In Which Sebek Steals A Dance With You During The Glorious Masquerade Event. You Both Make An Entire

“ first i love you ” [ bnha ]

→ pairing: separate, bakugou, deku, kirishima, shouto, denki, hawks, dabi x gn!reader

→ a/n: gn!reader, no real rhyme or reason to who says it first- i just didn't wanna get too repetitive so some of the characters say it first and in some you say it first! just kinda depended. these kinda suck :/ been in a slump.

— DABI:

touya thought you were asleep or he wouldn't have admitted the words for months- even if he knew they were true. he's always been more talkative when tired, tucking his face into your neck and mumbling his affections into the skin. telling you that he missed you and that you weren't allowed to leave. but he hadn't crossed that line, tiptoeing around the words. he thought you had fallen asleep hours ago, nestled between you and the couch with your breath against his temple. he's so warm and content his thoughts just... pour out, "i love you." tucks himself further into you when he feels your lips on his forehead, echoing the words.

— HAWKS:

keigo said it accidentally but not without thought. the words had been rattling around in his mind for months, sitting heavy on his tongue. you were sitting on his bathroom floor, one wing folded in your lap and the other tucked away. he was so consumed by you, the feeling of your fingers picking through his feathers- delicate and oil-slicked- it just happened. you helping him preen wasn't rare, but it always took so long- so much effort- and you never complained. he cups your face in his hands, eyes warm pools of honey, and presses a soft kiss to your lips, "thank you." his forehead knocks against yours, nose dragging against your cheek, "i love you."

— BAKUGOU:

katsuki hadn't expected it. he hadn't been doing anything special- he had heated your dinner for you and brought you painkillers for a headache. but when he entered the room, you'd smiled at him, "thank you kats, I love you." his mind runs away from him, words tangling together and weighing on his tongue- burning a hole through his teeth. he wanted to say something, anything, instead he stared at you- watching the part of your mouth around the words. he wanted to say something profound, wax poetic about how much you meant to him- how much you'd always meant to him. instead, he huffed and his shoulders dropped, "better fucking like it." his chest felt tight, lessened when your thumbs graze his cheekbone, "I love you, too."

— MIDORIYA:

izuku had it all planned- plotted out to go perfectly, to show you just how much you meant to him. he'd had the date in his calendar for a month, a date he spent a week getting right and a little monologue he'd written and rewritten on index cards. he wanted it to be perfect, memorable, something you'd gush about to your friends- which it was, just not how he thought it would be. it rained. such a small thing which disrupted his entire day. he saw you, drenched from the rain and beaming at the sky with your head tilted back, he blanked. you just looked so pretty he said it without thinking, "I love you."

— KIRISHIMA:

eijirou always knew he loved you- well before he asked you out- it was just a matter of finding a time to tell you. he puts so much thought into it, plans a date and builds a bouquet with all your favourite flowers. spends half the date swiping his hands on his thighs and rehearsing what he wants to say- how he wants to tell you. you beat him to it, though, running your fingers through his hair under a thick quilt and staring up at the heart patterned roof of your fort. "I love you, Eij." he can't even be mad as he nuzzles further into your stomach, pressing a kiss to any skin he can reach and returning the words.

— TODOROKI:

shouto says it too quickly. sitting across from you on your third date- it slips out. it wasn't anything big, the date, dinner and a movie marathon. but you'd leaned over to wipe his upper lip, one hand curled around his jaw to tip his head back and the other thumb softly swiping at his lip. it made him feel all warm, cared for. he felt that thing- that tightness and heat- fill his chest at the side of your tongue between your teeth, peeking through your soft little concentrated smile, "I love you." he doesn't understand why you get so flustered but is dazed when you cup his jaw and return the affection.

— KAMINARI:

denki hadn't really expected you to say it- standing slack-jawed and doey eyed. he knew that he meant a lot to you, that you went out of your way to think about him, care for him- but loving him was something else. something he hadn't thought about. he's nearly vibrating, shoving his face- large smile pressing into your skin- against your neck. hooks his fingers into the back of your shirt, dotting kisses over the length of your collar, "i love you too." bright eyes meet your own, "so much."

‧₊˚✩ taglist + masterlist ✩˚₊‧

🏷: @izukus-gf , @hirugummies , @uwuthatshit , @mxgenderbender , @akaakeijii , @violetdahlias , @myaaki , @dinodumbass , @rae-tenya , @sugarmaplewings-fics , @tipsyangels

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Royally In Love

Prince!Diluc x Commoner!Fem!Reader

Summary: Diluc Ragnvindr is the Crowned Prince of Mondstadt, you are just some random commoner. You two met when you were both just kids, him sneaking out of the castle to explore the city, he met you when you were crying on a branch of a tree, unable to get down. Things took a turn and apparently, you two had a thing for each other, you even took each others first kiss, he even invited you to be his date at the next gala in the Castle of Royals. You almost cried in front of so many people that night, thinking that everything between you was a lie, when he took another woman to dance with him.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Your eyes followed the two form in the middle of the room, they were dancing together so elegant and mesmerizing. So perfect.

It's okay, it was just a dance, right? That would be the case, if the whole gala wasn't for just Diluc finding a betrothed, a bride.

To think that for weeks, you stressed about this night, what you were going to wear, how were you supposed to act, how are you gonna dance, all the proper etiquette you should know. You thought that maybe, maybe it was finally the day that Diluc would introduce you as his lover, you dreamed of that happening almost every night, giggling to yourself about how amazing that would be.

He invited you, his lover, to a ball where he finds a replacement for you.

Everyone in the ballroom was in awe of the pear, but you? You felt nothing but a pit in your stomach and bile in your throat.

But... you're not mad. Seeing Diluc and that woman together, she was so, so pretty, like a princess from a fairytale world. You already know you didn't stand a chance, maybe Diluc was just such a gentleman that he didn't want to hurt your feelings when you confessed to him. Maybe he felt nothing for you at all.

Everything was just a lie.

His promises, his love.

Maybe he just invited you so you could finally have a reality check and stop pestering him with your silly feelings.

You can't blame him though, he is royalty, you're not, you're probably not even half his standards.

Every second you were in that room, you felt even worse. Even if everything was a lie... your love, it was true.

Diluc was resting against a tree, you were in his arms, your back on his chest as you sit on his lap. "'Luc?" You called out for him.

He hummed as a reply, resting his head from the tree onto your shoulder. "Do you think that your family will accept me when they find out...?" You looked at the man resting his head on your shoulder, you've always been insecure that his family and the royal court will never accept their Crowned Prince to be dating a worthless commoner.

"..." He didn't have an answer, as always. You did ask that question a lot, waiting for the day that he finally gives you a proper answer. "That shouldn't matter." The prince whispered, cupping your right hand with his own before lifting it up to his lips and kissing the back of it.

But it does matter, though. Diluc will be King someday, and if he decides to marry you... you'll be his Queen, while the thought of that makes you feel all light headed and tingly, it also scares you that maybe when that happens, it'll be the end of your wonderful story.

He sensed the uneasiness within you. "Hey, no matter what. I'll always love you, alright?" Diluc's soft voice reassured you. "You'll always be my Queen."

It's time to leave.

You can't stay there any longer.

You look back at him and the woman, his hand on her waist, her's on his shoulder, their other hand intertwined with each other. They were dancing to such a beautiful melody too, everything looked so perfect at that moment.

As you were looking at your lover, his eyes lifted up to meet your own...

Instead of looking angry, sad, disappointed... you smiled at him. You smiled despite the obvious unshed tears in your eyes.

You smiled at him before getting up from your chair, looking down at your dress and smoothening it.

It is hard to love someone so different from you, that's what's on your mind as you walked to the door of the castle. But you know what... it's fine, you'll be fine, at least you were with the love of your life for a moment. You can't ask for more.

...

When Diluc's eyes looked into yours, his entire body begged him to just drop everything and run to you, bring you into his arms and whisper sweet nothings in your ear.

When you smiled at him, refusing to let your tears fall from your eyes, his heart ached like it was being stabbed with no remorse.

When you walked out, not even looking back, Diluc felt his world shatter into a million pieces, his heart doing the very same.

He didn't know. He didn't know what this gala was actually for. He thought that maybe you'd feel better if he started bringing you to events like these. He didn't mean to hurt you.

"Crowned Prince Diluc, it is such a pleasure to be at your presence like this." The woman in front of him spoke, yet the Prince's mind was clouded by you. "It is also such an honor to have a chance of being your betrothed." Diluc's mood soured even more at that, he didn't remember the woman's name.

No, you are his only one, his Queen, his future wife.

As the woman's hand snaked from his shoulder onto his neck, Diluc felt more disgusted of himself.

"You know when you just love someone so much that you don't ever see a future without them by your side and if you ever think about them leaving you, you suddenly feel so sad and heartbroken?" You had asked him as he sits on your couch, watching you as you continue on with your knitting.

"That sounds very specific." The redhead rested his head on the couch backrest, smiling whilst looking at you like the lovestruck Prince he is.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I feel about you!" You exclaimed at him, making him chuckle.

"You don't ever need to worry about me leaving you, my Queen. I'll always be here."

He couldn't take it anymore.

Letting go of the woman and front of him, Diluc marched to the entrance of the castle, everyone getting out of his way immediately.

"Diluc, where are you going?!" He heard his father's angry voice behind him. The ballroom was dead quiet as the visitors watch the scene.

His whole body was tensed as he looked back at his father. "I can't do this." He shook his head. "I can't let you choose a bride for me, father. I already know who I want to be with for the rest of my life." His jaw was clenched and his hands were closed tight in frustration.

"As a royal, you are expected to give sacrifices for your kingdom! It makes me question if you're even deserving of the crown!" Diluc didn't mind his father's harsh words, all that's in his mind is how he should go to you right now.

"Father, I assure you that Diluc is perfectly capable of running the kingdom without the help of any other royalties within this room." Kaeya's cold voice rings throughout the ballroom, his words starting a commotion within the crowd.

"Watch what you're saying, Cavalry Captain." The blue-haired man ignored the King's disapproving gesture, looking at his sworn brother.

"Go. I talked to her earlier, it's gonna take some time to talk it through, but you should be good." Kaeya had encouraged him to leave, to go to you. Diluc nodded at him thankfully, turning his heel and running out of the castle in full force, even leaving a small trail of pyro on his path.

The Cavalry Captain looked around, chuckling smugly. "Worry not, visitors. The party should just continue even without the Crowned Prince." With that, he walked away, fashionably as always.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

You ignored the rapid knocks at your door, still struggling to remove all the bobby pins that Lisa had styled your hair with.

Of course, a part of you wanted to open the door and hear what he has to say, but apparently you just wanted to be petty.

"Y/N?!" You hear Diluc yell from outside. And a second later, you hear the door crash down.

Immediately, you ran out of your room, looking at what happened. Diluc stood in front of you, your door bended into the wall after he forced it open.

"Are you insane?!"

"Y/N..." He walked to you with anticipation, pulling your body to his and wrapping his arms around your figure.

You pushed him off you right as he did that, "Why are you here?" You really thought that at when you locked eyes with him back at the gala, that would be the last time you'll see each other.

He didn't answer, his hands finding their way on your cheeks.

With an angry expression, you grabbed his wrist and yanked his hands off your face. "Diluc!"

"I..." The prince looked at you with gentleness. "I didn't know that any of that was gonna happen."

"Well, it happened. If that's all, you could just fix my door and go back." You were dismissive, wanting to end the conversation quickly. Probably because just being with him now gives you the urge to just break down into tears and cry in his arms.

Diluc held onto your hands, like he's scared that you'll push him away. "This night... I wanted to finally show you off."

"I wanted to make you feel special, and... I wanted to give you this." He stuck his hand in his pocket, fishing out a small box. He lifted it up for you to see. You looked down at the small box, then looked back up at him, slightly unbelieving. His face encouraged you to open it.

Opening the small box, you saw a ring, embedded with a tiny fiery red crystal, wavy golden lines surrounded the crystal. It was beautiful.

"I am so, so sure that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. And I thought that maybe, I could give it to you at the gala..." Diluc's voice died down as you closed the box, handing it back to him. His eyed dropped down onto your hand, as his heart seemed to burn in agony.

He refused to take the box back from you.

"Diluc, don't you see? They don't accept me, they don't accept us! We should be thankful that this happened, we're finally knocked out from our delusion that we could ever be together." He shook his head at your words, pulling your closer to him and instantly pressing your lips together.

You were in shock as he kissed you, his hands wrapping around your waist when you pressed your hands on his chest.

After a few seconds, you pulled away from him, his lips still chasing after yours. "My Y/N would never say that." Diluc had pecked your lips again.

"She would never call it quits." Another kiss.

"Maybe your Y/N changed?" He kissed you again right after you say that.

"It's okay to give up sometimes..." You say, but he shook his head again.

"Then... why are you crying?" Right after he pointed it out, you felt the tears thar managed to escape your eyes without your notice. Immediately, you pull away from his arms and wipe your face with your wrists.

"I... I didn't like seeing you with s-someone else." You start to stutter, feeling pathetic that despite your whole argument, you still feel the love for him.

"I didn't like being with someone else too."

"..."

You looked back down at the box in your hand, sighing a bit. "I don't know what to do anymore." You whispered, opening the box again to see the ring.

"How about..." His hands slowly took the ring from the box, taking your hand in his. "You answer this question."

"Will you marry me?" You chuckled a bit, guessing what he was about to say.

"No, that's not it..." He got down on one knee.

"Y/N, will you suffer through life with me for the rest of eternity and officially be my one and only Queen?" You laughed at that. Life is definitely happiness mixed with a whole lot of suffering.

"You know what? Sure." Diluc smiled as he kissed your hand, before slipping the golden ring onto your ring finger.

You pulled him up, kissing him immediately. "You still have to fix my door though." You hear him chuckle.

"Of course."

Idk if you're taking requests but I just read the deku having a crush on his wife and it was so cute. If possible can I request one of shoto??? Ty!!

men being their wife's #1 supporter >>>>> Warnings: fem reader, shoto’s a little feral Word Count: 1 K ~~~

The interviewer holds a stack of question cards, eyes skimming the first one before looking up at Shoto, “So, the story is that you, apparently, are a newlywed?”

“Yes, and it’s the happiest time of my life - don’t say it’s the honeymoon phase,” Shoto looks over at the camera, “I plan on only growing more unhinged in my love for my wife as the years go.”

“Well, we look forward to that!” the man chuckles.

.

.

.

“Uh, babe?” you turn to where your husband sits beside you on the couch, his arm thrown over your shoulders, “Did you ever see the title of the video for that interview you did?”

“No,” he switches his gaze from the TV to you, “why?”

“Oh, nothing,” you grin before shoving your phone in his face to show off the video, “Just this.”

Shoto’s eyes scan the title - “Prohero Shoto Shows Off Massive Crush on Wife”.

He merely nods, “Sounds about right. It was that same guy from a few years ago, when we first got married.”

“Can I watch it? I think I should know what was said about me.”

“As if I would say no,” he pressed a kiss to your forehead before standing, “Put it on the TV, I’ll make tea.”

Once Shoto comes back to his favorite spot on the couch, beside you, you hit play and after the intro is a shot of the interviewer sat across from your husband. He grins as he introduces Shoto to the camera, as if people wouldn’t already know who the hero was.

“I think just right off the bat, I have to ask,” the man’s grin is cheesy, but it conveys enough joy to keep the energy up, “what’s ridiculous to you about the media? And since your father hated interviews, do you think you’ve gotten any of that from him?”

“Interviews are fine. People are just doing their jobs, I get that,” he presses his lips into a thin line as he thinks, “What’s strange to me about the media, however, is actually a specific moment.”

“Oh? And what is that?”

“There was this one gala that I took my wife to a few months ago and everyone was obsessing over her look,” he nods curtly, “as they should have. But what was weird was how everyone was just now paying attention to her. It was like… like watching a piece of art go unnoticed.”

“Like the Mona Lisa?”

“No, like actual art.”

The chuckle bubbling from the man’s lips is genuine as he says, “I see. Well- “

“And I remember for our wedding she was tired of trying on things and said she was going to wear sweatpants,” he shakes his head, “I- I could only ask what color so it’d match with my tie. You know?”

“I imagine,” he nods.

“And on our wedding day,” Shoto puts up a finger to stop the interviewer before he can even begin speaking, “we had a private, not really dinner, but a moment, before the reception. And we just kept calling each other by first and last name, because she was taking my last name and it was,” he tilts his head, “I don’t think I’ve ever been happier. And I do have a lovely mother and great siblings and friends, but truly they do not compare.”

“Well, speaking of your wife being so pretty to you- “

“I’ll reach over there and wrangle you if you don’t correct that.”

“Well, speaking of your wife being so pretty,” Shoto nods, muttering a quiet ‘good’ under his breath as the interviewer continues, “I’d like to bring up a recent ‘scandal’ for lack of a better term.”

“Is this about the ‘damn mommy’ incident,” Shoto wrings his hands together nervously.

The man can’t help but laugh as he nods, “It is. What’s the story behind that?”

“I sneezed and accidentally commented ‘damn mommy’ on my wife’s post,” Shoto crosses his arms and leans back in the chair, “Freak accident.”

“According to my research,” the man shakes his head now, “it was on every single one of her posts.”

“I had the flu.”

“Understandable,” the man flips to a card, “we have a few questions from fans. First of all, what would you say is the strangest thing that you own?”

“Strangest thing I own,” Shoto taps the armrest of the chair, “sometimes I have to leave for long periods of time for work and I’m very clingy, obviously, and so my wife surprised me with a teddy bear. But the teddy bear actually has her voice in it and it’s her saying she loves me. It’s the most incredible thing ever. I’d say that everyone should get one, but I don’t think they deserve it. At all.”

“I see. Well, another question that we have for you is what’s your favorite phrase or a phrase that interests you?”

“One time my wife was on the phone with me while I was away for work and she was telling me that ‘wish you were here’ in Persian is…” he pauses to mutter under his breath, “is jāy-e shomā khālīst,” he looks at the camera, “apologies for poor pronunciation, but it apparently translates to ‘your place is empty’. And I’ve never forgotten it because it felt so true.”

“Right, of course,” the man flips to another card, “And just to finish it off, what was a big moment of pain in your life that you had to overcome?”

“One time I asked my wife if she still would’ve married me if I was a worm and she said that she didn’t think it was even legal, so she couldn’t. I honestly still don’t think I’m even over that.”

~

Turning away from the video, you look at Shoto, “Aw, baby. I’m sorry about the worm thing.”

“No, no, dear,” he leans over to kiss your forehead, “I’m not mad. I could never be mad at you over something like that.”

“Well, that’s good,” you take his chin in your hand to tilt his head and press a kiss to his lips, “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” he brings you closer to his side.

“Yeah, I think that everyone who watched this knows that, but thank you. You’re such a good husband.”

“Only the best for my incredible wife.”

---

Dr. Doofensmirtz really went from fighting a platypus to fighting real heroes-

Why is there an anime version of dr doofensmirtz in my hero academia im so confused

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• daylight

Despite how big his physique is, it always amazes you how Wakatoshi can move so gracefully, as though each fibre of his being is as well trained as he is to make all his movements precise, like he couldn’t afford to waste a drop of energy on excess movement.

With your head still half in the clouds, you watched him carefully fill his luggage with the remaining items he hadn’t packed, doing so as quiet as he can. Minutes passed and you were almost fully awake when he turns to the direction of the bed, surprised to see you up, but he smiles nonetheless.

Keep reading

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♧ authorized reprint for tumblr // artist:    ullpe / ユルペ  /    MHA LOG

✿ please do not remove source link// edit  illustration // change caption // upload to other websites!

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back from the dead!

note from kin: the gif for this one’s probably my favourite one so far, but i just know that the quality is going to get nerfed because everyone’s so small

also, just in case it wasn’t obvious, the prompt here is that that you ‘died’ one way or another but then you come back because (plot twist) you didn’t actually die - though it’s a bit different in albedo’s case

fandom: genshin impact

character(s): gn! reader, diluc, kaeya, childe, zhongli, xiao, venti, albedo, a couple of other mentioned characters

pairing(s): diluc/reader, kaeya/reader, childe/reader, zhongli/reader, xiao/reader, venti/reader, albedo/reader

warning(s): death (obviously), blood/injury, implied suicidal thoughts

genre: angst

diluc:

diluc has many feelings about this situation, the main one being: why

why would you do this to him? do you enjoy torturing him? is that it?

no, that’s not fair... he knows you didn’t mean to make everyone think you’d up and died on them

but still. two weeks. two ENTIRE weeks he’d thought you were gone

it had been a simple trek to dragonspine, and you’d reassured him that you’d be fine without him, so he’d stayed behind to deal with business, while you put up a request for some volunteers from the adventurer’s guild to come with you

in the end, a team of five left mondstadt city. only four came back.

three days after you left, diluc opened the door of dawn winery to see those four ghostly, stricken faces staring back at him. not a word was said for a good minute, but in that moment, he already knew what news they were about to deliver

he stopped them before they could recount the details of your inability to outrun the avalanche and subsequent fall. his mind had already laid out every agonising moment for him, from your last thoughts to your last breath - did you think of him? did you call for him, hoping against all hope that he would save you? did you die waiting for a hero that never came?

the next day, he joined the volunteers who set out to recover your body. if any of them noticed the lonely figure trailing behind them, head lowered and dragging his feet as if the weight of the world had fallen on his shoulder, they didn’t say a word

he dug first with his weapon, igniting the metal with his pyro vision so that it cut through the snow easily, and when that became too heavy for his grief-exhausted arms to bear, he dropped it and dug with his hands instead, refusing to give up, even when the cold seeped through his gloves and bit into his hands until the skin began to crack and bleed

but, in the end, they could only bury an empty casket. despite all of his efforts, they couldn’t find your body.

he chooses a quiet place by the vineyards of dawn winery and marks the grave with a simple headstone, vowing that he’ll come by every day to polish it - even when he’s old and grey, and the flowers have stopped springing up in the grass

and, of course, THAT’S when you finally decide to show up

“what’s with the long face?”

there you stand, in the flesh, perfectly healthy if not a little malnourished, still dressed in the now rather tattered clothes that you set out in, and, most importantly, alive

he can hardly believe it. in fact, he doesn’t believe it for a good moment or two; he turns away, blinking hard as frustrated tears threaten to running down his face. surely he can’t be so grief-stricken that he’s started hallucinating?

but then you walk up to him and set a hand on his arm, a comforting and wonderfully solid hand, and the warmth in your voice as you ask him what’s wrong is too true to life, too inimitable to be an illusion. it’s you, and you’re alive!

he saves the questions for later and wastes no time in pulling you to himself, sinking to the ground as his legs finally give out beneath him. you wrap your arms around him, and he’s dimly aware of you speaking, but he’s so awash with his own relief and unadulterated joy that he can’t hear anything but the ecstatic thumping of his own heart

these two weeks without you have been absolute hell. he never wants to feel as he did again. he never wants to lose you again - he can’t lose you again

because this time, at least, you came back. if you hadn’t, and if in the future, you don’t… well, diluc doesn’t know what he’d become

for now, though, he holds you close. he’ll worry about it tomorrow - and tomorrow can wait. it owes him this much.

kaeya:

when you suddenly show up, dripping wet and looking remarkably like you’ve spending the past few days being pickled in brine, to your own graveside wake, kaeya is absolutely beside himself

he’d rather been under the impression that you were dead. deceased. completely gone from this mortal coil.

after all, who could survive being dragged into the waters of qingce by an oceanid? who could suddenly resurface perfectly intact after being trapped under the surface of the water for over four hours?

you, apparently. and kaeya isn’t sure whether he should be throwing himself at you in joy, weeping out of pure relief, or giving you the hardest punch he can for scaring him like that

five hours he’d waited by the lake’s edge, freezing paths over the dark water in hopes that he might catch sight of you in those depths if he went further out, wandering all the way around the lake’s border and then back again, hoping against all hope that you might have washed up on the shore

he knew, though, deep down, that there was no point. you were doomed as soon as he let you slip under the surface.

he’d stayed in the area for the next few days, always finding himself wandering back to the lake, no matter how much he tried to focus on exploring the new landscapes, hoping against all hope that he might see you again

but, of course, he didn’t, and so he returned to mondstadt with a piece of himself missing - a piece of himself that, though he denied it, died as soon as he watched you disappear into the water

no one was willing to dive into that lake to retrieve your body - if there was even a body to retrieve. kaeya tried to return to qingce to do it himself, but jean wouldn’t even let him out of the city.

“i can’t let you go,” she’d said impassively, steeling herself against kaeya’s pathetic, pleading gaze. “it’s suicide.”

kaeya had stared back at her, and his reaction would stay with her for the rest of her life.

“so what?”

in the end, kaeya hadn’t been allowed to journey back to qingce, and the funeral was held without a body

at which point you suddenly walked right up to the morose procession and enquired, loudly, as to whose funeral it was

the brief silence that follows is so palpable that you could probably smash it with a hammer

kaeya's completely frozen on the spot, mouth opening and closing soundlessly as your other friends converge on you, and you disappear under a multitude of tearful hugs for the next five minutes. he stays there, unmoving.

it’s only once the two of you are alone in that deathly-quiet graveyard that kaeya finally lets himself break down. his entire body is trembling as he sinks to his knees right there on the grass, hands reaching up and tangling in his hair as he attempts to come to terms with the tumultuous feelings threatening to overflow from inside him

you kneel in front of him, opening your arms silently, and he can only fall forward into your embrace, burying his face in your shoulder and unable to stifle a sob of pure relief that you’re here, you’re alive, he didn't fail you after all

he tries to apologise for not being able to stop you from going under in the first place, for not being able to save you, for not going back for you, but you refuse to let him apologise for something that wasn’t under his control. you just hug him tighter and promise in whisper that he did all he could, and that you’ll never leave him like that again

eventually, the two of you will have to separate, but right now kaeya can’t bring himself to let him go - not when, mere hours ago, he’d thought he’d never be able to hold you like this again

how much time do you pass like this? neither you nor kaeya know. only the gravestones surrounding you like stone sentinels do - and only they will ever know.

childe:

it’s something he’s heard stories about plenty of times: a lover goes out to war, or to call on a relative, or to sell vegetables at a market in the city, and never returns. but that’s all it’s been to him - a story. he’d always thought of it as something that happened to other people, never something that could happen to him

but it has, and now he thinks he understands why, even in old age, those people’s faces still seem haunted by that loss - indeed, the moment he found your abandoned sword half-buried on one of the beaches of guyun stone forest is one that’ll probably be burnt into his memory forever

a tiny part of him had still clung to the hope that you were alive out there somewhere, but it had already been days since you were first pronounced missing, and you’d never leave your weapon behind - after all, you were visionless. you had no way of defending yourself properly without it.

childe stayed on that beach for a long time. he still doesn’t know how long exactly, but it was long enough for the sun to dip beneath the horizon and for the waves to start lapping impatiently at his boots.

when he did leave, he took your sword with him. but he didn’t bury it just yet - because he refused to let go of that shred of hope

he employed himself for the next few days with looking for any sign of you - day and night, with barely any time to eat or sleep, chasing every lead he could find, no matter how small

but he found nothing, despite pulling out every single desperate tactic he could think of. he began to think that maybe he never would.

eventually, he set off for your favourite spot on mount tianheng, beneath a tree on one of the peaks, but he still couldn’t bring himself to bury your sword there

so, instead, he stabbed the blade into the ground, anchoring it firmly in the dirt - and, after a moment, stabbed one of his own arrows into the ground beside it. he told himself that this arrow would protect your sword as he should have protected you in the first place.

now, five days later, however, when he arrives at that spot to have a quiet moment to himself, the sword is gone. so is the arrow. all that remains of them are two neat little slots in the ground where they’d been stuck

his first thought is that they’ve been stolen, and he feels an immeasurable kind of rage begin to bubble at the pit of stomach - but then he hears a sharp little whizz, and the arrow he’d stuck beneath your sword comes flying out of nowhere and buries itself in the dirt by his feet.

he looks up, and there you are. sitting on a lower branch of the tree, sword at your hip where it always is, wearing that smile that he adores so much.

you hop down, and he stares at you in sheer shock for a moment. finally, he takes two, deliberate steps forward, and pulls you into a silent embrace.

there are no words, no tears, barely even a sound, but the way that his body trembles in your arms tells you all that you need to know.

a long while later, the two of you finally pull apart, and he sniffs bravely, then says with some of his usual bravado, “well, you have to tell me all about what happened now.”

and that’s the end of that - or so you think

for weeks afterwards, childe finds himself lying awake into the small hours of the morning, unable to go to sleep. he’s scared - no, terrified that, if he closes his eyes, you won’t be there when he opens them again

it’s almost funny, to be honest - first, you taught him love, and now you’ve taught him fear

but, in a way, he’s grateful that he’s learned to feel it - because, as long as this fear persists, he’ll be able to protect you with all he’s got.

zhongli:

it must have happened during osial’s attack, but he didn’t find out until an entire week after the fact

zhongli hadn’t dwelt on the incident for long, selfishly indulging in the freedom of a life free of an archon’s responsibilities, completely unaware of what had happened to you

he did of course wonder why you hadn’t come to see him, feeling almost a little hurt, but he reassured himself with the thought that you were probably busy helping out around the city - becuase, despite the traveller, adepti, and qixing’s best efforts, liyue harbour did sustain a fair bit of damage from the whole ordeal

but then he’d spotted a poster pinned up beside one asking after the traveller’s missing twin - a poster that, somehow, he’d completely missed for the past few days (or was he simply refusing to see it?)

your face smiles at him from the yellowing paper, and the single word stamped above your head seems to echo around him

how had he not realised that you were missing for an entire week? had he really been so idiotic as to think it wasn’t odd that he hadn’t seen you on the streets at all?

or did he realise the truth when you didn’t return to him as soon as the battle was over? was he simply refusing to accept it until this moment?

he doesn’t know. to be honest, he doesn’t care.

two days later, your posters start disappearing. no announcement comes, but the absence says two words loud and clear - ‘presumed dead’.

he finds it impossible to enjoy his freedom now, when every smiling face on liyue harbour reminds him of you in the most damning way possible

the reflection of his eyes in the tea in the bottom of his cup seems to warp into your own eyes, glaring back at him accusingly, asking, why did you let me die?

because - and this is the worst part of it all - zhongli only has himself to blame for all of this

none of this would have happened if he hadn’t made that deal with the fatui. osial only rose again because zhongli allowed those harbingers to do what they did.

he lingers for a long while over this, but in the end, there are only two things he can do. everything is over; he can either continue to regret, or move on.

he decides to light some incense for you, and sets out to buy some from a local merchant

and it’s there, as he attempts to make sense of the multitude of numbers being thrown at him, that he suddenly sees your face amidst the crowd milling around the harbour

that isn’t anything out of the ordinary anymore, but then he blinks and looks again, and you don’t swim out of view or fade away; you’re still very much there, wearing a faintly annoyed expression as the crowd around you continues to buffet you back and forth

zhongli makes a decision in a split second, abandoning the incense in the surprise merchant’s hands and charging after you, calling your name with barely-disguised desperation - and you barely have time to turn around before he’s crashing into you at such a speed that the two of you go toppling clean over

the people around scatter, some simply shaking their heads at the disturbance and others standing in shock at the sight of such a man behaving like this, but zhongli can’t be bothered to keep up his image at a moment like this

“you’re alive,” he whispers, indescribable joy rising in his chest when you laugh in reply. he didn’t think he’d hear that sound ever again.

the two of you must be a sight, tangled together and half-lying in the middle in th middle of the street. it’s the sort of behaviour that one would associate with lovesick teens, not the refined gentleman of a god that he is

then again, he can’t really help it. this is just the sort of thing you do to him - and he’s absolutely fine with it

xiao:

he should've known better than to let you see him in the first place, let alone get attached enough to keep allowing you to meet him over and over again

bad luck follows xiao around like a shadow, and it isn’t picky about who it affects

still, he did it anyway - he continued appearing to you whenever you asked him to

it was idiocy - though others might have called it love. for xiao, there isn’t really a difference - because only a fool would think they were deserving of love after committing the crimes that he had.

at first, you were never in danger when you called his name. he came anyway, of course - but then, one day, you were in danger, and he didn’t, not until it was already too late

the two of you hadn’t even been that far apart - he had perched atop one of the stone pillars in huaguang stone forest, and you’d been nearby on mount hulao. if only he’d responded as soon as you’d called, he would’ve gotten there on time.

but he was selfish, and chose to stay there on the pillar for a few moments longer, wanting just another minute to quiet contemplation before he joined you on the mountain

and, as the most damning torture of all, fate had you fall just as he landed on the mountain. he could only watch as you disappeared under the geovishap’s gargantuan claws

the minutes after that are unclear. all he remembered afterwards was the sure weight of his spear in his hands, the wind whipping against his face as he moved faster than he ever had before, the burn of tears in his eyes

xiao had thought that he’d long since lost the ability to cry. how cruel it was that this was how he learnt that he hadn’t.

when he became fully conscious of his surroundings again, the geovishap was stone dead, and you were nowhere to be seen.

still delirious (with grief or anger he didn’t know), xiao fled from the mountain, leaving behind the geovishap’s corpse, and a lump of amber that hadn't been there before

he didn’t know where he was going, only that he was running - and maybe, if he ran fast and hard enough, he’d be able to run straight out of his nightmare, and wake to find you alive on the other side

but, of course, he wasn’t dreaming, and he couldn’t wake up if he wasn’t asleep in the first place

which brings us to now. the last days since the incident have passed in a grey blur, and the fog is finally starting to lift enough from xiao’s mind for him to make a realisation

the amber on mount hulao - would it be too presumptuous to hope that his fellow adepti knew of his bond with you, and protected you where he couldn’t? he almost dares not to hope, but…

he moves faster than the wind itself, and he’s touching down at the spot before he’s even fully aware of it, the geovishap’s body has already melted away into the grass, leaving only the lump of amber that he’d somehow not taken account when he left all those days ago

breath held in anticipation, he raises his spear, and strikes the amber with the sharp edge of the blade. several shards splinter away; he spots something familiar within the orange resin

he works feverishly, and soon enough the last of the amber falls away, revealing you, in perfect health, and a little annoyed by the fact that he took this long to get you out

you can’t really stay mad at him for long, though, not with him looking at you like that, eyes wide and almost wondering

xiao surprises both you and himself by abruptly throwing his arms around you. he’s never initiated contact with you before, and you yourself have never gone beyond just patting his arm

it feels nice, he decides. he can only thank the universe - and his fellow adepti - for the fact that he’s able to lose himself in your embrace like this.

venti:

he heard the news one late afternoon, as he stood playing through his usual repertoire beneath the statue outside the cathedral

he’d picked up on your name amidst a conversation between two people passing by, and while his outward demeanour didn’t give anything away, he was listening intently almost immediately

“...don’t know what happened, but they found their boat by starsnatch cliff this morning. no body or anything, though.”

“talk about unlucky… they must have gotten caught in a storm or something.”

that was all venti managed hear before the two move out of earshot, but it was enough to shake him right to the core. his fingers stumbled on the strings of his lyre, so tense that he accidentally snapped a string

the crowd started murmuring amongst each other as he slowly lowered the instrument, face frozen and eyes wide. then he suddenly turned and sprinted in the direction of the knights of favonius’s headquarters, ignoring the loud complaints coming from his audience

he burst into the building without bothering to wait for approval from the guards outside, and they probably would have arrested him if lisa hadn’t walked out of the library at that moment and stopped them

venti practically dropped to her feet, begging her to tell him what happened - surely what he heard wasn’t true?

but lisa only shook her head and offered to bring venti to the site of your wrecked ship. she didn’t know either

the knights escorting the librarian to starsnatch cliff didn’t say anything about the bard following them, but the pitying looks they shot him said it all. they didn’t think there was a chance that you had survived.

in the end, venti couldn’t bring himself to face the wreckage - because he knew he would lose all hope if he did

he spends the next five days sitting at the precipice of starsnatch cliff, gazing out across the endless seas, desperately wishing that he might see the shape of a raft or a boat riding the distant waves. several times he falls asleep and dreams that your figure was sailing back to him from the fog, only to wake to see nothing but empty horizons again, and no amount of wind can swipe away his bitter tears then

then, on the evening of the fifth day, he suddenly sees something - a lone figure seemingly stumbling across the surface of the water itself, lurching every now and then

it’s been a long time since he’s used his powers like this, and his abilities have waned since the loss of his gnosis, but now he’s able to spur himself to his feet, gathering masses of winds beneath him, and he flies straight for the figure with wild abandon

and - joy of all joys - it’s you!

ice crackles from your feet with each, heaving step you take, and he realises that you’re clutching a blue-glowing stone in one hand

in that moment, venti forgets all enmity between him and tsaritsa, and thanks her with all his heart for granting you a vision

he swoops down and catches you in his arms, and the wind follows in his sheer joy, sending the two of you tumbling this way and that, before finally depositing you gently on the shore, mere metres away from your wrecked ship

venti doesn’t even speak for a good while, just clings to you desperately and refuses to let go for even a moment, and somehow that’s even worse than if he’d been in floods of tears instead

you just hold him in return, trying to catch your breath, and the two of you end up falling asleep right there and then, despite how uncomfortable it is there in the sand

venti’s been all cried-out for hours now, and your limbs are so heavy with fatigue that you can barely move, so there the two of you stay, huddled together like children

venti has already loved and lost once before, and that had been enough to think he would never love again. then you came along, and he loved, and lost again, but this time you came back to him, and for that he will always be endlessly grateful

albedo:

the two of you had been out on an impromptu resource-gathering expedition (read: secret date) on wuwang hill. it was your first time in liyue, so you were practically buzzing with excitement, and albedo felt more content than ever with watching your face light up at every new thing you saw

but the evening had quickly soured when the two of you came across a gang of treasure hoarders taunting an injured fox

albedo attempted to calm you down, wanting to deal with the situation as diplomatically as possible, but you’d been positively beside yourself, and flew forwards, aiming a punch at the leader of the group

somehow you managed to punch him hard enough to knock several teeth out of his mouth, and as he stumbled backwards with a yell of agony, the rest of the treasure hoarders turned on you as well

albedo couldn’t very well leave you to fight them off on your own (and, to be honest, he didn’t think very highly of the hoarders’ behaviour thus far), and so the two of you stood back to back, fending off all sorts of projectiles and punches being aimed at you

but neither of you were fighting to kill, only to defend and possibly incapacitate, so the things the two of you could do were limited. albedo imprisoned a decent number of them in geo-produced prisons, but they just kept coming - it was like two arrived to replace each one you knocked down

soon enough the two of you were cornered right on the edge of the hill, and, noting the dizzying fall behind, albedo turned to tell you that the two of you should retreat

everything that happened next seemed to be in slow motion. you turned to look at him, stance wavering for just the briefest of seconds - and a stray thrown blade struck you directly in the chest

in that moment, as you teetered on the edge, eyes wide and seemingly staring directly into his, everything around him seemed to drop into darkness

everything came to a standstill as you fell. the treasure hoarder that threw the blade stood there in shock, and as albedo stood there, frozen in horrified disbelief, his friends quickly seized him by the arm and ran for it

a wise choice - because, if they’d still been there when albedo suddenly came to, they probably wouldn’t have survived the encounter

instead, with no one around to take his anger out on, albedo could only hurry to find you down below on the rocks, using his geo vision to create steps along the steep cliff face

you aren’t breathing when he finally gets to you.

time seems to slow down. he sits there beside you for what feels like an eternity, until the sun has gone down and the blue sky is replaced with a carpet of darkness and stars

it’s beautiful, but he can’t bring himself to look at it. as far as he's concerned, the stars went out the moment he watched you fall, and he has no interest in looking at a dead sky

then, suddenly, he realises something. he doesn’t have medical training, now has he ever learnt to heal… but that doesn’t mean he can’t fix you in other ways

he knows that he doesn’t have the strength to carry you all the way to his laboratory in dragonspine, but he brings plenty of things everywhere with him - and there are plenty of other methods he can employ as well

taboo things, maybe, things that he never would have even thought to try on any other occasion - but he’s desperate, and there is no such thing as too far when it comes to you

he works with almost maniacal fervour, trying one thing after another and another, refusing to let himself rest for even a moment - because each passing minute marks even more distance between the two of you, and he cannot, will not let you drift out of his reach

hours later, the stars have disappeared again, and you open your eyes to see albedo gazing down at you with a faint smile.

---

we will never be apart

diluc ragnvindr x reader | 1.8k + words

warnings: angst/comfort, mentions of blood/injuries, no pronouns used, ahh if i'm forgetting anything else just tell me

the howling of the wind as the front doors of the winery swing open violently, followed by a thud much too loud and heavy to be footsteps, draws you from your book and has you rushing from  the master bedroom and into the dark hallway, the pages of the novel left askew on the sheets in your abrupt departure.  

frigid air from outside makes the manor even colder than it normally is this time of night and your thin short silky pajamas weren’t doing much to help keep you warm but you didn’t have time to think about how cold you might get or throw on a robe, not when your worst fears were already churning uncomfortably in your stomach. they only grew worse when you looked over the banister to see diluc on his knees at the threshold of your home. it’s too dark to make out much but there’s no mistaking the long, fiery, mane of hair that flows towards the ground in his slumped over state. 

you can’t speak or call out to him. everything feels caught in your throat and you worry if you speak you may choke on the words but adrenaline and a racing heart move your feet as quickly as they can down the grand staircase. as you get closer you see one hand keeping his body from meeting the cold hardwood and the other gripping at his side desperately. bright red bangs cover his face but you can hear how hard he’s breathing, see in the dim moonlight coming through the open door the deep breaths he fights to take with every rise and fall of his back. 

a strong gust of wind rattles the doors and quickly you close and lock them, not wasting another moment to make your way to dilucs side and reach out for him with shaking hands. you swear all you can hear is the beating of your heart in your ears as you help him sit up, bringing his arm around your shoulders and with all the strength you can muster, help him stand up while supporting most of his weight. something wet and warm begins to seep into your night dress and stain your skin beneath, the smell of copper becoming more potent the more his blood stains your clothes. 

the only thing that breaks through the sound of your panicked heart is his strained voice calling your name. the way it sounds makes the tears you didn’t know were welling up in your eyes fall down your cheeks without permission. 

“y/n.. i..” he grunts when you tighten your arm around him and begin to make your way up the stairs. he’s so heavy; barely able to walk, his heavy boots dragging against the cold hardwood with every step you take, hardly able to use his hand to help him up the railing. it’s up to you, and the strength you worry would break at any moment, to help get him up along with his stumbling steps. 

“don’t speak. save your strength.” you reply, your voice is uneasy as the hands that are holding onto him, that are dripping with his blood. but no matter how hard you cried, no matter how the anxiousness in your stomach made you nauseous along with the terrible coppery smell, you had to keep moving, had to let it bubble over without control because right now your only focus was being sure diluc was okay. he had to be. what.. what would you do without him.. if he died in your arms- 

you have to stop your racing thoughts before they consume you. almost to the bathroom. it will be okay. it has to be okay.

it’s not the first time diluc has come home injured and you had to bandage him up, you’d say by now you’ve gotten quite good at it, but it’s never been this bad, never been this scary. there was no staff here at this hour, no one to call for a healer unless you wanted to leave diluc alone to do so by yourself but you aren’t sure you could stomach to leave his side in this state. 

normally diluc would sit quietly at the edge of the tub with a stern expression, his eyes not meeting yours as you cleaned and wrapped his wounds but tonight he can barely lean against the side of the tub as he tries to take off his coat and vest. your hands stop his own, trembling fingers peeling off the dirty and stained fabric until he’s left bare chested and he’s laying against the tile flooring, head resting against a towel. this time it’s your eyes that don’t meet his, even though the ruby orbs you love can't focus on anything but your distressed visage. 

he calls your name but you don’t reply. using his teeth to tear off his glove, it comes into your peripherals, gently resting on your cheek, using his thumb to wipe away the tears that continue falling from your eyes. he hadn’t meant to worry you, hadn’t meant to use all of his strength after getting injured and stumble home only to barely make it through the door. the bloodied pajamas you wear, the shakiness of your hands and the worry in your crying eyes makes his heart ache far worse than the wound you’re attending to. he’d be okay, as long as he could ease your worry, stop your tears, he was sure of that. he’s suffered far worse but the reassuring words he speaks to try to tell you as much never seem to make it to you.

you don’t hear his voice, can barely register the hand that holds your face and wipes your tears. how could you when you can’t focus on anything but the injury at his side that slows how badly it’s bleeding as you apply pressure and a salve adelinde made for situations just like this. it wasn't meant to patch up wounds for good but as it foams against the gash it stops the bleeding and hopefully numb the pain. the crimson splotches are so bright against his porcelain skin and as the salve works its magic you continue checking the rest of him, cleaning every small cut you can find before coming back to gash on his side. 

his body flexes under your hands when he attempts to sit up, using all of the strength he has left to come closer to you, to comfort you. “wait! don’t get u-” you’re interrupted by a finger under your chin pulling your face from his toned stomach and to his soft eyes instead. normally you’d expect him to be mad that he’s hurt but tonight there’s no anger or irritation in his expression, he’s worried for you far more than he is himself.

“it’s okay y/n,” he speaks, his tone calm and reassuring. finally you hear his voice. diluc has never been very good at words of comfort but for you, if it meant your tears would dry and the smile he loves would return, he would always try. “it looks far worse than it feels. please, don’t waste your tears for my sake.” 

you bite your bottom lip, an attempt to stop yourself from crying more because you know you needed to be strong for him but it doesn’t work out the way you wish it to, if anything you’d say it's making it a little worse. your tears seem unstoppable as ever. using the back of your hand you wipe away the growing wetness on your cheek. “h- how could i not when you’re hurt?” 

his touch on your chin is beyond gentle, radiating with warmth and it only grows warmer when he caresses your jaw before the tips of his fingers brush your hair behind your ear. you can’t help but lean into it his touch, closing your eyes in hopes you could now calm down and not think about why you’re kneeling on the cold tile in the bathroom, in the middle of the night, covered in a color you normally couldn't get enough of but right now is making your whole body burn almost unbearably. 

“i’ll be alright,” dilucs words are as tender as his touch and full of sincerity. “it wasn’t my intention to worry you-.”

“but diluc-”

suddenly and softly his forehead finds solace on yours and you find, as you often do with diluc, his touch steals your breath away. the smell of his shampoo and the mint on his breath invades your senses- making you forget about the scent you couldn’t stand before. 

“i wouldn’t be dishonest with you, my love. please trust me when i say i’m alright,” his breath fans against your cheeks. strong, calloused hand finding its way even deeper into your hair with every word he speaks, until he is protectively holding the back of your head. “i will always be okay as long as you’re by my side… but i will be more careful in the future so you don’t have to worry like this again.”

“i always worry for you ‘luc,” you whisper, the last of your tears flowing down your cheeks and onto his scar ridden chest. you want so badly to wrap your arms around him and hold him against you but you don’t dare further hurt his wounds. instead your hands find his muscular arms and hope to relieve some of the stress he’s putting on his body by comforting you like this as you cling to him.

“i know,” he replies before attempting to hide a grunt of pain. your worry of hurting him makes you want to pull away when you hear the pained sound and you try to cautiously but he holds you steady against him, not letting your foreheads part. how did he have such incredible strength? “i am beyond thankful for that, and for you. i don’t know what i would do without you.”

“the feeling is the same,” you sob quietly, the tears you had just stopped starting to come back no matter how much you will them not to. “i.. i thought-”

“i have no intentions of ever leaving you y/n,” his hand in your hair tightens and the air in the bathroom grows warmer and warmer with every word of love he speaks. “i swear it. more than anything else in this life, i am yours and we will never be apart.”

“diluc.. i.. i love you so much.”

“i love you too, more than you know.”

the numbing agent slowly starts to ease dilucs pain while his words ease your own aching heart and though tears still fall from your eyes, your lips curl into a loving smile that matches his own. the bathroom is silent as you bask in each other's love while you finish bandaging him up and in the comfort of knowing things truly would be okay. 

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