༺𝙲𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝙾𝚏 𝙵𝚕𝚊𝚖𝚎༻

The gentle glow of the sunlight painted the foxian mans salmon pink hair a soft orange, his face squished against his palm as he stared at papers he had to read through and approve of for patient's medications.

His tired eyes slowly but surely scanned over the amalgamation of words that made up these admits and requests. Now was certainly the time he wished he could be as carefree as a bird, he rooted his hand in his hair and sighed as he lowered his head.

It was far too early in the morning to be doing all this reading..surely?

You walked down the hall to his office, it was fairly quiet this early in the morning, Feixiao was busy probably working out by now and Moze was probably MIA as usual. But you hadn't seen the Foxian at all since the day before yesterday, you couldn't help but be a little worried.

That is what likely prompted this sudden visit, You stopped and knocked on his door before opening it when you received no response. "Jiao..?" you called softly and blinked owlishly seeing him slumped over his desk, a stack of papers his pillow.

You sighed and closed the door quietly before walking over, his office was decently sized, enough so that a little couch could fit in it..he probably only got it because of your visit's and for Moze and Feixiao.

You walked around his desk and looked at all the papers with a huff, taking the ones he wasn't asleep on and neatly stacking them up and putting them away in a drawer before you pat his head.

"Wakey wakey." you hummed and rubbed around the base of his ears..which probably prompted the exact opposite of what you wanted. He just smiled in his sleep and unconsciously nuzzled into your palm before going limp again.

You sighed but indulged him just a little bit before you would properly wake him up.

Surprisingly, you found yourself losing track of time as you played with his hair, smooth and soft, bathed in the early morning sunlight from the windows. It was quiet, so much so that you were on the verge of falling asleep yourself before you snapped out of it.

"Jiao!" you shouted and chuckled seeing the man jump before groaning and hiding his face away in his arms. "Hggnnn.." he groaned again before looking up at you with a sigh. "I didn't hear you knock..my apolo-" he paused as he was interrupted by a yawn.

"apologies.." he sighed and sat up, only to slump down in his chair with another sigh, you narrowed your eyes and crossed your arms with a raised brow. Even if his brain wasn't working properly in the moment, he'd have to be blind to not recognize your disappointment.

"You've been up all night, haven't you?" you inquired, watching him smile innocently and shake his head. "Absolutely not, Ma'am.." he chuckled before relaxing a bit looking at you in defeat, "You have bags under your eyes bigger then Feixiao's axe."

He sighed and nodded, "Fine, fine. But i had to finish with these papers, quite a few were favor's for old friends.." he stood up and stretched, taking his jacket off the back of his chair with another yawn.

You sighed, "Aren't you a doctor? You shouldn't compromise your health like this." you hummed and slung your arm around his shoulder. "I know, i know." you rolled your eyes when he brushed you off, "The paper's will still be there tomorrow, you are going home and sleeping the day away."

He smiled and nodded along, grabbing your hand near his shoulder and holding onto it with a tired smile. You looked at him with a raised brow before shrugging and leading him out of his office and to his place.

Jiaoqiu and you had known eachother almost as long as he's known Feixiao, you had met him a year or so before Feixiao first escaped and found herself in his field hospital. But you had met him in a similar way, you were a soldier during that long Borisin war.

He had saved you from what would have been a fatal wound, to Jiaoqiu's surprise you were honorably discharged from the military and spent a large portion of your time in the field hospital helping him out.

He made sure that old injury never flared up again, and in return you've always been around to help him with whatever he needed..this included making sure he wasn't working himself into an early grave.

In turn, you both were very very close..

Fei and Moze both wonder sometimes how you both weren't together already..if anything, Feixiao had likely planned scheme's in the past to get you both together..to no avail, clearly.

But perhaps you just needed to figure it out on your time.

Jiaoqiu was nearly asleep as he walked, his feet dragging and his tail dropping as he struggled to keep his eyes open or even walk straight. "Here.." you muttered and crouched down to find his key in a loose rock in the garden, walking back over and fiddling with the lock.

He yawned and slumped forwards onto you, closing his eyes as he set his chin on your shoulder and sighed. He opened his eyes slightly, staring off into space for a moment as you pushed his door open.

His brows knit for a moment before squeezing you, "Will you stay with me?" he inquired and slipped past, with a sudden burst of energy did he pull you inside, kicking the door closed behind him and looking at you with those fiery eyes.

You stared at him with a wide and baffled expression, opening your mouth to speak before closing it again and scratching the back of your head. "I can stick around if you need me to..?" you responded with uncertainty, tilting your head.

He sighed and shook his head, "Not like that." he stated with a huff and pulled you close all of a sudden by your wrists, chest to chest with barely inches separating the two of your faces. You had no time to react, had you been even slightly prepared maybe you could come up with a witty retort but..

Something in those blazing eyes told you, he wasn't playing a joke or game, he was entirely serious.

"J-Jiao-" you stuttered out in a panic and tried to look anywhere but his face, his eyes. He slid his hands from your wrists to tightly clasp your hands, squeezing tight with a sigh, "It might just be the exhaustion talking.." he began.

"But I've loved you for so long, it makes me sick to keep it a secret any longer.." he hummed and kissed your forehead. He stared at you expectantly, his heart throbbing in his chest just waiting to hear you say no, or return his affection.

"L-leave it..to you to ambush me with this.." You sighed and squeezed his hands before slipping them out of his hands and instead wrapping your arms around his shoulders and pulled him into a sudden kiss.

His sleepy brain didn't quite register it as fast, but when he did, he rested his hands on your hips and allowed you to control the kiss however you pleased. His ears lowered and a smile played at his lips as he leaned back just enough for your lips to barely graze eachother.

"I think now..i would like to head to sleep." he hummed and kissed the corner's of your lips before setting his chin on your shoulder and relaxing. You smiled and combed your hand through his fluffy tail with a sigh.

"I think i could fit in a little nap.." you joked and pulled away to head for the stairs. He stared after you for a moment before smiling and following, taking his jacket and boots off as he went, setting them aside in his room.

His priority right now was you, and all the tired foxian wanted was to lay with you, enveloped in eachother's warmth.

It didn't take long for you to find him in bed, having disappeared briefly only to return to find him barely able to keep one eye open as he stared at the door you had walked through. "You don't have to wait for me." you hummed and hastily got into bed beside him.

You'd only laid here a small handful of times, namely when you were drunk off your rocker and Jiaoqiu took you home..admittedly, the hangover's were far more bearable with him there to cook just the right foods to make it hurt less.

He smiled at you slightly, seems like he was staying awake solely so you'd be there as he fell asleep, which didn't take long. You wrapped your arms around him with a chuckle, playing with his hair and petting his tail to ease his slumber.

You felt warm, comfortable, and at ease, so it didn't take long for you to fall asleep either, his soft breathing and faint hums in his sleep were the perfect lullaby.

sᴛʀᴀɪɢʜᴛᴇɴ ᴜᴘ,sᴏʟᴅɪᴇʀ.