the afterglow

sideblog to starbind

pronouns are she/her. 

mun is 21+

low activity 

temporary rules and muse list

     her day with albedo and klee went on longer than she planned. there was still writing she had to get done for her column. she told herself she would be home when the sun sets, but then they insisted she eat dinner with them. since she knew she had nothing at her house and not enough mora to buy food she stayed for dinner and intended to leave after. she had lost track of time, she always does with albedo. it soon became klee’s bedtime and she had begged for mona to read her a bedtime story tonight. despite already staying far later than she wanted to, she gave in to klee. the little girl wanted story after story, mona wasn’t even sure how many she ended up reading before klee had fallen asleep with her head against her. she was afraid that if she were to get up right away she’d disturb klee and she’d wake up, so she waited a few minutes. mona underestimated how tired she was, she began drifting off to sleep herself. if it wasn’t for the clanging of dishes she would have fallen asleep.

i can go anywhere i want anywhere i want, just not home & you can aim for my heart, go for blood. but you would still miss me in your bones. 

     the way the other woman is able to silence keqing in an instant with just a simple touch is something to be admired. normally, she isn’t one to remain silent. keqing always voices her opinions and knows just how to articulate her thoughts in any given situation. any situation, that is,  except  the ones that involve ningguang testing her limits.

     she instinctively took a step back only to become trapped between ningguang and the large table where every qixing meeting was held. all she could do was allow the woman to invade her space.   “  i—  ”   her thoughts became muddled as her quickening pulse rang in her ears. the papers she was holding were becoming wrinkled from the death grip she had on them.   “  not… not here. we can’t do this here.  ”

    ningguang marked keqing’s nervousness, she was enjoying every moment of it. something about making the yuheng squirm delighted her in a way nothing else could. it was an effort to not laugh when the other woman backed into the table. the look on her cute pouty face made her want to enjoy this moment longer. she wanted keqing a mess before her.

     they only give a soft hum in response. the thought of mona becoming attached to the little girl that albedo cherishes and considers their family had brought a feeling of  warmth  to them. even as articulate as they are, it’s the only word albedo can think of to describe the feeling that formed in their chest. that warmth only seemed to grow until it finally rises to the surface of their cheeks.

     albedo leans back in their seat, the sketchbook they had pulled away from her view now clutched tightly against their chest.   “  it’s nothing important.  ”   it’s unlike them to be so secretive about their art. they had never felt any sort of embarrassment when it came to curious eyes wandering upon their work. closing the sketchbook, they placed it in the desk drawer to further keep it from her sight.   “  we should go look for klee. there’s no telling what sort of trouble she’s gotten herself into by now.  ”

    an eyebrow raised as she watched them clutch the sketchbook to their chest. “you’re not drawing porn are you, albedo?” she teases, but the grin on her face fades when they tuck it away in the drawer. curiosity turned to suspicion. they never had a problem showing her their artwork before, so what was the issue now. maybe it really was porn and they were shy about it?

@starbind  ,  ningguang  ;   “  i sure you hope you don’t think you’re walking out that door without giving me a kiss first  ”

     with the qixing meeting coming to a close, everyone began filing out of the room. keqing gathered together her perfectly detailed notes that she took every meeting and stood to leave the room. just before she could slip through the doorway, the tianquan’s words stopped her in her tracks. too stunned to speak, keqing quickly popped her head out of the doorway to see if anyone had been lingering in the hallway.

     she breathed a sigh of relief to find it empty before turning back into the room. the sharp gaze doing little to hide the flush on her cheeks.   “  you can’t just say things like that  !  what if someone heard you  ?  ”

[ prompt ]  //  accepting.

   a serpentine smirk slowly curled on ningguang’s lips as she watched keqing with amusement. ningguang was never one to advertise her relationships, but she isn’t one to sneak around and hide them either. she wasn’t concerned whether or not someone heard her just now. keqing on the other hand seemed to be the opposite.