✧ Honkai star rail oneshots ✧

✧ Carried Away - Jing Yuan x reader ✧

A/N: I SWEAR SOMEONE REQUESTED THIS BUT I CANT FIND THE COMMENT 😭

"General... Are you sure about this?" You mumbled, your cheeks slightly flushing due to the quick pace of your jog; Jing Yuan had decided to take you into his private sparring space, with the intention of teaching you some self defensive moves. Ever since the two of you had been taking on more assignments together, you'd been encountering more and more mara-struck individuals... The general decided that if you were to be out in the field, you would have to be able to protect yourself– even if technically your only job is to run errands.

"Go grab a couple of boxing gloves from that basket on the floor, there should be some in your size." Jing Yuan ignored your doubtful words and continued his jog over to the other side of the gym, whilst you tried on some gloves. The first pair you chose were far too big, but the second was sturdy and comfortable around your fists. You clenched them, and then relaxed. It felt odd having your hands feel so heavy.

After taking a few moments to observe the space around you, you started to walk over to where Jing Yuan was setting up. He was standing inside a ring, two circular foam pads strapped to his hands instead of gloves, with target symbols painted into their centres. They looked a little silly, but somehow the general managed to pull them off... Gulping, you ducked beneath the ropes and swung your legs into the ring.

"Ah, good, you found a pair to your liking." He smiled warmly, and you looked at the ground bashfully. Having the general speak to you like an equal felt strange, considering you were his subordinate. Still, he was clearly a nice guy, and it felt nice to see a friendly side of him for once in a while. Some of the nerves inside your stomach settled down at his calming aura, and you sucked in a breath through your teeth and took up a stance.

The general raised an eyebrow as you positioned yourself and he laughed a little, taken aback by the determined expression on your face. You tried not to die of embarrassment as he corrected your posture, his tone soft as if not to scare you off.

"Just shift your leg this way, you want your front foot to be facing me. That back one can stay pointing outwards so that you can shift your weight easier, but don't tense it up too much. You have to stay loose."

You nodded along as he spoke, trying to absorb all this extra information. Jing Yuan saw the crease forming in your brow and paused for a moment, checking your understanding.

"Face you, shift my weight, stay loose." You recited, and he nodded proudly in response. Happy that you were doing well so far, you adjusted your stance so that he was happy with it and then prepared yourself to strike.

As expected, your first hit was rather feeble, since you were just testing the waters. Once you got the feel of Jing Yuan's target pads meeting the latex of your training glove, your confidence built and you began to put more power behind your hits. It took a few tries to figure out how to put your weight into the punches, but eventually you caught on, and the general even started to give you some gentle hits to block. He would swing the training pad towards your head for you to dodge, and when you came back up from your swerve you would land a firm punch right in the middle of the second pad, which he held close to his side as if to show you where to strike. Adrenaline was coursing through you, and you were having the time of your life as you bounced around the ring, the general shouting encouragement over the smacking sound of your gloves hitting his foam-covered palms.

"That's it, don't get too tense now!" He warned, swiping a pad at you so that you could jump to the side in avoidance. "Keep on your toes, movement speed is the key to all combat."

His next strikes were from over your head, and you spun around in between them and punched the pads as many times as you could land a hit. Grinning, you tasted the sweat on your face; this was tiring, but also a lot more fun than you had anticipated. One of Jing Yuan's pads came from above, and you instinctively met it with a fierce uppercut instead of dodging it–

Ouch.

You felt a searing sensation burn all through your arm which immediately made you hiss in pain, you had to grind your teeth to prevent yourself from crying out. The general immediately stopped his exercise and knelt down beside you to help... In your shock, you had ended up doubled over on one knee.

"Y/n! Are you alright?!" He exclaimed, his voice high with concern. You grimaced and nodded.

"Y-yeah, just jarred it is all." You replied hoarsely. "I shouldn't have tried to block a strike more powerful than my own, it's my fault for not dodging."

The general shook his head and placed his hands on your arm, feeling out the joints to make sure none were dislocated. "No no, this was your first time boxing, I should have gone easier on you. You were doing amazingly, but I guess we both got carried away."

You smiled guiltily at the ground as Jing Yuan reached for a cold compress and pressed it into your arm, making you shudder in surprise. He chuckled lightly at your reaction and continued to hold it in place for you– that was when the two of you realised how close you were to each other.

A moment passed, neither of you moved. Your eyes were glued to his, the piercing amber irises melting into your own. You let out a tiny gasp that you didn't know you had been holding in; Jing Yuan was so close now that he felt your shaky breath on his cheek. He smiled warmly at the sensation and laughed, the loud sound bringing both of you out of your trance.

"I uh, I guess we should probably head back to work." Jing Yuan grinned sheepishly and reached to help you stand, and you took his arm gratefully. His skin was hot and sweaty beneath your touch, and a blush crept up your face despite your efforts to stay composed. The general drank in the expression and beamed down at you, his ears tinted pink and his canines showing through his smile. You looked at the ground and felt your stomach flutter at the sight.

Once the two of you were almost back at your offices, you came across the Master Diviner. Fu Xuan had her nose buried in a book and seemed completely occupied, but she still managed to look up once she heard you two approaching. The moment she did, her expression faltered, and she seemed to be experiencing a lot of conflicting emotions at once.

"Where have you two been all this time?" Her tone was stern, but also curious. "Your faces look red."

The two of you turned even redder at her words, and you chuckled nervously in response. Jing Yuan explained that you had just gotten back from training. The Master Diviner nodded slowly, seemingly deep in thought. Then, with a swift flick of her pink hair, she turned to leave. "Hurry up and get back to work, I don't pay you to spend hours in each other's company."

Blushing furiously, you bowed at your boss and squeaked out a reply. "Y-yes maam! Right on it maam!"

Meanwhile, Jing Yuan simply laughed at your reaction and watched as you scurried off to your office... His gaze lingered on the spot where you had just turned to corner, and he sighed deeply to himself.

It was really unprofessional to fall for a subordinate... And yet he seemed to be unable to stop himself.

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