Ishi

See, Noy was extremely confused—due to being a Fae that did not have any specific knowledge about humans, your husband was perplexed by your demand—why would you want to hurt yourself by asking him to bite your neck?

Was it some way of showing affection? It did not seem right, he could draw blood easily out of your neck, it cannot be affection...atleast that's how he thinks.

"You won't hurt me, promise!" You reassured, finger caressing his face until it rested against his lips. "I thought you would do anything for me,"

"Dearest, I would. Everything except hurting you."

"But what if I want to be hurt by you?" You replied, hand moving from his cheek to the side of his neck. "Don't you want to give me love bites? You said loved me, right?"

And here you go, using his own words against him, your sweet manipulation tactics that Noy could never find himself resisting. He sighed, hands stroking your hair before stopping at your neck. "I hope you know what you're asking of me,"

"I'm very aware of my demand yes." You smiled, knowing that you finally won.

"So you do know that I won't be able to control myself, right?"

"That's what I'm hoping for."

He hummed. "Great then, I'll be happy to fulfill that wish of yours, my love." And without hesitation, Noy then nuzzled his face against your collarbone, kissing the skin before softly biting it.

Despite the pain, it didn't not keep you from letting out sighs of contentment every time he bit you, which did not fail to make him chuckle, especially with your eyes closed out of ecstasy.

Sometimes, Noy just ask himself if his dearest wife isn't just a closeted masochist.

Always so kind and devoted.. ignoring the definitely-not-threatening letters you wrote to one of his colleagues behind his back and your unwavering possessiveness over him. To the outside world? No one would comment. With how your eyes seem to look almost dead while you wait in the cozy living room, staring aimlessly at the cold clock ticking on the wall.

The adult segments hold some affection for you, but it's so painfully obvious that you are poisoning their human counterpart. But does Zandik heed their warnings? Unfortunately, no. He loves you too much to ever resist you. He already knows what you always put in his breakfast before He leaves for work, how stressed he mysteriously becomes while running tests in his cold lonely laboratory, and how all of his troubles wither away as He comes back home to you.

The Elixir of Immortality has frozen you in time, making you appear forever as a young adult while He aged like any other human, yet you still continue to cherish and shower him with affection. You could've gone chasing after his younger segments, probably the cool and clinical 25 year old segment (only from 18 did you hear that 25 was popular with the female staff… yikes) or the Zandik in his prime , the 35 year old segment "Omega." Even so, you still willingly chose the original over the segments.

Speaking of segments, 65 was the only segment who you interacted much with. He's closer in age to the original, He handles your possessiveness with ease and He's practically the stand-in for when Zandik is too busy to visit his darling spouse. Omega is second place mostly because He finds you interesting but He was too.. social and charismatic for your liking, and Zandik was afraid that your interactions would end up in a messy quarrel. "Why is he contacting the Regrator so much? And why is he so interested in his little experiments?" He could almost hear your sweet voice in his ears, nagging to him about Omega.

His frail health is declining thanks to the definitely-not-poisonous powder you laced his tea with, even to the point that He's bedridden for almost a week. Yet almost always, he comes back from the Palace as healthy and unaffected as ever. Zandik only laughs at your pushy questions and that panicked look in your eyes, only looking at you with adoration as you try to figure what's going on. The segments don't seem to care much, and his colleagues prefer not to look in your direction.

But it's alright.

“You're meeting who?” Enjin asked from behind the wheel.

“MY GIRL!!! My baby! My lady!!!” August answered, making everyone shrink away from his sheer volume.

“There ain't no way I was gonna cancel our date just cuz my bike broke. HELL NAH. I AIN'T LETTING NOTHING GET BETWEEN ME AND MY BOO!!!.” he vented his frustration, still not believing his precious bike let him down like that. “So yeah! Thanks again for the ride, Enjin-man!”

“No problem, dude.” Enjin said, a bit annoyed.

Picking on that, Riyo looks up from her usual place on the back. “I didn't know you were seeing someone August. What's she like?”

“Oh man! LET ME TELL YOU. SHE'S THE BEEEEEST. She's so funny and kind, and her voice is so sweet, and she's so patient. NOT TO MENTION HOW TALL AND SMOKING HOT SHE IS! MY MUSE FOR REAL!!! AND -”

August didn't stop bragging until they reached the entrance of the town. Where they immediately spotted another one of their cars.

“Weird, what's team Beauty doing here?” Enjin pried, hoping for a distraction from the designer's antics.

Everyone but August looks with curiosity at the other car. Carefully watching as the passenger door opens and an absolutely show stopping hottie gets down.

Enjin's feet immediately hits the brakes, making their car loudly screech and slide through the dusty road. Stopping not too far from the other team's car.

Despite the loud arrival, you calmly raise a brow at Enjin and turn back to talk to their driver.

“Thanks for the ride, Mildreta.” The smile on your face is blinding, the way you lean over the door has everyone in the other car freezing again. Everyone but him.

“Y/N!!!!!!” August calls for you, pushing Rudo out of his way and practically jumping out of the car.

You turn towards the Akuta's team car. The most beautiful smile on your face.

“Auguieee!”

The other Cleaners watch in shock as August runs towards you and slams into you with a crushing hug. The laugh that follows your encounter is melodious and rather contagious.

To Riyo it's a beautiful thing to see, love like this is hard to find. To Enjin however, it's so unfair.

. . .

It's the end of the day when you see the Akuta team again. Somehow, you all ended up having dinner at the same place.

It was great to get to finally meet the people your boyfriend worked so close with. Riyo and Rudo are so sweet, and Zanka and Follo are so polite. Enjin…. Is okay. He has been simmering in a corner ever since you walked in, hand in hand with Auguie.

It was almost time to leave when Enjin came to talk to you, face a bit flushed from the few drinks he had after Gris offered to drive everyone back.

“Tell me sweetheart…” he slurred out “What do you see in that guy.”

The nickname pissed you off a bit, but you let it slide, if only for Auguie’ sake. You could've gone the entire night talking about why he was the one for you, how kind he was, how respectful he was, how creative, smart and hardworking he was. How every time he walked into a room everything that weighed you down lifted off you if only for a little bit. Instead you settled for something that you knew would keep Enjin awake at night.

“He makes me laugh.”

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Your poor Zandik has been up night after night, hunched over his lab's workstation to work tirelessly on whatever new idea has popped into his head. He tells you there's no need to wait up for him—he'll come to bed when he's done—but rarely does he keep his word.

Even when you manage to drag him into your shared room, finally coaxing him to come to bed, he insists upon spending "just one more moment" at his desk. Right across from your bed.

Quite frequently, that "moment" tends to bleed deep into the night, and you later find your husband at his desk, lying face down in the morning light with his pen still loosely clutched between limp fingers.

This morning is no different.

Sometimes, you think it's not so bad if he doesn't come to bed at all… it certainly saves you from his snoring. You shake the thought away as quickly as it came, knowing you miss feeling his warmth beside you enough to justify dealing with his snores.

Your focus returns to your sleeping Zandik, draping a blanket over his shoulders. His desk is littered with papers, mostly schematics you're hardly able to make heads or tails of. Beneath his head, however, lies a rather hefty document—documents, you quickly realize—with pages upon pages of dense text spanning top to bottom. His free hand acts as a bookmark between the last few pages, meant for signatures. There, you catch a glimpse of two signature lines: one empty and the other filled by the Regrator's signature.

That explains it.

You shake your head, quietly chuckling to yourself. For as dear of a friend Feofan is, he certainly hates to be lenient with his funds.

You step away, watching the slow rise and fall of Zandik's breathing. He won't be up for another few hours, you figure. Who knows how long he was up last night? You leave him to his rest, shutting the bedroom door as quietly as you could manage.

Heading toward the kitchen, you can't help but worry about him all over again. He's reassured you countless times that the modifications he's made to himself allow him to skip indulging the inconvenient needs of the human body. You don't believe it at all, not when dark circles stare back at you when you meet his gaze. Or when he moans and groans about his back and insists upon a massage—though you've never turned him down.

Still, it's frustrating how he constantly insists on working himself to the bone. Not once has he heeded your suggestions to take a rest, or even just a short break. You tell him he needs it just as much as you do—he isn't getting any younger, after all—but he brushes off your concern just as he did when he was busy pulling all-nighters in the Akademiya.

Perhaps you should give him a taste of his own medicine and ignore him instead. Leave him be for a day or two and he'll surely miss your concerned presence. He always seems to be so nervous when he thinks you're upset with him—maybe that'll teach him to listen.

You shoo the thought away as you pull open a drawer, but it certainly gives you ideas. As fun as that would be (for you, maybe), you have a pleasant surprise in mind for him when he wakes up. First, however, you must overcome the dilemma that surprise brings:

Would tea soothe him more than coffee?

You wonder as you sift through the little drawer of teabags. You know his habit of loading up on far too much caffeine and shutting himself in his lab until the next morning, but that certainly can't be relaxing.

Tea it is, then.

Your fingers trail over various bags and packets and boxes almost mindlessly. Most of them, the ones you've bought with Zandik in mind, are meant to aid sleep. They've gone untouched, since you don't have any use for them and Zandik is often too busy to take a single sip, usually leaving behind a mug of cold tea on his desk.

Your wandering fingers land on an ornate box shoved to the back of the drawer, a position terribly insulting to its appearance. It was a gift from dear Feofan, which once held an absolutely lovely tea imported from Liyue. It was quite possibly the most extraordinary tea you've ever tasted, that it was such a shame you and Zandik emptied the box almost immediately after receiving it.

You wish it was still full, or had a little bit left at the very least, as it would've been your go-to if that was the case. Instead, your fingers settle on a Sumerian brew.

You pluck the little bag from where it was nestled in its box, knowing it's your husband's favorite when he's not downing who-knows-how-many cups of coffee. You reach for a cup; a proper one, as you've seen Zandik sip out of flasks enough times to make yourself uneasy. He calls it practical, you just shake your head.

Engrossed in your thoughts, you don't notice Zandik's presence creeping up behind you until you feel his chin resting on your shoulder and a pair of warm hands make themselves at home upon your sides. He noses against your neck, as if debating as to whether he should stoop low enough to whine for your attention as well.

You give him a glance from the corner of your eye. "Hm? I thought you were asleep."

"I was, yes," he murmurs, pressing a soft kiss to your neck. "Are you preparing this for me? How kind of you."

He peers over your shoulder, inspecting the empty mug and the teabag draped over its rim as they both wait for water.

"But… this won't do." he mutters as he's already reaching around you, ready to make the cup of tea himself.

"Stop that!" you scold with a swat to his hand. "I'm trying to do something nice for you. You can start heating the water if you want to help."

"Hm, of course. Forgive my…" he pauses, pressing a lingering kiss to your nape as he backs off, "…impatience."

He lets out a satisfied chuckle as he paces to the other side of the kitchen, no doubt with that stupid grin on his face, leaving your own feeling just as warm as the spot on your neck. Grumbling in annoyance, you take another mug from the cabinet and rest it beside the first.

"Make sure to fill it enough for two." you say as your fingers search the drawer for yet another satisfactory tea. You're no picky connoisseur, so you decide on the same blend.

"That was my intention, my dear. You make me sound so heartless," Zandik replies as he runs the pot beneath a stream of water. "Although… were you anyone else, I would never have considered it."

Soon enough, his arms find themselves wrapped around your waist once more, and his head nestled against your neck. "You're very sweet to have thought to do this for me."

"You deserve to be treated."

He hums. "Do I?"

"Yes."

"If you say so."

You resist the urge to roll your eyes. "I do say so. Do you want me to tell you I don't?"

"No," he replies, surely grinning. "I simply wanted to hear you say."

…

"It's taking quite a while, don't you think?" Zandik hums against your shoulder, still wrapped around you as if he's trying to fuse the both of you together.

You once again resist rolling your eyes. "It takes time to boil water. Shouldn't you know that?"