Overdue Books And Ghost Stories

Overdue Books and Ghost Stories

Summary: If the scholars at the Akademiya are so smart, why can’t they remember a few due dates? 

Word Count: 6.4K

Tags: Alhaithamx GN! Reader, Shy! Reader (you hate eye contact), Librarian! Reader, Fluff, SFW, attempts at humor, pure fluff, written before 3.6 so Alhaitham is still acting grand sage, slowish burn?, Akademiya setting, slight mutual pining, Sumeru boys drive the librarian insane, especially a certain gray-haired bookworm. 

Authors note: I just wanted something light-hearted and fun to write as a reward for getting stuff done. Shy people who force themselves to be responsible and hate eye contact unite! Enjoy!

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Trigun fucking destroys me, okay.

It's about persisting through the most horrific obstacles imaginable, and never losing hope for yourself and others. It's about the fruit your efforts bear, but it doesn't ignore the ugliness of the suffering you endure. It doesn't sweep it under the rug to give you a happy ending.

As a jaded millennial, I get a bit tired of stories where everything turns out fine because the heroes tried hard. Most stories gloss over the repercussions of failure. They tell us it's all simply a means to an end, and that end is what matters. Overcoming your obstacle matters. Winning matters.

Trigun doesn't do this.

Vash gets hurt (gross understatement). He's ostracized, bullied, threatened, haunted, forced to see the darkest underbelly of humanity. He's subjected to the worst parts of life that are grotesquely ruthless, unforgiving, hopeless. He's forced to reconcile a lot of his goals (like never killing anyone), but not the core of his beliefs.

Not once does he falter in his trust that people are capable of good, that we all deserve that chance to be. He never has a revelation that shakes his faith in humanity, despite constantly being given every reason to. He's the irritatingly optimistic anime protagonist who looks at impossible odds and says "everything will be alright", the way no one can in real life because it never works out that way for us.

And it doesn't for him, either.

Vash does his best, believes in himself, and fails. over and over and over again. He loses everything--loved ones, memories, autonomy. He loses constantly. He's your unrealistically positive hero, being dealt realistically unfavorable hands.

And still, he persists. He never truly wins. Because we never truly win. Life has no happy ending like a story does.

He never truly wins, and yet, he can still find happiness. He meets friends, enjoys good food, watches people love fiercely in both blessing and hardship. He hits unbelievable lows that don't keep him from finding highs. Because he never stops trying to be the best of what he sees in humanity. Because every little bit counts. He never stops believing in humans--believing in you.

Trigun grabs you by the face and stares directly at you. It says "I see you, I see your pain, how much you struggle. I see how sometimes no matter how hard you try, things don't work out. Life isn't a fairy tale. I see how your kindness can come back to hurt you, hurt others. I see you, and I'm proud of you. Life is worth living with love in your heart not because we win, but because we try. We all try. Never stop trying to be kind."

Trigun shows you the cruel reality of life, and leaves you feeling good about it.

I don't know a single piece of media that's able to do that.

Hi! This is not a request or anything, I was just wondering what are your thoughts on Alhaitham and long distance relationships? Would he be the type to break it off before parting (because his logical brain says that's the best option so that things end amicably)? Or do you think he'd want to keep the relationship going (because he'd rather yearn than mourn the relationship)? 👀

In it for the long run

Scenario: Alhaitham and long-distance relationships wc: 1.6k tags: slight angst, fluff, underlying miscommunication, alhaitham is whipped a/n: I KNOW THIS ISN'T A REQUEST BUT I LOVE THIS I LOVE THIS I LOVE THIS I LOVE THIS SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG I WAS BUSY WITH LIFE ;-; okay! kind of a weird formatting but tiny drabble at the front and original bullet point hc version at the back! not proofread and kind of rushed but yay!! xin is back and writing alhaitham!! now if only she could write gojo

Break it off?

The words that spill out of your lips almost make him drop his book. He stares at you, ears ringing, eyes focused on your lips as—fuck—you mouth those words again.

You were serious, weren't you?

Heart pounding in his chest, mind hazy with confusion and hurt, all that repeats in the forefront of his mind is a steady stream of why, why, why?

Alhaitham knows he's not the most affectionate boyfriend there is, and the gods only know how much you deserve better than him, but he was under the assumption that he's been doing a good job navigating a relationship with you.

You and he had your ups and downs as all couples do, but open communication had always been an integral part of your relationship. You hadn't shown any sign that you wanted out.

What happened? What changed?

Was this his fault? He knows that becoming the Acting Grand Sage had given him a lot more trouble than he had anticipated, but had he driven you away?

He closes his book, setting it aside. When Alhaitham manages to find his voice, it comes out raspier than usual.

"...Where is this coming from?"

You scratch at your wrist, a nervous tic. He stares at your reddening skin as if it'll give him an answer. It's better than letting himself get caught up in his own mind.

"I just," you stumble, and he pushes away his inner voice that details the hundred and one reasons why he doesn't deserve you. Why it's obvious that you wanted to leave. "It'll be easier on us if we do."

He frowns. There's a you-shaped hole in his chest where you lived, decorated with all the knick-knacks you love. It's sealed in. Cemented, even.

You've long since invaded his life and his mind. A permanent fixture. Easier? "For whom?"

"Huh?"

"What makes you think that separating"—and Archons does that word puts a bad taste in his mouth—"makes things 'easier'? Whatever that even means."

Was this about your research?

"Who put this ridiculous notion in your head?" He asks, chest constricting with an emotion he can't really discern.

"I... did?" you answer him hesitantly. "I don't want to either, but it's just— it'll be rough, Haitham. You'd be in Sumeru and I'd be in Inazuma-"

"It's not that far from here." He lies. It takes a week to get there.

"-and," you ignore his interjection. "You hate stuff that's complicated. A long-distance relationship will be complicated."

You don't elaborate, but Alhaitham knows the implications. He's heard all the horror stories from his time in the Akademiya.

"So... yeah."

Alhaitham stares at you. For once, he doesn't know what to say. Something churns and claws around in the pits of his stomach, and he painfully swallows down the lump in his throat.

"You know that it's for the best," you mutter, voice impossibly tiny. If not for the silence of the room, he would have missed what you said. But it's terribly quiet, and amidst the silence, Alhaitham can hear his own heart crack around the edges.

"No."

He doesn't say it much, but he thought you knew he'd follow you to the ends of the earth if it came down to it. Going long-distance wasn't the end of the world, but losing you? That'd be it for him.

Your head snaps up, eyes wide like you hadn't expected to hear that fall from his lips so decidedly. "What?"

"No." He repeats, biting the inside of his cheek as he glares at you. You didn't get to make this decision without him. Did you really think of him that badly? That he'd leave upon the slightest hiccup?

"Absolutely not. No. No."

"Why?" You ask, grasping for a reason to hold on.

"Because..."

There's a lot of things he could say.

Like that you're the love of his life. The only person he's ever imagined a future with.

He could tell you that he's loved you from the moment you walked through the doors of the Akademiya, from the very second you had looked his way. That he loved you then, and just didn't know it yet. That he loves you now, and will forever.

You've invaded every aspect of his life and made it yours even before he understood what love was. The fruit you love but he hates is always refilled, packed neatly in the fridge. The jackets that you wear are always tossed over the arm of the couch. Next to his collection of coffee beans is your collection of teas.

The memory foam in his room remembers your shape. The pillow you steal from him is bathed in the smell of your shampoo. The sheets that tangle between the both of you when you sleep is soaked in your warmth.

Everything he sees, everything he does, everything he feels... he associates it with you.

There was no before, no after. Only the present and the future.

He could tell you this. In fact, he should be telling you this. God knows how he doesn't say it enough. But you're teary, and you look like you're about to leave, and Alhaitham can't lose you.

"Why, Haitham?"

Because you love him and he loves you. Wasn't that enough?

You having to go away for a year, even a little bit more than that, was nothing in the grand scheme of things. He'd wait for you, even if the sky fell.

"Why?" He repeats, almost letting out a baffled laugh because how were you so smart, so adorable, and yet, still not see?

Why? Because your relationship was stronger than whatever momentary flings the Akademiya scholars were having. Why? Because you and he had built this relationship. Started it from the ground up. Paved a way even against everyone's expectations. And if you were doing this out of consideration of him, you didn't have to.

"Because I'd do anything for you. Even if it means to wait."

Besides, no one said that he couldn't apply for leave.

Okay weird transition point but hi!!!!!!!! this was my original response until my brain said fuck it lets write

Alhaitham would NEVER

Look this man is LOGICAL. Do you know how illogical a relationship can get???

It's my understanding that he AGONISES over deciding to pursue you/not.

So when he finally does?

BET that he already has a 6-month, 2 year, 5 year, 10 year plan mapped out

Binder? No. It's in that big juicy brain of his.

He isn't the most organised okay

The only concrete thing that signaled him even having a plan were tiny post-its and scribbles on random pieces of paper

In fact the disorganisation makes it hard/impossible for you to know until he tells you about it

Anyway

Alhaitham dates you with the intention of marrying you someday.

With his decision to date you came his decision to accept everything you and life would throw at him (within reason)

When you first brought up the possibility of needing to go overseas for a semi-long period of time he didn't even think that breaking up was on the table

It was that outlandish.

So when you randomly spring it up on him one fine day?? You effectively shatter a part of his heart

The both of you have been through so much and you're worried your relationship wouldn't be able to handle the strain?

I mean it's a valid point

But Alhaitham thought you knew better than that.

He rather fight and try and make it last as long as he possibly could than give up without a fight

And he knows you're not doing this for your sake, but his! What's the point if he doesn't want it

Plus

What's stopping him from going to you?

Going to Mondstadt? He can just visit every now and then. It's not that far! Hell, he could live with you and just have his subordinates travel over to hand him any documents

Going to Liyue? Even easier. He can go to you every weekend. It's not that hard to get to Liyue from Sumeru!!

Going to Inazuma? Okay it's a little tougher but who says he can't just buy a waverider

Natlan? Fontaine? Snezhnaya? Fuck it! He'll move over with you!

It's not like he doesn't have paid and unpaid leave.

It's not like he isn't well-off, either. Please, he could always just rent out his properties and get passive income

I would argue that Alhaitham actually has a lot of investment schemes. The man is very financially stable (thats so hot of him)

Just give him a book or two, a peck here and there, and he'll be a happy happy guy

So going with you is definitely a feasible plan! Unless you don't want him to

So yeah! He wouldn't break it off. You'd be the one to suggest it and he'd be the one to strike it down.

Expect a debate where you lose.

And yes he would much rather yearn for you than mourn your loss.

Alhaitham has a lot of faith in himself and especially in you. He trusts you!!

Absence makes the heart grow fonder! He'll just write you tons and tons of letters until you return to him.

A letter for every day you're not with him, if you will. He'll label 'em and send them out a month before so you can slowly open them according to the days of the month

A bunch of inventions were made out of love! Wordle's creator made wordle for his wife, Halstead created surgical gloves for his wife!!

So what's stopping Alhaitham from making you the modern-day cellphone by using his knowledge of the akasha terminal?

Nothing. That's what.

Just let this man love okay

a/n: wow i feel so weird posting my writing again i do not like the jitters,, sorry for any mistakes too! wow its been some time since i've written

©shiinleaf Do not plagiarise, use, translate and/or share my content outside of Tumblr in any way, shape, or form. Likes, reblogs, and comments are greatly appreciated if you enjoyed!

HELIOTROPES

pairing: dottore x fem!reader & segments

summary: the gods were sick and cruel and twisted. for five hundred years, he believed he was fated to be alone. he had long accepted it—embraced it, even. that is, until a midwinter night when that elusive red thread finally appeared on his finger. but as much as he wants to ignore it, the pull of a soulmate simply cannot be ignored.

genre: soulmate au, canon compliant for the most part, forbidden love

warnings: fem!reader, age gap, lots of worldbuilding for snezhnaya & the fatui & fontaine, dottore is his own warning, light angst but mostly romance, none others that i can think of off the top of my head, this is a lighter series compared to the others i’ve written. each chapter will have its own warnings, it is self-ship coded, and i will take liberty with dottore’s known lore.

status: incomplete

taglist: 50/50 (CLOSED. if you would like to be on it, still comment here—i’m going to periodically go through and remove people who don’t interact, and then i’ll add you)

notes: sigh i wanted to give my beluved a little series. this is something i’ll be working on in my free time for fun, so updates will be sporadic, i was gonna post the reincarnation fic butttt that one is a little too dear to my heart ALL SEGMENTS THAT SHOW UP IN THIS SERIES ARE MINE ‼️ i created them, do not take them to use for yourself.

00. THE SEGMENTS

01. MIDWINTER

02. JOY

03. THE COLOR PURPLE

04. THE FAMILY JEWELS

05. AN INEXORABLE DEATH

06. RISE OF A KING, FALL OF A QUEEN

… TBA

rbs appreciated!

sprint fic | nine

prompt: sharp teeth grazing deftly against soft skin character(s): millions knives description: this fic was written using a prompt made by @petrichorium !! they're so fun hopefully i get to use more as the month goes on !! 🥺 happy belated mermay everyone <3 tag(s)/warning(s): merman au, violent themes, brief mention of a merman attack wc: 721

Knives is sharp not only in name.

You’ve learned that the hard way many times over: from the glittering scales that adorn his powerful, swaying tail; to the nails on his fingers—the very ones he used to claw himself free of that fishing net the night of the last full moon; to the wit that leaves his mouth without any invitation—his attempts to scare you from the reefs only fueling your morbid curiosity, skyrocketing his own vexation and reluctant fascination at your strange behavior.

But above it all, the most dangerous asset he carries is that mouth full of razor-sharp teeth.

(“Most filth stay away from the horrors they can’t comprehend,” he’d said on your third meeting. His sneering confidence thwarted only when you gave him a nearly three hour speech on the phenomena of horror movies and folklore—the way humans will seek out stimuli even at the risk of their own psychological safety.)

The first time he touched you, he made you bleed.

(It was the scales that did it—glinting and sharp despite their beautiful and deceptively smooth appearance; the way they shifted with the slow, methodical propulsion of his body through the water nothing short of hypnotic. Your human skin was no match for them: that armor he boasted, catching on their edges and sending you reeling, clutching your arm to your body while he hissed and twisted and salivated in spite of himself at the scent of it in the water.)

The memory of it comes back to you as he glides closer, the exposed length of your neck attracting his narrowed stare. Eyes reflecting impossibly blue with the pigmented ocean consuming you.

But the hand he uses to grab your hip is gentler, now—not kind, but careful, mindful of the dangerous press of his claws.

His mouth is closer than it has ever been. Before, you noticed the sharp peaks of his teeth when he talked, and of course he needed no reason to bare them at you within a moment’s notice—hoping to scare you away and faltering only when it proved to fuel your fascination.

His lips pull into a grin. You wonder if he can smell the way your heart rate picks up—salt water lapping in the dips of your throat.

(You’re aware of the danger merfolk pose to the safety of those stupid enough to venture into their territory. The stories that pass from mouth to mouth always finding a way to over-exaggerate, but never meant to be taken as mere myth.)

The moment his teeth graze over the soft, salted flesh of your throat, you prepare yourself to become part of that statistic. Breath hitching audibly amidst the rumble and hiss of rolling ocean waves. 

Knives laughs as you swallow. The sound of it low and raspy in your ear. Your chin tilts subconsciously, creating more room for him to bully into your space.

(When you were younger, you witnessed first hand the brutal aftermath of a merfolk encounter.

The sand had been splotched with violent red, blood polluting the shore with watercolor ease. Kids were screaming—adults were screaming as the poor swimmer’s body was pulled up by the coast guard. The brutal scene of it forever etched into your memory.

Your mother had ushered you with panicked hands away from the beach, but you could never forget the fear on her face—frozen with terror as she all but carried you away from the terrified crowd.)

This close to Knives, if you listened carefully to the ocean, you could still hear the screams.

Gooseflesh prickles up your arms under the cold swelling water. It’s shallow enough here that you’re able to stand, but you find yourself holding onto Knives for support, eyes fluttering shut.

“Soft,” he remarks as he pulls away, mocking and quiet. You’d expect nothing less from him. “You wouldn’t survive the day out past the reef. Something big and hungry would make an easy meal of you.”

“You wouldn’t save me?” you ask, digging your toes into the sand as he tests the sharpness of his teeth against your shoulder. Jaw gaping, as if to mime the damage he could do to you. A little fantasy you’d be powerless to prevent.

"Who said it wouldn't be me going in for the kill?" he challenged.

But he never goes further than using his teeth to lightly poke the tender flesh of your shoulder, leaving you oddly wanting.

when you sleep on the couch after an argument 

alhaitham x fem!reader

2.5k words | zhongli + diluc

warnings: hurt/comfort

some would say it was inevitable that alhaithams cold and arrogant personality would catch up to your relationship. how someone as sweet and loving as you could be with someone as robotic and logical as him, people didn’t understand. but it never mattered to either of you what others thought or assumed about your relationship. you knew how you felt and how he felt in return, you didn’t need anything else. 

you also knew that even if what others said did come true, even if you were on the receiving end of cold calculating words and intimidating eyes it wouldn’t sway how you felt about him. and as you stood before him, with unshed tears clinging to your lashes, under the gaze of his indifference to what he said that caused your chest to contract painfully, you know it really didn’t change how you felt about him but that still didn’t prepare you for how much it hurt to hear him talk to you in such a way, how small it would make you feel in comparison to the genius grand scribe. 

he hadn’t yelled, hadn’t used his title to undermine you, he had hardly even blinked when the words came out and pierced your heart with daggers of ice. and yet he may as well have screamed to the whole library around you that you were fighting, that you were beneath him. those feelings wrapped around you, curling around your spine like tight tendrils oozing with black smoke that echo with his hurtful words as he towers over you with folded arms and his usual unbothered expression.

your mouth felt dry, your heart beating to a rhythm that hurt; each deep thump sending an uncomfortable ache throughout your whole body. you didn’t know how to reply, there was clearly nothing you could say that would make him understand where you were coming from right now and with every passing second you were becoming weaker to the tears threatening to spill down your cheeks. being this upset you didn’t want to cry in front of him or what felt like the whole akademiya but you couldn’t stand to have him speak to you like this for another minute without breaking down and you hardly had the will to talk back to him.

all you can manage is a choked out and quiet ‘okay’ as you turn away from him and start to head for the door leading out of the house of dena. you don’t make it far before a powerful hand from your ‘feeble’ scholar wraps around your wrist and stops you. it’s gentle enough not to hurt you but still with enough strength that you’re forced to do as he willed even if you didn’t want to.

biting the inside of your cheek, trying your damnedest to not break down and cry right here and now, you look up to meet his eyes but only get a glimpse of his stern features, those seafoam orbs with amber fire, before your vision blurs and wet warmth travels down your cheek. pushing your hand against his, you pull away from his grip and quickly wipe the few tears from your face with the back of your hand before practically running from the house of dena and out the doors of akademiya. you needed to get out of here.. try to calm down and finally catch your breath, not succumb to the suffocating unease sewing between you because if you did you swore you would drown in it.

you don’t hear him following but you don’t dare to look back to check. 

with his sharp eyes and pink lips drawn in a thin line you’d never see through the express he wore that alhaithams heart was dropping into the pit of his stomach, dragging his lungs down with it. the hurt painted all over your face, the shake of your body under his touch and as you pushed him away, the tears you tried so hard to hide from him escaping and cleansing the veil of his arrogance from his eyes.

.. had you looked this hurt the whole time? he had hardly looked up from the book he was working on until his patience snapping, wanting nothing more than silence and for you to not worry, brought him from the pages but even then he hadn’t truly seen you. at least not until you turned away and he reached for you, went to tell you that this discussion was not over but the words died on his tongue quickly because as soon as he saw you, actually saw you and heard not just the words he spewed to prove a point, to be right, he found he could hardly speak at all.

how others felt about his words or tone was hardly of his concern but when it came to you..

you’re suddenly too far away for his liking and he somehow feels like the distance you put between you was not just physical but a distance of the heart as well and he felt it growing vaster with each quick step you took. but by the time his body actually moves to go after you, a few long strides in, his voice returning to call your name, a strong grip on his cloak pulls him back and keeps him in place. 

“let her go,” kaveh voice is as annoyed with the scribe as it always is but there's an air of unusual authority around him at this very moment.

kaveh hadn’t really meant to eavesdrop or step in, it was more that he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time but it was a scene that was hard to look away from and he was full of his own dejection after watching what unfolded before him. he had never heard alhaitham speak to you like that, with cold indifference as the scribe had with many but never you. it had once baffled kaveh to see the scribe being sweet, truly and genuinely loving, towards you but this.. this threw him off even more so.

why did he stop alhaitham though? he chalks it up to being such a sucker for love and well, if he’s being honest, he quite likes what you’ve done to his roommates bad personality. he didn’t need this romantic fledgling only making things worse for himself.

“this doesn’t concern you.” alhaitham can hardly contain the sneer pulling at his lips as he forces himself out of his roommate's grasp and turns back in the direction you ran but you were nowhere to be seen now. he swallows the lump in his throat to try to calm his racing nerves, clenches his fist to keep him grounded, from losing the last bit of rationality because with every erratic pulse through his veins he feels it slipping further and further from him.

he hadn’t known the absence of you could make him so.. frantic.

“maybe not,” kaveh sneers right back. “but did you ever think that when you’re being an insufferable jerk not even y/n would want to be around you? give her some space.”

give you space.. crescent shapes dig their way into his half gloved hands the tighter he clenches his fists thanks to how much he hates that yes it makes sense that he should indeed do just that. you had left to get away from him after all, even if he detests the validity of that truth. but maybe that's what he needed too. yeah, maybe logically.. but he can’t get his heart to agree, not when it’s still sitting like a boulder at the bottom of his stomach, growing heavier by the minute at the remembrance of the hurt in your eyes and the way you ran from him-

he should go after you..

as if kaveh heard his thoughts, which is both absurd and annoying, he attempts to stop alhaitham again. “i’m sure she’ll find her way to the house once she’s ready and then you can attempt to apologize for being such a royal ass.”

it wasn’t until after he had tried to settle back into his book that he actually started to see what happened leading up to this  moment. the way he spoke to you, both his tone and his choice of words, the way your own voice wavered so many times but he still didn’t stop, as if this was some kind of debate with another scholar - and this time he turned out to be the losing fool. how he had made you cry.. the fact that for all he knows you were still crying..

he tries to swallow down the unease, running his hand through his hair, readjusting and trying to find a comfortable position in his chair, rereads the same paragraph over and over because he can’t seem to retain the information with the lingering thoughts of you in his mind but it all does nothing to help quell the storm that uncomfortably knocks against his rib cage and keeps a slight bounce to his leg. 

not a single bit of his work got done from the moment you left. he tried to brush it off like he had so many other arguments with so many others but you were not others and they had never felt like this, never had someone he cares about this much hurting from his words. 

unable to focus on anything but you, he gives up on his book and heads home early but home isn’t much better. 

while you didn’t officially live here, still having your own place in the city, you slept here every night, had drawers that alhaitham cleaned out in his dresser for your things that slowly made their way here or that he had simply bought you so you could have them no matter whose place you were at. little reminders of you lay throughout the whole house and he could hardly take his eyes off of them; your tea cup sitting on the table from when you left this morning while in a hurry, your extra pair of shoes neatly placed at the front door, your favorite fruit resting in the basket on the kitchen counter waiting to be cut up and eaten, your soft blanket and fantasy books near the couch you usually sit at. and though it wasn’t what he normally read, he couldn’t stop himself from opening up one as he waited for you to come home.

but as the sun set and not even kaveh returned, it was as though he saw every calculating chance of how he could make this up to you when you finally did come back, fall to the ground and shatter at his feet. he looks into those shards of possibility, calculating his next strategy, refusing to let them piece themselves into a prospect he didn’t want to see; one where you never called this place your home again. he was left with his head in his hands, staring at the ground beneath his feet and wanting nothing more than to kiss your forehead, remind you how precious you are to him, have your head rest against his chest and remind you that he can be aloof, even cold, but he loves you so much.

they were words he rarely shared but right now he wanted to say them to you more than ever.

he had never actually used the key that you gave him to your place. there was no need when he found you beside him always, but, knowing there is nowhere else you likely are, it now felt like a life line that reeled him into you, guiding him through the dark streets of sumeru until he was standing outside your door, the first few drops of relief finally washing over him at the light coming from your living room window.  

he swiftly unlocks your door and steps inside, headed straight for the room with the light on, where you were bound to be, your name falling from his lips only to be cut off when he finds you on the couch, sleeping as unpeacefully as he’s ever seen you. he feels the regret of not coming earlier bubbling in his stomach but pushes it down because it didn’t matter, he was here now and he was going to make it right.

with quiet steps he takes long strides towards your sleeping figure, feeling somehow better and worse than he had before. to see you, reach out and touch you, delicate touches as he moves stray hairs from your face, revealing to him all the evidence of your tearful state until you had fallen asleep here. by looks of it you hadn’t meant to, with no blanket to keep you warm and the lights still on, in an old shirt he hadn’t known you took from his closet, curled into yourself, a book long forgotten on the tea table.

he hadn’t been able to part from your skin, even when your tired eyes blink slowly, finally seeing who was in front of you and the emotions held behind those lovely blue eyes, emotions he normally didn’t feel or show to anyone.

“h-‘haitham?” 

“habibti,” he replies with such tenderness.

“what’re-”

“you didn’t come home.” 

your chest feels heavy at his words and you hide your face from him, feeling like you might cry at the way he said that, not wanting to say that this was your home too. you knew it was a lie, your apartment hadn’t felt like home for a long time, not when he wasn’t here with you but how you shy away doesn’t stop him from scooping you into his arms, cradling you in his warm and strong embrace. for a moment he just stands there, holding you, his lips on the crown of your head, his nose buried in your hair, his grip around you growing comfortably tighter. you can hear the heavy beating of a heart but in this proximity, when the whole world around you was nothing but alhaitham, you didn’t know if it was his or yours. 

“i love you.”

his words break the silence between you. spoken against your skin, their truth seeping into your very being and down your spine until you are encompassed by it, by him.

you reply in earnest, clinging to him, placing soft and gentle kisses against his collarbone as he carries you to the bedroom you hadn’t slept in for so long, that felt too big without him in it but tonight, you wouldn’t be without him for another moment.

as if you were made of glass he places you into the sheets and follows immediately after you, never letting you get far from his grasp and as you drift back to sleep against his chest, a peaceful one this time around, he whispers his apologies, his promise to do better and more confessions of his unending love for you.

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