#leftboob

Callum planting flowers from the Silvergrove in the castle gardens as a surprise and then convincing her to take a 'moonlit' stroll with him one night once they're ready so he can show them off

It's non traditional but he knows the main reason she hates the water is because she always feels unsteady on her feet so he gets her a grip mat for the tub so she can feel more centered

Redoing her braid for her whenever it comes undone and stitching up little tears and frayed edges in her clothing/cloaks because he knows how to sew

On that note: getting her a new cloak because her old one is tattered and doing up the clasp for her / tugging her in close by the hood for nose and mouth kisses if he's not smiling too much

Him and Ezran collecting a whole bunch of things during the timeskip to save up to give to her so that the castle can feel like home

So many forehead kisses and just gentle hand squeezes. Three squeezes means "I love you" and he'll trace the words onto her back or side sometimes when they're just laying together

He definitely talked privately to Opeli (and probably the guards) after the 5x01 throne room debacle and gave them a piece of his mind / new protocol to follow when it comes to them being concerned about Rayla's actions (ficlet here)

For that matter: absolute death glares to anyone who gives her a hard time at the castle / any diplomatic function (and probably almost causes a political incident or two over it)

Him murmuring the sappy love poetry he's read in her ear even when she rolls he eyes and can't quite hide her smile, working up his nerve to write personal poems of his own for her

Little things he did this season like being the one to handle the reigns of their mount the bulk of the time as soon as they started sharing because he knows she's not a morning person and is a light sleeper, so she holds onto his middle and he lets her doze for most of the day whenever he can

Requesting mints at inns they stay in that don't have any already / using magic to carve the soap into little shapes if they aren't that way to begin with and leaving them, once again, as little surprises for her to discover

If/when Rayla wants or needs time away from Stella (sparring perhaps) the cuddlemonkey is almost always with Callum and he makes sure she's cared for too. She's fussy about getting brushed and hard to pin down thanks to the six hands, so he'll usually help get her sitting still while Rayla does the actual grooming

Him using cooling spells for her when it's hot on summer nights (like in 4x07) and heating his hands to lay on her tummy when she gets period cramps

Normally he'd never throw his weight around as a prince, but he absolutely will on her behalf, whether it's getting something she wants from a servant tea/food wise or making sure they are treated well / have a nice place to stay while travelling

"It's none of your concern--" "It very much is her concern, and watch your tone."

Giving her his scarf whenever it's cold, of course

Making sure she's not overworking her bad wrist and giving little massages to that and her ankles when she's been doing a lot of jumps/movements that day, especially as they get older

His sketchbook is equally hers (even if she uses it far less often of course) and there's a few pages near the back designated for her to leave notes or doodles or whatever she wants when she's bored and/or he's not using it (he's very proud of how her drawing has improved)

Getting heavy duty enchanted blinds from Lux Aurea for her room so it can keep the sun out so she can sleep in / can give her room more of a twilight light quality so it can remind her of the Silvergrove (if she wants)

There are some meetings he can't get out of as crown prince but they're long and boring so he does his best to convince Rayla to go and spend her afternoon doing something she wants. (She usually stays for at least the first half anyway to support him and Ez)

Drawing memories and stories she tells him about her family and then giving her the pages so she can hold onto / remember them

Rayla still having a hard time articulating how she's feeling sometimes and getting upset/angry/embarrassed when it comes out wrong, so he takes her hand and gets her to take a steadying breath and start over with a gentle "Try again. What are you meaning to say?" if she says something obtuse/that comes out wrong

Ofc taking care of her when she's sick no matter how disgruntled or snotty she gets and reading to her quietly/stroking her hair until she falls asleep

Taking her to his favourite places in the castle/kingdom/Pentarchy for dates and private times to hang out alone, insisting on carrying their picnic basket because he's a Prince, Rayla, and chivalry isn't dead

TDP corner has quite a few pretty well known Modern AU fics (Zoommates, Homeward Bound, some others I'm sure I'm forgetting). One of my all time favourites is this long, sweet, friendship with dashes of romance centric oneshot. General Modern AUs tag here that will probably have the bulk of what you're looking for fic/fanart wise <3

For myself, I'm mostly incapable writing anything other than Rayllum first meetings only when it comes to Modern AUs / I prefer to stick as close to canon's world as possible generally speaking, but some exceptions:

Tag for modern AU specific headcanons here (featuring more than just Rayllum, like some sparse Janaya and Ezran)

the most wonderful time of the year: Ezran drags Callum to a "Meet Santa" event. Rayla works as a holiday helper. Christmas fluff ensues. 2.8k and super old (like dec 2019 old) but still very cute

luck: Callum and Rayla meet at a DnD club. 3k, Loosely inspired by the Zoom Into Xadia dnd skit the cast did back in 2020

Honestly the only modern AU headcanons I hold strongly to is like

Callum and Ezran are from a mixed race, interfaith family. Harrow is Christian so they do celebrate Christmas, but culturally participate and consider themselves to be Jewish far more. Callum (+ Amaya and Sarai) are Korean and Ezran is half Black, half Korean

Ezran would be an animal rights protection lawyer

If Rayla plays an instrument, she plays the drums (listen, the sticks just work well with her dual blades)

Soren's favourite movie is "Bend It Like Beckham"

This is a tricky one I’ve been sitting on because like, there’s a few layers to this

We know from the end of TTM that Callum didn’t ever fully believe that Viren was alive. He trusted what Rayla thought / had seen, enough to commit himself to her mission wholeheartedly, and it was his idea to leave as soon as possible to set out and complete it. (Callum may have even had it in his head that he’d be the one who would have to kill Viren, if they did find him, since cold blooded murder is something Rayla has never been able to accomplish with her blades.) So his concern was less “Viren may be alive” and more “I want to keep you alive/safe” which he reflects in TTM: “Together. That’s the most important thing” (reminiscent of “Taking Zym home to Xadia, that’s the most important thing we’ll ever do”). 

So I think the two biggest blows was 1) I can’t protect her and 2) She abandoned me. Number one is what is on his mind then probably for the bulk of the timeskip with the abandonment taking (somewhat) of a back seat, as while he says “This will will always be the anniversary of the day she left,” his birthday ends on a somber note of love and loss, being unsure of whether the girl he loves is even still alive.

Then, Rayla returns - unharmed, of her own accord, in S4 out of nowhere after two years. She certainly seems to be less of a wreck than he is, even when they reunite (which makes sense, as she had time to at least emotionally prepare, and he had no time at all). Cue “She abandoned me” coming to the forefront, and the anger about it being what makes Callum shut down / try to leave first in order to protect himself. It works, marginally. 

Callum is also a little (rightfully in some ways) petty about it. He doesn’t think that Rayla’s come back for him, after all.

C: So why are you back? Guess you must’ve found Viren, huh? Was he dead, after all?

This is a hit in a couple of ways. First reaffirms that Callum still doesn’t think Viren was ever alive (and that Rayla had in some ways left for nothing, to kill a target that was already in the grave), that Rayla probably couldn’t kill him (implied) even if she did find him (thus returning successfully bc she didn’t need to do anything), and that Rayla had only come back because her mission was over. Again, not choosing him.

Then Rayla corrects him and admits her failure while looking at her wrist.