy, which would be easy bc Zhongli has geo energy himself.

The umbrella can be used with one element without the other, but to bring out the full strength of the weapon, the umbrella needs both elemental elements to work at its maximum power.

I got the inspiration from this post because of the design. And the attacks would be a bit similar towards how Eclipsa (from Star vs the Forces of Evil) would use her wand.

[LMAO! I JUST REALIZED THAT THIS WEAPON WOULD SUIT Y/N MORE THAN ZHONGLI!] 😂

Lol imagine if she gave him the artifact set Tenacity of the Millelith, all 5 pieces for his birthday and not a wallet. 😂 (That’s Hu Tao’s job.) 🥲

Y/n is definitely the quiet types, the one who never really reminds anyone that it's their birthday that day. I imagine she would take the time to herself, wandering around reminiscing about her life back home perhaps? Feeling all gloomy, while missing her family... That said I am sure the traveler and Paimon will make it a point to remember her birthday and plan a surprise event for her~ As for what Zhongli will gift our Y/n... I am guessing something along the lines of a masterfully crafted artifact. Zhongli certainly has a taste for the classy and antique, so I am sure he would spend a fortune on something like fancy hairpins for her. The umbrella weapon sounds like a fun idea lol, though it does seem to have a whole lot of functions to it. An umbrella that functions as a gun would be so cooool! But I do think Y/n will be giving him handmade gifts surely! Maybe a little musical box with all kinds of little mechanisms that can only be opened by Zhongli, as they relate to inside jokes and conversations that only the two of them know about...

#lemonadecandy #genshin impact #genshin x reader #meeting zhongli #genshin headcanons #reader insert #x reader #genshin zhongli

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ilovedig · 2 years

Text

from the lobby of the El Greco Hotel in Nassau. The hotel's owner, Nick, was the personal chef for the Beatles during their stay in Nassau early 1965.

And clearly more than just Geo's personal chef.

Cause...um, they totally fucked.

#george harrison #bahamas #el greco hotel #he made a cake for geo's birthday #and then fed it to him #and now the photo is hanging in the hotel lobby #I just #this is so gay I can't

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onlyswan · 2 years

Text

summary: in which jungkook loves doing nothing with you.

> fluff / wc: 2.9k

> warnings: [clears throat] allusions to cockwarming, one (1) boobie kiss, they’re both lowkey wine drunk tbh

note: soooo we all watched the live and saw what happened to the cake right 😭 + maybe listen to nothing by bruno major and euphoria as you read this <3 and also got inspired by this ask to rewrite an old draft to this ^^

—

“baby?”

“hmm?”

jungkook sighs, biting the inside of his cheek. “do you think our relationship is boring?”

“boring?” you repeat the word, and it tastes as bland as it sounds on your tongue. “why? are you bored?”

he makes an tiny sound of disagreement, pulling you closer using the arm wrapped around your thighs. “not at all. it’s really nice in here.”

by ‘in here’, he actually means the inside of your shirt. of course, you stealing one of his oversized shirts is just another normal day for the two of you. today, you randomly pulled out the hybe shirt fresh from the laundry.

when he sat on the end of the couch where you were slowly falling asleep, he found himself taking a special notice on how his shirt reaches the middle of your thighs. and for some reason, this eventually prompted him to ask, “can i sleep while inside of you?”

you, in your drowsy state, didn’t think much of it and took his request in the literal sense. inside of you? sure. why not? he seems to like doing it a lot lately.

“mkay, birthday boy. get the lube.”

“yah! you and your filthy mind.” he tugged at the hem of the shirt you’re wearing with a laugh, and you shivered lightly from his cold fingers gliding against the skin of your thighs. “i meant in here! you look cuddly.”

“oh.” you blinked back your sleepiness as a sheepish smile painted your lips. “come here then.”

you turned on your side to give him space. with a happy grin, he lied down on the couch and inserted himself inside your shirt. he settled under the middle of your ribcage, breathing out a sigh of pure satisfaction because once again, he got what he wanted and needed. you.

“a whole new world~”

“sleep, love.” you giggled, his warm breath tickling your stomach.

“fine,” he muttered. he hooked his arm around your thighs, just below your butt. as quietly as possible, he attempted to sing another song. “i got my peaches out in geo-”

“jungkook-”

and then he started snoring.

the fake snoring eventually became real, and you fell asleep yourself a minute or two after him. you woke up almost two hours later to your boyfriend softly biting at your hipbone. you put a hand inside your shirt to stroke the back of his head fondly, his soft hair gliding across your palm smoothly. he hummed in appreciation, feeling a bit guilty for waking you up.

he moved back up to his previous position, pressing a chaste kiss on your underboob before closing his eyes again. you spent a few minutes in comfortable silence as you lay there unblinking, trying to fully wake yourself up. afternoon naps somehow feel longer than night-time sleeps, most probably because they make you feel more tired. it’s almost a guilty pleasure for you.

that was, until he asked his question.

“i haven’t asked you,” you pull up your shirt to reveal the man who has made a temple out of your body, and you smile lazily when he squints at the light. “why you didn’t want to do anything for your birthday.”

he leans his cheek against your stomach, covered by your shirt this time, and he shrugs in response. “even if we were in jeju or greece or mars, i’d still be cuddling with you like this. this is all i want.”

your heart swells upon hearing his confession, and you swallow the lump forming in your throat. “our relationship is not boring, babe. we’re just comfortable, and in peace.”

he looks up to meet your eyes with his sparkly ones. you tuck his hair behind his ear to put it away from his face, resting your hand on his cheek to trace his dimples. addicted to the feeling, he leans further into your gentle touches.

“i love you.”

—

“it looks like it came from hell.” you comment with a blank face as you observe how the custom bunny cake you ordered two weeks prior ended up looking like that after spending only four hours in your home. look, you were quite proud of it specifically because of the ear piercings. but the ears are gone . . .

jungkook laughs out loud, slapping his thigh over and over again to express his jubilation. “i’m s-sorry. i couldn’t do anything.”

he wipes the tears around the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand with a sniffle, but his shoulders uncontrollably shake again when a green grape slides down the cake. he doubles over in laughter, clutching his stomach because oh, his abs are starting to burn.

you bury your face in your hands as the initial shock wears off, a little bit too wine-drunk, and you start laughing along with him. the first grape on the nose of the bunny made you chuckle, and the next three on top of the head. but when you couldn’t count them anymore, and they started sliding down the frosting tragically, it became a crime scene in the making. you could only watch in horror as you drank more wine.

you can’t exactly be mad at seokjin when you’re the one who consumes most of his deliveries, from the strawberries and well, yesterday (since it’s already past 12), the wine from his dad. if anything, you’re grateful for him because he’s still making jungkook laugh despite having left the house two hours ago.

as jungkook types up a weverse post after capturing a photo of the cake, you curiously smear a grape with the frosting like your boyfriend did. you bite off the upper half. look, it’s a big grape. apparently, seokjin’s friend runs a shine muscat green grape vineyard. and you start thinking that this is what it must be like to have a rich friend who has a lot of big-time friends and connections— you get a walking fruit basket knocking on your door almost every week.

“mhmm, atleast i chose a good flavor.” you say more to yourself as you pick up another grape to save it from falling off, and well, to put it in your mouth instead.

jungkook hears you, and he expresses his agreement without looking away from his screen. “cream cheese is so good. seriously. i couldn’t stop eating it.”

“yeah, heard you moaning about it, babe.” you snort out a chuckle before eating a forkful of cake, kicking your feet under the table as you feel the sugar start to increase your dopamine levels.

jungkook holds up his phone to your face to show you the caption he wrote. his nose scrunches adorably as he waits for your reaction, very much pleased with what he did.

while squinting, you read it out loud. “bunny cake that came from hell . . .”

“i added a picture from before so they can see how cute it looked like.”

he zoomed in on the first picture, and you stare at it longingly with a sigh. “my bunny became a fallen angel that escaped from hell.”

he juts out his bottom lip upon hearing your words. “that sounds like a better caption but it’s too late now.”

“just eat your cake, birthday boy.” his face lights up when he sees the bite of cake coming his way, and he eats it almost excitedly. it’s not his birthday anymore, but he likes it when you call him pet names.

“this cake- it’s really so good.” he can’t help but to release another comment, eyebrows furrowed angrily as if the food is so delicious it makes him upset that he can’t eat it for the rest of his life.

“is it that good?” your eyebrows raise in question as you chuckle.

“yes. the icing doesn’t only taste like sugar for once.” he pops another grape covered with cream cheese in his mouth, moaning at the sweetness exploding in his mouth. “i think i can’t enjoy the grapes without the icing now. what do i do?”

“then just keep eating it like that.” you shrug, oddly liking the combination of them as well. and jungkook, who has always been obedient, does exactly like that.

you leave the kitchen briefly to get something from the bedroom, coming back carrying a light pink box that your boyfriend recognizes to be one of the homes of your many accessories. you hop on the table, carefully moving back the tripod so you can cross your legs comfortably.

“you just sit and lie down anywhere.” jungkook voices out his observation with an endeared smile, holding out yet another grape that he feeds you. it’s almost a reflex, because you’ve been eating almost every meal together for years.

“i’ve had too much grapes now.” you whine as you chew it down, thinking back to the glasses of wine you had earlier.

“okay, okay. i’ll finish them alone.”

while jungkook inhales the grapes, you start entertaining yourself. you open the box to reveal your treasured butterfly clips. they’re very cute and cheap, so there couldn’t possibly be such a thing as having too much of them. you speedily pick out the light green clips you intend to use, tossing them on the table.

“are you gonna make me look like the bunny cake?” he questions in amusement, making a wild guess.

you nod with a sheepish smile. “the angel bunny ver.”

he repeats after you, your adorable words tasting sweet and fresh on his tongue like candies. you inch closer to him after finishing your first task, letting one of your legs dangle from the edge of the table. jungkook, cooperative as ever, slides off the hairpins that held his hair behind his ears. he wears them like that because you can’t be there to do it for him all the time (sorrowfully).

“you know,” you trail off as you start decorating his hair with the clips, making it look like the butterflies have found a friend and a home in him. it’s a perfect concept for your angel boy. “i really thought you’d sing euphoria when it started playing. i haven’t watched that in a long time.”

he looks up to find your lips forming a small pout as you concentrate on figuring out the symmetrical placement of the clips. he swallows down his last grape of the night, clearing his throat. he already had enough warm-up from the live earlier- he can definitely do euphoria.

“then i’ll do it for you, baby. hold on.” he reaches for the remote control, and your hands slip away from his hair momentarily.

“euphoria by jaykay noraebang~” he says in a cute, high-pitch voice as he searches for the instrumental of his song on youtube.

the attempt to conceal your smile fails miserably. he didn’t even think about it, told you that he’d do it for you without missing a beat. the familiar song intro blasts from the speaker, and he hums along to the melody. ah, it never gets old. it still gives you butterflies.

he takes a deep breath before closing his eyes, putting the microphone below his lips. just like in any other performance, he soulfully sings as he wears his heart on his sleeve.

singing the words you are the sun that rose again in my life, the return of my childhood dreams as you innocently put butterflies on his hair as if nothing else in the world matters— it provokes a feeling of profound gratitude in the pits of his heart. for having lived another year, for existing in his kitchen with you, just like this- at twelve in the morning.

before the second verse ends, you place one last butterfly clip by the end of his long hair- the part that fall on the sides of his neck. that’s when he abandons his seat to make use of the wide space of your kitchen, breaking out into the choreography as the chorus hits.

he pauses to nervously laugh in confusion, buffering as he tries to recall the dance steps he used to religiously practice. “shit wait- how could i forget this? it’s been almost three years?! no, no! it went like this. and like this- okay.”

you slowly slide off the table covering your mouth to muffle your laughter, but you climb back up on the chair he was previously sitting on to continue watching the show. you anchor yourself using your elbows as you hold up his phone to record his once-in-a-lifetime performance, sponsored by white wine and cream cheese cake and shine muscat green grapes. he eventually gets back on track, moving on to the bridge to sing his heart out as if his lungs are non-existent. he dramatically flips his head in different directions as he hits the high notes, and you gasp loudly in horror.

“yah, that’s so mean! the butterflies are flying away!”

he purposely ignores your protest, gazing at you sentimentally as he continues singing like his life depended on it. “i hear the ocean from away, i walk across the dream over the forest-”

“your hair stylists should be paid more. this is just too crue-”

he falls on his knees on the cold tiles, and his iconic high note echoes throughout your entire apartment (and quite possibly the entire apartment complex). “you are the cause of my euphoria~”

to this day, you cannot comprehend how his voice can be so damn flawless. it’s truly not a reach when you say that he has the most beautiful voice you’ve ever heard, and you find peace and joy in knowing that the world is listening, because a talent as rare as his should be recognized and praised in every way possible.

and then he stands back up to do the choreo all over again, singing and dancing as if he is performing in a stadium filled with atleast fifty thousand people. except he’s in the kitchen and the love of his life is the only one watching. but you mean the absolute world to him, so it only feels right to give it his all.

even though it means he passes out on the ground catching his breath and sweating buckets after doing only one song. the television, left on auto-play, blasts serendipity next.

you crawl to him, avoiding the fallen butterflies scattered on the floor. you sit by his side to check up on his condition, and he laughs as soon as he sees your tear-stained face. “why am i so tired?”

it’s the alcohol, jungkook. it’s the alcohol.

“you had sixteen butterflies. there’s only four left.” you cry out, taking off the one behind his head so it won’t hurt his scalp.

“i saw two of them flying to the sink.” he says, tears gathering in his eyes as he points at the sink. he thinks he might be sweating more from the laughing than the dancing, because the look on your face is too hilarious for him to handle right now.

yes, you went through all the five stages of grief within four minutes. yes, you also find yourself hilarious.

you brush back his damp hair with an exhausted sigh, admiring your boyfriend with hazy eyes. he looks so pretty bare-faced. no camera will ever give his ethereal beauty true justice.

“you’re not my angel bunny. you also look like you came from hell.”

he juts out his bottom lip, looking at you pleadingly with his beady eyes. “will you wash my hair for me?”

“baby, just save water and go to bed. you can’t keep putting so much products on your hair.” you oppose as you take each of his wrists in your hands, pulling him up to stand on his feet.

well, that sounds like a good excuse for when he’s too lazy to wash his hair.

he obediently stands up with wobbly knees, pulling you in for an embrace to ground himself. he rests his chin on the top of your head as he sways you from side to side to the beat of lilac by iu.

he looks around your shared home, internally scratching his head at the mess that he’s made on his birthday. and so, he picks you up without warning, because he knows you’re going to protest against what he’s about to say.

he’s already making a beeline to the bedroom when he speaks. “let’s just go to sleep and clean up in the morning.”

“at least put the cake in the fridge.” you grumble, left with no other choice but to hold on tight.

“oh, right.” he giggles, resorting to carrying you using only one arm.

he picks up the cake and walks you both to the fridge, carefully placing it down inside. he bids the cake adieu with a cheerful tone. “goodnight evil bunny cake!”

“goodnight evil bunny cake.” you copy him, nuzzling your face on his neck. “my god, seokjin was right. we are a couple of idiots.”

—

taglist! @alanniys @jjkeverlast @queenofdragonsandcats @yvesismywife @enhypenslay @cramseys @witchfqllen @virgogentlejk @rkie @jeonwiixard @monilyv @bermudaisy @ameliejeannelaurent @takochelle @the1921-monsters @investedreader @seagulljk @yeow6n @yoonqkiss @hopeworldjimin @lllucere @unnatae @zqynmlk @bxbyyyjocelyn @zkdlllin @koostarcandy @tswisal1 + send an ask / dm if you want to be added (or removed) :D

#jungkook #jungkook fluff #jungkook drabble #jungkook scenario #jungkook imagine #jungkook fic #jungkook x reader #jungkook x you #bts fluff #bts reaction #jungkook angst

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moonbyunniee · 2 years

Text

genshin characters on your birthday pt.2

cw ➵ fluff

characters ➵ albedo, kaeya, zhongli, childe

a/n ➵ you can find part one here! happy reading, have a magical day or night 🤍

albedo - 阿贝多 ➵

albedo has 100% set out a secret birthday routine for the two of you to follow

sucrose has been tasked to make sure everything goes to plan because he's too occupied with you, his precious y/n

much like a scientific procedure, except he takes a day off any real experiments he needs to do

he has, of course, painted a beautiful portrait of you

yes he spent hours on the design trying to make it perfect

he's also made a birthday breakfast for you, scientifically proven to taste amazing <3

"so, starlight...what would you like to do on your special day?"

the two of you spend most of the day exploring the surrounding area and documenting various items you find

as albedo literally lives on dragonspine, it gets fairly cold after a while of being outside

so he takes you inside, near the fire to warm you up <3

ooh and he's also made you a delicious birthday cake!

he put a lot of time and effort into the cake, as he does with all things

so it turns out tasting amazing!

albedo has also taken the time to craft you a present

since he's an incredibly smart man, he's done something involving alchemy

he makes the two of you matching rings that can glow

made out of rare, valuable gem pieces

so you'd better protect that gift with your life <3

at night, albedo cuddles you near the fire

he doesn't have to say much to let you know that he loves you to the ends of teyvat

and you drift off to sleep in his arms, warm and protected

"sweet dreams, starlight...let's make every day this special. you deserve it."

kaeya - 凯亚 ➵

the cavalry captain of the knights of favonius never fails to make every day an adventure for his beloved y/n

and when it's your special day, he goes to any limits to let you be at ease for the whole day

in the morning, as soon as you wake up, he gives you a kiss and chuckles

"oh, so you're awake now~...happy birthday, y/n. now, where to today?"

so you have work?

no you don't, not anymore

kaeya makes sure that the other knights of favonius do your work for you

and he himself takes the entire day off to spend time with you

this mischievous man keeps his plans for the day a complete secret from you

basically the entire day, the two of you wander around mondstadt together

he takes you out to good hunter for lunch

and in the evening, he takes you to diluc's tavern just to annoy diluc

...who gives you free drinks but not for kaeya ahem

as the sun sets and the entire sky is painted black, the two of you go to the dawn winery and sit on the rolling green hills, watching the scenery around you

he holds you close, kissing you and murmuring words into your ear

...he's also drunk btw ehe

"my precious y/n...what would i do without you...please stay with me...don't leave me...i promise i'll take care of you until the day i die...just stay with me...i love you too much to let you go..."

zhongli - 钟离 ➵

because of the geo archon's age, he doesn't really understand the purpose of a birthday

after all, he's thousands of years old!

but since you're a mortal, it gets through to him why you want to celebrate another year of your tiny life gone past

it does make him slightly sad to see how you're getting older, but nevertheless he sets up an amazing birthday for you <3

"happy birthday, y/n - now, as i do not understand why on earth you'd want to celebrate the day of your aging, you'll have to guide me through this one. nevertheless, let's try to make it a pleasant day."

expect this man to make a full-on birthday tea and everything for you

with cakes and exotic teas and your other favourite things to eat <3

he makes everything very formal

he puts up decorations everywhere

and of course, he knows about the gift-giving traditions that mortals do on each other's birthdays

so he does all of these things as well

he doesn't really know what to get for you as a present

so he makes a beautiful artifact out of priceless ores he crafted especially for you <3

at night, he tells you stories of his life as an archon, quietly whispering words into your ear until you drift off into a peaceful slumber with him right at your side

"my sweet, precious y/n...what would i ever do without you? happy birthday, my beloved. sweet dreams~..."

childe - 达达利亚 ➵

tartaglia is a very family-oriented person

but there's only one thing comparable to his love for his family, and that's his love for you, his beautiful y/n

as soon as the first ray of sunlight makes its way into your bedroom, childe is up and ready

and he shakes you awake excitedly

ready to get the day rolling <3

"y/n...guess what day it is today? that's right - it's your birthday! and as it's such a special day, i get to take you out and treat you to whatever you'd like. now...what do you fancy this fine day?"

okay so we all know childe is really rich right

well, he takes you out for breakfast, lunch and dinner at several high-end, luxury restaurants

don't get me wrong, he loves you and everything, but who can say no to being spoiled by this rich man?

childe will also take you shopping wherever you'd like

your wish is his command, and he takes you everywhere and anywhere you want to go

he's already ordered for an expensive triple-layer cake to be made for your birthday

and he gives it to you after dinner, singing you happy birthday and remembering his youth

when he'd always sing happy birthday to his family members on their special days <3

and now that he's got you, childe is infinitely grateful for everything you do

as you drift off to sleep in his arms while he rocks you to sleep gently, he kisses your forehead and hugs you close

"y/n...i love you so much. i hope one day, i'll be able to put my happiness with you into words. but until then...happy birthday, my treasure."

#genshin impact #genshin #genshin impact fluff #genshin fluff #albedo #albedo fluff #kaeya #kaeya fluff #zhongli #zhongli fluff #childe #childe fluff #albedo x reader #kaeya x reader #zhongli x reader #childe x reader #genshin x reader #[☁️writes]

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honey-milk-depresso · 3 years

Note

Hey!

If you’re still taking requests, may I ask for a Venti darling with Scarabia and anyone else you like!

(Love my wind gremlin (Ｔ▽Ｔ))

Yep I love Venti oh my god- He's so beautiful and his voice JJDBHDHDHDH- But obviously I still love Geo Daddy and Lil miss Ganyu as my number ones-

And instead of a lyre, how about a guitar in replacement? Also added in Floyd.

Hope you enjoy! ^^

Recalcitrant, carefree, and playful, you're a free-spirited individual who is bold, and doesn't care about insults thrown at you, and ignore those of higher authority.

You love roaming, and spreading about joy with your acoustic music, having a genuine, lighthearted smile to liven up the mood.

But even as playful as you are, you're someone down to earth; philosophical, wise.... solemn. Deep down, you're a lonely soul.. Perhaps NRC can tune a note to your heart?

TWST The Carefree yet lonely guitar player, s/o (Venti)

Kalim al Asim

Kalim is fond of you're cheery attitude!

He especially loves listening to the sound of you strumming your acoustic guitar, as you pluck at its strings, letting your voice flow smoothly like a calm river.

To him, you seem like a cheery, optimistic and fearless, and he aspires to be like you!

You're just someone who can stand up for yourself, and he wants to be somewhat independent like how you are, too!

You just seem to make the atmosphere more lively!

It doesn't matter who hates you, you still continue to play your guitar, and spread around happiness to those feeling down in the dumps.

That's very sweet of you!

But when he learns more about you, he feels so sorry you feel lonely, and that your friends in your world have left you one by one.

No one deserves to be alone! Especially you! Someone who has always been there for others and spread about their music to those who feel sad and lonely.

He spoils you with love, care and company, and he exclaims how sorry he is for you.

You told him very fondly and gratefully with a soft yet solemn expression,

"Well, I might say I've gotten over it, but I guess avoiding the feeling would only make it find you easier. The feeling of loneliness is inevitable. And it's not just the feeling when no one's there to be here with me at times. But... the feeling that no one wants you around..."

You sadly smiled at him, with an expression of genuine gratitude. "But.. thank you, Kalim. I thank you for being here for me!" you giggled.

Kalim could only pull you into a hug, telling you he's happy he's you're here for him too <3

Jamil Viper

At first, Jamil is quite irked with how annoying you can be.

With your cheery, bold and carefree attitude drives him nuts.

You're like Kalim but with attitude-

It's worse-

Dear sevens-

And you constantly annoy and tease him by playing on your guitar at times.

"DID THE LIGHTS JUST WENT OUT-"

*you come in and strum your guitar* "When your lights don't work like they used to before!~"

"OH STFU-"

Yeah-

But Jamil wasn't going to lie; you can make him crack up a lot. You're just so fun to be with as much as chaotic, and he won't admit it, but life couldn't have been more fun with you.

You played a song on your guitar, strumming and plucking at its string as it released an upbeat acoustic version of dancing music, as you invite him to dance along to the rhythm.

He had fun, and he felt a lot calmer and much happier after a tired day of doing his vice dorm leader duties.

He can't help but smile.

So it surprised him when he found out how lonely you felt.

For someone who has been playful, rebellious and annoyingly cheerful and cheeky.. he didn't expect you to feel so... sad. But I guess people wear masks to cover their true emotions, huh? He can relate with that.

He starts understanding you a bit more, and realize that you have always went all out to make people smile and he tries his best too in his own way. With his cooking, dancing or company, he sticks with you.

"Heh.. Thanks for being with me, Jamil. I don't look like I'm who I am. But, I guess I feel bummed out by how my friends left me. Whether because they didn't found interest in me or they.. well.. left off to a better place.. But when I look back, all of the people that have left me are like a reflection of who I am. The type of friends you make reflect who you are as a person. I'm glad you guys have shown me that I'm not as bad as I see myself, of course, I'm better~" you teased him at the very last part, as you winked with your tongue sticking out at the corner of your lips.

Your words... are very wise. He could only look at his hands, before placing one over to cover both your hands.

"I'm glad to have you too, s/o."

Floyd Leech

Floyd finds you fun!

Maybe it's because you get him.

Of all people, you're philosophical mind masked by your humor is relatable to him. His way of thinking is different and unique than most others, and someone like you really digs it.

"Yeah, cheesecake is just cheese on the birthday cake! Wanna do that to Azul?"

And apart from that, you have been his favorite prank buddy.

You're incredible for that, and he cracks up so much when you just talk to him. You're naturally funny and hilarious to him, and you've never failed to make Floyd's day.

His mood swings do get the best of the eel, sometimes he feels sulky, angry or sad because of his peers nagging and what not, and he just doesn't feel like talking to you.

You play for him a soothing tune on your guitar, carefully plucking at it's strings like porcelain, as you strum and hum with a soft and gentle tone.

He's much more relaxed, and he sometimes would fall asleep on your lap, dreaming about you playing a never ending tune for him in the sea if that could ever happen.

He's much happier with you, so he doesn't get it when you told him one day you feel sad.

Why is shrimpy sad? He's confused.

When you told him about your sudden episodes of feeling lonely, he's suddenly curious. he gets mood swings.. but feeling.. lonely?

"I'm not saying I don't enjoy your company, trust me when I say I do. But... when I look back to the past.. I can't help but miss my friends. The ones who find no use in me no longer and the ones that went to a better place... I miss them all. You.. have always made my day less stormy and much sunnier. I can't thank you enough, Floyd. All my loneliness.. just shows me how desperate I am in need of myself. I'm sure you must have felt so lonely before to think no one's around to think about you.. But, that's where I'm so thankful to meet you."

Floyd could only stare you with wide eyes. He.. doesn't know how to feel, but immediately pull you into his embrace.

"I've never felt lonely when I met you, shrimpy.." <3

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genshin-impact-fics · 3 years

Text

Streamer!Genshin celebrating Character!(Y/n)'s birthday

A/n: I have fallen in love with the streamer au as it inspired me to take up on doing some myself! In celebration of my birthday today I thought I'd do something along those lines.

Streamer!Childe, Venti, Bennett, & Albedo celebrating Character!(Y/n)'s birthday, enjoy~

Childe:

He’s been waiting for this day as he’s marked it on his calendar and even a countdown clock whenever he streamed

This man goes all out for the occasion; his studio is all decorated with party décor, his figurines all nicely set up along with the plushies of your character in the background (his biggest plushie of you has a party hat), & he got a cake. Literally his stream for the day will be a birthday party dedicated to you

He has the goofiest smile on his face when getting your specialty dish from the mail, probs would cook up more before doing anything

As this man has a set of goals: he’s going to go farming the perfect artifacts (if he didn’t have them already), if he didn’t already have a fully refined and perfect weapon for you he’s going wishing, and if for some ungodly reason he didn’t managed to raise your constellation yet he’s doing it now (whether your banner is still going or just happens to be a rerun) he’s once again waling for you

Speaking of your constellation, it’s tattooed on his wrist (right below his palm) now and he even shows off the art piece he got commissioned of the two of you together to commemorate the day of your “birth”

Albedo:

He’s been preparing sketches for this very day; the day’s stream is going to be much more laid back than the usual chaos that is when he and Klee play together. It’s pretty much a mix of him doing art, playing Genshin, and even maybe a party game or two with Klee

The two of them made a small cake as of course it wouldn’t be complete without a small drawing of you that he’s done on edible paper

If he happens to have mail that’s from his viewers he’ll take the time to open those, he’s a happy bean when he sees that someone made him the signature jacket that you wore. Speaking honestly he’ll probably live in that for the rest of his life

If he hadn’t already gotten all the artifacts that were perfection and the weapon that best suited you he was going farming and Klee was tagging along for the adventure (she’ll play on the iPad so she could be in the same room, also it’s easier for her)

He’ll also go around with your character and take aesthetic pictures in the game while Klee would want to make Genshin tiktoks

Bennett:

He is so excited that it’s your birthday, the pride and joy of his team that he just adores! Super eager to get your specialty dish and definitely cooks more (can never have too many)

He has his favorite plushie of you right beside him as he plays for his regular viewers

Not the best when it comes to farming but thankfully he has the help of Fischl and Razor with domains, he’s trying to make you the best sub dps/support

He baked a cake during his stream as surely he can’t mess up with the help of his wonderful viewers… At least it was edible in the end

The best part of it all is that he gets to wear his new sweater that had the sleeves as one color while the rest was another color, your element on the front in the upper left, and on the back it says “Proud (y/n) Main” in white

Venti:

He didn’t plan anything too big, but he certainly wanted to do something special since it was your birthday. So he had a few songs he had written about you and watched a couple of edited and mmd videos his viewers sent in

Watching videos definitely turned into a drinking game: take a drink whenever (y/n) pops up, Venti drinks every time he gushes over them. Whoever submitted the mmd of you and that geo archon together wasn’t that amusing; yes he respects everyone's ships, but (y/n) is his baby. With an unamused expression *insert that one Diluc expression here* looks at the camera and says “I just want to talk”

He gets to showcase the iconic instrument you use that he got custom made as he’ll play your theme. If he plays it in game he’s going to random peoples worlds to play your theme maybe troll them a bit before leaving

If he hadn’t don’t your story quest already he’ll probably play through that and quite honestly he wasn’t ready for the feels train as he cried a little or at least pouted a lot

If your banner was still going on or it’s the rerun he’s going to do everything he can in order to level up your constellation and maybe even go try for your weapon if he hasn’t gotten it already. He is a strong believer in (y/n) supremacy, he is the leader of that group

#genshin impact #venti the bard #tartagila #genshin bennett #genshin childe #streamer au #birthday #reader impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin venti

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purmpkle-heart · 3 years

Text

Happy birthday, old man!

Characters: Zhongli, Childe, Teucer mentioned

Zhongli kinda being forced to get dressed as Father Frost (aka Snezhnaya's Santa Claus), established relationship between Zhongli and reader and they call each other 'dear' -w-. Overall fluffy with kisses at the end + tiny food mention and Childe is kinda the wingman :D

A/n: I kinda had this idea since I learned (a few hours ago) that our Geo daddy archon has his birthday on December 31 and thus this thing was brought to life :³ A bit rushed and not proofread, but made with love :D

｡.｡:∞♡*💜 More of my writing

— Please! I promised Teucer to meet Father Frost before he gets sent home and you're the only person I can count on, — Childe held his palms together, looking at Zhongli with pleading eyes.

— Come on, you'll just need to dress up and give him some gifts that Childe prepared, this can't be that bad, — you placed a hand on your parther's hand and looked at him with an excited glint in your eyes.

— It seems that I hold no power over this decision, — Zhongli took another sip from his little cup and placed it down with a loud chink, — Even though it is, in fact, my birthday today.

— Ask anything! — Childe was quick to change his tone as he took out a few red/white pieces of clothing out of the bag he brought with him.

— Is that a... beard? — you stood up from your place and came closer to the pile of clothes, leaving a visibly surprised Zhongli behind. You picked up a fake white long beard and turned to your partner.

— Absolutely not, — Zhongli stated as you and Childe snickered at the image of Geo Archon himself wearing a fake beard and a silly red hat.

— Come here, dear, — you came back to your partner and grabbed his hand, tugging to come closer. He sighed and stood up, following you to the clothes pile. It won't be that bad. He's just gonna dress up, give presents and then never remember this situation ever again. It's not that hard, right?

Zhongli stood in front of a tall mirror, questioning his relationships as you were giggling right next to him and Childe was dying from laughter in the background. Although you tried your best to hide his hair under the hat, it was still visible and contrasted wildly with the pure white beard on his face, which made him unrecognisable. He had a red coat with thick fake white fur lining. Same theme for mittens, hat and, of course, felt boots.

— H-how-- How do you feel? — you looked up at Zhongli, tears forming in your eyes as your cheeks start hurting from smiling and giggling so much.

— This is ridiculous and embarrassing, — he sighed helplessly and looked back at you. A chuckle escaped his mouth and he carefully cupped your face, drying off the tears with his mittens, — But I can take it. As long as I can hear your precious laughter, dear.

— Aw, stop it, — you escaped his hands and hugged him, hiding your face in red fabric. You felt his chest rumble as he chuckled softly once again.

— I'm still here, loverbirds, — Childe wasn't laughing maniacally anymore. In fact, he wasn't even in the room and his voice was coming from the corridor. He wasn't absent for long: he came back into the room a few moments later with a big wrapped box and placed it on the table, looking at both of you proudly, — It's for Teucer!

— What's inside? — you poked your head out of Zhongli's chest and looked over the box.

— Eh, another plushie with some Liyue sweets for him to take home, — Childe plopped his hand on the box and smiled, — Nothing special, but he'll like it.

Meeting with Teucer went surprisingly good. Zhongli turned out to be a very good gift giver and child excitement reciever. But no matter how well he handled it, the minute both of you hid in your house he quickly removed the red hot clothes and excused himself into the bathroom. You were waiting for him patiently, preparing an order to a local bakery for his birthday. A little dessert; semi-sweet chocolate-orange cake in the shape of those stones he could summon out of boredom. It was quite expensive, but because Childe was a nuisance today, he agreed to help.

— Heya, comrade! — you jumped on your chair from that sudden phrase.

— Ch-Childe! Nobody taught you how to knock before entering?! — you hastly folded the piece of paper in half so it would fit into a letter and turned to the tall man.

— Oh sorry, I didn't know writing orders is such an intimate thing for you, — he laughed at your angry expression, — Relax, comrade, I'll knock next time. Here, — he took out a pair of tickets and handed them over to you, — Two tickets for a night boat ride along Liyue coast. Count this as a birthday gift for Zhongli.

— Oh, um. Thank you, — you took the tickets and read info on them. Then placed them on the nearby shelf and looked up at the redhead, who got lost in thought for a moment, — You got rejected?

— Yea-- — he fell back into reality and swiftly crossed his arms on his chest, — H-hey! Nobody would dare to reject me, comrade! How about you mind your own business.

— Alright, alright. Thank you again, — you smiled to him and he scoffed, leaving the house. You know he wasn't mad at you, though, he was just being dramatic.

— Who was that, dear? — you heard a voice behind you as you closed the door, this time locking it.

— Our plans for the evening! — you turned around only to be met with the image some would kill to witness. Zhongli just left the bathroom, towel on his hips, his strong arms with usually hidden brown-gold patterns now all visible. You froze in place, quite enjoying the view for a good minute while he dried his hair, — What did I do to deserve you?

— I ask myself the same question, — Zhongli placed the towel on his shoulders and looked back at you, — So, what are those 'Plans for the evening' you were talking about?

— HAPPY BIRTHDAY, OLD MAN!

Zhongli turned around and saw Childe, waving to both of you from the harbor. He smiled, waved back and returned his gaze back at you.

— That was too much Childe for today, — you giggled, hiding your mouth. Zhongli nodded and looked up at the starry sky, closing his eyes.

You nudged yourself closer to him, clinging onto his arm, and closed your eyes too. Tracing your fingers mindlessly along his gloves and sleeves of his coat that hide the patterns only you had the luck to see. You felt his other hand lightly brush against your cheek and gently lift your chin up. You opened your eyes and immediately drowned in his hazel eyes.

— May I kiss you, dear? — you hesitate a bit to process his question, but then you nod and first feel warm lips press against yours, then his tongue entering you.

Light of the stars reflected from the water, blinking with each little wave. Lights of Liyue were shining like gold behind the boat. And today, maybe just for a little while, you felt like the world has stopped to let you and your partner savor the sweetness of the moment.

#purmpkle.writing #zhongli x reader #Childe is also here I guess :l #zhongli x y/n #zhongli x you #genshin impact x reader

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engineers-curry · 2 years

Text

The small Bono/James drabble as promised!! Hope you enjoy it!! 💖

It's a sunny afternoon, a warm breeze gently rustles through the leaves of the trees in their garden, when Bono finally picks up one of his books to read. He finds himself a place in the shadow on their terrace, the glass door open so he can keep an eye on their dog napping in the living room and hears when James finally comes home from his flight.

They took different flights home from Canada, James going to Los Angeles with Toto and a few others while he directly flew back to Britain. It isn't the first time that they took separate flights nor spent a few days apart from each other but not spending James' birthday together made him a bit sad. Even though Bono hadn't been able to admit it out loud, especially not when he had seen James' excited face on their video call, telling him about the spaceships he saw.

Bono had left his work place earlier today, to prepare James' favourite strawberry cake for a small celebration. George, their Jack Russell Terrier, who they definitely did not name after the driver as a joke, has kept him company the whole time, occasionally trying to steal a strawberry from Bono.

Now the cake sits safely in the fridge, waiting for James to arrive just like Bono does. The book that Shov has recommended him isn’t that interesting but it keeps him from checking his phone every five minutes.

Bono doesn't know how much time passed when there's suddenly a sound coming from their front door being unlocked. George jumps up the next second while barking in excitement, sprinting towards it, telling Bono everything he needs to know. He feels a grin spreading on his face as he gets up and follows their dog. James has barely closed the door and put his bag down while George jumps around him, demanding pets loudly with excited barks.

"Yeah I'm happy to see you too, Geo- achoo!"

Bono raises an eyebrow at the image of James nearly toppling over from his sneeze before moving forward, gently pushing George aside. "You're not turning sick, aren't you?"

James shakes his head before pressing a kiss on Bono's cheek and pulling him into his arms. He smells like shampoo and cheap airplane food, a combination that Bono is used to and kind of loves. Only now he notices that James is wearing a thick hoodie, the fabric feeling uncomfortably warm against his skin.

"Are you really sure you're not turning sick?"

"Yes," James chuckles and Bono decides to ignore how his husband tries to clear his throat quietly. “It was freezing on the plane.”

"Sure." Bono grins and lets go of James, picking up his bag. "Change and then come here, I prepared strawberry cake to celebrate your birthday."

The way James eyes light up remind Bono those of a child but before he can comment on it, James sneezes again, twice in a row.

"I'm not getting sick!"

Bono rolls his eyes, a laugh bubbling up his throat as he picks up James’ bag. They’re both incredibly stubborn sometimes and there’s no success in arguing further. Instead, he carries the bag towards their laundry room as he listens to James making his way upstairs.

When Bono has turned the washing machine on, he can hear the shower running faintly. Bono decides to busy himself with cutting the cake and turning on their kettle, preparing them two mugs with tea.

It doesn't take long until the shower stops but James doesn't appear downstairs again. Bono waits with the cake and their mugs on the terrace, George dozing next to his feet, yet James is nowhere to be seen. And no sound is to be heard either.

Maybe he's taking longer to change, Bono thinks and gets up. He's not against something quick before the cake, with James following his interest in racing and working out more, Bono is obsessed with how hot his husband has become in the past months. And he's an honest man who can appreciate something beautiful.

“James?” It stays eerily quiet to his surprise but all of his questions are answered when he finds James, face squished into his pillow, hair still damp from the shower. His husband is sleeping tightly, cheeks flushed adorably while wearing one of Bono's shirts.

With a sigh, Bono closes the door behind him. More tea for him and cake for dinner it is then. He can't be mad at his husband though, it's not the first time they have to move something over a jet lag.

Dinner time rolls around and James still doesn't wake up. When Bono makes his way back into the bedroom a few hours later, he can see that James hasn't moved much in his sleep, something very unusual. His skin looks pale but his cheeks are flushed at the same time and Bono can see the sweat making James’ hair cling to his forehead. Worry starts to gnaw at him and he leans forward, putting a hand against James' skin - his husband is burning up.

"James… James, come wake up," He lightly shakes the other's shoulder, cringing at the noise of pain that escapes James. Bono moves to the bathroom and quickly fills him a glass of water, pressing it gently against James' lips when his husband seems to be more awake.

"Bono? How late is it? Did I fall asleep? Ouch, my head hurts," he whines, making Bono sigh quietly.

"You're burning up, I'm going to get you some medicine and some food. You're staying in bed."

"I'm not sick!" James protests but it's not effective at all when he immediately presses his hand against his forehead in pain, a few coughs escaping him. He sounds positively sick, nose stuffed and throat scratchy. Bono makes a mental note to look for more than painkillers in their medicine cabinet.

“Try sitting up,” Bono pushes all their pillows against the headboard and guides James into a sitting position, ignoring his husbands’ protests once more. It is worrisome how easily James complies and how heavy he seems to be in Bono’s arms at the same time. When he’s finally leaning against the pillows, James looks completely worn out, panting lightly.

“Maybe I am sick.”

“Idiot,” Bono replies, but without any malice in his voice. “Where did you even catch that virus?”

His husband shrugs and closes his eyes. “Somewhere at the track maybe - shit, what if it’s Covid?”

It draws onto Bono what that would mean for them, for the team and he swallows loudly. “I’ll get you a test. Stay calm and rest a bit more, I’m sure there’s a simple solution to this.”

George waits eagerly for him at the bottom of the stairs when he walks down again, tail wagging excitedly and Bono pats his head before sending him up, figuring that James could need some company. He brings James the test first, helping George jump on the bed before he goes on to gather whatever medicine he can find and puts on the kettle once more. When he checks their fridge, he finds enough to make a decent soup but makes himself the mental note to get more groceries after work tomorrow.

When he carries the tray back up to their bedroom a few minutes later, James is sitting against the headboard with a bit more colour in his face now while George has rolled himself up on his lap, napping peacefully.

“It’s negative.” James holds up the small plastic test proudly and Bono lets out a sigh of relief.

“Phew, then it’s just a summer flu.”

James grimaces at that but gladly takes the mug and medicine that Bono presses into his hands. He takes everything wordlessly before lifting the blanket a bit, letting Bono slip next to him.

“You’re staying home tomorrow, you’re still warm,” Bono murmurs when James folds himself against him, softly caressing through his soft hair. “I’m not risking you being sick for Silverstone and then whining non-stop that you can’t go to the track.”

“I would never.”

Bono raises his eyebrows before taking the soup from the tray, holding it to James. “Here, eat it as long as it’s hot.”

He has seen James eyeing the cake already and Bono hopes it’s really a sign of him getting better, his eyes lighting up like those of a child at Christmas.

“I never had any birthday cake in bed, that’s a first.”

Bono slaps his hand away, holding the bowl with soup up. “This one first, then you can have as much cake as you want.”

James pouts but at least complies, emptying the bowl slowly and drinks the rest of his tea without any further complaining. Bono enjoys the quiet moment of peace, petting George who’s still napping between them.

“We should get another one and name him Lewis,” James says when he’s put the mug down, hands wandering towards the plate with the piece of cake. “Yeah, that would be fair,” Bono chuckles quietly and leans his head against James’ shoulder.

“The cake tastes amazing,” James tells him between his bites and when Bono opens his eyes, the plate is empty, his husband didn’t even leave any crumbs. “You want that other piece or-?”

“I see you’re really getting better,” Bono laughs and presses a kiss to his cheek before handing him the other plate.

“How could I not when I have such a wonderful husband?” James turns to give him a kiss too but Bono’s not having any of that.

“I love you but you’re keeping that virus to yourself. We don’t have to share everything in our marriage!”

James ignores him and slings his arm around Bono’s waist, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “Sharing is caring, darling.”

“Be careful or I’m accidentally forgetting you at the factory when you’re healthy again,” Bono argues and steals himself a strawberry from the cake. James scoffs but the lovesick smile on his face tells a different story and Bono can’t say he feels different about it.

#james/bono #my drabbles

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genshinwriter · 3 years

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The Rite of Parting [2]

Pairing: Zhongli/Lumine Genre: Light angst/Fluff Word count: 711 words Spoilers: Yes (Liyue arc) Summary: After the defeat of Osial, Lumine was left with the realization that the two friends she made in Liyue weren’t her friends after all. Post date: July 11, 2021 [1]

The Rite of Parting felt like it should have been longer than it was. The citizens of Liyue were still concerned, the words of the Qixing doing little to appease their worries. This was something that had to be proven through action, the capability of humans governing humans, since Liyue was still unfamiliar with the notion. Despite all this, Lumine was certain that everything would turn out fine, given enough time.

Her conversation with the ex-archon felt like it should have been longer as well. She had sent Paimon to the Xinyue Kiosk first, handing her a small bag of Mora as an extra incentive, though with the speed she disappeared it had clearly not been needed.

“You weren’t wearing gloves, in my dream,” she started, placing a hand on the banister as her eyes scanned Liyue Harbor in all its glory. Dusk had just fallen, and lanterns filled the city with a warm glow.

“A great many things are possible simply because they happen in dreams.” His tone was light, content washing over every syllable. She understood now why he called it a ceremony. Today marked the beginning of Zhongli the mortal, the birth of a new life. To him, this was less of a funeral and more of a celebration.

What she couldn’t understand was why he forwent the gloves, of all things. He must have noticed her confused expression and began to elaborate further.

“As an archon, I’ve taken countless forms in my lifetime in order to walk amongst mortals. Yet there was one aspect of my appearance I had never been able to alter.” He gave a slight tug to his right glove, and what she saw made her gasp. His skin was nothing like the smooth paleness in her dream; it was yellow, slightly translucent, the color of the lightest Cor Lapis she had ever seen. “Quite often, wielding great powers leaves a mark. This serves as a reminder of who I truly am; my past, my responsibilities, my sins, are all engraved here.” He covered his hand again, the light that was mingling with the lantern glow disappearing from her sight, and was replaced by his equally-luminous eyes as he bent down to her field of vision. He then gave her a smile—small, sweet, soft, and disarmingly heartbreaking all at once. “Maybe, for a short while, I wanted to feel as if I were an ordinary man. Even if it was only in a dream.”

“While you were apologizing for hiding your identity as the Geo Archon?” she choked out. This man would not make her cry twice in one day.

He chuckled in response and stood straight, tracing her arm from elbow to palm before cradling it just like he did in the dream he had given her. “Now, as apology for my deceit, and as a token of my gratitude for your presence today, would you allow me to take you to dinner?”

Zhongli was so gentle with her it hurt. “But we’ve established that you have no Mora.”

“If one must always consider Mora before acting—”

Lumine cut him off with a laugh. She had heard those words before. “I’ll pay, I’ll pay. It’s your birthday, after all.”

“Birthday…” he gave a low hum. “I did not consider it that way. I suppose it is—my birthday.” He said it with the puzzled excitement of a child who was just given a gift he didn’t know what to do with. Taking pity on him, Lumine pulled her hand away from his hold and grabbed him by the arm.

“This time, it’s my turn to show you how to celebrate properly. First, we need cake!”

He relented with a shake of his head. “Lead the way, Lumine.”

She countered his amusement with the brightest grin she could muster. And although the cake was a mountain of fried rice with a wick on top that Xiangling helped light up, and his present was a flower crown Paimon had quickly and messily put together when she heard that today was his birthday, Lumine hoped that he would remember this for years to come. She promised to herself that next year, come what may, she would be back here to celebrate his birthday again.

Note:

Another barely-edited, fresh-from-the-brain fanfic :’D I’ll most likely go back and change some words. Best of luck to those who are pulling for Kazuha! <3

#Zhongli #Zhongli fanfiction #ZhongLumi #Zhongli/Lumine #Zhongli Angst #Zhongli Fluff #Rite of Parting #Genshin Impact #Genshin Impact Fanfiction

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xamassed · 2 years

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⟬ @ghostlyanon / itto’s birthday 6 • 1 ⟭

"I—I heard your birthday was today." 'Heard' definitely was an understatement: Most members of the gang had taken as their duty to make sure the whole of Hanamizaka knew of the upcoming birthday of their respected Boss at least one week prior! This had given Annie enough time to travel back to a certain nation and obtain one prime ingredient necessary for her gift.

"I'm sorry... I am not sure if you like this flavor, but— I hope you do."

The gift box was delivered directly onto his hands, the weight of the present leaning toward a slightly heavy side. Once he opened the lid of the box, he would find the gift Annie tried her best to pull out: A birthday cake! Pastries around this region would come to be quite costly, thus Annie had decided to bake this one herself. The shape and color of the cake attempted to resemble that of a Geo slime with the icing and filling completely prepared with the imported chocolate, with chunks and bits of this same ingredient resembling the rock-solid armor of this particular type of slimes. Overall... It was clear this was clearly a homemade cake, but past the silly-looking exterior of it, Annie hoped it would taste good enough to make Itto and the rest of the gang happy in this celebration.

And as she couldn't hug the oni without compromising the cake, she opted to give him the warmest smile today.

"Happy Birthday, Itto. T-thank you for—Being you and being here."

“Today’s the big day!” He couldn’t pretend to be surprised, not when he and his gang had made it a point to announce to almost all of Inazuma that a very important, very notable day was well on its way. And now that it was here, he couldn’t suppress his glee long enough to go through the motions. Itto was happy — not because he had received gifts and praise and stuffed himself silly, but because it was a wonderful feeling knowing his family cared for him. There was never any doubt that they did, but extravagant parties and merriment made it abundantly clear.

And while every year made him feel fantastic, this year was different because he had someone new to celebrate with. She was as deeply special to him as the boys, as his deputy leader, as anyone that made it a point to give him a chance despite him being big and loud and clearly inhuman.

“Oooh, what did you get me?” The box was set in his hands, the weight of it surprising him. “Kind’a heavy. Ah, man, I’m excited! I can open it, right? Right?”

He was like an excitable child waiting for permission to tear into his gift. Permission was given, and up went the lid. The sight of the cake floored him, his burnt umber eyes growing wide with awe and fascination. He wouldn’t have assumed it was food at first, but the sweet scent of rich chocolate hit him whole in the face and made his stomach ache.

“I can eat this?” It looked too good to ruin, but he would never think to waste a single piece of a chocolate, a single crumb of cake because it was a gift, and he had been taught throughout his life that food was precious. Waste not, want not. But he did want, and he wanted more than the cake.

Itto wasn’t exceedingly selfish despite what most people might assume, but there was one thing he wanted to keep for himself. She stood there, looking bright and hopeful and so thoughtful. Always thoughtful. If the feelings that had begun to grow before were taking their sweet time making roots, now was the moment when they finally took.

Annie was reluctant to jeopardize the quality of the cake, as was Itto, but he decided then to set it aside. A hug was absolutely, positively necessary. Both arms, thick and strong, wrapped around her waist. The oni lifted her off the ground, not for the first or last time, and gave her an enthusiastic spin as every ounce of his excitement burst from his chest.

“This is the best cake anyone’s ever given me!” He squeezed her tight to his chest and gave one, two more spins. Her feet met the ground again, but his hold on her didn’t subside. Itto was doubled over, his face pressed to her neck and shoulder. He nuzzled into her, not caring that it might seem strange or boldly intimate. He thought he heard snickering from his boys, but he ignored it in favor of mumbling into Annie’s clothes.

“I’ve had plenty of great birthdays, but this one might be my favorite.” He sighed, allowing himself a moment to be softer and quieter while holding the one person that made his heart skip. The moment passed quickly, but it would remain locked inside his chest for the remainder of the week.

Pulling away, face cracked with an ear-to-ear grin, Itto then took her hands into his. He was sure not to let his long nails scrape, but the tips did trace along the lines of her palms. “We’ll dig into that bad boy later, but now that you’re here, we gotta get you all partied out! The boys were gonna start playing, so why don’t we dance? C’mon, it’ll be fun! Don’t be shy, we’re just here to have a good time!”

#ghostlyanon #「 ( itto ; ic ) 」#「 v. it's my job to not have a real job ( itto ; genshin ) 」#「 r. from my shoulders you’ll see the world ( itto ; annie ) 」#( ; u ; happy birfday boy!! )

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innranrae · 3 years

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🐚 A Birthday Amidst the Archipelago

A/N: oneshot for my fav russian boys bday, i included the golden apple archipelago bc it was the most fun event/area I've experienced in genshin so far and I'll miss it a lot but at least it's inazuma and electro aether time, anyways hope you enjoy this and if you have suggestions/tips on writing or anything please lmk! I'm new to it all and I'm trying my best ;w; my friend proofread this tho and shes big brain so id say this one is pretty swaggy

￫ pairing(s): Zhongli/Childe, Aether/Venti (kinda platonic tbh), Venti and Dvalin vibing

￫ word count: ~ 3k

￫ cw: alcohol

￫ ao3

🏖️

Zhongli sensed a large being coming from the skies of Duyun Ruins. He did not want to believe it, but his doubts were soon confirmed.

Dvalin descended from the clouds with a heavy thud, sending the living creatures around either running or flying. Mounted on the Dragon of the East were Venti and Aether; The bard wore a pair of sunglasses and a light attire that shocked Zhongli to the core, he had thought the anemo archon could not get any more ludicrous, but it appears he was mistaken.

A slight frown grew on his face watching the scene and the geo archon couldn’t help but raise his palm to his face, sighing. On the flip side, Childe was astonished; his eyes sparkled observing Dvalin, considering what the outcome would be if they were to fight.

—

2 days earlier

“Traveler,

It has been some time since we last saw each other. I do hope your ventures are going smoothly.

I am writing to you to request assistance with an event that will take place two days from now. As you may know, Childe’s birthday is on the 20th of this month and I have been finding it hard to come up with a suitable gift. I wish to surprise him but nothing that fits my criteria comes to mind, in addition to the fact I am still adjusting to mortal life and their festivals.

If you do not mind and, of course, if you are free that day, I hope you can help me with this matter.

Zhongli”

After sending his letter to Aether, Zhongli straightened his shoulders on the stool at one of Heyu Tea House’s tables, raising a cup of steaming tea to his mouth, and waited for his guest to arrive.

“Receiving an invitation from Mr. Zhongli first sure feels nice,” a voice shouted coming from the stairs.

Zhongli glanced at the harbinger who took a seat by his side, “Childe, do you have any plans for your birthday?”

Childe widened his eyes slightly, “Birthday?” He raised his hand thoughtfully to his face. “Oh, my birthday! Hm… Is Mr. Zhongli planning on giving me some type of gift?” The harbinger smiled playfully.

“Please answer my question.”

“Nope! None at all.”

In actuality, Childe should be busy taking care of the Fatui’s business around Liyue; unfortunately for his underlings, he was going to do whatever he wanted either way. Additionally, he had a feeling Mr. Zhongli’s question was not trivial, and speculated the archon probably wanted to make plans.

“I see."

Unexpectedly, instead of proceeding on that topic, Zhongli said nothing more as he took another sip of his tea.

Despite the surprising lack of further development, he forgot about it as soon as Zhongli started to talk about a Ruin Hunter he encountered the prior day in the fields.

He knew by now what topics intrigued Childe's simple warrior mind, and that alone had Childe rambling about fighting tactics and his own experiences to Zhongli, occasionally trying to convince the archon to fight him, which he politely refused.

—

Meanwhile, at the Golden Apple Archipelago...

"I could really use a hand over here, Venti!" Aether's cry for help could barely be heard over the shrieking group of hilichurls advancing one after the other.

"But I-"

After unleashing a wind vortex from his palm, Aether glared at the bard, who was leisurely plucking the strings of his lyre on top of a rock. "Playing a battle song isn't helping!" He cut Venti off, resulting in the end of Venti's untimely concert with lots of whining.

After jumping off the rock, the bard shot an arrow that sent the group of monsters flying altogether.

The pair had a short-lived moment of relief, but soon the eerie sound of a horn was heard, indicating that more enemies were on their way. Aether groaned while Venti giggled nervously, and so, they had to return to their combat stances.

Not long after engaging, the traveler heard a short sound that made him stop his blade.

“Oh, I’ve got mail,” Aether walked a few steps from the fighting, reading the message while leaving the bard to get the monsters’ attention.

Venti's eyes widened at the sudden rush of monsters coming directly at him, though luckily, he sent them flying once again.

“Woah~ Don’t do that so suddenly, traveler, so mean!”

After reading Zhongli’s message, Aether was deep in thought, looking around as if searching for something, until his eyes met the green-colored ones of the anemo archon that reciprocated the eye contact, with a touch of wonder.

Zhongli opened the new mail he received, analyzing the few words Aether had sent.

“Meet us by Duyun Ruins at 9 in the morning, bring Childe with you.”

“Meet us? If I am not mistaken, Paimon has been staying with Xiangling, and didn’t show any signs of wanting to leave any time soon. Perhaps she can easily travel back and forth,” Zhongli thought to himself.

—

Present Day, Duyun Ruins

Jumping from the dragon’s back, Venti beamed, “Morax! Long time no see~!” Arms wide open as he threw himself towards his old friend. But before he got too close, Zhongli shielded himself, and instead of a hug, Venti’s face was compressed against the solid surface of the geo shield.

Venti staggered a step back from the impact, raising his hand to his cheek, now starting to swell, “Ow!” He pouted.

Zhongli tried to keep his cool, throwing a look at the two boys who recently arrived,waiting for an explanation.

Aether catches on the meaningful gaze and reassures, “Don’t worry, I think we avoided being noticed by anyone.”

“Yeah, Dvalin here is… Well, he tries to be discreet when flying around. After all, I was the one who taught him that~" Venti put a hand on the dragon's body while the other gave Zhongli a thumbs up.

"Saying you were the one who taught him does not reassure me one bit…" Zhongli’s veins were protruding from distress by now. "Aside from that, aren't you supposed to be more careful not to expose your identity in front of the common folk?"

The three other men stared at Zhongli in confusion, exchanging looks between themselves, "Common folk?" Venti asked. Childe was the first to realize he was probably talking about him and began laughing at the Zhongli's seemingly forgetfulness.

"Morax, you sure only remember what you want, huh. Even I know from the traveler's stories that this boy here is the eleventh harbinger of the Fatui. If that harbinger lady took my gnosis, I'm sure this kid knows my identity by now," Venti reassured while Aether slowly nodded, feeling second-hand embarrassment.

Zhongli was at a loss for words, raising his fist to his mouth, awkwardly coughing. On the other hand, the harbinger found the situation quite funny and patted Morax's back a few times while giggling.

Zhongli met Aether's eyes, "Nevertheless, what I desire to know is why that bard and his dragon are here?"

"Well, you’ll see when we get there," Aether reassured, getting back on the dragon's back along with Venti.

Childe cheerfully jumped on, extending his hand down to the geo archon who bashfully accepted, pointedly ignoring the meaningful grins the two other boys directed at him. And with little effort, Dvalin took off to the Golden Apple Archipelago.

The Snezhnayan boy's eyes gleamed with excitement from his first-ever experience that high up, sitting between behind Aether and in front of Zhongli.

Though, his laxity almost made the reddish mask on his hair fly away, luckily being rescued by the man behind him.

"Thank you!" The powerful gushes of wind made his words difficult to understand, yet enough for Zhongli to understand them.

If any normal person would travel through the clouds in the back of a dragon for the first time in their life, surely they would practice caution or be a little wary of their surroundings.

However, because Childe was Childe, an expert in adapting fast to just about anything, the journey on the skies was far from frightening.

A few minutes had passed and the boys were already close to their destination, and with his usual carefree expression, Venti looked back at the men behind him, yelling as Dvalin descended, "Hold on tight!"

With another loud thud, Dvalin settled at the northwestern part of Twinning Isle. Aether grew anxious in anticipation, waiting for Childe to see the preparations that he and Venti had come up with in such a short timeframe.

They had the inspiration from Alice's surprise for Klee, though not as crafty as she was. With the help of Tubby back in the Serenitea Pot, he managed to decorate the place nicely with newly crafted objects.

Umbrellas and chairs painted a light shade of sky blue sat next to fishing rods, Sea Ganodermas and conches decorated the sand in a path leading to a gazebo, which had seashells and starfishes hang from the wooden ceiling, surrounded by curtains.

And inside of it, one chest stored miscellaneous things, while the one next to it contained something that Venti declared extremely necessary: summer clothing he managed to acquire. In addition to the clothes he prepared, the anemo archon was also tasked with providing the food and drinks.

Visibly so as there were at least three bottles of either dandelion or osmanthus wine for every single dish on the table. Which, of course, was all paid for with the traveler's Mora.

All in all, the table was charmingly organized. A cake with a whale drawn on top of it sat in the middle of it all, while balloons were tied to the wooden table.

Upon reaching the sand, Childe was fascinated. The ocean breeze brushing against his face, the warm sunlight of the Archipelago and the salty waves gently crashing onto the tide united all the scenery together.

He’d never seen such a tropical place in his life, so unfamiliar in comparison to his frozen homeland's weather and features.

Lost in admiration for the scenery, he had already forgotten that it was his birthday, only remembering when Zhongli called out his name, directing him to look ahead where the decorated area was put, in preparation for the celebration to commence.

Venti leaned back against Dvalin's tail, already playing a melody, as the other three walked along the decorated path.

Aether fastened his steps, going ahead and getting a small box. Then, turning back to the birthday boy, he extended the gift.

"Happy birthday, Childe."

The harbinger let out a small "thank you" before opening it.

His blue eyes twinkled as he grabbed the content inside the box for closer examination. It was a bright piece of wood with a smaller version of him, Teucer and Aether drawn on it, as well as a ruin guard, or “Mr. Cyclops” as his little brother would say, stood behind them.

Without thinking, Childe embraced Aether tightly with a wide smile across his face, and at the display of the ginger’s excitement, the traveler couldn't help but feel accomplished.

After the gift was exchanged, Venti pointed out the clothes he had prepared, which made Zhongli flinch at the thought of wearing sunglasses as eccentric as his. Luckily, they were just lighter clothes, not accessories.

Childe, already excited from the exotic scenery, went on ahead to change his clothes behind a tall rock.

Zhongli and Aether walked towards the same location, at a much slower pace than the Snezhnayan boy, who was already out of sight.

“Thank you for your efforts, traveler. You managed to surprise me as well,” Zhongli finally got the chance to say.

“It was no problem at all. I’m having fun and the ‘tone-deaf bard’ was a great help, too.”

Childe emerged from behind the rock suddenly, wearing shorts and a shirt that was presumably supposed to be buttoned up. As a matter of fact, all the attires were of a similar design, the few differences being their color schemes, a few patterns, and the boy’s usual accessories.

Before any reaction, they heard monstrous noises getting closer to the shelter. A group of hilichurls nearby seemed to have been alarmed by the dragon’s arrival.

Something inside Childe’s mind clicked and he immediately turned the way of the shrieks, getting ready to fight, “Leave them to me!”

“Oh I was counting on that,” Aether affirmed as Venti nodded. Knowing very well of the harbinger’s passion for fighting, they speculated about the attack and gladly attached it to the list of events for that day.

Aether’s words were thrown at no one though, since Childe had left as soon as those four words left his lips earlier, leaving no time to receive any reaction from the others.

Bad luck for those poor hilichurls, honestly.

Childe's hydro blades moved swiftly, leaving droplets in the sand as they slashed one after the other, ending each almost instantly, leaving little space for a counterattack. He only stopped moving when there were no more of the monsters around, either because they were actually all dead or ran away from fear.

Coming back to the shelter’s path, Childe saw that they were now fishing, which made him joyfully run to join them, and noticing that he was back, Zhongli offered Childe a fishing rod and a seat next to himself.

“Oh man, this takes me back to the old days with my dad,” The ginger said while settling down on the beach chair, “Though the temperatures are the complete opposite, haha. I wonder if my family would survive the extreme change in the weather, though.”

Zhongli and Aether listened attentively while holding their rods, all the while, the anemo archon, visibly tipsy, communicated with Dvalin nearby.

“How come you managed to adapt this easily to the sudden climate change, Childe?” Zhongli asked.

“A warrior must always adapt to any situation. If I let the heat get the best of me, I'm weakened, consequently leaving myself open to enemy attacks."

"Damn, he never changes. If it isn't about his family, the answer is always related to being a fighter… Well, it is almost comforting in a way." Aether thought, mentallyrolling his eyes while taking a sip of the drink Venti had given him.

"I see," Zhongli seriously responded, "It is indeed true. Keeping one's body and mind stable is a must when facing laborious challenges."

Childe was filled with joy upon hearing the acknowledgement. It was always pleasant to hear someone who understood his point of view.

The traveler shifted his attention upon feeling a small force pulling down the

rod.

A fish had finally taken the bait, and the eyes of the two men also moved towards him when they heard the small "oh" Aether let out.

They all rejoiced at the successful catch and its size, and the traveler went straight ahead to prepare a meal for them.

—

As the day went by, they had almost checked everything on the task list; They fished for a while, Aether showed the mechanisms and puzzles that Klee's mom prepared, even landing his Harpastum so Childe could try them, he also taught them how to ride and summon the Waverider, they exchanged various anecdotes, as well as how the traveler came across the Archipelago in the first place, describing the whole Dodo King saga, and finally, filled themselves with food and drinks.

The sun rapidly fell under the horizon, merging the last colored rays of marigold into the indigo night sky. Venti had managed to convince the traveler to drink with him throughout the day and, needless to say, they were quite drunk by now, though both of them had a high tolerance and were somehow still acting civilized.

While Dvalin slept, the four men sat on the sand, listening to Venti sing around the crackling campfire.

When the bard began to sing a piece about Snezhnaya, Childe seemed to have recalled something.

He shuffled through his belongings, grabbing a bottle with a clear liquid, “This was a gift I received earlier, it’s a Snezhnayan specialty alcohol, Fire-Water!”

Aether gulped nervously at the familiar name. He had heard the stories around Mondstadt, how Master Diluc spent three days in bed after drinking a single glass of it, leading to the unsuccessful partnership with the Snezhnayan merchants.

Childe poured the liquid into separate cups and went around distributing them to the boys. Sitting back in his original spot, he continued, “As per tradition, we have to down the cup in one go!”

Venti was all in for the proposal, and despite their concern at first, Zhongli and Aether respected the birthday boy’s wish.

After raising their cups in a toast, they all drank the beverage at once.

Childe cheered, rambling about how he missed the taste of the drink. Zhongli seemed to be unaffected, calm as always, smiling and listening to the Snezhnayan boy.

However, Aether didn’t seem so well, he had expected the feeling, but because of the previous drinks he shared with the bard, it seemed to have had a stronger effect on him.

Aether wasn't the most affected by the drink, though.

That one shot was the ultimatum for Venti. His vision was blurry and he couldn’t stop laughing, which alarmed the others, but before they could take action and ask what was wrong, the archon fell into the sand, a grin on his face as he passed out.

After the realization of what just happened, Aether was the first to talk, “Um, I’ll take him to the shelter. I’m feeling a bit… dizzy too. I’ll get some sleep, haha,” He was making a great effort to sound coherent.

“Hope you enjoyed your day, Childe.”

A sincere smile was directed towards the boy sitting next to Zhongli. That expression warmed Childe’s heart. Aether had put great effort into this whole day and he could tell.

Childe was about to open his mouth to say something after the traveler turned his back to them while carrying Venti, but was stopped by the blonde, “Oh, there’s something I forgot to say. If you go west from here you will find another island with a shipwreck on top of the, um… Rock structure thing. It’s a good place to watch the stars. Anyways, hehe, good night.”

That piqued the two tall men’s interest, and after watching Aether and Venti enter the shelter, Childe looked at Zhongli, who was already standing up, as if he shared the same idea as the other.

A short cruise to the Nameless Isle later, Zhongli and Childe were already walking side by side through the tide, leaving steady footprints on the sand’s surface.

When the two stopped to both admire the place and look for a way to get to the top of the rocky mountain, Zhongli noticed a mural on the rock, which showed a shipwreck and what seemed to be a few people trying to save each other.

The archon was pondering about the meaning of it when he heard Childe’s voice from behind him.

“Mr. Zhongli, there’s a wind current over here!”

Zhongli went to the other’s location, noticing the current that led to the top of the mountain.

Without much effort, both of them got to the original destination: The shipwreck Aether mentioned.

It was indeed a tragic but beautiful place; a place where one could watch the azure starry sky, pale moon glowing brightly.

The two found a spot to sit near the ship that once sailed the seas, and watched the galaxies above them.

Childe offered another shot of the Fire-Water, which the both of them shared. Zhongli closed his eyes, deep in thought.

He had been trying to find the chance to give Childe his birthday gift, but he couldn’t find the opportunity to do so. Finally, now seemed like the perfect time.

He reopened his eyes and stared at Childe, who was watching the sky attentively, blue eyes shining unitedly with the stars.

“Childe.”

Upon hearing his name, he turned to look at the archon.

“Give me your hand,” Zhongli said, reaching his own towards the harbinger.

Childe automatically did so, and after searching for an object on the pocket of his shorts, Zhongli put the present on the other’s palm.

It was a single earring made of Noctilucous Jade and Cor Lapis, in a similar fashion as the one earring Childe normally wore.

“This reminded me of you when I saw it. If you do not wish to wear it, I understand, but I do hope you could keep it with you.”

Zhongli said that but the harbinger was already taking off his original earring, making the archon a bit embarrassed at the impulsiveness of the boy, yet very pleased.

Childe had been rambling about the, now, old earring and how he had gotten it in the first place, but after a while of no response from Zhongli, he gazed at him, being met by the image of the geo archon fast asleep.

Zhongli had a high alcohol tolerance, but with the nightfall, his drowsiness had grown to an almost unbearable level, and now, he was finally subdued by it.

Ajax couldn’t help but feel a warmth in his chest, his expression softened and he decided it was time for him to rest too.

He had never had a better birthday in his life.

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avengerscompound · 4 years

Text

Until the end of the World - 2

Until the End of the World: A Captain America Fanfic

Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Steve Rogers x F!Reader

Word Count: 2623

Rating: E

Warnings: Talk of pregnancy, smut (MMF bisexual threesome, oral sex, vaginal sex).

Synopsis: Four years after Steve and Bucky got to the bottom of the HYDRA conspiracy that had led to you and your son being hunted for the first three years of his life, you, Bucky, and Steve have carved out a nice life together. Things are calm and you feel like a family unit. When Geo starts calling Bucky and Steve ‘dad’, a decision is made to try and add to your family.

Things aren’t as calm as they seem. When your pregnancy hits the papers, HYDRA rears its head once again, and Steve and Bucky need to track you down to protect the family they had created.

Chapter 2

The day at the Magic Kingdom had been exhausting, exciting, and emotional. Steve had thought his heart had stopped when Geo had called him dad, and then it broke a little when he thought he’d hurt the boy. Then, after whatever it was that Bucky had said when the two had talked, Geo had just started calling Steve ‘dad’ like he’d been doing it all along. Steve had tried to play it cool and not make a big deal about it. Geo clearly didn’t want attention called to this momentous step in their lives, but it was big and Steve wanted to make a big deal about it.

So he spent the day holding it in, riding roller coasters, and buying terrible park food and souvenirs before coming back at the end of the day and eating Prime Rib at 1900 Park Fare, and heading up to the room.

Steve had gone all out on this trip. Four years of living together and promising holidays but failing to deliver had made him want to spoil all three of you in the hopes it would somehow make it up to you. Steve had the money, he had earned a huge payout from the Army when he’d woken up again, so that was not an issue. The problem was he wasn’t used to spending it. Growing up poor and with as many health issues as he had, his relationship with excess was tenuous. He had given away most of his wealth to charity. He tried to live frugally. He especially hated eating expensive food or eating at all if there was a big audience. But he wanted to spoil you, Bucky, and Geo and give you all the things he’d grown up wishing he had.

This trip was the overindulgent result of that. It was two weeks in a suite at the Grand Floridian at Disney World. You’d be seeing all the parks, eating at most of the character restaurants, and there were trips to other theme parks too. On Geo’s birthday, they had the In-Room celebrations booked and a cake would be delivered to the restaurant after their dinner.

It was an essay in excess and it made Steve very uncomfortable. The only thing that saved it for him was the fact that he’d been taking Geo out to do things like work in soup kitchens and donate blankets and clothing to shelters so that he had an idea how the poorest people lived too.

That and the fact that Geo had called him dad.

Steve had read to him that night - the boy still enjoyed a bedtime story as much as he enjoyed jabbering away to FRIDAY, but tonight Geo was so exhausted from his day out that he passed out halfway through the chapter.

Steve crept from the room and switched off the light, before heading to the main bedroom. Bucky was stretched out on the bed in just his boxers, watching something on the big screen TV. The bathroom door was open and he could hear the occasional slosh of you shifting in the bath.

Bucky turned off the TV and smiled up at Steve. “Does he need us to say goodnight?”

“No, he passed out mid-chapter,” Steve said.

“Knocks it out of him,” Bucky said, patting the bed beside him.

“We’ll do another part-day tomorrow and then the day after he can go to the Mousketeers and we’ll have a relaxing day,” Steve said, climbing up next to Bucky and resting his cheek on the other man’s shoulder.

“There’s always the pool too,” Bucky suggested. “He can swim while we lie in deck chairs.”

“Is chlorine okay with the arm?” Steve asked.

Bucky shrugged. “Guess we’ll find out,” he said and looked at Steve. “We not going to mention how he’s calling us ‘dad’ now?”

Steve smiled and shook his head. “Can you believe it? When it happened he looked like he was going to be in trouble.”

“He did think he was going to be in trouble,” Bucky said. “I guess we should have talked to him about it.”

Steve nodded. “I didn’t want him to feel like he had to. But I’m really glad he did.”

Bucky hummed and nosed at Steve’s cheek. “Mmm… me too.”

“Can you believe it, Buck?” Steve asked. “When we were growing up, I was so in love with you, but there was no way I’d get to have you, let alone this.”

Bucky started to unbutton Steve’s shirt. “I kinda figured I’d get married and have kids. Didn’t expect this, and this is so much better than anything I imagined.”

“What are you doing?” Steve asked, playfully.

“What’s it look like, you little shit?” Bucky teased. “We gotta have the talk about the birds and the bees again?”

Steve laughed and caught Bucky’s hand, the cool metal fingers curled around Steve’s warm flesh ones. “Bucky,” Steve whispered. “We’re dads.”

“I know,” Bucky chuckled. “It’s good, isn’t it?” He brought his lips to Steve’s. Steve hummed at the prickle from Bucky’s beard as it moved over Steve’s lips.

As Bucky pushed Steve back on the bed, there was a sloshing sound from the bathroom and the gurgle of the drain as you let out the bath. A moment later you padded into the bedroom and cleared your throat. “Starting without me?”

Bucky pulled back and offered you his hand. “Feel better after the bath?”

“Mm much better,” you said, letting your towel slip as you climbed up onto the bed. “Though, I do want to talk about what happened today.”

“We were just talking about that too,” Steve said as Bucky kissed your neck.

You hummed and closed your eyes, tilting your head back. “You’re really both okay with that? I mean… I know you’ve both been filling the place of his dad, but we’ve never spoken about… any of that.”

“We are all for it, darlin’,” Bucky hummed, kissing down your collarbone. “I love that kid.”

Steve nodded and caressed your jaw. “I’ve definitely been thinking about him as my son, it feels good that he feels that way about me too,” Steve said. “How do you feel though, sweetheart?”

You tensed up a little and Bucky pulled back and looked at you. “You don’t want him to?” He asked, sounding hurt.

“No, it’s not that,” you said quickly. “I just with his dad had got that too.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Steve soothed, pulling you close. “I know.”

“I’m happy,” you said, obviously trying to reassure them both. “I love you both so much. It feels right. Don’t you think?”

“It does,” Steve agreed, as Bucky went back to kissing your neck. “We’re a family. But you’re right, ever since we all moved in together we’ve just been coasting with what we have and not spoken about what we want.”

Bucky sat back with a huff. “You are both killing my boner.”

“Buck, this is serious,” Steve scolded. “What do we want? Is this it? I mean, we can’t get married. Was living at Avengers’ Tower the four of us the happy ending?”

Bucky furrowed his brow and you shrugged. “When we were on the run, I didn’t think I’d get to stop running. I’m happy where I am. But if you wanted something else…”

“Can I say something?” Bucky asked.

“That’s why we’re talking, Buck,” Steve said.

“If I think about what I’d like… how I see our ideal life… we live in a house with a yard and we have a cat and a dog, and we have a couple more kids,” Bucky said.

“Buck, we can…” Steve started.

“Let me finish,” Bucky said. “Because that’s what my dream life looks like, but I still don’t think I’ve earned it. I love you guys so much, and I love Geo, but even this feels like more than I deserve. I need to keep working with the Avengers. How’s Tasha put it?”

“Wiping the red from her ledger?” Steve suggested.

“That’s the one,” Bucky said with a nod. “I think if we left the tower I would constantly be waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

“You want more kids?” You asked.

“I mean… yeah. I don’t… I don’t think I need them, and before I met you, I would have said no way, but I kinda like this whole ‘dad’ thing,” Bucky said. “But if you don’t want them…”

“No,” you said quickly. “I do. I would.”

Bucky pulled you into his lap and went back to kissing your neck. “Damn. Talking is good.”

Steve chuckled as he watched the two of you. “You both deserve all the things you want,” Steve said.

“And what do you want, Steve?” You asked.

“Bucky’s dream world sounds pretty good to me,” Steve said. “But I also don’t know if I can stop either. So the house might be out for me too.”

“Geo loves living in the tower,” you said. “He’d miss FRIDAY if we left. And if he’s happy, I’m happy.”

“Are we really going to try for more kids?” Bucky asked, looking up at you.

“I’m game if you both are,” you said.

He pulled you into a deep and passionate kiss and you tangled your hands in his hair.

Steve cleared his throat. “We still have a lot to talk about.”

“Steve,” Bucky groaned. “I love you. But we’ve talked enough for now. We aren’t knocking her up this second. It’s been a long fucking day.”

“Fine,” Steve chuckled, pulling off his shirt. “If that’s what you want.”

Bucky pulled him down into a kiss so that you were pressed between both of them. You kissed Bucky’s neck and reached behind you, running your fingers through Steve’s hair. Bucky made a sound like a cat purring. The three of you edged down the bed a little. You kissed down Bucky’s chest and turned, sucking a patch of skin on Steve’s neck. Steve broke the kiss with Bucky and leaned down, capturing your lips. Bucky curled himself around you and pulled one of your nipples into his mouth as he reached in between Steve’s legs and palmed his cock.

Steve’s cock hardened under Bucky’s hand and he pushed his hips forward. Steve moaned into your lips and nudged you so you were half on top of Bucky. The kiss moved again as you pulled away from Steve and began kissing Bucky. Steve took the opportunity to move his way down both your bodies. He kissed around your hip and worked Bucky’s boxers down. The scent of your sex blended with the floral aroma of the soap you used and the salt from Bucky’s sweat. It was intoxicating. Steve licked a stripe up Bucky’s cock, collecting up the bead of precome that had leaked from it and begun smearing on your skin.

Bucky moaned and tangled his flesh hand in Steve’s hair. Steve smiled and lapped over the head of his cock and moved to your cunt, swirling his tongue over your folds. You moaned and spread your legs a little wider, giving him more room to lap up your tart fluids.

He hummed and flicked his tongue over your clit and sucked it into his mouth. Your moans got louder and you pushed your hips up against Steve’s mouth. He switched again, sucking on the head of Bucky’s cock. He cupped Bucky’s balls in one hand and rolled them gently as he began to rub your clit with his other hand.

Above him, Bucky was sucking on one of your breasts as you threw your head back and moaned loudly. Steve switched again pushing his tongue inside you and swirling it around before starting to suck hungrily on your clit. Your arousal ran from you, coating his tongue.

“Oh god,” you moaned. “I need …”

“What do you need?” Bucky teased, pulling back and looking at you.

“Bucky…” you whined.

Bucky pulled you on top of him. “On my face, babe.”

You climbed on top of Bucky, straddling his face. Bucky didn’t wait at all, he was hungrily sucking on your folds before you were even fully in place. You dropped down and began to suck Bucky’s cock.

Steve watched the two of you for a moment, stroking himself as the two of you used your mouths on each other. He moved up behind you and as Bucky sucked on your clit, he teased the head of his cock over your wet entrance.

Bucky hummed and lapped his tongue over the head of Steve’s cock. It made a shiver run up Steve’s spine and his cock jumped against you. He groaned and eased into you.

The wet warmth of your sex encompassed his shaft, squeezing and massaging it, and Bucky licked over the base. He groaned again, the sensation sending a current right through his core. He began to thrust.

Bucky continued to suck on your clit as Steve fucked you. You mewled, arching your back. Steve braced his hand on your shoulder and picked up his pace. The way Bucky kept flicking his tongue out over the base of Steve’s cock as he lapped at your cunt, Steve was sure he wasn’t going to last long. From the way your cunt fluttered and you moaned, Steve could tell, you weren’t either.

You began to pant, but you kept moving your head up and down on Bucky’s cock. Bucky had begun to snap his hips up into your mouth, though you never gagged. Steve leaned over and kissed your spine and with a loud moan, you came, your cunt clenching tight around Steve’s cock.

Steve groaned and kept thrusting, fucking you through your orgasm. You shuddered and moaned and seemed to speed up the bobbing of your head. You slipped your hands between Bucky’s legs and started playing with his balls as you sucked his cock. Bucky groaned and his hips started to stutter under you. Steve picked up his pace, pounding into you and pushing you down onto Bucky’s cock more. Bucky grunted and arched his back a little, pushing you up against Steve more, and with a low moan, he came, releasing straight down your throat. You pulled off, swallowing it down, and then just rested with your head on Bucky’s thigh, gripping the sheets as Steve fucked you and Bucky sucked on your clit.

You panted between both men, your body shuddering as another orgasm approached. Your muscles tensed at once and you came, shuddering under him. “Oh god,” you moaned and bit softly on the inside of Bucky’s thigh.

Steve kept thrusting, chasing his release. Your cunt squeezed and spasmed around his shaft, massaging it and making his balls tighten. Bucky lapped his tongue over them, and with a grunt Steve snapped his hips forward and came, his cock pulsing inside you as he emptied inside you.

“Fuck,” you sighed. Under you Bucky slowly lapped his tongue over the place where you and Steve joined, drinking up the results of both your orgasms as they dripped from you.

Steve pulled out and flopped down on the bed. As you rolled off Bucky and he crawled back up the bed, Steve wrapped his arm around both of you pulling you both close, so you were sandwiched between the two large men.

“I’m really glad you sprung for the two-bedroom suite,” Bucky said as he tried to get comfortable.

Steve smiled. He knew Bucky was talking about the sex, but the three of you had only been here one full day and already Geo had started to call him dad and the three of you had made a decision to make a big jump in your relationship. “Mm…” Steve hummed. “I’m thinking this trip was exactly what we needed.”

// NEXT

#steve rogers #bucky barnes #steve rogers x reader #bucky barnes x reader #stucky #steve rogers x bucky barnes #stucky x reader #steve rogers x reader x bucky barnes #captain america fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #reader insert #smut #pregnancy #until the end of the world

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yoshi4sushi · 7 years

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(purupurupuru) (purupurupuru) (click!) (coo!) (coo!)

Happy Monday, minnsa-san! I hope everyone had a good weekend. Hope all of you got your early Christmas shopping. I can’t imagine the horror of getting through an angry crowd of shoppers trying to get first dibs of a low discount product. Well, enough said! We got better holiday news and events that will perk you up so you know the drill. First off, last week’s chapter was steaming w/ sweet aroma of the cake. Sanji and the girls finally finished baking it so they now they have to ice it (frosting) and voila! But before they head out, Oven lashes out on Chiffon for going against BM and the family as Pudding begs him to not hurt since she is needed to finish the cake. However, Oven doesn’t listen as he tries to strike her. Suddenly, Mr. Pound comes to the rescue and Sanji steps in & kicks Oven to the curb. They escape, but Oven catch up to them. Oven threaten Bege to come alone if he wants Chiffon unharmed, but of course, Chiffon tells Bege and the gang to run away. Bege gives in to the demands, but he was prepared to risk his life for her as he takes a good shot at Oven. At the end, Luffy is taking a breather so he gain his strength to defeat Dogtooth as he is determined to defeat him if he can gain the same observation haki ability as him. Does he have a trick up his sleeve? Let’s see what trump card he has this week. Next, this past weekend’s episode left the gang shocked to hear about Pudding’s secret. What did she say that had Luffy and Nami shocked? Meanwhile, Brook finally beat the guards as he tries to get ahold of the red poneglyph, but Big Mom shows up suddenly. YIKES?! In Mirror World, Chopper and Nami made their counterattack and finally defeated the nasty Brulee and her goonies. At the end, Pedro finally encounters Tamago as old wounds ache their eyes to confront again. Next time, they face in fierce fight, and reveals how Pedro escaped with very little years he has left. Don’t miss it! Now on with the goods! First off, look who came to drop by, our tower mascot and friend, Tongari-san. Always a treat to have you, my friend. What’s the buzz you can’t hold off? Tongari-san says that the tower is about to magical winter and of course, pink! Yes! You heard right. PINK! Why? Well, guess who’s birthday is full of pink snow? You guessed right?! It’s none other than the blue nose reindeer, Chopper! His birthday is on Christmas Eve. To celebrate his special day, the café will be serving a toasty hot chocolate with a big sweet bread filled with pink frosting w/ his adorable horns and strawberry shaped sakura petal inside. If you order this delish holiday beverage, you’ll receive a free birthday bromide card of Chopper. Sakura fever! That’s not tall, the tower will be selling his birthday button which is last year’s design. A downer that there is no new design, but a chance for those that missed buying his button from last year’s design, you have a chance to purchase it. Also, if you visit the tower and purchase something from the Mugiwara Store, you’ll get a big large size birthday bromide card of Chopper. Please show the cashier your park ticker so they can stamp for confirmation. That’s not all, it wouldn’t be fun w/o the birthday boy himself! Yes! He’ll be making his appearance on Dec.23 to Christmas day. Schedule for his appearance will be announced later. Also, w/ 2018 approaching very soon, the tower will be having some loads of surprise events. Details will be announced soon. Also, if you’re visiting the tower, be sure to get your commemorative photo w/ the Straw Hat gang. Frame pic is 1500 yen, and you must have a ticket so you can get your pic w/ them. Head to the 5th floor, and you’ll see the photo booth. Also, coming this Friday, the 3rd Log Gallery exhibition will released! The new theme is, “Tears.” The tower will be closed on Nov.30th for a quick renovation, but will be open Friday. Don’t miss it! Next, the Mugiwara Store will be selling a holiday trend for those who like to decorate their house holy and jolly, they’ll be selling this adorable acrylic Christmas tree w/ jolly rogers designs, and two acrylic straps of Luffy and Chopper in their holiday trend. Each are sold separately. They’ll also also this gorgeous Straw Hat jolly roger wine glass. A great glass to enjoy any kind of beverage. Next, the 20th anniversary Ichiban Kuji is approaching fast and here are some sneak peak of prizes they’ll have for the lottery such as towels, folders, and bromide cardboards. Tickets are 600 yen. YOWZA! Head to any Straw Hat store, the tower, Seven Eleven, and Ito-Yokado supermarket. This supermarket is in link w/ Seven Eleven so it will have a big sign of it outside. You can’t miss it. Moving on, the Straw Hat store are still selling these monochrome green and blue coin purse, smartphone case, train pass case, and purses of Zoro and Sanji. It’s very shiny! Next, new smartphone cases designs will be released in February such as Luffy and Zoro. Moreover, they’re also selling a box of 3 earring set of Zoro perfect for girls and guys to look very fashionable. Next, they’re also selling a pack of greeting cards of congrats, birthdays, or thank you cards w/ different designs. Next, the store and other hobby store will be selling some long stickers w/ new characters and also some from Whole Cake Island. It will be released late January. Moreover, this Thursday, the store will be stocking and selling these three new sexy mouse pads of Nami, Reiju, and Pudding. They’ll also be selling this big 2018 calendar book as well. What a load of awesome stuff right? Next, last Saturday, the gang and I went to Megahobby Expo to check out upcoming new figurines. They’ll be releasing this awesome SOC figurine of Bege, POP bikini of Robin, POP of Nami and Reiju, POP Crimin of Chopper, Variable Action Heroes of Nami in her bikini, and POP of Jinbei. Release dates for all of these will be released early spring. Figure Arts Zero will also have a figurine of Sabo in attack mode which will be released in April. Last, but not least, the East Blue special episode has been released, but there are more cool stuff involved. If you rent the DVD from GEO, you’ll receive a special bromide card from either of the two designs. You can rent the DVD for 20 days. This only applies those who live w/in Japan. Also, AVEX are having a campaign where you scan the QR code for a chance to win a free folder of the special episode design. You answer a few questions and you’ll be entered in the contest. Winners will be announced through email. PHEW! I think we covered everything. Well, that’s all for now. Tune in next week for more news and events. Also, the gang and I will be attending JUMP FEST so we’ll take plenty of pics. Special thanks to Tongari-san. The door is always open for you, my friend. We’ll see you soon. Kikko! Momon! Let’s pack it in, boys.

DVD rental: https://rental.geo-online.co.jp/detail-428834.html

Smartphone cases: http://j-hobby.net/gir/196860.html

#one piece #event #merchandise

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drtanstravels · 6 years

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I was born on August 30, 1979 and according to statistics, the average life expectancy for an Australian born at that time was 74 years, with 70.56 years for males and 77.62 years for women:

Things are looking brighter for people born in this day and age with males looking at reaching 80.4 years of age and women living to be 84.6, but no matter how you look at it, even with the advances in modern medicine, it’s safe to say that at 39 years old, I’m now technically middle-aged and I’d simply have to be in denial to not be able to accept this fact. The real issue is whether I’m in the grips of a midlife crisis as I have made quite a few lifestyle changes that really only men grappling with what I like to call “manopause” tend to make when they reach my age. No, I haven’t purchased a sports car, I don’t flirt with women 20 years younger than me, and I haven’t started taking Metamucil (how could I not make that link orange?), but I have:

Britney feels my pain

Joined a gym — My neurologist told me a few years ago that I probably should lose some weight. I started using a calorie counter and eating healthier and over a period of about four years I managed to lose roughly 15kg (33lb). He’s happy with my weight loss, I now have a healthy BMI again, however, I set myself a weight goal, but my weight loss stagnated and I couldn’t get past a certain point and reach my target. My neurologist also told me I need to get more exercise, which makes sense as I do like to walk everywhere, but when you work from home like I do there are days where you are almost completely sedentary besides the occasional dog walk. I figured a little extra exercise might reduce my seizures, get me to shed those extra couple of kilograms I’ve been trying to ditch, and may also be able to help remedy my sleeping problems and seemingly constant lower back pain so there was really no reason not to start going to the gym. Besides, it did help a bit when I was going to one when we lived in New York. In the three or four months since I joined, I’ve lost an additional 4kg (8.8lb) doing cardio work and went over two months without having a seizure. My back pain was a lot better too, until I pulled a muscle in my lower back when I did eventually have a seizure again.

Started eating healthier — This one I started doing when I first got told by the neurologist that I should lose a bit of weight. I used to be able to eat whatever I wanted and not gain any weight, but now my epilepsy medication causes weight gain and I’m not playing any sport anymore. I mentioned the calorie counter earlier, but I know people who work out and then go to KFC afterward, making the exercise seem kind of redundant so I’ve been taking what I eat, especially for lunch, a little more seriously. Most days I’ll just have either a litre (33.8 fl. oz.) of home made fruit and vegetable juice of I’ll get some sashimi and sushi. But also, quite often I go to a place called Little Farms, a small cafe and grocery store in the mall below the gym, and get a salad or chicken with wild rice, something like that to take away, but some things aren’t always available, life doesn’t always go as you’d expect, and Anna will never let me live this one down so I may as well give you the details: A TV show I have always loved is The Young Ones, the storyline described on IMDB as:

Four mis-matched university students share a house in North London: Neil, the hippy; Mike, the cool person; Rick, a would-be anarchist studying sociology; and Vyvyan, the punk medical student who is prone to extreme violence. Together with their bastard Russian landlord, the world of these “bachelor boys” is surreal and violent, but ultimately hilarious.

Neil (left), is a vegetarian and always gets forced to cook for all of his housemates, which generally turns out to be lentils. Now, I had never eaten a lentil before until a few weeks ago and I don’t think I will bother eating them again, either. It was kind of late when I got to the gym that day so when I finished there wasn’t a whole lot to choose from for lunch at Little Farms, yet I couldn’t be bothered going anywhere else so I opted for the lentils with cauliflower and broccolini. I definitely cashed in my man-card that day. Anna came home to see me shovelling spoonful after spoonful into my mouth out of my box of tasteless misery-sand. In what was similar to a moment out of Peep Show, Anna asked me what I was eating, to which I answered that it was lentils. She laughed and said “Wow, you must be really enjoying them!” However, nothing could be further from the truth. “No, I just shut my eyes, put as much in my mouth and swallow, but whenever I look back at the box it seems like there’s still the same amount left,” I said in defeat. Anyone that reads this blog regularly knows that I will try eating anything at least once, but I don’t think I’ll have lentils again to see if I was mistaken and I doubt Anna will ever let me forget that I tried them in the first place.

Started using anti-hairfall shampoo — Since I’ve been exercising more, I’ve obviously been sweating a lot more too and in the Singapore climate that isn’t a good thing, especially for your hair. Due to this, I was getting kind of gross things growing on my scalp so I opted for Head & Shoulders. Hey, if it’s good enough for Sofía Vergara, it’s good enough for me, but I instinctively bought the anti-hairfall variety. I’m not losing my hair, I mean, sure, I’ve got car parks, but not at a Phil Collins level yet, however, there is no point closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.

These three main points, and probably several others if I put my mind to it, definitely point to being on the cusp of a midlife crisis, but I haven’t sold out completely. I still love beer and meeting up with friends for a drink and my birthday just so happened to land on the first day of Beerfest Asia:

If I have to…

Sure, the Beerfest website for 2018 looks like it was designed by the same people who made Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (couldn’t resist the colours again), but it’s the event, not the page that counts. So how do the organisers describe Beerfest Asia? Like This:

Beerfest Asia Pte Ltd is co-owned by lifestyle company, Timbre Group and Sphere Exhibits. Beerfest Asia Pte Ltd is set up to initiate and spearhead the beginnings of the only and largest beer festival in Southeast Asia. The idea behind Beerfest is the experimentation process of finding and enjoying beers that consumers may never, otherwise encounter locally. It is also a trade event for industry colleagues to exchange dialogue and promote their products. With plans to grow the festival in the region, Beerfest Asia Pte Ltd is committed to develop the festival to become the premier beer marketplace in Asia. 2018 marks the 10th edition of the festival.

Okay, that makes it seem a little wanky, but to me it is a chance to try a bunch of new beers and this year there were apparently over 600 different beers available. This obviously wasn’t our first time at Beerfest, not by a long shot. In fact, we go almost every year:

With Liam Collins at Beerfest 2011

At Beerfest 2012

With an angry German guy at Beerfest 2013

With Rik Mayall at Beerfest 2014

Drinking out of bags with Anna and Elaine Ang at Beerfest 2017

It turns out that those are the only five occasions where I’ve taken photos at Beerfest or at least haven’t drunkenly deleted them, but if we’re in Singapore and Beerfest is on, I’m there. I went to the first six Beerfests, but we were overseas in 2015 and 2016, but haven’t missed one since then. Also, if you look at the photos from 2013 and 2014, you’ll notice a pattern — I’m wearing a horrendous lederhosen t-shirt and there is a reason for that. I wore it as a joke to Beerfest several times prior to those pictures, but in 2013 some German guy (above, in the real lederhosen) initially found my t-shirt offensive and wanted to fight me, but eventually came around so I’ve made it a point to wear my lederhosen t-shirt to the Saturday session of Beerfest ever since. The irony of the situation was that I bought that t-shirt when we went to Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany in 2010! I had wanted to get real lederhosen there, but they’re really expensive. You can get secondhand ones, but who knows what type of rash you’d get from secondhand leather shorts, plus, they’re still really expensive, so I just bought the t-shirt and a cheap hat, but Anna still bought a real dirndl that year:

Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany, 2010

Anyway, most years at Beerfest are quite fun, but the 2017 event had been a bit of a letdown; It was held in a convention centre, there wasn’t much of an outdoor area, just a T-shaped arena of tables with a stage at each end with cover bands playing. I remember walking from one section to another to buy a beer and both bands I had passed had been playing Karma Police by Radiohead at the exact same time! This year’s Beerfest was at a new location, near Gardens by the Bay, so hopefully that would be an improvement on the previous year, but there was one thing that was certain to suck — The entertainment consisted of cover bands of two of my most hated groups, Coldplay and U2. Only time would tell how this one would pan out…

Thursday, August 30, 2018 Thursday started out like any other day; I got up, made a cup of coffee, and scrolled through Facebook while watching CNN. I also saw that I had a couple of new WhatsApp messages from Anna:

Oh yeah, that’s right, it was my birthday. I honestly couldn’t care less about my birthday if I tried and I generally tend to forget it when it arrives, as I had again this year. In fact, one year when I was still teaching at GEOS I arrived at work and there was a birthday cake on the counter in the staffroom. I nonchalantly asked Kristina, the then head teacher, whose birthday it was. “Haha, very funny,” was her sarcastic reply until she realised I was deadly serious. “It’s yours,” she then said in the most deadpan manor. Oh, cool, free cake. Thank you. Anyway, for some reason people had been randomly wishing me a happy birthday for the previous two weeks, but the day was now here, however, there wouldn’t be any cake this year, although Anna did consider getting me a sushi cake, but you have to order them ahead of time. Instead, I went to the gym for an hour or so and then Anna messaged me to meet up with her for lunch in Chinatown. When I arrived she pointed out that the t-shirt I was wearing was enormous, one that once fit perfectly that I used to wear all the time, but since I’ve lost weight now swims on me, giving me the appearance of a Juggalo who hasn’t put his face on yet. We eventually stumbled upon The Populus, a cafe with some great coffee and some pretty decent food and that was lunch sorted. Anna went home to continue some work she had to do so I walked around the corner to one of my favourite music store, Hear Records, to pick myself up some birthday presents. As I have mentioned before, I also have a weird situation where I share my birthday with my father-in-law. We met up with them on the previous Sunday for an early birthday dinner, but Anna’s mother was messaging us to see if we wanted to go for the launch of a book written by one of Anna’s cousins called Crippled Immortals, an event that was happening at Books Actually, a great little bookstore just behind where we live. We were unable to Attend because Anna had to go to dinner with some colleagues and then it was on to Beerfest!

The plan was to meet up with a couple of Anna’s friends, Elaine and Kamei, and another friend of ours, Yarny, would meet us there later. We arrived, got us some beer credits due to them not accepting cash, and then we were in, eventually meeting up with Kamei and Elaine. The layout this year consisted of three main tents and some outdoor seating:

Fortunately, it wasn’t too busy so we made our way up to the Hilltop Arena, grabbed some complimentary welcome beers and then had a look around. There was a stall selling Korean liver snacks so we bought a pack and that allowed us to have a go at shooting darts at a target to win credits. The girls insisted I do it and I apparently shot quite well, winning us an extra few bags. We pulled up a seat, ate our snacks and drank our beers, but soon I needed another so I had a look around and stumbled upon Canadian Craft Beer, owned and run by Scott Scheuerman, a former colleague of mine at GEOS back in the day. I had seen him working there previous years, but completely forgot about his company until I ran into him again. It was great having a chat and would definitely be seeing a bit more of him over the coming days.

“Beer Syrup.” Sounds legit…

There was a cover band on in the Hillside Arena that weren’t too bad, just playing a variety of stuff, but we also wanted to see what else was available so we went down to the East Arena, Yarny messaging me almost upon arrival to ask where we were. I found her and then we grabbed more beers and some food from the stalls within. Most Asian beers are pretty good, although you can find some terrible things like the Chinese one our friends, Tom and Leonie, found in a restaurant over here recently (right), but there was a ton of great regional stuff available including a rauchbeir from Hong Kong called Oh, Bacon that genuinely smelled like ham, another that was legitimately like drinking mango sticky rice, as well as some awesome European beers like the unexpectedly great ones from Lithuania that I found. But of course, the girls’ favourite brewery was one at my expense, Gweilo. Why “Gweilo” I hear you ask? Well, here’s the definition:

gweilo

(n.) vaguely pejorative Cantonese slang for foreigner. Translations differ depending on who you ask. Apparently it was once meant to mean “foreign devil” (an extreme insult), but usually these days is said to mean “ghost man” due to white foreigner’s pale skin and is used as a general term to mean foreigner. Gweilos get upset about being called this. Chinese think it’s no big deal.

I think it’s no big deal either and besides, this brewery was started by a couple of British guys living in Hong Kong. In fact, when we first moved to Tiong Bahru, Singapore nearly 11 years ago, I was one of the only white guys in the entire neighbourhood. Fast-forward to 2018, the area has been gentrified and now Anna is almost the minority. When they were building a massive apartment block across the road from my local pub, Coq & Balls, Anna and I came to the conclusion that they should also build a giant Jebediah Springfield-style statue of me looking over the area with simply O.G. engraved in the base — “Original Gweilo.” Anyway, it was soon time to check out the final tent, the West Arena, and as soon as we entered I knew we wouldn’t be leaving there unless it was to go home. Why? Because it was the only one with air conditioning and if you’ve ever spent time with a group of Singaporean women on their home turf, they will sacrifice anything to be in aircon. Although being a Thursday night had meant the festival as a whole hadn’t been too busy, this tent was packed, but we still managed to find seats, thanks mainly to four of our posse lacking a ‘Y’ chromosome. It was really loud and we couldn’t hear ourselves speak, but we still made it work. Then my worst fear came true; Viva Coldplay, a Coldplay tribute band hit the stage and they were worse than expected, but it was funny watching some drunk local guys trying to look gangster while singing along with f___ing Coldplay! Anyway, we still had some fun, but soon it was time to leave so we all jumped in line for the porta-loos, then caught a cab home. Some scenes from the night:

Gameface on while shooting for snacks in my Steve Buscemi shirt

The rauchbier

That pretty much applies to all beers

One of the Lithuanian IPAs

The O.G.

A special beer in honour of Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un’s visit to Singapore in June

A sticker I received with mine

Chatting with Anna

Who needs to be told not to drink the water out of a porta-potty?!?

Friday, August 31, 2018 Friday was just a regular Friday for me. I took it easy during the day, Anna had organised a leadership training seminar and training day for work so after that she had dinner with some of the people involved, followed by going out for some drinks with them. That just meant I did my usual Friday night thing; went down to Coq & Balls and hung out with my drinking buddies, Anna joining us later on. Several of these guys were planning to join me at Beerfest the following day, Yarny even going to the extent of buying multiple She-Pees in order to make the toilet situation a little less traumatic for herself, Anna, and any other female friends that were to be in attendance.

Saturday, September 1, 2018 Saturday was here, the day that Anna, Myself, and a bunch of other friends were going to head down to Beerfest for some day-drinking and associated mischief, however, there was one small problem — It had been pissing down raining nearly all morning and early afternoon. A lot of people in Southeast Asia have unique reactions to rain. Many people from the Philippines, for example, have a strange conviction where they believe that if they get even slightly wet from the rain, they will get sick, absolutely no exceptions. Singaporeans, on the other hand, must think they are soluble because they lose their minds at the slightest hint of rain, possibly believing they will dissolve like a bath bomb if a single drop comes into contact with them! It can actually be quite amusing, especially during the torrential downpours in monsoon season when you see people who have forgotten their umbrellas try to cover their head with a tissue, only to have it diffuse into their hair, or the one person I saw who tried holding his bus ticket over his head! I have even seen letters written into the newspaper complaining that there are too may puddles when it rains! Maybe that was why when I walked down to Tiong Bahru Plaza to buy some lunch, it was the duty of an elderly cleaner to stand outside with a small brush and dustpan and try to sweep up the puddles… While it was still pouring!

Translation (German): “Same Table: Here sit those who always sit here.”

Anyhow, Beerfest was beginning at 3:00pm, but Anna was entertaining hospital guests at The Esplanade and would meet me there later. I streamed a couple of episodes of Maury until I heard from the others. For those of you that know the Coq & Balls “Stammtisch” crew over here, Yarny had decided to pull the pin because she was too hungover from the previous night, Leonie wouldn’t be able to make it either, but Tom, Simon, and Felix were coming, and TJ and a friend from Vancouver, Canada would be there are little later, so the She-Pees were kind of a waste of cash on Yarny’s behalf. To make things a little more interesting, Felix’s family are Bavarian so he was going to be resplendent in his traditional lederhosen, while I would be sticking with my own personal tradition and attending Saturday night at Beerfest in my lederhosen t-shirt. When I found out the others were on their way, I donned my outfit, jumped in a cab and headed to Beerfest for what I was expecting to be a fun afternoon, evening, and night. Tom, Simon, and Felix arrived, we grabbed our welcome drinks, had a look around the tents and ultimately opted for the outdoor seating at the Hilltop Arena. Although it was still daylight, there was definitely a completely different atmosphere to when Anna and myself were there on Thursday night. To begin with, it was exceptionally wet and muddy from all of the rain and everywhere we went we just got splashed by mud, I was so glad I didn’t wear thongs like I initially planned. Also, the general ambience of the event was completely different; Sure, Saturday was always going to be busier, we knew all along that we’d have to accept that fact, but people were also out to get hammered! In the first few minutes of being there I had walked past two different girls who were already crying and, as time passed, we watched as some of the locals’ complexions went more and more red with the more they drank. Another factor that doesn’t constitute a day-drinking environment is loud techno music playing in the background, Saturday afternoon beers are generally intended to begin as a low-key affair with a bit of bluesy-rock, potentially building up to something louder later on, but not blasting at 5:00pm. Still, we soldiered on. The four of us sat around our table drinking beers, eating some great char siew, and just chewing the fat when TJ and his friend made a brief appearance, disappearing to take a look around not long after, not to reemerge at Beerfest again. By now it was dark, it was still over 30°C (86°F) and extremely humid because of the storm earlier. Felix was sweating profusely through his shirt, soon discovering that authentic lederhosen are more conducive to an Alpine environment, as opposed to our equatorial one, and he was also having a little trouble with one of the already faulty buckles, which ultimately broke. Never fear, Felix turned out to be something of a German pants MacGyver and had the situation covered. We were now sharing our table with a group of extremely shy younger girls who had refused to even look in our direction after coyly asking if the seats were taken, but Felix saw that they had something he needed; the girls had finished eating satay skewers and if he could get his hands on one of those old sticks, his buckle dilemma would be sorted. “Excuse me, ladies, could I have one of your sticks?”, he inquired. One of the girls nervously replied that they were dirty, but Felix wasn’t swayed. “They’re for fixing lederhosen, they’re supposed to be dirty.” The girls passed their plate of used skewers over, a shared disgusted expression on all of their faces, and Felix got to work repairing his buckle and maintaining his dignity.

The mud, crowd, sweat, and horrible backing soundtrack that was not dissimilar to that of a construction site were getting to all of us, but then things got worse — Viva Coldplay, the Coldplay tribute act, started playing loudly in the Hilltop tent right next to where we were sitting. I am biased because I can’t stand Coldplay, but these guys are seriously shit! The vocalist can’t sing and the entire act sounds like something you might hear come runner up in a high school talent show in a small country town or maybe playing a junior rock eisteddfod, not Asia’s premier beer festival. Admittedly, they covered up the sound of the techno, but they were unbearable and we could now barely even speak to each other. It was official, Viva Coldplay were the straw that broke the camel’s back. Everyone decided to use up their remaining credits, drink what they got in return as quickly as possible, and head to Coq & Balls, however, for me there was just one problem; Anna was in the general vicinity of Beerfest for her work function and said she wouldn’t be too much longer, plus she had a ticket so I opted to stay. I mentioned earlier that my lederhosen t-shirt really pissed off a German guy back at Beerfest 2013, but I never anticipated that same shirt transforming into sexual dynamite in a mere five years. I had women coming at me from all angles, asking about the shirt, where I got it, giggling and saying how cute it was. The crowd was really deep now, so I had to line up for while at beer and food stalls. I got in line to buy some skewers and struck up a conversation with the people behind me, an American guy and his Australian girlfriend. They were talking to me about the shirt, laughing, and when my food came they insisted they pay for it! I thanked them, offered them some of what I was eating, but they refused. Next, I lined up for a beer at a nearby stall and when I tried to pay, the American guy working there said, “Dude, you’re not paying for anything with that shirt! And you’re not lining up anymore, either.” Looks like hassle-free beers are on the house for the night. Between the guys leaving for Coq & Balls and Anna’s arrival, there was about an hour of just random people, mainly attractive women far out of my league, approaching me about the shirt, like it was attached to some kind of oestrogen conduit. Anna eventually arrived and I explained to her the powers of the shirt, stating that if I were single, I wouldn’t be anymore, however, she had her doubts. Her skepticism was immediately quelled when I walked over to get beers for the both of us and was immediately approached by a guy and a group of girls on the way to the stall and then by an extremely attractive German girl on the way back, all wanting to know more about the shirt. We couldn’t find a seat so we stood around, drinking and laughing about the power of my lederhosen t-shirt, and I told her that everyone else had left. Anna said that she wasn’t really feeling up to sticking around, plus she had to work again in the morning. I was fine with leaving too, but the only problem was how I would cash in my remaining credits if nobody would let me pay for anything! We decided to spend the credits at Scott’s Canadian Craft Beers stall, asking him not to open the drinks, and just stuffed them all into Anna’s handbag. We caught a cab home, she just wanted to watch a bit of TV and then go to bed, but she insisted I join my friends at the pub so in order to keep the peace, I did what she said, it’s just easier that way. A quick look at Saturday night at Beerfest:

Felix’s buckle dilemma

The master at work

Sorted!

TJ and his Canadian buddy whose name I can’t recall

Give in, ladies… Give in to your urges…

Sunday, September 2, 2018 Sunday was not a standout Sunday for Anna or myself, but that rule didn’t apply to everyone. We just had lunch with a few people that were in town for Anna’s seminar from Australia, Korea, and Taiwan. So, why am I writing about Sunday? Because it was a big day for Yarny. This story begins a couple of weeks ago when I accidentally let the cat out of the bag. The machine I use at the gym has a TV on it and I was watching Wheel of Fortune while I was exercising and they showed an advertisement for MasterChef: Singapore. Normally I wouldn’t take any notice, but there was a familiar face that popped up a few times so I messaged the Stammtisch group and asked if Yarny was going to be a contestant on MasterChef. She replied that she had made it to the Top 18, but hadn’t really told anyone yet. She later posted her MasterChef profile from the Channel 5 Facebook page which read:

I had no idea that was her real name

Meet Weiyan!

The 30-year-old specialises in sensory neuroscience and neuroeconomics, and has worked in the science industry for 7 years. Both her parents were hawkers – hence her love for all things Asian and local cuisine!

Now that I had blown her cover and it was common knowledge, Yarny had decided to invite everyone down to Coq & Balls to watch the first episode. I think most of our friends went down, but Anna and myself were too tired and just watched it from home, watching Yarny do her thing in the kitchen, a passion of hers we didn’t really know anything about, and sending sarcastic messages to the group.

The subtitles read: “I am so tired”

Unfortunately, Yarny didn’t make it to the Top 10, but considering that she was rather hungover on the day of filming and had to do her own hair and makeup in the back of a taxi en route to the filming at Chijmes, I think she did a pretty damn good job!

Anyway, I had a great 39th birthday, had a blast at Beerfest on the Thursday, an okay, albeit amusing time there on Saturday, and will more than likely be there again next year if we’re in town. Thanks everyone for all of the birthday messages and phone calls, I really appreciated them. Also, a big congratulations to Yarny on her MasterChef: Singapore appearance. Now I’ve got to walk Anna’s luggage down to the Singapore National Eye Centre as she has to fly straight from work to Hanoi, Vietnam to give a presentation. I’ll be flying to Hangzhou, China tomorrow where she’ll meet me later that day for her conference, then we’ll fly back to Singapore on Saturday night. We’ll only be back a few days, then we’re off again on the Wednesday to Austria for four days and six days in Turkey so it may be a while until you hear from me again. Prost!

My 39th birthday just happened to coincide with Beerfest Asia 2018. I guess I'd just have to accept it and move on with my life. I was born on August 30, 1979 and according to statistics, the average life expectancy for an Australian born at that time was 74 years, with 70.56 years for males and 77.62 years for women:

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