scardreams

The morning sun filtered through the dark sheer curtains of your shared room, falling right over your eyes and effectively waking you up. You groan, your eyes opening slightly just to immediately blink and close them again. You turn around in your wife’s arm, her hand tightening where it was resting around your waist to gently pull you a bit closer. 

She was already awake, of course she was. In the five years you’ve been married to her, you’ve only woken up before her once.

Another groan left you as you buried your face in her shoulder. “What time is it?” you murmur, your voice muffled by her skin. “6:12 am,” Arlecchino replied quietly, her voice a little raspy in the early hour. “Good. So we can just stay here for a while,” you sighed tiredly, pressing yourself further against her.

You laid there for a while longer, just sleepily cuddling with the Harbinger you called your wife. Before you got to know her you would’ve never imagined that the Knave could be so.. gentle. 

Not just with you, but with the children too. You’ve heard stories of Crucabena’s parenting (if you can even call it that), some told by her and some picked up from the older members of the House of the Hearth and other Fatui agents. You also knew that Arlecchino was well aware that the House was still far from perfect. But in your eyes, whatever she was doing now, it was working, even if not flawlessly. She cared deeply for the children and it showed in every barbecue she planned, in every wound she tended and in every lesson she taught them.

“Love?” your wife’s voice ripped through the thick fog of sleepy thoughts you were drifting in.

“Hm?” you hummed sleepily, earning a small chuckle. 

“I asked if you’d like eggs or waffles for breakfast,” she repeated softly. “Lyney, Lynette and Freminet said they were gonna come by at around seven.”

“Uh, don’t care,” you yawned, sitting up slowly and rubbing your eyes.

When you stepped out of the shower half an hour later you followed the delicious smell weaving itself through the house. You smiled when you saw the arrangement of plates already prepared, paired with a plate of waffles as well as freshly made scrambled eggs.

Visiting the Opera Epiclese was something you and your wife often did as a weekend or evening activity. You loved watching the different performances, entranced by the way Lady Furina and her theater group brought the characters and story to life.

You were one of the first to enter the Opera house that evening, the sun already setting as more and more people presented their tickets at the entrance. Nothing new, it was usually sold out whenever the former acting Archon performed, especially when it was a new play, like tonight.

Following the Melusine – whose name you could never quite remember despite your repeated visits – you took a seat on the private balcony tucked into one of the walls. You had mentioned once that it allowed you to get a perfect view of the stage, and ever since then the Knave insisted on buying these tickets weeks in advance.

You two were chatting while you watched the seats fill to the brim, soft background music playing over the speakers. When the lights dimmed to a faint glow, then blacked out completely, the conversations around the room died down into an anticipating silence.

You leaned forward in your seat, nudging your wife with your shoulder. Lady Furina entered the stage, a spotlight following her in the otherwise unilluminated room.

As the play progressed, you found yourself leaning more and more into Arlecchino’s side. It had been a long week, you two barely got to see each other, and you were glad to finally spend some quality time with your lover again.

So when her dark hand started resting on your thigh, you didn’t think anything of it, barely noticed it even. But as it slid higher, under the hem of your dress, you finally ripped your eyes away from the performance.

“Arlecchino, what are you doing?” you whispered, your hand resting on hers to stop her for a moment.

“What does it look like, dear?” she murmured as her eyes only briefly left yours to look down at your hands, barely visible in the darkness. “I want to make you feel good.”

You were momentarily rendered speechless as you stare at your wife in bewilderment, a faint flush coloring your cheeks at her blunt words. “H-here?,” you finally managed to whisper. 

“Is that so absurd?” the Harbinger chuckled, fixing her eyes back on the stage. Her hand resumed its way to the apex of your thighs, pushing the hem of your dress up with it. 

“A little,” you muttered, glancing around. While you were on a private balcony, the risk of getting seen or heard made you hesitate. Sure, the railing was high enough, but the other balconies could still see that something was happening if they decided to focus on you instead of the show below them. “Aren’t there cameras here?”

“Darling,” your wife whispered, glancing at you with a reassuring glint in those crimson x-eyes. “They’re in the far corners, the balconies are barely visible. Not in detail, anyway.”

Well, you had to trust her word on that. If anyone knew about the position and abilities of security assets, it was the Knave. Your hand found its way back on top of hers – her movement had stilled at your hesitance – and started guiding it up. A silent yes.

A satisfied smile tugged at the corners of Arlecchino’s lips as her fingers pushed your panties aside to run her index finger through your slit. You suppressed a whimper when it brushed your clit, seeing your wife’s smug smirk grow. 

“Excited, are we?” she muttered amusedly at your wetness, but fell silent again after the glare you shot her. Her ring finger came to join the index finger at your clit, gently rubbing it in the way she knew you loved.

You let out a shaky breath, doing your best to not let a moan slip through. You tried, really tried, to focus back on Lady Furina’s show, but the way Arlecchino’s fingers dipped down to enter you was definitely distracting. You bit down on your lip, keeping down another sound as her fingers pumped in and out of you at a steady pace, the sharp tips of her nails hitting that spongy spot inside you.

You put your hand over your mouth to make sure you kept quiet while her fingers alternated between rubbing your clit and finger-fucking you. Safe to say it didn’t take long for you to reach your climax, your nails digging into her wrist as a drop of blood spread on your lip from biting it too hard. 

Arlecchino slowed her pace before pulling out, holding her fingers up for you to see. The light of the stage caught the strands of arousal clinging to her dark hands and it was only then that you noticed the show coming to an end.

You opened your mouth to complain but before the words could leave your lips, Arlecchino’s slick fingers came up to your lips. They removed the drop of blood before smearing your own arousal all over your lips. The digits then slipped into your mouth and she didn’t have to say anything for you to know she wanted you to suck them and you were more than happy to oblige. 

By the time she removed her fingers from your mouth and brushed back your hair to press a tender kiss to your flushed cheeks, her hand simultaneously fixing your dress, the actors on stage were already bowing to the applause erupting from the crowd.

You left the Opera Epiclese, your hand intertwined with your wife’s, swaying it back and forth absentmindedly while you made your way back to the House of the Hearth.

“I think I missed the best part,” you sighed, entering the familiar building.

“So we might just have to go again, hm?” Arlecchino chuckled, her hand now resting on the small of your back.

The sky was covered in stars, the moon’s light shining over Liyue seeming dull in comparison to the festive lights decorating Liyue Harbor.

The streets were bustling with people, children running around excitedly with lanterns they couldn’t wait to release, their parents chatting away as they followed them through the streets.

Arlecchino and you entered the region’s capital, your eyes taking in the warm glow the festival’s decorations emitted, your smile parting in a silent gasp.

“Archons, Arlecchino, look at all these lights,” you murmured, your voice laced with awe as your steps quickened subconsciously. “Look, is that a giant statue?“

“I believe so,” your friend and colleague said as her eyes followed your excited figure just bursting with curiosity.

Ripping her gaze away from you, she took in the city around her, a small smile on her lips. 

“I suppose our mission went well enough, don’t you agree? Shall we go eat something?” Arlecchino asked as you two passed some food stalls.

There was no need to ask you twice, your stomach growling already after the strenuous day you had. After purchasing some traditional Liyue dishes and finding a nice place to sit down near the sea, you noticed more and more people gathering around the pier.

“Oh, they’re gonna release the lanterns soon,” you exclaim excitedly, your eyes lighting up in delight. “I’ve always wanted to see that.”

“Is that right?” Arlecchino murmured, her voice as calm as ever as she took in the crowd. “Let’s join them, then.” She stood up, offering you her hand.

You blink in surprise before quickly swallowing the rest of your food and letting her pull you up. Her hand remained around yours as she gently guided the two of you through the mass of animated people.

You tried to ignore the tingling feeling the contact left in your hand, grinning as the people started preparing to release their xiao lanterns and hope for their wishes to come true.

Soon, even the two of you were scribbling your heart’s deepest desire on the special sticks that you were hurriedly placing into your lanterns.

You managed to finish writing just in time, children and adults alike letting their lanterns float into the night sky, soft music playing from somewhere nearby. 

Taking Arlecchino’s hand once again, you led her towards a small, empty space at the end of the pier, the sea’s dark water reflecting the warm lights levitating up into the air.

A smile graced both your lips as you released the lanterns into the night, the peaceful moment settling over your soul like a warm, comforting blanket. 

“So, wanna tell me what you wished for?” you murmured softly. You turned to face your friend, only to find her already looking down at you, her expression unreadable.

“I’d rather not,” she whispered, her voice softening as she took a small step towards you, her hand hesitating in the air before it carefully wrapped around your waist to pull you slightly closer. “May I just show you?”

Your cheeks flushed slightly, the warmth her proximity was emitting causing your heart to beat a lot faster than before. Your eyes flicker between hers, your mouth parting as you were momentarily rendered speechless.

“Of course.”

The words barely left you  –  spoken so softly Arlecchino almost missed them over the chatter of the crowd – before her lips pressed against yours. The contact was so careful, so gentle despite the brutal reputation the Knave carried around. You could tell she was slightly nervous, even if she didn’t show it. 

Your hand came up to cup her jaw, pulling her more firmly against you. Her grip tightened around your waist, her lips tugging into a smile against yours.

After a while, you two broke apart, your breaths mingling before you cleared your throat with a smile of your own and looked out into the sky, watching the lanterns disappear slowly. You glanced back at Arlecchino, who was still watching you with a soft gaze.

“Happy Lantern Rite,” you whispered, interlacing your fingers with hers.

Arlecchino never really cared for bringing her own children into this world. Didn’t she have enough already as the director of the House of the Hearth? 

Babies were a nuisance, she thought, one she didn’t have the time for, nor did she want to care for one. A baby would require her attention all day every day and she had duties to attend to, children to train and care for. 

She did not trust herself to be gentle enough with such a fragile creature.

So why did her eyes keep drifting towards the couples praying for offsprings whenever she passed the Fountain of Lucine? Why did her gaze linger on the baby shops just a few blocks away from the House, her steps faltering for just a fragment of a second? 

You. You were the reason.

When Arlecchino met you all these years ago, something in her shifted. Though she tried to ignore it at first, she knew that her heart’s edges had softened and being your lover, your wife, had only blunted them further.

Over the years a desire began to burn in her soul, a fire that was different from the one her curse bore but no less intense. A desire to have biological children with you. Every time she saw you handling even the youngest of children she trained with such care, such love, every time she saw your eyes linger on various couple's newborns, a somber and longing expression on your face, that fire grew.

A few weeks ago you were on a mission when you saved a baby out of a bad man’s hands. While Arlecchino made sure the cleanup left no traces of the House of the Hearth, you cradled the small infant against your chest, shushing its piercing cries. The Harbinger couldn’t take her eyes off you as you handed the baby back to its mother just an hour later, the way your gaze held a hint of dejection as the door closed. That was the moment she realized that maybe having children with you was indeed something she wanted.

You two never really talked about it, only brief conversation snippets and comments. Still. She should’ve seen this coming, shouldn’t she?

You two had been apart for a week and as soon as you returned and were in her chambers, her hands were all over you, the bulge between her legs already prominent through the fabric of her pants.

The kisses turned more heated, the touches bolder and you soon found yourself in a familiar position – on her plush bed on your bare back, legs thrown over your wife’s shoulders as she pounded into you in a steady and firm rhythm. Moans spilled out of both your mouths, her thumb rubbing over your clit in sync with her thrusts, her nails digging into your thigh while her other hand held your ankle in position.

Arlecchino looked down to where her cock disappeared into your dripping pussy, and for a moment, she wished she could feel you without the condom that is wrapped around her length. 

She quickly diminished the thought, wanting to focus on the sensations your tight walls were bringing her, this intimate moment, not what could be. You two always used protection. It was fine.

She felt you clenching around her more and more, your walls tightening with every thrust. She knew you were close but before she could speed up further, your hand gently brought her to a stop.

“What? What’s wrong, my love?” she whispered, pulling out, her voice breathless from exertion. 

“Nothing,” you murmured, biting your lip in the way you always did when you were nervous, before reaching down between your legs and towards the hard cock that was currently twitching just an inch away from your pussy. You wrapped your fingers around the condom, looking your wife into the eyes with a silent question. 

Were you–

Before Arlecchino could even finish the thought your fingers were already peeling off the rubber from her grey member, slowly, never breaking eye contact – giving her more than enough time to stop you if she wanted to.

But the Knave could only watch as you threw the protective latex into a small bin nearby, her eyes glazed over in a hazy lust. She blinked once, twice, thrice before looking back at you.

“Darling, are you–” she started but was once again cut off by you. “Yes, love. I’m sure.”

She gulped, nodded, then slowly lined up her cock with your pulsing entrance, pre-cum already leaking slightly from the tip. She slid inside and you both groaned at the sensation.

At first her thrusts were slow, careful, as if wanting to draw out this moment – your hands holding her close, your breath shaky against her neck as her cock nestled nakedly inside of you. After a while she got faster, harder, your knees getting bent towards your shoulders more and more, your muscles straining slightly.

Arlecchino’s breathing was ragged, moans and whimpers falling from her lips as she got closer. “I-I’m close,” she croaked out. Your heels dig into her shoulders, keeping her close as both your orgasms crashed over you simultaneously.

Her cock twitched inside you after her hips came to a still, her pelvis pressing against yours. Her cum spurted out of the tip, filling your inner walls. Your pussy was squeezing her as your orgasm slowly subsided, pumping her empty until she slowly pulled out with an obscenely wet plop.

She ripped her gaze away from the sperm that was starting to leak out of you, the way your finger pushed it back in, and met your eyes. A debauched expression laced your features, your eyes blessed out with desire and a lazy, satisfied smile on your lips.

Her own lips curled up into a grin, her lips meeting yours in a gentle, loving kiss.