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bachirasbeloved · 1 year

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chapstick challenge

various bllk boys x gn!reader

ft. bachira, rin, nagi, kunigami, chigiri

genre: fluff

warnings: none

a/n: sunny put this idea into my brain and it grabbed me by the throat so this is the result. head so empty rn. brainworms are so bad. might make a part two hsjghbhjsgdfsk

tags: @keqism @venexus @astranne @stellumi @lilikags

bachira - keeps kissing you like a brat and says he can’t figure out the flavor. (he is lying) barely even lets you finish applying the next one before he’s kissing you again oml.

is literally so excited when you bring the idea up to him after all of the chapsticks arrive in the mail one day.

keeps trying to sneak a look at the packaging when you’re setting everything up so you make him turn around and face the wall.

whines and complains about how long your taking until you have the first one applied and hidden away before giving him the okay to face you again.

bachira lunges forward and presses his lips against yours as soon as the words leave your mouth, kissing you firmly for a few seconds before pulling away and licking the residue off of his lips with a contemplative glance to the side.

anticipation hangs heavy in the air as you wait for him to guess the flavor. you started off with an easy one so you’re expecting him to get it right away, but to your surprise when his yellow eyes meet yours they only look confused.

“well?” you say impatiently.

“i don’t know yet, let me try again.” he responds and leans forward to connect his lips with yours again, this time kissing you deeper and for a bit longer than necessary.

when he pulls back his lips are coated in a thin layer of the chapstick and your stomach flips pathetically when he sucks the bottom one into his mouth to taste it better.

however, after a few moments he only gives you another confused look and shrugs. “try a different one, that one’s hard.”

“it’s one of the most basic ones!” you huff out with a smile as you wipe your mouth off with a makeup wipe. “turn around again.”

with a tiny pout, bachira complies and faces the wall once more while you dig around in the box for the next one. this time you go for one a little less specific to see if it’ll somehow be easier, and before you can even finish telling him to turn back around he’s already latching to your lips again.

the kiss lasts a few seconds too long, but when you try to pull away bachira mumbles out a rushed, “not sure yet let me try again.” and tugs you back into the searing press of his lips.

the chapstick is all but gone at this point, and when he finally detaches himself from you to catch his breath you immediately give him a pointed look.

“meguru,” he grins mischievously at the exasperation in your tone. “please tell me you got that one.”

he thinks for a moment, and then, “lemon?”

“it was grape you little-“

rin - claims it’s a lame idea but takes it SO seriously. literally sucks on your lips to try to get as much of the flavor off as possible skjdjfjfjf makes you go through every single one until he gets them all right help.

could not seem more unimpressed when you tell him about the challenge, though deep down he is internally celebrating over the chance to not only kiss you but to be able to guess them all correct and impress you simultaneously.

makes sure to look away when you’re sorting everything out because he is certainly not a cheater. he doesn’t need to cheat - he’s confident he’ll get them all on the first try.

“okay, turn around.” you call out from behind him. when he does, there’s a determined frown set on his face - similar to the one he has right before a game, like he’s ready for any obstacle that might come his way.

he begins to lean towards you, but stops once he’s a few inches away. “ready?”

at your nod rin finally presses your lips together in a quick peck before retreating back to evaluate the taste. the kiss was a too chaste though and he barely got any of the chapstick on his own lips, so he’s surging forward to connect his mouth to yours again within seconds.

this time the kiss is deeper, lips sliding together sensually a few times before he pulls back and tries to identify the flavor a second time. when he looks like he’s about to lean in for a third attempt, you press a hand against his chest to keep him in place.

“nuh uh, you gotta guess now.”

“what?” he freezes, teal eyes meeting yours with confusion.

“you already tried twice, now you gotta figure it out.” you respond smoothly. rin looks like he wants to argue and demand he be allowed three tries since you didn’t tell him this in the beginning, but instead releases a sigh and concedes.

“that rule is dumb.” with no choice left but to answer, he smacks his lips together again and thinks for a few more moments before taking his guess. “strawberry?”

“bingo!” you cheer quietly. with a proud smirk, rin turns around again while you wipe off the precious chapstick and apply another. when you’re done grabs your waist to tug your forward and captures your lips in another deep kiss, but pulls away just as fast.

“coca cola.”

“yep! okay that one is easy, turn around again.”

the third one is slightly different, because this time when he turns around to kiss you, he’s suckling lightly on your bottom lip and running his tongue over it slowly. you can’t help but shudder at the action and push him away with a slightly scandalized look on your face.

“was that really necessary?” you splutter, cheeks burning hot at his boldness. rin, however, is too busy trying to identify the flavor to care about how he’s kissing you and doesn’t spare you a single glance while he contemplates silently.

“hmmm, black cherry?”

and, shocker, he’s correct this time too.

nagi - isn’t even trying. does not care about guessing the chapsticks just wants to keep kissing you. loses patience four flavors in and attaches himself to you so you can’t even put more on, challenge be damned. needy smh.

agrees immediately when you bring it up for the first time. doesn’t even stop to think about what you actually said, just processed the part where you mentioned he’d be kissing you. selective hearing is real and he has it.

doesn’t even bother turning around while you set everything up next to him, closes his eyes and somewhat drifts off until you announce that you’re ready.

“okay, open your eyes.” you urge and poke nagi’s shoulder until his eyelids squint open and he draws forward lazily. not even sparing a single word, nagi connects your lips with his and kisses you slowly until you push him back.

“guess.”

with a bored hum, nagi shrugs and blinks. his bangs are falling into his eyes and you can’t help but mentally beg him to move them despite knowing he won’t. “dunno.”

you frown playfully and roll your eyes. “you really don’t know?”

“mm,” he hums in agreement, eyes following your hand as you reach up to move his bangs out of the way yourself. “let me get another taste.”

before you even get a chance to respond his lips are already back on yours, moving softly together until you push him back again. nagi pouts at this and holds onto your wrists where they rest against his chest before you can move them.

“green apple. next one.”

he’s right, and you snort fondly at his impatience. “close your eyes then.”

he does as you ask and lets his eyelids slip shut, but only waits until he hears the cap of the new flavor get snapped back in place before he’s pulling you into him and kissing you again, softly and drawn out the same as before.

you get so lost in the feeling of his lips that you almost forget what you’re even supposed to be doing and quickly separate him from you with an embarrassed huff.

“sei, this isn’t how you’re supposed to-“ you begin, but he cuts you off with his mouth again and inches forward to drape himself over you like a blanket. you melt into him instinctively, and the box of chapsticks falls off of your lap and to the floor in the process, the challenge long forgotten as quickly as it started.

kunigami - tries his best but gets literally every flavor wrong what is wrong with his tastebuds fr. dude just cannot figure it out for the life of him. kisses you so many times trying to guess that you have to keep reapplying bro pls it’s literally cherry.

doesn’t really understand the whole concept, but is happy to try anything you ask of him and is more than willing to go along with it.

turns around and covers his eyes with his hands while you sort through the box of chapsticks, he is a lot of things but he is certainly not a cheater.

“alright, first one! turn around.”

kunigami drops his arms and turns to face you. his hands fidget together slowly in his lap while his eyes go from yours, down to your mouth, and then back to your gaze again.

“so, do i just…?” he asks slowly. he’s always so careful about boundaries despite the fact that you’ve been together for as long as you have and the whole point of this challenge is him kissing you, and your heart swells because it every time.

it takes every ounce of willpower in you not to laugh, but you nod instead. “yes, you kiss me now.”

with a small sound to signify that he understands, kunigami finally leans forward and captures your lips in a gentle kiss, it’s soft and quick and only lasts a couple beats before he pulls away and licks it off of his own together to get the flavor into his mouth.

"root beer?" he guesses hesitantly, brows upturned in question.

"nope!" you respond smugly, popping the p at the end. "one more try?"

he nods and surges forward to place another light kiss against your mouth, his fingers brushing the side of your face for a few seconds until he leans back.

"mango?" he tries and you blink at him in confusion, still trying not to laugh.

"those are two very different flavors," you point out in a teasing voice. "and no. next one!"

kunigami once again looks away and covers his eyes until you give him the okay to turn around. he moves in for the kiss without hesitating this time and pulls back with a tiny frown.

"sprite."

you shake your head, feeling somewhat bewildered by the fact that he keeps guessing wrong. "nope. last chance."

when he kisses you again and pulls away, this time theres a confident look on his face. it’s so convincing that you actually think he has it for a moment, but then-

"watermelon!"

"no-"

chigiri - this guy kisses you so deeply and intensely that your knees are weak and then backs away to guess the flavor like he didn’t literally just steal the air from your lungs. will not stop doing this either even if you start calling him out on it, he just smirks at you and keeps doing it.

has definitely heard of this challenge before and is more than willing to do it with you. thinks couple challenges are cute and even considers recording it to post online but decides against it. these moment and for him and you alone <3

doesn’t fully turn his body around when you start organizing things, but faces his head away from you and hums softly while you set everything up.

he is an avid chapstick user and has probably tried and used every flavor you have in that little box of yours, but that isn’t going to stop him from using this as an excuse to fluster and tease you a bit.

“ready?” chigiri asks patiently after he hears you snap the lid back on the first chapstick.

“mhm, you can look now.”

at your confirmation, he twists his head back in your direction and gently leans forward to connect your lips without a second to waste. his warm hand cups your jaw softly as his mouth presses against yours firmly, and you can’t help but feel a little flustered when he pulls away.

after licking the residue off of his lips, chigiri thinks for a moment before his face lights up with recognition.

“vanilla coke.” he answers correctly on the first try.

“yeah!” you exclaim, feeling a bit impressed. “how did you get that right?”

chigiri shrugs. “it’s not that hard.”

“showoff.” you mumble lightheartedly under your breath.

once again, he faces away from you while you wipe off the rest of the first one and apply the second, and then turns back to you as soon as he thinks you’re done.

“you won’t get this one.” you tell him assuredly when his eyes meet yours. he raises a single brow at this and sends you a look that makes your stomach flutter a bit.

“we’ll see about that.”

and then he’s kissing you again. a deep, intense kiss that makes your knees feel weak despite the fact that you’re sitting down. he stretches it out as long as he can while his fingers run lightly through your hair before pulling away and pretending not to notice the slightly dazed look in your eyes.

“watermelon.” he guesses correctly again, but tilts his head contemplatively a moment later.

“wait, actually, let me be sure.”

his lips are on yours once again before you can even process his words, and all you can do is melt into it and cling onto his hands where they hold your face while he turns your entire nervous system into jelly.

when he pulls away, there’s a pleased smile playing at his lips. “yeah, definitely watermelon.”

“you’re doing this on purpose!” you accuse, cheeks burning. the sound of his melodic laughter only makes it worse but you immediately join in with him despite the pout on your face. “that’s cheating!”

“it’s not against the rules.” chigiri points out, sending you a teasing smile. and of course, he continues to do it every flavor after that, successfully making your brain cease all function.

#my fics ｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈•ﾟ｡#blue lock #blue lock x reader #bllk x reader #bachira meguru #bachira meguru x reader #nagi seishiro #nagi seishiro x reader #kunigami rensuke #kunigami rensuke x reader #chigiri hyoma #chigiri hyoma x reader #itoshi rin #itoshi rin x reader

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arkhammaid · 1 year

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— ˚₊‧⁺˖ PETNAMES JING YUAN USES FOR YOU.

fandom. honkai star rail

pairing. jing yuan x gn!reader

content warnings. fluff & nsfw, MINORS & AGELESS BLOGS DNI, soft dom!jing yuan, first part is heavy fluff, second part is flithy, reader has a praise kink, jing yuan loves to spoil you (he's totally whipped), written in lowercase, not edited/proofread

word count. 0.5k

notes. there is just something about fictional characters using petnames,,,

— ˚₊‧⁺˖ beloved mine.

jing yuan always calls you beloved mine when he wants to show you off and let everyone know you belong to him. you’re his beloved, the only one he treasures so much, the only one he loves like this and you’re his. he will utter those words without any shame, a small smirk on his lips while you flush at the attention you receive.

— ˚₊‧⁺˖ my love.

calling you his love is often when you’re in a more intimate situation. maybe on a date, maybe in the presence of close friends— jing yuan calls you his love because he wants you to know how much he loves you. he will whisper it close to your ear, pressing a fleeting kiss on your cheek, while you try to tell him to keep it down.

— ˚₊‧⁺˖ dear.

only at a later point in your relationship with jing yuan, he started to call you dear. it rolls off his tongue and makes you shudder— just something about this particular petname catches your attention. of course he notices it, and so he starts to use it more and more, always when you’re alone, so he can admire your reaction to it without anyone interrupting.

— ˚₊‧⁺˖ darling.

jing yuan calls you darling when you’re flush against him, skin feverish and panting against his mouth. he calls you darling when he praises you, for taking him so well, for being so good for him, for screaming his name.

he will call you darling the moment you tumble in bed with him, lips against your neck, his breath making you shudder in his arms. darling he calls you, for clinging onto him, tears running down your cheeks while he pounds into you, hips in a steady rhythm.

“there you are, darling mine,” he mutters, watching with hooded eyes how your thighs quake around his waist, how your hole tightens around his cock. you moan, breathlessly, and try to blink the sudden tears away. he always makes you cry, with how good he makes you feel, cry and moan when he whispers the sweetest praise in your ears.

“darling,” he whispers, when your eyes flutter close and your head thrown back. “look at me,” he tells you, gently cupping your cheek and wiping your tears away. you slowly open your eyes, mind still blown by the orgasm he just gave you and with bleary eyes, you look up to him. his long gray hair is a mess thanks to your gripping hands and there is a faint blush on his face, his own breathing coming out in pants.

“you’re so good for me,” he murmurs, caging you with his board body, lips so close to yours. you whine at his praise, shudder when his hands teasingly wander over your flushing skin and circle your arms around his neck.

“darling mine,” he calls you, when you’re so needy for him, legs spread and mind heavy with pleasure he oh so readily gives. he calls you his darling, because you’re truly his, in mind, body and heart, love him with everything you can. and he will do everything to return this love, because you are his darling after all.

taglist. @themercyverse , @stellumi

DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THE TAGLIST? please send a non-anon ask to be added to the taglist. taglist can be general taglist (all fandoms and all works), fandom taglist (all works within the fandom), series (all works for specific series) or nsfw taglist (all nsfw works and all fandoms).

ARKHAM MAID 2023

#jing yuan x reader #jing yuan x gn reader #jing yuan smut #jing yuan fluff #jing yuan x you #honkai star rail x reader #honkai star rail x you #honkai star rail smut #i am so down bad for this man it's unreal #— ˚₊‧⁺˖ creations #after dark <3

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bluexiao · 2 years

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Hello and good day! (≡^∇^≡) I SAW YOUR SCARA AND CYNO REQUESTS POST 😈.. IM HERE FOR POSSESSIVE!CYNO X READER BCZ IT SOUNDS SO .. 😍😍😍😍

—pre-relationship; written before release:); fluff? slightly suggestive

This is pretty long,, i wonder why.

CYNO

He’d deny that he’s possessive, mostly because he had never really experienced the feeling aside from being protective to people that he considered to be special to him.

By “special” means that he cares about them to a certain extent, but not to the point he’d consider them “friends”—does he even have one? Who knows? “Friends” are very difficult to come by considering his role, identity, and personality—one look from his scarlet eyes would be enough to make someone quiver to their knees.

You coming inside of the picture would be a big of a surprise not only to others, but also to him. You whirring up these feelings and making his heart pound like this so constantly—is he sick? Ah, he must be.

He’s sickly in love with you. (Haha just kidding… maybe?)

Well, at first he thought he was, but as soon as he realized—and although highly unlikely at first—that he likes you very much, he didn’t know what to do.

Thankfully, you liked him too, and were the one that initiated most of the romantic gestures, to which he was not used to receiving, but always ends up letting you do them.

Because of this, most people around him or who had seen you do such things would be utterly curious. Why in the world would someone like you like someone like the General Mahamatra Cyno? And that pretty much urged others to be interested in you.

And Cyno noticed them all.

And he knew—he knew very well that he did not have a single reason for him to tell them off, he wasn’t your lover.

But it does bother him.

To see others flocking over you and trying to claim your attention after all the days and moments you’ve spent it with him—unnerving, he thinks.

There was an imminent frown on his face, and even if the intensity in his eyes were high on default, by now, it was even stronger, you swore you could feel it on the back of your head even if you weren’t the one they were directed to.

And that was why you turned around and how you found yourself eye to eye with his scarlet eyes, only for your own to brighten up and ignore everyone else.

“Cyno! You came!” you excitedly hopped his way, eyes glittering and smile as bright as any other sunlight, “with your busy schedule, even! Are you sure it’s alright? I mean, I can wait…”

All of a sudden, the elatedness in your voice turns bashful, even fidgeting with your fingers as you look down at the ground, avoiding his gaze.

He glances at the other men behind you quickly before gently lifting your chin with his fingers, just so you could meet his eyes once again. Unconsciously, he swipes his thumb on your bottom lip, enticed with how you stopped biting them as you stared bewildered at him with those beautiful eyes of yours.

He smiles. Almost grins, even.

“How can I make you wait? It’s our date, after all.”

No one was really aware that you two were dating. And apparently, you too. After all, this was the first time he did initiate taking you on one.

So ever since he had shown clear interest in you, of course, others had backed away. Saved for the other few who was too persistent, but they’re of no match against the General Mahamatra.

Reblogs and comments are very appreciated~

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#genshin x reader #cyno x reader #genshin cyno #genshin fluff #cyno x y/n #blue's works

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spiriteddreams · 2 years

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The Promises Which Hold Us Together

Pairing: Tighnari x Reader Warnings: fluff, slight angst with a happy ending Word Count: ~3.8k A/N: dedicated to @stellumi bc we both are living off of tighnari and cyno content, and thank you to @theblueskyofthedawn for beta reading and providing suggestions!!

I. To look out for one another Those who are unfamiliar with the Avidya Forest and its diverse ecosystem can always rely on the Forest Watchers to ensure their safety. Serving as the homebase for the rangers, Ghandarva Ville is almost always abuzz with activity. There are reports to be finished, experiments to be conducted, and a whole list of commissions to be completed as soon as possible.

“As soon as you’re done taking pictures of the blooming Lunar Lotuses, have them filed away in my office. Then take out the notes to my latest experiment and leave them on my desk.” Tighnari walks swiftly across one of the many hanging bridges, a trainee ranger nodding quickly as they note down what he’s saying. “Oh, and when you’re finished with those, find Collei and do a quick sweep of the perimeter. Note any abnormalities and signs of any Withering Zones, but do not engage.” The poor trainee could barely get a word in, stumbling over their steps as Tighnari’s eyes remained laser focused on his destination: his office. He isn’t usually like this, tense and rushed to get to places, but with the amount of work on his plate he’s had no choice but to enlist the help of the anxious trainees who simply want to graduate and become fully fledged Forest Watchers.

“Whoa there, slow down.” Tighnari nearly crashes into a figure who steps into his way. You stand in the middle of the path, hands held out in front of you and eyes raised as you look between a flat-faced Tighnari and an anxious trainee.

“(y/n).” The head of the Forest Rangers clears his throat, eyes darting away from you to look around before they’re finally brought back to your face. “Did you need something?”

“Actually, yes. I’ve been looking for you.” You put your hands on your hips, staring him down with a pointed look. You can’t help but let your eyes drag up to his ears, taking quick note of the way they twitch, too alert to every little sound around. He’s too on edge, too stressed, and while you’d never outright tell him, it’s part of your job, as his friend, to take care of him when he falls into these moods. “I left something for you in your office, try to check it out when you can?” You jut your bottom lip out just slightly and nearly grin with success when you see the way Tighnari’s shoulders begin to relax and his ears perk up at the mention of you leaving something for him.

“Right, of course, I’ll go see it right away.” He turns to the trainee but you’re quicker, tugging the young ranger towards you and throwing an arm around their shoulders.

“Don’t worry, you’ve given them more than enough to do.” You begin to turn their body in another direction, gently trying to push them away. The trainee’s eyes flicker nervously between you and Tighnari, almost as if they were afraid that an argument might break out for you. But to their surprise, they watch as a soft sigh leaves Tighnari’s lips and he hums in agreement, nodding for the trainee to begin their tasks.

You watch them scurry away and bump your shoulder against your oldest friend’s. “Go easy on them. And take a break, you deserve it.” You make your leave, unaware of the way Tighnari’s stare lingers on your retreating figure a bit longer than it should. And when he enters his office, he finds a neatly wrapped botany book of the latest edition sitting on his desk. And to his delight, you’ve made little notes along the margins, filled with inside jokes and pokes at the Akademiya. Perhaps he’ll think of something to give you in return.

II. To reassure one another “Master Tighnari! I can’t find (y/n) anywhere, I’ve searched all over Ghandarva Ville and asked around, but no one’s seen them!” Collei’s voice rises higher and higher in pitch as she bursts into his office, eyes wild and chest heaving up and down, a clear sign that she truly has been running all over the place. “They came back from their expedition yesterday looking upset but I wasn’t sure what to say to them. I thought I could talk to them today but no one’s seen them!” The young trainee continues to ramble, hands flying around nervously as Tighnari patiently waits for her to finish. When she finally does, with a heavy exhale, he offers her a small, but reassuring smile.

“I’ll go look for them, don’t worry.” He pats her head, “I’m sure everything is okay, perhaps they simply needed some time alone.” Already, he’s thinking about all the places you might be as he ushers Collei out of his office, sending her back towards her room so she can get some rest. He waits for a moment before turning away, quietly slipping away from the bright lights of Ghandarva Ville to the grassy outskirts. He follows a familiar path, one he’s walked down countless times until he approaches an old moss covered hut with a light flickering on from the roof. He finds you there, sitting with your legs hanging over the edge, back towards him when he reaches the top of the ladder. You’re half leaning against a crate, shoulders drooping as you stare ahead at Sumeru City.

“You’ve given everyone quite a scare, you know.” You flinch at his voice, sitting up instantly and turning to watch as he settles down next to you. His knee knocks against yours and he playfully kicks his feet at you.

You let out a huff, “Just wanted some space. Besides, I would’ve returned by sunrise.” Tighnari remains silent for a moment, taking the chance to look over your features. He can see the way your body tries to curl inwards, eyes downcast and hands limp on your lap. Even when you address him, there’s no hint of that smile he’s grown to be so fond of day by day.

“I don’t doubt that.” He chuckles softly and raises his head to stare up ahead at the city. “So what’s going on, talk to me. I’m all ears.” You can’t help but let out a tiny laugh when you notice the way his ears perk upright. Tighnari ignores the way his cheeks flush when he hears the sound escape your lips and settles closer to you, waiting as you collect your thoughts.

“From anyone else’s perspective, the expedition was a success. We collected enough data, stopped two withering zones, and made it back alive. But so many of us have injuries because I couldn’t properly assess the situation. It makes me question my position as a Forest Watcher, sometimes I don’t think I’m cut out for this job.” Tighnari listens without interrupting, too aware of the way your voice gradually gets dimmer. He waits until you finish, the burden finally seeping off of your shoulders and into the rising moon.

He waits for a moment, allowing you to take in the silence before speaking up again. “I think you’re a wonderful Forest Watcher. In fact, I think you’re one of the best we’ve ever had. No one else quite knows how to navigate the forest like you do, in fact, you tend to spot more things than I do during expeditions. What happened wasn’t your fault, no one was expecting a group of rogue Eremites to ambush you. I think you handled the situation as best as you could, and I know everyone else thinks so too.” You don’t reply to his words, but Tighnari watches a tiny smile appear on your lips. You don’t have to say it aloud, but when you lean closer to him, resting your head onto his shoulder, he can feel just how thankful you are for him.

III. To apologize the morning after a fight “Archons above, you can be so irresponsible!” Tighnari snaps. There’s no teasing tone, no poking words or playful twitches of his ears. Instead he’s standing with a rigid pose, composure flying out the window as his words seem to echo in the space around you. Your home suddenly feels too small, with his presence far too overwhelming. His eyes are hard and furious, hands clenched as he glares you down as if you were an insolent child. “Apparently, I can't trust you with anything! If you see a Withering Zone you report it, you don’t dive head first into it. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been able to handle it before, it takes one chance for something to go wrong. What if I wasn’t patrolling that area as well, what would have happened, huh?”

“I’ve handled things like this on my own before, you’ve watched me do it! Since when did you lose trust in me this fast?” You shoot back, hurt, bleeding from your words. Admittedly, trying to take on a Withering Zone wasn’t the best decision to make, but you had handled them well in the past.

“Sometimes I wonder how you become a Forest Watcher if you act like this so often.”

It hurts, more than he’ll let himself believe, as he watches your face crumble at his words. He wants to apologize, to move closer and pull you into a hug and promise you he didn’t mean any of it, especially when he sees the tears already gathering in your eyes.

“Right.” You take a deep breath and clear your throat. Your voice breaks when you say it again and you look up at him, desperately hoping the tears don’t fall. “I think you should leave.” Tighnari doesn’t move. No, he doesn’t want to move.

“Go. Please.” You look towards the door. He says your name softly, as if ready to make his apologies but you’re shaking your head, turning around so you can’t see your expression as the words start to dig deeper into you. “I don’t want you here, right now. So leave, please.” The shakiness in your tone is enough to get his feet moving, and he finds himself leading his body away from your home, away from you. And when his ears twitch when he hears the first sob break through your lips, he pauses. But he keeps going, and forces his head down, refusing to look back.

As a new morning dawns upon the forest, Tighnari is the first to wake, running through his typical morning routines before swinging over to your home, knuckles rapping against the door as he patiently waits for you to answer. He knocks again when there’s no answer, rocking back and forth on his feet, straining his ears to see if he can hear anything.

“(y/n)?” Nothing. “I’m coming in, I hope you’re not asleep!” He smiles to himself at the words, already imagining you still buried under the warmth of your sheets, groans slipping past your lips as you complain about it being too early to be up. But when he pushes the door open, he’s greeted with nothing but silence. You’re not there. It takes him a second for the realization to sink in before he’s scanning the small room, searching for any sign of you. Your travel pack is gone and bed neatly made, clearly indicating you hadn’t stayed the night. Tighnari swallows thickly as he recalls the words he had said in his moment of frustration and curses himself as he walks outside, nearly running headfirst into Umm.

“Oh? Master Tighnari, what are you doing here?” She tilts her head, hand holding a pad of paper with notes on whatever medication she was working on.

“I was going to visit (y/n), we had a disagreement last night. Do you know where they went?” He asks hopefully but his heart only sinks when she tilts her head in confusion.

“I thought they had gone on ahead and told you? They came by the medical hut last night to see if we needed any help. Turns out we were running low on Vasanti Grass and the nearest merchant is at Port Ormos. They left last night and said they would let you know since it’s rather important for us to have. It must have slipped their mind, I wouldn’t worry about it, they know how to protect themselves well.” Umm smiles warmly at him, patting his arm in comfort before she continues on her path towards Collei’s hut. Tighnari stares back at your now closed door, his heart squeezing in his chest. His apology would have to wait, but Archons why did it hurt this much to see you gone?

IV. To (try to) stop Tighnari from tripping on mushrooms Avidya Forest is home to so many living beings, from fungi, calm and dangerous, to lurking spinocrocodiles and the many different species of flora that thrive in the environment. But Avidya Forest has also made itself home to the many Forest Rangers who adore its wilderness. And after nearly a week of being gone to barter for Vasanti Grass at Port Ormos, returning back to the forest feels like a warm blanket of comfort settling over your shoulders. The other rangers call out excited greetings, waving from their posts and asking how your journey was.

Still, there’s no sign of Tighnari, and while you knew he was busy, a small part of you had hoped throughout the entire trip that he might be waiting for you. The trip to the port had allowed you the chance to think about the relationship shared between you and Tighnari. It was a precarious dance, with precise footwork, never to step forward too much, or pull away too fast. It was shared stories beneath the sun, and whispered secrets beneath the moon, a story of two friends who toed the line towards something more. And under the light of the moon, each night you could only wonder how he was faring, and if he was thinking of you too. But you brush it off as a foolish thought, after all, you had been the one to leave unexpectedly in the middle of the night without a word or any sign of your departure. Perhaps the fight was still present in his mind.

“(y/n)! You’re back!” A smaller figure crashes into you, arms wrapping around your middle as green hair fills your vision. You can’t help but grin at Collei’s excitement, returning the warm sentiment as you apologize for leaving so abruptly. She speaks rapidly, brushing off your concerns as she attempts to catch you up on the wellbeing of everyone else over the past week. She rambles about the experiments and patrols she’s taken part of, the new skills she’s learned as an archer, and all the little things that you can’t help but laugh at when she pouts.

“Oh! I completely forgot!” Her hand grasps your wrist and she tugs you across one of the bridges, towards Tighnari’s hut. “Umm said to find you when you returned because Master Tighnari isn’t feeling well! She said something about mushrooms and you having Vasanti Grass?” You paused outside his door. Mushrooms?

Ah. Mushrooms. Tighnari and his bad habit of trying the wild plants of Sumeru.

“I’ll check up on him, don’t worry.” You force a smile to your lips in an attempt to reassure Collei. She stares at you for a moment, as if she could sense there was some unresolved tension between the two of you. “Go on ahead and let Umm know that I’ll bring her the rest of the Vasanti Grass when I’m done.” The young trainee ranger is off in a matter of seconds, calling out a wish of good luck as she stumbles away. She leaves you alone, standing outside Tighnari’s door with a wall of unsaid words seemingly trying to push you away.

“Tighnari? Hey, are you awake?” You push open the door gently. His hut is cool, no doubt from the opened windows that invite the morning breeze in. Tighnari lies on his bed, ears flat against his pillow as he groans and turns over. His eyes are hazy and his mouth parts when he takes sight of you.

His words are slow, almost slurred when he asks, “(y/n)? Is that you?” You grimace at the sight and immediately set to grinding some of the Vasanti Grass. He’ll need it when whatever he’s eaten wears off and he’s left with a headache and the groggy feeling of trying to remember what happened.

“No… they’re still in Port Ormos, I think. Hey fake-(y/n)?” You bite your lip to stop yourself from laughing. You’ll hold this over his head later when he whines about not remembering everything. “Can you tell the real (y/n) I miss them? I didn’t mean what I said, I miss them.” Your hand tightens around the pestle as you brush the grass.

“I fought a giant mushroom today because I thought I heard their voice asking for help. I thought I had lost them to the Withering.” Tighnari’s words are slower, his voice lower, and you want to believe that he sounds sad. “I can’t lose them, can you tell them that?”

You turn around quickly, a strained smile on your lips as you lift your hand to rest on his forehead, fingers itching to scratch at his ears which twitch at your movements. “Why don’t you tell them when they return, yeah?”

“Sure, I guess. I hope they come back soon, I miss them.”

V. To always forgive one another When Tighnari wakes the next morning his mouth feels dry and his head is a mess. He pushes himself up from his bed, sleepily reaching for water at his bedside table when another hand pushes a cup into his hand. He manages out a grumbled thanks before sipping at the cool drink, closing his eyes as he tries to remember everything from the past day. To his luck, he remembers nearly everything, which is a success for his research. It means this type of mushroom isn’t detrimental to the memory, and it only prompts hallucinations. Right, he hallucinated you had come back.

“Archons above.” He groans and with his eyes still closed he swings his feet off the bed and pushes himself up quickly to grab the journal on his desk. But before he can move far, scrambled hands push him back towards the bed, snatching the cup out of his hand before it can splash all over him and his bed.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Tighnari’s eyes snap open and he has to blink multiple times for the world to come into focus. And to his shock, you stand in front of him, irritated expression on your face as you stare him down.

“You’re back.”

“What? Yes, I’m back, I’ve been back since yesterday morning!” Tighnari’s brain is still trying to process everything, his mind running to catch up with him.

He gapes at you, “Wait, since yesterday morning? So then you were actually—”

“How many times have I told you to stop trying mushrooms? You know you’re going to end up bedridden when you eat them so why do you keep trying them? And don’t say it’s for the sake of knowledge!” You snap at him and immediately apologize softly when he winces at how loud you are. His ears droop atop his head and you instantly feel bad when he starts to pout. That feeling disappears when his head shoots up to look at you, eyes narrowed in confusion before they widen dramatically.

“Wait, so the fake-you was real? You heard all that?”

“You remember all that?”

“Please tell me you weren’t there yesterday morning.” He brings one hand up to run over his face, his last few words muffled into his palm.

“Is it that bad if I was?” He can hear the hint of hurt in your tone. Silence stretches between the two of you. He shakes his head and takes in a shaky breath, readjusting himself and gesturing for you to sit down next to him. He hates the space that’s between the two of you, aware of the way your arms seem to press closer to your body as if ready to help you push up and away.

“I’m sorry about what I said the other day.” He apologizes, head hanging low. His hands sit in his lap but he can’t help but fiddle with his fingers out of nervousness. “I missed you, a lot. I know you can take care of yourself, I just get so worried sometimes. I just wish that you wouldn’t try to take everything on your own. I’m here too, you know?”

Your body relaxes, shoulders dropping as you sigh. “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have tried to take it all on my own.” Tighnari nods as silence fills the tent again. It almost feels awkward, the tension still present, and he’s not quite sure how to cut through it.

“I forgive you, I forgave you the first night I left.” And just like that, the tension melts away, carried away by the breeze and out of the window. His ears straighten up again and he turns his head to smile, only to see you glaring at him.

“That doesn’t mean you can get away with trying mushrooms again. I’ve told you over and over not to, and here we are again!”

VI. To love each other forever There are certain spots in Avidya Forest that you and Tighnari have discovered together. Secret entrances to hidden areas and quiet places that are devoid of wildlife and mortals. Atop one of the huts just on the outskirts of the forest, you sit with him on the moss covered roof with the sight of Sumeru City in the distance. The sun has already begun to set beyond the horizon, tendrils of light in shades of orange and gold spreading across the land as if trying to hang on before night falls over the nation.

“If I was a worm—”

“Do not start with another, ‘if I was a Sumeru wildlife creature, would you still love me?’” Tighnari glares up at you playfully. He lies down with his head in your lap, your hands running through his hair and occasionally scratching his ears. You can’t help but coo whenever you notice the way his tail seems to swish against the roof with delight.

“Okay, well, will you still love me in a hundred years?” You lean over him, cupping his face in your hands as you watch his features change. A smile takes over his lips as his eyes flicker between your eyes and your lips as you lean closer.

“I’ll love you forever, that’s a promise.”

You both finish his sentence at the same time, “And we never break our promises.”

“Thank you for loving me.” Your lips press against his, soft and gentle, reluctant to pull away. But when you do, you can’t help but stare down at Tighnari and the warmth that dances in his eyes. What isn't there to adore about him?

reblogs and comments are greatly appreciated! <3

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #tighnari x reader #tighnari #genshin impact tighnari #genshin impact tighnari x reader #genshin #spiriteddreams writing #spiriteddreams

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astranne · 1 year

Text

— HALFBLOOD

a greek/roman mythology x blue lock series

— synopsis ;

„blessed we are, they all say, the ones who don‘t understand“, you whisper and trace the shape of his lips with your finger.

„blessed we are, say the stories of old, say our legacies, the mortals who only hear the glory and fame of the tales“, you continue, while he takes a shuddering breath. your words hit hard but they are the truth.

„i say we‘re cursed. cursed to be born painfully, cursed to life painfully and cursed to die, not only in pain but also alone.“ you lean closer, and it shouldn’t be allowed, when you utter so paining words, whisper the following so softly, as if you confessed him your love.

„and if we ever fall in love… then we shall love with all our heart and mind, until one of us dies. nothing else can destroy the bond we have, because i have given you my soul.“ and you pledge your words with a kiss.

— summary ;

in which you, a halfblood and bastard child of [REDACTED], have a mortal lover who‘s heart only beats for football and you.

— genre ;

may vary from each work, fluff, angst, hurt/comfort, suggestive

— warnings ;

each work will have it’s own warnings, will contain spoilers (for non-manga readers), may go really into mythology stories, may be suggestive, may contain curse words, may have different genders than gn!reader in some works

— characters ;

isagi yoichi, bachira meguru, kunigami rensuke, mikage reo, nagi seishiro, itoshi rin, itoshi sae, michael kaiser, noel noa, oliver aiku, julian loki, + more to be added!

— author notes ;

blue lock really has me in a chokehold. so here i am. once again 😭 starting to write this when i should be doing important school stuff... this series has my current obsessions put together, blue lock AND my returning pjo/mythology phase. please note that it will take some time for each piece to be written, as i want them to bit longer than my usual works (more than like 200 words lmao) and i'm in a rather studious phase in school rn. i should definitely not start another series, when i already have an event going on but spare with me. because i think this will just continue to grow and be definitely a longer series, spanning over several weeks. maybe i'll never close it.... requests are closed for this series (for now) until i put a notice on it. i don't wanna kill my currently insane motivation to write with restricting myself. other than that, i think everything has been said. enjoy!

— greek pantheon masterlist ;

aphrodite; divine beauty.

ares; fire in our blood.

itoshi sae x fem!reader

— roman pantheon masterlist ;

…

— taglist ;

@stellumi , @keqism , @wanderersbell , @venexus , @lilikags , @kuminarim , @mael-0 , @dervaaas , @aly4a, @yanfei-kisser , @isentsworld , @tsukishiro-yue2402 , @him3ru , @horologiumwise , @aoi-turtle + more to be added!

-> if you wish to be part of the taglist, which includes every new posted work, please comment below this post or send me a quick ask!

-> if your name is bold, this means i can’t tag you!

ASTRANNE 2023

#halfblood — masterlist #halfblood — the series #isagi x reader #bachira x reader #kunigami x reader #reo x reader #nagi x reader #itoshi rin x reader #itoshi sae x reader #michael kaiser x reader #noel noa x reader #aiku x reader #julian loki x reader #blue lock imagines #blue lock fanfiction #🪐 galaxy milky way

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yae-publishing-house · 1 year

Text

Zapolyarny Palace

legend:

[f.], [m.]: female and male reader, respectively

[a.]: angst | [au]: alternate universe | [sug.]: suggestive

[ser.]: series | [hc]: headcanons | [os]: oneshot

[pl.]: platonic [sh.]: short

Capitano

Exploring Teyvat [hc] | @pyroxeene

Columbina

Honeymoon [hc] | @pyroxeene

Dottore

Exploring Teyvat [hc] | @pyroxeene

Garden of Lights [os] | @pyroxeene

How he fell for you [hc] | @pyroxeene

When you faint in his arms [hc] | @pyroxeene

Need you [os] | @maaarshieee

Akademiya Days [hc] | @maaarshieee

Worshipper [os] | @maaarshieee

Scars [os] | @maaarshieee

Pantalone

Exploring Teyvat [hc] | @pyroxeene

Honeymoon [hc] | @pyroxeene

Investment in our future [os] | @pyroxeene

Lost Letters, Lost Love or so he thought [os] | @astranne

Showing you his affection [hc] | @pyroxeene

Spending the night with him [hc] | @pyroxeene

Pierro

My Lady [ser. | f.] | @astranne

snippet series about becoming pierro's wife

third snippet is suggestive

Scaramouche | Wanderer

Beliefs [os] | @maaarshieee

Caring For [os] | @maaarshieee

His fourth betrayal [os] | @baeshijima

Realizations [sh.] | @spiriteddreams

With Me Forever Though Breathless [os] | @maaarshieee

Porcelain Doll [ser. | pl.] | @theother-victoria

Created 500 years ago for the purpose of being a vessel for the Shogun, you were deemed too cowardly for the task and discarded along with your brother. A disappointment, yes, but it was a blessing disguised as a curse. As you wander across Tevyat until the end of time, you learn what it means to be human slowly but surely.

Stringmaster, Do you care? [ser.] | @maaarshieee

Kunikuzushi/Scaramouche/Wanderer and a god!reader. In which a god of nothing meets an abandoned puppet and takes him in, for they saw beauty in him.

Tartaglia

Bad Idea [os] | @spiriteddreams

Chopsticks [sh.] | @stellumi

Coming home [os] | @kage7ama

Deserve [os | a.] | @spiriteddreams

Dreadful Deal [os | au] | @stellumi

Drunk [hc] | @spiriteddreams

Fearless [os] | @spiriteddreams

Genshin men in a royalty au [hc | au] | @baeshijima

Hugs [hc] | @spiriteddreams

Late Night Adventure [os | au] | @stellumi

Love me less [f. | os | a.] | @stellumi

Now pose for your mugshot [sh. | au] | @stellumi

Opening Up [hc] | @spiriteddreams

Polaroid Season [os | au] | @stellumi

Realizations [sh.] | @spiriteddreams

Requiescat in Pace [os | au | a.] | @stellumi

Seven Months [os | a.] | @spiriteddreams

Springtime [os | a.] | @spiriteddreams

An Ocean Away [ser. | a.] | @spiriteddreams

7 months ago, childe left for liyue with a promise to write to his lover, and yet it seems like he’s slipping away

Red Carnations [ser. | a.] | @spiriteddreams

he writes letters detailing his adventures in liyue, not knowing he breaks your heart with every word written on paper by his hand

sequel | ending

#yae publishing house; masterlist #genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #snezhnaya #fatui harbingers #capitano x reader #columbina x reader #dottore x reader #il dottore x reader #pantalone x reader #pierro x reader #scaramouche x reader #wanderer x reader #tartaglia x reader #childe x reader

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satoruin · 2 years

Text

➣ the kiss bet

for @stellumi ‘s webtoon collab! check out the other fics here -> genshintoon

pairing: ajax (childe), albedo, thoma x gn!reader

word count: 9K

summary: the last year of high school brings new friends, new experiences, and new crushes. unfortunately or not your trusty best friend ajax is dead set on helping you with all of that. inspired by the kiss bet on webtoon (high school au)

notes from lee: so uh i have never written anything this long and i struggled with it a lot. i also felt immensely guilty for not being able to finish it sooner so i just didn’t write anything else for about 4 months BUT it’s finished and it may not be my best work but i’m proud that i cranked out something so long :))

It’s an uneventful day, to you at least. Ajax however seems to be having the time of his life screaming his head off and wishing you a happy birthday. Yes, it was time for the big 1-8, the number that marked you as an ‘adult’ even if you would still be coddled by the world. You made your way down the steps to the subway, following Ajax as he continued to tease you.

“Grown Adult (Y/n), who hasn’t even had their first kiss yet.” He starts walking backward so you can see him stick his tongue out at you, an immature gesture that seemed to describe Ajax as a whole.

You however weren’t having it tonight, after years of his relentless torture, it felt that now was an opportune time to bite back, “Yeah? So what, just because an opportunity has never come up for me to kiss-”

Ajax seems to suddenly be right in your face, a smirk still plastered on his face as his eyes flit down to your lips. You can’t escape the heat that rises to your cheeks at his proximity. “So you’re saying if you had an opportunity you would take it? How about I give you one right now.”

He only seems to be getting closer, but he suddenly jerks away. Laughing at you now as he watches you incoherently babble. “Ew, I’m not talking about me, I’m making a bet, go ask if you can kiss the guy over there. I’ll give you $5 if you’re not too chicken.”

It takes a second to register his words and to even see the boy he’s talking about, “What the hell,” you punch him on the arm, and he rubs it as if actually hurt, “five whole dollars? Are you out of cash or something because that’s a lowball number even for you. I’m not a chicken, I just don’t think it’s worth–”

“Fine, $50 right here,” he cuts you off, but when he turns to look at you, you’re already off to ask this stranger to kiss you. He looks on, surprised because normally you never took his bets. Maybe your surge of confidence had something to do with your birthday.

You approach the sleeping man and to your luck, he seems to not be completely ugly, in fact, he’s kind of handsome. He looks so serene with his headphones in and his ash-blond hair seems to be perfectly in place despite the way he’s rested against the wall. You grab his shoulder to shake him awake gently.

His eyes start to flutter open and they’re a pretty shade of teal, such a color you’ve never seen in someone’s eyes before. His eyes seem to bore into you and you’ve become so entranced by how cute this stranger is that you almost forget why you’re here in the first place.

“Can I kiss you?” It comes out much less confident than you had hoped, but the hard part is done.

—

You wash your dish from breakfast and can’t help but think back to last night.

The boy’s face seems to crinkle up, and he looks up at your looming figure, “No, what kind of freak asks a stranger for a kiss?” You move back in embarrassment, but the fact was that he was completely right. His outstretched legs tangle with yours, resulting in you landing on your butt as the ash-blond boy pushes past you to get to the subway.

God, talk about embarrassing yourself. Asking a stranger for a kiss all in the name of winning a bet wasn't like you. Subway boy, as you had dubbed him, even called you a freak, which you guess was deserved though. It couldn’t get worse though, except it could.

“You’re going to be late for school at the pace you’re washing those dishes,” your dad chimes in from the table. He sits, feet rested on the table, leisurely reading the paper and not paying you much attention.

You rush to dry your hands before snatching the backpack that rests on the table and hurriedly leaving out the door.

Of course, your ginger-haired nightmare is standing outside the door, waiting to harass you. “May I have the pleasure of walking you to school this morning, Your Highness?”

Instantly suspicious, you interrogate him, “What’s wrong with you? And why are you here? Did you really wake up early to come here?”

“Can I not offer my dear friend company as you walk to school?” You look at him crossing your arms with a knowing look. He puts his hands up in lock surrender, “Maybe I was here to get you to pay up your $50, you know?”

“Idiot, don’t talk about that here! My neighbors will think I’m doing drugs or something.” You start to push him down the hallway towards the elevator. You wave hello to the middle-aged man who lives across the hall. He’s returning from a late-night shift, the dark circles proof enough.

Ajax only shrugs his shoulders with a soft hum and lets you push him.

—

Your teacher drones on, his lecture on something chemistry-related but it goes in one ear and out the other. “Psst, I heard you almost had your first kiss last night~” Hu Tao, not so quietly, whispers across the row of desks. Ajax, who sits behind you, snickers and then kicks your chair.

You whip around to stare him down, but your teacher interrupts that, “(L/n) talking during my lecture again? I’ll see you after school.” He continues like he didn’t just absolutely humiliate you in front of the whole glass. You slump in your seat, even less inclined to pay attention now. You cross your arms with a huff and glower at the clock, counting down the minutes until you were free.

—

“You are aware of our grades this semester, aren’t you?” Your science teacher looks at you as you nod your head, but refuse to make eye contact. “It’s your final year and you need this science class to graduate.” He lets out a long sigh, perturbed with your current situation. You grab at the material covering your legs, grasping it tightly like it’s going to leave, embarrassment seeping out once again.

“Listen, I don’t want you to fail so I’ve got someone willing to tutor you for the remainder of the year. His name is Albedo, he’s a new transfer but he’s supposed to be a real whiz in his studies. Hopefully, he can help you out.” It felt stupid to have to be talked to like this. It wasn’t your fault stoichiometry, balancing equations was hard. Still, you mumble out ‘thanks’ before taking your leave.

As soon as you walk out of the room, your phone rings. It’s your dad worrying about why you haven’t come home yet, your grades, just about anything and everything he can worry about. “Don’t worry Dad, I’ll be home in 10 minutes. I love you, bye.”

As soon as you hang up you see a familiar head of ash blond hair. you can’t help but feel the embarrassment that comes with seeing the boy from the subway, the memory of what happened last night still on the forefront of your mind.

You keep your distance and try to make it seem like you were not following him. (And really don’t mean to follow him, you’re just trying to make your way home.) It's only when he walks in the door to your apartment complex that you might start to get a little curious.

He gets in the elevator and the display sign shows your floor, meaning he lives on the same floor as you, not even just the same apartment complex but the same floor. You take the stairs in a desperate attempt to see just what room he could be in and to your utter despair he walks into the apartment right across from yours.

It seems that there is just no outliving your embarrassing experience from last night when the biggest reminder now lives across from you.

—

Someone knocks on the door and you open it reluctantly. Your hood is pulled up and strings tied in a bow to keep the hood secured around your face. Thankfully it’s only Ayaka with a bag of food from her family’s restaurant in hand. You grab her hand and yank her through the doorway before anyone can see.

“You know that I can’t leave the house! Much less do I want anyone, especially you know who, to see me!”

“Come on (Y/n), he’s not Voldemort. And I can’t stay, my brother has me on delivery duty today so I just came to drop some food off if you won’t leave the house.”

You’ve already opened the bag to find your favorite, eagerly chowing down before answering Ayaka with a half-full mouth, “Oh. Tell ‘yato I said thanks. Now get going delivery girl.” you drag her out the door the same way you dragged her in. “Bye, thanks, I love you!” you shout down the hall.

—

“Ajax,” you groan as you walk into the classroom, “I need the homework, pretty please.” Before he can answer, you’re swiping the papers off his desk.

He grabs them back just as quick “Ah, that’s $50, and what would you do in your room all weekend if you didn’t come hang out with me?”

You try and force it out of his hands but his grip is much stronger than your own, “Did you want to make that $75?”

You grab the wad of cash out of your pocket and slam it on his desk. Grabbing the papers and copying down the homework before your teacher could collect it.

Ajax leans his chair against your desk in a way you know any teacher would scold him for and tell the horrific story of some kid they once had. He counts the paper money slowly and out loud, you shove the part of the chair that rests against your desk causing him to fall to the floor. He lets out an exaggerated groan, claiming you’ve killed him.

The teacher walks in and suddenly Ajax is fine. You’re still trying to finish copying his homework, but your teacher’s announcement piques your interest. “We have a new transfer student joining today. Tell us a little bit about yourself.”

Your head whips up because surely it couldn’t be the subway boy, right? Ajax laughs from behind you, knowing exactly what you were thinking.

You’re about to go back to writing but the transfer student starts speaking, “Um hi! I’m Thoma. I just moved over here, and I look forward to getting to know all of you.” He gives a close-eyed smile to the class and you can just feel your heart melt, along with several others in the class.

He takes the desk right in front of you, and just before he sits down he turns and says a bashful hello to you.

Ajax kicks your chair, whisper-yelling at you to return his homework, but you’re too enthralled in Thoma’s charm to care.

—

Ajax spends the rest of the day trying to figure out what about Thoma has everyone fawning over him. Maybe it was his stupid blond hair, green eyes, and a nice smile, but he had looks too! Who doesn't like redheads with freckles?

Apparently not you, because he’s sitting listening to you as you talk about your week plus all the times Thoma talked to you, or even looked at you.

He rolls his eyes for probably the umpteenth time, “ Blah blah blah Thoma days and Thoma that. We get it, you like Thoma. Now can we please go do something?”

“‘Jax it’s Tuesday and I’m meeting my chem tutor today. And please stop acting like you did not just thirst over our teacher, you know that one.”

“What? It was a joke!” He still blushes red as he tries to convince you that he was indeed not attracted to your history teacher.

He reluctantly lets you get to your tutoring session after you admit that he does not have the hots for Mr. Zhongli.

The library is eerily quiet as you make your way to the back where the study rooms are. You’re supposed to meet him in room four, but when you look through the little window on the door you see a familiar face. As if the whole of Celestia was cursing you, it’s none other than subway boy.

You text the number your teacher had given you for the tutor just to make sure that subway boy was supposed to be your tutor. Sure enough, he picks up his phone and texts you back but it is indeed room four. Just your luck.

Still entirely embarrassed you can’t convince yourself to go in without a disguise of course. He is not allowed to recognize you as the stranger who tried to kiss him on the subway in the name of a bet.

You wrap the scarf you keep in your bag for cold days and put a pair of sunglasses on, hopeful that it will obscure your identity for just a little longer. Subway boy, or Albedo as your teacher had told you, gives you a quizzical look as you walk in but says nothing.

And as much as you want to hate him for your previous encounter, he is nothing but kind and understanding while he thoroughly helps you with the chemistry homework you’ve been assigned. He never gets mad that you don’t understand something, but instead tries to break it down into a way that you do understand.

“We’ll meet again on Thursday. You already have my number, so if you need any further help don’t hesitate to text me.” He nods and leaves the room quickly.

—

“I’m telling you, the universe is out to embarrass me and turn me into a lonely cat parent.” You walk alongside Ajax, the pair of you making your way to Wanmin Restaurant. Even if you had teased him about going out on a Tuesday, you still took him up on his offer to treat you to dinner. (Even if it is your money.)

The two of you are back to laughing and poking fun at one another in a way you hadn’t been able to in a while. It just reminds you that Ajax really is your best friend.

You can’t help but laugh as he’s trying his hardest to use the provided set of chopsticks to eat his weird combo of seafood. His tongue is already out and trying to catch what he had wound around the singular chopstick, but at your laughter, he turns and pokes his tongue out farther if possible. With his concentration on you, the food precariously balanced drops onto his lap, sending you into another bout of laughter.

His ears are tinged red in embarrassment, refusing to make eye contact with you, “Shut up it's not that funny, (Y/n). At least I’m not a coward who refuses to face their tutor while not in disguise.”

You gasp, putting a hand on your chest, “Take it back. I so totally could, but I’ve decided to save Albedo from the shock of revealing who I really am.”

“A clown?” He gives you an unimpressed look before continuing, “And like the guy even remembers, you’re not very memorable.”

“Rude. I was planning on asking you to go to the school festival with me, maybe I’ll just ask Thoma.” You place your hand under your chin pretending to think about it.

Ajax calls you on your bluff immediately, “Ha, as if! You can barely speak one word to him, much less ask him out.”

“That smells like a bet to me.” You give a look that you most likely stole from him, a smirk and raised brows.

He rolls his eyes at you, “Come on, that's my line. And you should settle for something more reasonable like apologizing to Albedo for trying to kiss him on the subway. Plus I’m sick of trying to take your money, I know you’re out of cash.”

You stick your hand out, “Well do we have a bet?”

He sighs loudly, like the drama queen he is, and shakes your hand, “You’re on.”

—

It’s Thursday afternoon, meaning it’s time for your tutoring session with Albedo. Ajax sits with you in the room until he shows up, laughing at your same disguise as before. Ajax gives you a look and wiggles his eyebrows as he walks out.

“Did you do the balancing equations worksheet I gave you?” He‘s a straight-to-business person, which makes you start to doubt your ability to bring up the topic.

You nod and bring out the paper, “I was actually hoping to talk to you about something before we started.”

“Regarding the assignment I gave you?” He looks at you, somewhat impatiently. Clearly wanting to start already.

“Uh no, it’s about,” you hesitate on how to word your sentence so he cuts you off.

“Well, then it can wait for after the session.” His words leave no room for debate so you shut up for now.

He guides you through the more difficult part of the equations where you have to convert units and remember what element is for each abbreviation.

Albedo starts to put away his papers, “You’re starting to get it. When you actually apply yourself, you do well.”

“Thank you?” The backhanded compliment takes you by surprise, momentarily distracting you from what you need to talk to him about. “Hey, Albedo, so uh you said I could talk to you after the session, right?”

He’s already standing by the door and about to leave, but he turns and nods his head allowing you to continue.

“So you know when there was that time at the subway station where a stranger asked to kiss you? That was me and I’m so sorry about that, it was a bet and it’s so awkward and I feel really bad. So this is me apologizing and clearing my concise.” You leave out the part that this is also a bet, still, it feels good to finally get it out.

“Oh. I was well aware of that fact quite a while ago. There was no need to bring it up again, I’ve since forgotten about it.” He shows no emotion and waits for a response, when you don’t say anything he starts talking again, “If that’s all then I’ll be taking my leave. See you again on Tuesday, (Y/n). Don’t forget to do the problems I gave you.”

—

“Something about him just deeply irritates me! He’s always so emotionless, he’s like uh… what are those fake humans from that one show called? Homunculus! Like a robot or something and it's just ugh,” you rant to Ayaka over the phone. You felt bad for complaining to Ajax all the time so you decided to bother a different friend today.

“Have you perhaps tried getting to know him outside of tutoring? He may be like that only at school you know.” Of course, Ayaka would give out such a polite suggestion, still, she wasn’t exactly wrong. But Albedo seemed to disappear from the school grounds as soon as he could.

“I think I’m done talking about him so let’s change the subject. There’s another transfer too! He’s really cute, his name is Thoma, and he’s a total dreamboat!” You gush to Ayaka over the phone.

“Thoma, with blond hair, green eyes, and his favorite color is red?” Ayaka paused to wait for your confirmation. You hum over the line, and she gasps in shock. You hear something crash and Ayaka’s voice comes out from much farther away, a meek ’sorry’ before she picks up the phone again. “I know Thoma! He used to go to my school and we had some classes together so I know full well how charming he can be.”

You stay on the phone with Ayaka probably much longer than you should, letting the light disappear from the sky before you reluctantly say goodbye.

—

You stifle another yawn behind your hand, still tired from staying up late to chat your night away with Ayaka.

One of your classmates stands at the front of the room, you think her name is Keqing, and is trying to recruit more students for the Visual Arts Club.

“As you know there’s the school festival coming up and we would like to showcase our members’ art. But we haven't had many people sign up this year so we’re recruiting beforehand to make sure there’s art on display.” Almost everyone in the room looks disinterested and Keqing can tell, “Art is of course not limited to just painting, we have supplies for pottery, embroidery, or any other form of art you’d like to try your hand at.”

Still lacking interest Keqing voices her hidden card, ”We offer cords for graduating seniors even if this is your first year in the club.”

Seeing people lift their heads gives the purple-haired girl a boost of confidence, “If you’re interested please raise your hand and Ganyu will give you the information pamphlet.”

You already were slightly interested in the club before, but seeing Thoma raise his hand in front of you cemented your want to join the club. However, you weren't the only one who would join just because of a pretty boy.

Seeing the number of hands that were raised, Keqing announces that there will be an application form put out soon if people are really interested.

The bell rings and everyone is quick to shuffle out of the room. You linger for a minute to let all the people out while you wait for Ajax. You stand by the door, rocking on your heels as the ginger takes his sweet time packing his bag.

In your waiting, you don’t even notice the other boy approaching you. “Hi (Y/n)! Where are you heading next?” You jolt, completely surprised, and the mild-mannered boy is quick to apologize, “I’m so sorry, I thought you had seen me! I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

He places his hands on your shoulders, trying to calm you. Though your heart is racing for an entirely different reason. Thoma’s worry has you spellbound; swooning and screaming happening simultaneously in your heart.

After quelling Thoma’s concern you answer his question, “I’m heading to English over in the 200’s hall. What class do you have?” You start to walk out of the classroom with him, not wanting to be in the way.

“That’s crazy, I’m heading over there too for Home EC. Mind if I walk you to your class?” Thoma looks over to you with a smile, waiting for your permission.

There’s no reason for you to deny him, but as soon as you open your mouth someone is objecting to your would-have-been moment with Thoma. “Sorry, hot stuff, but I’m already walking this one to class. You’re more than welcome to join us, but we have the first two classes of the day together so it’s kinda a tradition.” Ajax’s voice is so phony that you’re sure Thoma can see through it too.

“Ah, I didn’t mean to interrupt that! So sorry.” Thoma apologizes and stays silent, but he doesn’t make a move to walk the long way around instead of opting to keep stride with Ajax and yourself.

Your stupid friend still has his arm wrapped around your shoulder, and if you weren’t so worried about making a scene you’d shove it off and angry walk away.

“So the two of you are dating, right?” The question is sudden and catches the pair of you off guard.

Only now does Ajax’s arm return, but only in favor to position his arms in a big X, “Nope. No way in Teyvat would I date them.” He leaves it at that, assuming it needs no explanation.

And it doesn’t, but you do wish he would elaborate. I mean what was so horrible about you that he wouldn’t date you?

You’ve tuned out whatever conversation has been happening between the two. When you arrive Thoma says a quick goodbye before he heads to his own class.

When Thoma turns the corner you grab Ajax’s ear and start to scold him like an angry parent. “What possessed you to interrupt the one moment I got alone with him? There’s no need for you to go around embarrassing me for no reason! It’s not all about you, I don’t have to be around you every waking moment. I don’t interrupt you every time you decide to flirt with someone, so why can’t you do the same? Archons, you’re beyond infuriating.”

“Oh, are you dealing with a ghost possession? I can be of help! There’s an exorcism circle in the girls' bathroom already so if you’d like to get this done quickly…” Hu Tao trails off, but only because both you and Ajax are giving her glares. “Right then. You both have my card if you find yourself in need of my services.”

You let go of his ear but he doesn’t back away. “I really don’t see why you’re putting some guy above our friendship, I thought we were best friends. You’re trying so hard to be around him that you abandon everyone else. If he doesn’t see you for who you are then what’s the point? Do you want to spend your time chasing after him? It’s ridiculous, we’ve been through plenty together but if you want to ditch this,” he motions between the two of you, ”for Mr. Perfect then be my guest.” He crosses his arms and pouts like an upset toddler.“Not like you’d have a chance anyway,” he mumbles under his breath. He huffs angrily and stalks into the classroom.

You only roll your eyes and take your seat next to him. If he wanted to be melodramatic he could do it on his own.

—

“It may not be my place to ask, but is something wrong? You’ve been rather distracted during today’s session.” Albedo asks at the end of your tutoring session.

You didn’t want to bring up the fact your friend has ignored you for 4 days so you opted for a half-truth to satisfy him. “I’m just a bit worried about my application for the Visual Arts Club, there were a lot of other people submitting so I just hope I get in.”

“I wasn’t aware you had an interest in art. Do you have a particular preference for the form you work with?” He packs up his bag, but still listens attentively to your answer.

“Well, I'm not overly artistic and would label myself as more of an ’art appreciator’. I do want to take up pottery if I get in, though!” You express to Albedo, actually excited at the prospect of making art.

The boy gives you a soft smile that you fail to see as you walk out of the library together. “Would you like to walk home together? We do live in the same apartment complex after all.”

It feels weird to see him outside the school and even more to think he was talking about something unrelated to science. You nod your head, happy to actually have made progress in bonding with Albedo. “Wait, how do you know that?”

“You are not very stealthy, I saw you following me home some time ago. I’ve also seen you leave for school in the morning. We were bound to find out sooner or later.” He tells you offhandedly. He’s silent for the rest of the trip, only making smart remarks to you when he sees fit.

It’s like a switch was flipped, and Albedo is back to his blunt personality without an ounce of mindfulness for his words. Seems it’s back to square one for bonding with Albedo.

—

The document is already sitting on your desk as you walk into your first class of the day. You grab the paper and start to read it as you sit in your seat. “Addressed to (Y/n) (L/n), your interest in the Visual Arts Club is greatly appreciated. As such, you are invited to attend the meeting for first-time members today, promptly after school in room 412.”

Thoma turns around seeing you got a similar paper, “I’ll see you there then, yeah?” You hum in agreement, words not properly forming in your brain. You cannot wait.

—

Despite your earlier feelings of excitement, you stand in front of the designated room, too nervous to go in.

You hear a familiar sigh from behind you, “I figured this would happen. Come on, Keqing doesn’t like people who aren’t punctual.” Albedo places a hand on your shoulder and leads you to the doorway you had been hesitant to walk through.

You turn back to look at him with furrowed brows and a questioning stare, but Albedo cuts you off before you can even start. “You’re already late, I’ll answer your questions later.”

Albedo opens the door and ushers you inside to all the other people already sitting in a half-circle. You smile and wave nervously, hardly recognizing any of the faces in front of you.

Keqing loudly clears her throat, obviously irritated at you for interrupting. “Let me start again for the members who were late,” she tells the room, accompanied by a harsh glare directed at you.

It’s all too easy to zone out of Keqing’s lecture, unfortunately. Her strict demeanor adds to the uncomfortable feeling of being in a class rather than a club. Though you stay strong in hopes of trying to get close to Thoma.

You hear her ask for you to pair up and get to know the other members in the room and instantly your eyes shift over to Thoma. His emerald eyes meet yours and he smiles brightly.

Thoma moves over to the newly vacant seat next to you, still beaming. He greets you, but there’s an awkward silence that overcomes the air. You knew what you wanted to say, but in fear of messing up in front of Thoma, you twiddle your thumbs.

He’s just as awkward as you are and he begins rambling, “Uh well, I applied for the art club because I really enjoy it! My preferred medium is probably embroidery or other needlework. I do like knitting too, though I mostly make sweaters for the animals at the Hananizaka Shelter! I guess I’m mostly here for inspiration and maybe pick up a new way to do art!” He ends excitedly, and you’re hanging off of every word he says. You’re thoroughly convinced that Thoma is some Celestia-sent being that is perfect, how else could he be good-looking, tall, and nice?

You reciprocate his energy, telling him your reasons for joining the club, not mentioning that he was a key factor in your decision. Thoma pays avid attention to you while you speak, even asking you questions. The two of you find it easy to talk now, chatting away until interrupted.

Keqing calls to adjourn the meeting, asking for all of you to return the next day to start on the festival display project that she’ll talk about tomorrow.

Thoma stands up before offering you a hand up. You take it, completely flustered by the gesture and unsuspecting of his next words. “Can I walk you home? It’s not too late yet, but I’d feel better knowing you got home safe,” he tells you, accompanied by a lopsided smile that tells you that he isn’t aware of its effect on you.

You feel your hand become clammy in his hold, indefinitely more flustered now. Taking your hand quickly out of his grasp, you wipe it on your pant leg. You hope to answer somewhat coherently when you start talking, “That’s so nice of you, but I wouldn’t want you to go out of your way for me!”

“Nonsense! I’d seriously be happy to walk you home.” You’re about to decline once again, feeling bad that he would offer to possibly go all the way across town, but then Thoma pulls out the puppy dog eyes. “Please, I insist.”

Your resolve crumbles quickly under his gaze. Sighing deeply, you nod yes, not knowing how you would have the heart to say no to him before. He smiles brightly at you, and there’s an evident pep in his step as you walk through the hallway with him.

The pair of you make your way to the subway station, the same one where you had asked Albedo to — you shake your head, trying not to think back to your most embarrassing moment.

Your train doesn’t come in for another 10 minutes, so you go to the little corner shop you usually visit when you wait. Thoma follows you wordlessly as he has for the majority of the walk to the station. Yet as soon as he steps into the shop, he’s easily chatting with the boy behind the counter.

You feel almost awkward in their presence, maybe forgotten was a better phrase. It seemed all too easy for Thoma to talk to a stranger when he had hardly spoken to you in the 15 minutes it took to get here!

Trying to NOT overthink the situation, you chalk it up to him being nervous. Though why would he suddenly be nervous around you when he was fine to ramble on about his interests earlier? Had you done something wrong after leaving school?

Thoma shoves some pre-packaged food into your hands, something you wouldn’t have picked otherwise, and bids the cashier goodbye. He motions his head towards the tracks, “We better hurry, don’t wanna miss your route.”

Sure enough, it's your subway with the doors open and people filtering in and out. You half-heartedly jog to the train and barely make it through the closing doors.

There are many more people on board than you are used to. A quick glance at the time on your phone tells you that most are on their way home from a day at work. The compartment is so crowded that you’re forced to stand and grab up at the overhead handholds.

You wrap your wrist into a strap and sway along with the movement of the subway. Thoma stands within close proximity, so close that each time you sway near him you could count the number of eyelashes he has. There’s a clear tinge of red on his cheeks that climbs up to the tips of his ears and down his neck. You’d like to believe that it’s because he likes you, as well, but it could also be how hot and stuffy the subway car is.

With nothing better to do you open up your phone to message Ajax. Your thumbs move quickly, but you delete most of the rambling you’ve written. You decide on a short text to ask about his wrestling practice. And you send another one asking if he wants the food Thoma got you since he was like a food vacuum after practices. Maybe he’d text you back this time.

You swipe out and scroll around your apps until you hear your stop called. Thankfully you didn’t live too far from the station, so you don’t have to bear the silence much longer.

You arrive at the bottom of your apartment complex and turn to Thoma. “Well, this is me!” You chuckle and rock on your heels, “Thanks so much for walking me home. Get home safely too.”

“This is kinda surprising, but I actually live here too.” He reaches one arm behind him to scratch at his neck. “I haven’t taken the subway since moving over here, and you got off the stop I’m supposed to take when I don’t have a ride. It was even crazier to find we live in the same apartment complex since there are several in the area. So I’m glad, I guess, to find out that we live so close. I mean, you’ve helped me tremendously in adjusting to our school even though it’s our last year. I owe you a lot (Y/n), thank you.”

Suddenly you feel silly for thinking you had done something wrong earlier, clearly, he had been mulling over those words. It’s not easy to come out and say things like that, which is, probably, why he’s left you speechless.

You make a noise of acknowledgment and flash Thoma a thumbs up. “Of course, no problem!” You turn to the doors leading into the building and you can hear your heartbeat in your ears.

Thoma doesn’t say anything, but even if he had, you’re sure that you wouldn’t have heard it. Your body moves on auto-pilot, all the way until you shut the door to your apartment.

“Holy Archons,” you breathe out, trying to fully process all the events that had transpired today.

—

You feel bad for yawning while Keqing is trying to introduce something related to the school festival and with the information overload she’s giving, it’s hard. Even with all that she’s talking about, you still get the gist. Everyone is required to have some sort of art piece to present at the upcoming school festival. She goes on about the other components regarding the stand and sign-ups for running it.

When Keqing is satisfied with the schedule she has laid out, you stand and stretch. She had encouraged newer members to start creating as soon as possible to have something to display. Luckily you had some idea of what you wanted to do.

There are blocks of pre-cut clay next to the potter’s wheel. You remember using clay to create little cups or dishes in elementary school, and you hadn’t had the opportunity to use a wheel since it was very rudimentary.

“If you need help, I’m more than happy to offer my assistance,” Albedo speaks from behind you, scaring you half to death. He’s wearing a dirty smock and his usual half-up half-down hairstyle. He looks surprisingly at home, dare you say relaxed. “I recall you telling me you’d like to take up pottery.”

“Yeah, I’m not clueless, but I probably need some direction, so my piece turns out halfway decent,” you joke. Albedo hands you a smock and motions to the stool in front of the wheel.

“Since you haven’t thrown clay before, the best way to learn is by going through the motions. The easiest way to do that is if you place your hands atop mine as I sculpt, and then you can start to get the feel for it.” Albedo explains gently, using the same tone he had when tutoring you.

Albedo stands right behind you, practically pressed into your back so he can easily reach around you to the wheel. He looks down at you as soon as he starts the wheel and places his hands on the lump of clay, a silent asking for you to put your hands on top of his. You let your hands hover above Albedo’s, scared to actually put any extra weight onto the clay.

The blond sighs loudly before taking your hands and putting them directly on the clay with his hands over your own. “If you’re not going to commit then you won’t learn. Don’t be afraid to fail either because that is part of the process.”

—

You stare over the pot of rice and the seafood cut on the chopping board. You’d planned on making apology sushi for Ajax. Keyword: planned. This is the third time you’ve tried to roll the rice (and all the ingredients) into a neat log shape, but it keeps coming out uneven or falling apart when you try to cut it.

As much as you’d love to give up, the look on Ajax’s face will be better. The days that he has ignored you have been the worst, totally bland without him to annoy you. So you’ve come up with the perfect plan to get him to stop his silent treatment.

(Y/n)’s Brilliant Plan to Become Friends with Ajax Again (YBPBFAA for short)

Bring him a Tupperware of his favorite sushi to his wrestling match

Cheer him on during his matches using the ‘Go Ajax!’ poster you made

Apologize for upsetting him and for not being a good friend

Everything goes back to normal and he talks to you again :))

With your brilliant plan in place, Ajax was sure to forgive you!

—

The mats had already been rolled out in preparation for wrestling matches. Other schools were beginning to show up and fill the bleachers with wrestlers too. But you had one goal, find Ajax before his first match.

It’s easy to spot his red mop of hair from across the gym. He stands resting against the wall, laughing with a group of fellow wrestlers from the team. He looks happy, but when he spots you his smile is gone. He turns away with a pout.

You approach the group of boys, and all of them look at you with raised brows. “Hi, do you mind if I have a minute with Ajax? I won’t take long, I promise.” They mumble but get up and leave nonetheless.

They leave but Ajax still keeps his back to you. “Hey ‘Jax I know you’re not talking to me right now but I just wanted to apologize. So I brought you some sushi, I made it myself too.” You bring out the container from your bag and hold it out for him to take, ”It was a real mess though, took me a lot of time to get it right and even then these ones are still pretty messy.” You laugh at yourself awkwardly, staring at your shoes.

“You’re such a loser ya know,” Ajax mutters, his mouth now full of the sushi you had brought him. A whole week and the first thing he does is insult you, it’s your best friend alright.

“I know. I’m like the biggest loser ever and what I said to you was really out of line. But you didn’t have to avoid me so obviously and purposefully! It kinda hurt especially when I was trying to apologize, dummy. ” He eats your handmade sushi with his hands, his distaste for chopsticks very obvious.

“Sowy,” his mouth is still full, causing him to sound like a toddler. He swallows and continues his explanation, “You know I don’t like being kept to the side. I want to be around you since you are my best friend and so getting told off like that was a big hit to my ego. Maybe I was uh a bit dramatic for ignoring your texts and stuff too…” He trails off quietly, but you still hear him. He wipes his hand off on his warmup pants, pieces of rice now stuck to the fabric.

“So because you wanted to wallow in self-pity, you didn’t let me apologize or even talk to you?” You ask and he nods his head then looks down to his feet embarrassed. “You know we’ve been through more than a boy. I really do like Thoma, but it’s not worth our friendship. We both said some distasteful words to each other, but,” You place your hands on his shoulders and look him in the eyes. “I hope you can get it through your thick head that you should never worry about our friendship. Please let us work it out when we fight, ok?”

He exhales loudly, and holds up his right hand like he’s taking an oath, “I, Ajax, as (Y/n)’s best friend swear to never ever doubt our friendship again and promise to talk about our feelings like adults.” He puts his arm down and gives you a beaming smile before shoving a half-empty container into your hands. “They’re calling my weight class, so I have to go. We’ll talk later!”

He jogs off leaving you alone with his bag as well as your own. You trudge up the half-filled bleachers and wait for Ajax’s matches.

—

You have little-to-no knowledge of what the rules are in wrestling but you can only assume that putting your opponent on the floor meant victory.

Ajax positions himself in a crouch, ready to attack the opposing fighter. You know he loves this, the show of his athleticism, the competition, people watching him win. Nothing tops the way he feels right now, well maybe one thing.

It’s a quick match and Ajax takes the victory, but it’s not without a struggle. His name moves up the bracket and he stays down by mats waiting for his next match.

Whenever he gets a chance he’ll run up the bleachers to sit by you. He smells like dirty socks and teenage boy BO, which you’re sure he knows already. You’re happy that he’s talking to you again even if it means putting up with his smell and offering deodorant.

It takes a while, plus many up down the bleachers, but the meet finally ends and Ajax takes his rightful place on the podium. You wait on the bleachers with his bags while you wait for him to change, but he has no intentions of doing so. He runs up, still very sweaty, and envelopes you into his arms. His purpose was clearly to drench you in his sweat and unfortunately, it worked.

“Hey I forgot to ask, but since we’re on good terms again that means we can still go to the festival together, right?” You ask as he packs away his things. He zips up the bag and then slings it over his shoulder.

He starts walking with you by his side, falling into the same stride. “I wasn’t ever going to not go with you. However, in celebration of our restored friendship, I’m raising you a bet.” His smug smile is back on his face, almost like it never left. “On the night of the festival, you have to finally get your first kiss.”

You stop in your tracks, dumbfounded, “Ajax, you know how well that ended for me last time! There’s no way I’m agr-”

He cuts you off with a sharp ‘tch’, “Clearly you don’t favor our friendship,” he acts wounded and pretends not to hear you mutter about how this is manipulation. “I said this was in the name of our friendship, how can you be so cruel?”

You only roll your eyes and continue walking without him. “It’s the perfect time to tell Mr. Perfect about your big crush on him!” You almost laugh at Ajax’s refusal to call Thoma by his name. But he certainly doesn’t have you laughing at his next words,” Besides if you don’t get a kiss then I’ll just be forced to tell him myself,” He smiles as you look over your shoulder at him.

“So do you blackmail other people into being your friends too?” Your voice echoes through the empty hallway.

“Listen, I'm serious! The atmosphere at the festival is going to be perfect for a confession and you probably won’t ever do it unless I pressure you to. So really you should be thanking me for being so considerate.” He puffs out his chest, serious about wanting you to thank him.

You shake your head in disbelief at his statement, though it holds some truth. “Would you like me to bow down to you?” You question sarcastically, hoping it pops his inflated ego.

“Come on (Y/n),” he whines at you, completely ignoring your question. He pulls at your sleeve as you try to keep walking.

“Fine, you manbaby, now shut up.”

He pumps his fists in the air, victorious at winning you over. He starts rushing down the hallway and calls out to you, “Last one to Knockout pays!”

“Cheater!” You screech at his already disappearing figure. A smile makes its way onto your face as you race after Ajax, glad to have your friend back.

—

Two uneventful weeks go by, it’s a constant cycle of going to class, tutoring, art club, and the occasional wrestling match. But it’s finally time for the winter festival.

You signed up to set up the Art Club booth rather than have to run it or clean up afterward. And with that out of the way, you wait for Ajax to arrive.

The sun starts to set and you can feel the cold creeping in through your layers. You move your hands onto your arms in an attempt to stay somewhat warm while you wait.

A red scarf wraps around you and familiar hands place themselves over your eyes, “Guess who?”

“Is it your mom?” You tease accompanied with a roll of your eyes.

“Ha ha,” he laughs, enunciating each syllable. “Maybe you don’t need my scarf after all.”

You peel his hands off of you so you can turn to face him, “No take backs, mister.” You hold onto the scarf tightly and turn around quickly so the red material smacks him in the face.

He smiles gently, but from his position behind you, it goes unnoticed by you. He takes a sweeping step so he’s in front of you and holds his hand out. “Come on, loser, let’s go enjoy the festival.”

Ajax doesn’t wait for you to put your hand in his, snatching your wrist and dragging you along. But he has no idea where he’s going so he turns to you with a sheepish smile that says ‘lead the way’.

The pair of you move through the crowd, scouting out the different booths set out by other clubs. Ajax tugs at your hand and points to the tent with the culinary club. You can smell whatever it is they are cooking and Ajax orders two, but not before taking a bite out of yours.

You continue to walk around the lot and bump into friends, forgetting about the bet you had made with your red-haired friend.

Ajax nudges you, “Hey, it’s your chance.” He points his head to where Thoma is standing. He looks at his phone before turning to you, “Probably last you’ll get all night, festival ends in 20 minutes.”

“But he’s talking to other people so it’d probably be pretty rude to interrupt,” you say, trying to make an excuse. “Also, did I not spend the entire festival with you? Not fair for you to push this on me now?”

“Too bad, go.” Ajax pushes you over and gives you a thumbs up. You stare at him in disbelief, frozen in the middle of the walkway.

You turn around slowly and see that Thoma has already spotted you, he waves and flashes a friendly smile. You breathe in and start to walk over, waving back to him.

Suddenly purple hair blocks your view. It’s a very panicked Keqing. “(Y/n)! Good, I need you to come with me right now.” She pushes you frantically against the crowd. “Sorry but I need you to stay at the booth while Ganyu and I sort out the flyer disaster.”

“Flyer disaster?And why do I have to watch the booth? The festival is almost over, who is going to visit?” You try to turn around to question her, but she is steadfast in her efforts to push you along the road.

“Albedo can answer your questions when we get to the table.”

—

Thoma jogs over to where Ajax stands. “Uh hey, do you know where (Y/n) was going?”

“Holy Celestia,” Ajax groans and rests his hands on his head, ignoring Thoma’s question, “This is not the plan.” He chuckles in disbelief and repeats himself, “This is not the plan!”

Thoma lets the ginger have his outburst before questioning, “What plan?”

“Are you stupid? The one where (Y/n) tells Thoma that they li—,” the word doesn’t finish rolling off his tongue because he’s suddenly aware of who he’s talking to. “—l love the sweater you’re wearing. Yeah man, it’s really rad.”

Thoma glances down at the mentioned sweater and pulls it taught so he can look at it. “Thanks,” he laughs awkwardly. Not knowing what else to say, Thoma walks away with a wave.

Ajax only now realizes that he doesn’t know where you’ve gone. He swears under his breath before taking off in a jog towards where Keqing dragged you away.

—

“So.”

“So,” Albedo repeats and clasps his hands together on the table.

“I was hoping that you would tell me why it was so important that I come right now. I kinda had things to do and people to see.”

“Do tell what was so important,” he asks rather sarcastically, topping it with a sugar-sweet smile.

“Well I was going to uh-“ you stop yourself, understanding how embarrassing it will sound if you tell him. But then again you did try, well bet, to kiss him before so it can’t be that embarrassing right? “Kiss somebody,” you trail off.

Out of the corner of your eye you can see Albedo roll his eyes. “I think I remember someone complaining about a situation similar to this and just how embarrassing it was. What convinced you to do something that,” he pauses, trying to find a word that fits and smiles fakely once he does, “absurd, once again?”

“Funny thing called emotional manipulation,” you smile back, just as phony as his own.

Albedo sighs, “Please try to keep me out of your little bet this time, yeah?”

“Yeah yeah, Mr. Hoity Toity, I’ll try if I get the chance.” You dismiss him with a wave and turn around so that you can lean back on the table.

You watch the crowd pass by, people starting to filter out as the closing announcement comes on.

“Thank you for coming out today! Our school staff and students thank you for your continued support.“ You drown out the rest of the bland appreciation. It marks your complete loss and you were sure Ajax would be ecstatic.

You hear someone shout your name from amidst the crowd, but you can’t seem to find where it comes from. He comes out of nowhere and places his hands on your cheeks with almost a little too much force and kisses you. Ajax kisses you.

“Couldn’t stand to watch you lose again.”

additional notes: the fic may end here but the story certainly doesn’t, i highly recommended the kiss bet and it is still updating (hence only writing the first season of events) thank you for reading! much love, lee <3

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1800-beomgyu · 2 years

Note

looking forward to your works mwah <333

i’m excited to be back as well! i’ve stalled away from writing because i was really insecure of my content before and decided to read paperbacks for me to replenish my creative juices 🥤 it’s really good to be back especially now that i had restarted from 0 and can’t wait to write because i really need to, i have brain rot lmaooo i miss u @stellumi

#1800-mails #stellumi

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bachirasbeloved · 1 year

Text

under the snowy sunrise

bachira x gn!reader

genre: fluff

warnings: none

word count: 1953

a/n: loml,,, this is so self indulgent but i love him sm help help help ૮(˶˃ᆺ˂˶) if there are any mistakes pretend u don't see them it's almost 2am and i spit this out super fast

tags: @keqism @astranne @stellumi

“-t snowed!”

you wake with a start, eyes squinting open to see the outline of a certain someone’s messy bed head in the dark. it takes you a moment to figure out what’s happening, and are slightly convinced you’re still dreaming until the words are repeated in your ear again.

“did you hear me? it snowed last night!”

as you adjust to the darkness of the room, you register the giddy look on his face as well as the words coming out of his mouth while he shakes you awake.

“it snowed, wake up,” bachira repeats a third time in a whisper yell while his hands push and shove at your shoulders. you groan and swing an arm over your eyes, torn between going back to sleep and getting up to entertain your very excited boyfriend.

“what time is it?” you grumble, finally sitting up and trying to rub the sleep out of your eyes.

“almost 5, we can watch the sunrise too!”

tufts of his hair are sticking up in every direction and you can’t help but snort lightly at the sight, reaching a hand out to try and smooth some of it back down. bachira eagerly leans into your touch while your fingers carefully comb through the tangles, and you have to fight the intense urge to tug him into your chest and cuddle him back to sleep at the way he contentedly closes his eyes and hums.

when he reopens them and meets your gaze, he scrunches up his nose sticks out his tongue and you playfully shove him away before kicking your feet out from under the warm covers and stretching your arms over your head with a sigh.

“alright, let’s bundle up then.”

bachira lets out a small shout of victory while jumping out of bed with way too much energy for this early in the morning and skips over to your closet, already yanking coats off of hangers and tossing them on the floor by the time you make it to the other side of the room to him.

after the fifth jacket hits the ground, you finally make a move to grab for his hand before he can add another to a pile and he gives you a questioning glance at the action before following your line of sight down to the floor and giggling unapologetically.

“i think that’s enough,” you muse, kneeling down to ball them all up and lift them onto the bed.

you leave bachira to sort out the jackets while you migrate over to your dresser and dig out a couple pairs fuzzy socks, gloves, one pair of earmuffs, and a scarf that’s long enough for the both of you to share if you huddle close enough together.

he’s already zipping up a puffer coat over the two sweatshirts he had just put on underneath when you return to his side, and you huff out a breath of laughter because you already know he won’t be able to bend down to put his shoes and socks on with the way he’s practically being swallowed up by the articles of clothing.

you tell him to take one of the sweatshirts off first, to which he begrudgingly complies, and quickly strips out of the bigger coat to pull one of the hoodies over his head. you take it from him after he passes it over to you and tug it on before throwing a second coat over it and toss him a pair of the socks and gloves you had grabbed.

bachira is nearly vibrating with excitement next to you while he tugs on his boots and laces them up, and quickly grows impatient with the amount of time it’s taking you to do so.

“c’mon hurry up,” he whines, rocking back and forth on his feet while you work on tightening your own laces. “we’re gonna miss it- here let me do it.”

as soon as he realizes you’re struggling he mutters a soft, “oh.” and crouches down in front of you to help with the stubborn strings, working on your right shoe while you do the left. with your teamwork, it takes less than a minute before you’re both properly suited up for the cold and ready to go outside.

you reach up to place the pair of earmuffs on bachira’s head before he can take off towards the front door, and the appreciative smile he sends you makes your stomach do the annoyingly little flip that it always does around him. even after all the time you spend together, it’s impossible not to be affected by how cute he is.

grabbing your hand firmly, he pulls you down the hall and fumbles to unlock the door before swinging it open and dragging you after him into the freezing morning air.

soft, powdery snow lays a few inches deep on the ground everywhere, glowing softly underneath the streetlights that illuminate the road in the dark. the sun still hasn’t risen yet, and the tranquil silence of a snowy morning stirs a warm feeling of nostalgia that billows out with the condensation of your breath into the icy air.

next to you, bachira is taking in the same view, yellow eyes swimming with fascination as he gapes like he’s never seen snow before despite all of the stories he has of him and his mom sledding down hills and making families of snowmen at the park.

you follow after him down the front steps and watch with a smile and slight exasperation as he lets go of your hand and starts shuffling around in the snow, kicking it up everywhere and leaving abstract tracks in his wake. he’s laughing softly all the while, and as soon as you give in and approach him he’s grabbing both of your gloved hands in his and pulling you around in an uncoordinated dance while you make a total mess out of the snow in your driveway.

his gleeful laughter eventually mixes with yours as you slide around in tandem, the once white snow under your feet turning gray and sludgy from all of the movement. bachira’s cheeks and nose are stained pink from the frost bitten air and your heart clenches fondly because of it.

the sky is just beginning to lighten with the first hints of sunlight when you both finally stop to catch your breath, and when he notices bachira gasps and leads you over to the yard that’s still blanketed by a perfect layer of untouched snow.

he pauses with his hands on his hips and stares down at it for a moment. he’s lost in thought for just long enough, that unbeknownst to him, you had scooped up a handful of clean snow from the ground and packed it tightly into a ball that remains hidden in your fist when he turns to look at you.

“do you think we could lay in the snow and watch the sun come up? or would that be too cold?” he asks with a raised brow. instead of answering, you fake a shocked expression and use your free hand to point across the street.

“woah, look!” at your sudden outburst, bachira whips his his around and looks in the direction you’re pointing. within an instant, you wind your arm back and swing forward with just enough force that the snowball explodes against his shoulder and startles him.

when he turns around with the same shocked expression as before, he looks at his shoulder, then your empty snow covered glove, and when meets your eyes a wide, mischievous smile spreads across his face and you know you’re really in for it now at the determined spark in his eyes.

“oh, it’s on.” he declares, shaking his head at your proud grin.

the quiet, peaceful morning is quickly interrupted by the muffled impact of snowballs and peals of laughter from the two of you as a snowball fight commences right in front of your house.

bachira, the cheater, keeps ducking behind your neighbors car so that the snowballs smack against the windshield whenever you miss and you swear one of these days he’s going to get you in so much trouble-

at one point while he’s hiding behind the front of the car - likely making a pile of snowballs to rapid fire at you and assuming you’re on the other side doing the same - you sneak around behind the vehicle and hurl another one at the poor unsuspecting boy’s back who shouts in surprise and whirls around to start pummeling you with the ammo he packed together in a hurry.

you turn away and hold your hands up to protect your head as they come flying at you, not hitting hard enough to hurt but just hard enough that the snow explodes back into powder on impact and gets into your hair and the open collar of your jacket.

“okay, okay- you win!” you hardly manage to get the words out through the laughter, but the snowballs eventually stop and when you cautiously peek out from behind your arms, bachira is beaming back at you, happiness practically radiating off of him in waves. your hands itch to grab at his cheeks and shower him with kisses, but the sky had grown significantly lighter in the time you two spent throwing snow at each other and you know it’s only a matter of minutes before the sunrise starts.

brushing yourself off as best you can, you follow bachira back over to your front lawn and copy him as he flips his hood up to cover the back of his head and lays down in the snow, settling in right against his side. he pulls his left glove off and searches for your hand to do the same before intertwining your fingers with his own and shoving them in his pocket to stay warm.

“oh, wait!” you start and sit up to dig the striped yellow scarf out of your inside pocket.

using one hand, you unravel it and wrap part of it around your neck before reaching over to wrap it around bachira’s and laying back down next to him, satisfied with your work. the scarf lays over the both of you, tying you together as you lay side by side in the snow.

“look!” bachira whispers breathlessly. the first rays of sun have finally breached the horizon, tiny beams of light scatter out from behind the trees and reflect off of the snow like tiny crystals. the warmth of it against your skin is more than welcome as you gaze up at the soft blue and pink sky in awe. you squeeze your boyfriend’s hand once which he returns without hesitation, an action that says, “yeah, i’m seeing this too,” without breaking the silence.

your chest swirls with a happiness that warms you up from head to toe, causing a dopey grin to break out across your face from ear to ear. moments like this, with bachira at your side under a breathtaking sky, never get old. when you turn your head to the side to see his reaction, bachira is already looking at you with a soft expression, admiration written all over his face while a split splits his cheeks at the sight of you.

there are so many things you want to say, yet no words will ever be able to properly convey how you feel in this moment, and he must feel the same because he gives your hand another squeeze that you’re quick to return. you stare at each other quietly for a few more seconds before looking back up towards the colorful sky to watch the night melt away into dawn.

#my fics ｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈•ﾟ｡#blue lock #blue lock x reader #bachira meguru #bachira meguru x reader

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