#laundau siblings

[luxvalent]

I based myself on one of Pela's lines about Gepard. My dude need to learn how to take care of himself ❗

[maplleaf]

a/n: I can't reply bc this is a side blog. tumblr L 👎also srry for being late been busy with irl things ajeihdjd.

GEPARD LANDAU

Meeting new people and creating bonds is like second nature for the crew of the Astral Express. As a part of that family, it's hereby natural for you to do the same. Friends, or even enemies, are common to make; lovers are rare though. When Himeko suggested the youngsters of the Express should go out and bond, she didn't think it'll end up in romance.

Neither you and Gepard fell at first sight, it was closer to falling at first fight, or second to be even more specific. You definitely caught his eye when taking a small tour of Belobog. March 7th is the walking ball of energy; Dan Heng is smart and composed, the grey-haired trailblazer is... trash loving; and to him, you were like the older sibling who keeps everyone in check.

In addition, you seemed interested in his explanation of Belobog's history, the sentence being supported by your volunteer work for Belobog's museum a couple weeks after.

The next time you two met, you threw hands with him. He fought and believed in Cocolia's words, even fought against his sister for it. Yet in the end, he was knocked some sense into and was defeated.

When he saw you fight, something seemed to click like a lightswitch in him. Even if he was blocking you to your goals, you didn't want to hurt him. It end up hurting like hell, yeah, but it didn't leave any marks or cause even worse injuries.

He could see that you held back, and something about that weighed in maybe he was in the wrong. How could someone as gentle as this, be inclined to destroy the last city that exist?

After that, it was like a snowball falling from the top of a mountain until he's hit with the realization that yes; Gepard Laundau is falling for you. The Express didn't leave for awhile, and he finds himself struggling to leave your side in that time. It took some time, but he was eventually invited aboard the Astral Express.

_____

"Pretty, isn't it?"

Gepard smiled in agreement at your words. He gazed into the planet he's been living on, or commonly called Jarilo-IV. Even with the eternal winter decimating the land, it was still a magnificent view.

"Since the root of the eternal winter is solved, Belobog's temperature should be rising," you tried to comfort him, afraid he may be disappointed in the view.

Gepard's blue eyes laid on you. If he were to tell himself from the past that he would fall in love with an alien who helped solve the eternal winter's crisis, his past self wouldn't even believe it for a second.

"...the view is the planet y'know, not me," you teased him, letting out a few light laughter. Gepard's face flushed as he was caught staring, "sorry. You just looked very pretty," he blurted out, now making both of your faces red.

After bracing yourself not to stutter, you broke the silence. "...In any case, even if the Express leave we can still talk to eachother," you told the blonde whilst showing your smartphone. Belobog's phones aren't as advanced as the ones sold by the IPC, but it can still connect and chat with the messenger app of the newer designs. "Here, I'll give you my number."

Gepard gave you his device gladly, with red still dusting over his cheeks.

... away from both of your sight, a wild March 7th watches, taking a picture of you two with her camera. "Stalker Marxh 7th strikes again," the grey haired trailblazer told her and lightheartedly rolling their eyes.

"C'mon, it's cute!" she exclaimed, taking another picture.

The whole crew watched as Gepard chased after your affection similar to a puppy; a comparison Himeko had made. As long as you're happy, the Express Family is happy. By looking at your reactions to his attempts at courting, it seems you were interested in him as well.

"Young love, adorable isn't it, Welt?" Himeko said whilst drinking her cup of coffee. You just left for Belobog to see the blonde captain once more.

Welt nodded to Himeko as he sat on the couch beside her, his eyes focused on the IPC's news broadcasted on their site. "They should make it official quick, we're leaving for another planet in a few more days," he advised, receiving a chuckle from Himeko.

"Has time really passed that quickly?" the redhead smiled.

When the Express visited the Xianzhou Luofu after receiving a tip from Kafka, for some of them it was their first time; Not you though. Whilst you weren't born in the Xianzhou Luofu, you visited the large ship a couple times before.

That day, the Express Family groupchat is blessed with the picture sent by you. Your hands intertwined with Gepard's. The group chat, mainly March 7th, exploded.

In your first visit, you were fortunate enough to meet the dozing general. At the time, you didn't even know he was the general of the cloud knights. For you, he was the attractive man who somehow has birds in his hair.

By that, you meant literally. First time you saw him, you saw a bird crawl into his hair like a nest and you blurt out in front of him; "Are you a bird collector?"

Jing Yuan saw you with a surprised yet pleased smile, after hundreds of years of living; he had never been greeted like that before. "It likes to stay there," Jing Yuan chuckled, curious about your behaviour.

"Are you perhaps a visitor?"

You nodded as a response to him. "My friend was supposed to show me around, but I sorta got lost," you laughed sheepishly. "But fuck it! An adventure is an adventure."

Frankly, your carefree nature felt like fresh air compared to the stiff nature that he's always sorrounded by due to his work. To talk freely with someone who doesn't care about status, when your conversation was over; he simply thought it was a pleasant time.

You exchanged numbers right after, and he never saw you again. At least, in person.

When Jing Yuan isn't busy with work or resting, he wouldn't mind having an interesting conversation with you in his pass time. Over time, he starts to develop a small interest in you beyond friendship. What's fascinating is that you never found out what his title is; something that could be a miracle, or your lack of knowledge of the Xianzhou Luofu.... either way, he doesn't mind it.

While you two doesn't talk everyday, he gets a general idea of how you're doing, and your adventures as a Nameless. He doesn't have any strong opinions regarding the Astral Express and its passengers, but the stories that you told brought a smile to his face each time he reads it.

So when he heard about the Express' sudden visit to Xianzhou Luofu, the smile he usually has increased tenfold. The face he saw you had when his hologram appeared was absolutely priceless!

He sees you trying to balance professionalism in front of Yukong whilst clearly wanting to speak freely to him. Your face clearly holding yourself from being angry at the general but still wanting to be polite in front of Yukong.

"General?"

You crossed your arm followed by an exasperated sigh. "I should've guessed it... your outfit screams 'i am a military person'..." Jing Yuan laughed at your reaction.

"You never asked if I'm a general or not," he retorted, causing you to swing your hand through his hologram.

"How was i supposed to know?!"

Your reaction brought a smile to his face, an expression that your companions at the Express (and Yukong) noted. Welt watched as his fellow passenger of the Astral Express talked with the highly esteemed general like an old friend. He glanced to the person beside him before sighing;

"March, put your camera down."

The starskiff haven stopped at the dock as Jing Yuan emerged from the transportation. The crisis that the Xianzhou Luofu experienced is finally over as life continued on as usual. For Jing Yuan, he's forced to go through much more paperwork than before, but as long as the Xianzhou Luofu is safe, he can make a few sacrifices.

As walked to the central area, he spots a familiar figure looking over to the clouds. The laziness tiredness that's caused by his recent workload seems to dissappear as he approached the person.

"A spectacular view, isn't it?" Jing Yuan chuckled, talking loud enough for you to hear. Your gaze didn't move from the clouds, as his voice is far too recognizable.

"It is... I might come here again if I can get a vacation day from Trailblazing," you could feel Jing Yuan walking closer to you. Your eyes finally moved to him, "let me guess, your 'secret' job gave you mountains of work to do."

Jing Yuan lets out a few light laughs, leaning against the railing as well. "If you know about it, then it's not a secret anymore," he answered. "But yes, they did."

You sighed, stretching your back before leaning forward to view the majestic view once more. "Too bad~ I guess we can't talk to eachother as often anymore, then."

The white haired general took it as a challenge, raising his eyebrow with a smirk. "How are you so confident? I may end up disturbing you at every hour of the day to prove it wrong."

You faked yourself shuddering at the thought, "no thanks... I'd rather join the anti-matter legion if that's the case."

A curiosity then begin to pollute your mind, begging for an answer. "Why did you hide it from me, the general thing?"

Jing Yuan had to thought of an answer before properly saying it. He didn't want misunderstandings after all. "The people I meet will always be unique and different due to this job, and yet their attitude towards me would be similair; with the exception of a few."

"...you were simply different, a breath of fresh air." He chuckled, "My name is well-known around the Xianzhou Luofu and even beyond; to meet and be close with someone who would strive away from the formalities that I've grown accustomed to, I didn't want it to change."

"All living beings with basic thoughts would change their behavior after knowing something new about someone, if you knew about my occupation and title; I feared there might be a change in behavior," he confessed, knowing you won't react negatively. Jing Yuan felt safe enough to confide in you with his occasional day-to-day life frustrations; this seems like the same to him.

You listened closely to his words, feeling your heart ache in glee. Even if he weren't a general, you would feel the same appreciation for him for opening up to you.

"And do I have any changed behaviors now?" you asked, raising an eyebrow wanting to tease him.

Jing Yuan chuckled, "perhaps... you've became slightly more bold," he teased, receiving a smack to his back from you for payback.

The reaction caused you two to laugh. A comforting silence overcame the general and the Nameless. Quietness began to fill your ears.

Your hand slowly went to Jing Yuan's, trailing until your hand is on top of his. Despite you taking the first initiatives, he was the one who interlocked your fingers first; you following not long after.

Words doesn't need to be spoken, as silence seems so be stronger than any words could've been.

"I meant it! Dan Heng, you've lived here before right. It's clear there's some kind of spark in the general's expression!"

"And I've never seen them interact before, I don't have any references to make an assumption."

As the two bickered, the grey haired trailblazer held up the foto Tingyun gave them. "It's on a discount~ since you're a friend of the two," she winked, giving them a QR code for the payment.

The picture is of Jing Yuan holding hands with a fellow Nameless and Astral Express crew. Both of them looking at the clouds of the Xianzhou Luofu. It didn't show their faces, only their backs; and yet from where the photo was taken; it's clear as day that they're holding hands.

Tha Trailblazer sighed, "...this feels exploitative," they sighed but still scanning the QR code, paying for the single picture.

"It's fine, since you're a friend it wouldn't be a problem" Tingyun reassured the trailblazer, seeing the payment confirmation on her device. "Thank you for purchasing, loyal customer!"

March 7th heard Tingyun talking to the Trailblazer, her focus drifted towards them. She gave a hand gesture beckoning them to come closer to her, "did you buy Jing Yuan photos? He would probably be fine if you started taking pictures for free after we saved the Luofu!"

"Techniqally...yes?" The Trailblazer answered, showing their two friends the picture. Dan Heng raised his eyebrow, rarely being physically surprised, whilst March 7th excitedly took a picture of the picture.

"No way?! Is this real?" March 7th exclaimed, tapping on the Trailblazer's shoulder excitedly, "quick quick, text (y/n) about it."

Hearing that, the Trailblazer opened up their chat with the person in question. They sent the picture with the question; "whats this??"

You seemed to reply in an instant, ":)"

March 7th looked over to the Trailblazer's shoulder, "let me see..." she's caught dumbfounded at the weird and cryptic answer. "Hey, what's this kind of answer?! Send another one."

The Trailblazer nodded at her request, sending the most clear cut, gramatically correct, tear-bringing sentence;

"Answer plz."

They got left on read.