Sweet Dreams! : hcs on what its like to sleep next to genshin men
characters: xiao, illuga, lohen, kinich, flins, wanderer
Xiao is lithe and lean, nearly all muscle and very very little fat content
he was made to be a weapon, after all
for a very long time, if you try cuddling him at all, he is TENSE.
and because there isn't really any fat to cushion anything, it feels a bit like hugging a brick
though, getting to the point of cuddling is already a longshot and takes a LOT of effort
at best, he'll lay adjacent to you without making contact at all (even if he really does want to hold you)
he's mostly convinced that if he gives into the urge, he'll end up hurting you in some way
not to mention the fact that every second he spends with you could be hurting you anyway because of his karmic debt.
most nights, he'll end up simply 'standing guard', making sure your room is warm and safe and quietly chatting with you until you fall asleep
he'll periodically teleport back to check on you and ensure your dreams are sweet
even if he hates the taste, he'd eat a hundred nightmares to keep your life free of suffering
maybe one day, he'll be able to feel safe enough to relax and hold you like the lover you deserve
Illuga runs WARM. very much so.
if you also run warm, you're unfortunately going to wake up a little sweaty. there isn't much you can do about it
tends to have a bit of a spotty sleep schedule, waking at odd hours with the faces of the people in his dreams just far away enough he can't make out their features
a cuddler....... gets sad if you're too far away from him
luckily nod krai is chilly year round, otherwise you both may actually cook in the summer
likes to be the big spoon more often than notā it helps him sleep easier most nights by placing himself between you and the door, acting as a human shield
but also, it just makes him feel strong and reliable. he wants (needs) you to see him as strong and reliable
not opposed to little spoon though, and actually loves it a lot! he love love loves feeling your heartbeat right against his back, and usually dozes off following its pattern
feels a little guilty for basking in how safe it makes him feel when you hold him so close
his work has him getting up at odd times, so he very rarely gets to actually sleep in with you
will tuck you back in gently with the sweetest of kisses placed on your forehead, and a small bowl of fruit cut up and sitting on your bedside table to eat when you wake
Lohen is another man with fairly minimal fat content on his body, but he tends to be so relaxed laying next to you that the softness of his muscle makes it slightly more bearable
though, one wrong move and you may end up with a very sharp elbow digging into your back for half the night
Runs naturally cold because of his vision, so you'd need a couple extra blankets if that's a problem
SQUEEZES you in his sleep
he's more gentle (slightly) when awake but when he's asleep it's like he's trying to pop you like a balloon
you'll be waking up with your limbs numb a lot
mutters a bit when he sleeps as well
nothing coherent or loud enough to wake you, but if you're already awake you can't ignore it either
because of his job as a knight, he's usually on a fairly strict routine when it comes to going to bed on time and getting up as the sun rises
so the clock is TICKING on your time cuddling, meaning he has to squeeze in as much of it as possible (needy.......)
if he wakes up to find you gone (assuming you could EVER get out of his grip without waking him up), or your cuddling time is shorter than usual, he's unreasonably grumpy about it the following day
his poor squad gets run into the ground with drills and his special training exercises
please, for the sake of the fifth company and the people of mondstadt, let him hold you just a little longer
Kinich is fairly strict about his bedtime schedule when he's able to be
Of course, there are some jobs he takes where his routine is disruptedā but for the most part, when he's able to lay down beside you after a long day, he won't miss the chance
he spends a lot of time sleeping out in the wilderness after all, so every moment that he gets to lay next to you in the safety of your home is a moment well spent
not the clingiest person out there
he's content going to sleep facing you, with an arm slung casually around your waist or beneath your head
during the hotter months, he might resort to just lacing your hands together so that neither of you overheat, but still wants to be in contact with you at least a little
likes being able to get up and move around freely without worrying about waking you
he despises the idea of you waking up alone without any idea where he's gone, so he always ends up gently nudging you awake right before he leaves either way
does NOT care about morning breath, he's getting his goodbye kiss
especially after all he's witnessed in the war against the abyss, kinich is well aware of the fact that life is unbearably fragile
so the last thing he wants is to face the day without one last kiss from you in the morning
Flins does not need to sleep, but will usually humor you and do so anyway
unfortunately. it feels like sleeping next to a dead body
even if there's a faint warmth from his lantern where it sits on the bedside table, his body itself is almost frigid to the touch.
it doesn't help that he's literally laying there like he's in a coffin, arms across his chest and flat on his back
(he's doing it to mess with you PLEASE smack some sense into him. push him off the bed he deserves it)
you've gotta bend him around yourself to get a comfortable position at first, while he just chuckles bc he thinks seeing you struggle is amusing
his teasing is just an indicator of how comfortable he is with you, i promise
he feels safe to be playful with you like this
he'll only do this for a minute or so before moving into a comfy position, but he really enjoys seeing you pouty and worked up
likes when you lay right on top of him, chests pressed together
he likes feeling the sensation of your heart thrumming away right on top of where his own would be
spends the night tracing words from the fae language into your back, following the soft pattern of your breathing and admiring your pretty sleeping face
perhaps if he stares long enough, he'll be able to burn your every feature into his memory for all eternity, and be able to admire your face in his mind even long after you're gone from his life
Wanderer does not need to sleep, and likely won't humor you if you were to ask him to
At least... he won't at the beginning of your relationship
It takes him a long time to warm up to the idea of being so vulnerable next to you, and even though part of him longs for that simple humanity, he has a hard time choking down the discomfort that being so defenseless brings
It's not for lack of trustā he trusts you with his life and then some
But some things are hard to unlearn
Even late in the relationship, him 'sleeping' is probably still fairly rare
If you WERE to get him to try and sleep, he'd most likely just lay awake in bed next to you, tracing your features with his gaze over and over again
feeling your heartbeat and watching the way your lashes flutter in sleep
Even if he's hesitant to show the same vulnerability back, the fact that you trust him enough to be able to sleep next to him does make him very happy
He doesn't produce heat nor is he naturally cold to the touch, so theres no worry of getting too cold or hot throughout the night
Might move you a little bit if you tend to roll around so that you don't wake up sore, and then chastise you for it (lovingly) in the morning
Overall, a pretty good sleeping partner!
(even if he isn't actually sleeping)
