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aquatik · 1 year

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guardian knight , cyno 𓆝

synopsis from the marine lover -> the seasonal winter ball is upon your region, as it’s princess, you must attend but this year there’s a few twists involved or my piece for @2022gisecretsanta! this one goes out to you, @mestiako, i hope you enjoy and pardon me for being late </3

phylum echinodermata -> genshin impact - sumeru

characters -> cyno x reader, nilou, yae miko, kaeya, tighnari, collei and dottore(🧍) make an appearance. diluc, ayato, tohma, and scaramouche are mentioned. sidnei is a made up character here!

word count -> 6.7k

content -> one shot; fluff, royal AU - female reader

water levels -> all safe, warnings — dottore. just dottore.

your family famously holds two balls, one in the winter, and one in the summer. currently, your retainers are preparing you for the winter ball. this year, there’s more excitement, for the public at least. now you’re at the age where you are supposed to find someone to be betrothed to, and at tonight’s ball, you expect the flocking of men trying to win your hand. you aren’t excited.

“princess, is something troubling your mind?”

“nothing at all,” you sighed.

one of the ladies who was doing your hair but the brush down, and began to gush, “i bet you must be excited! you’ll be getting loads of men coming up to you today!”

“how excitingly wonderful,” you said, sarcasm seeping through your teeth.

“maybe lord ayato will ask for your hand,” she continued.

“or perhaps the duke of mondstadt, diluc!” another one piped in. they continued listing nobles that had confirmed attendance, your annoyance grew further.

“that’s enough you two, please leave the princess alone and quit pestering her,” your lady-in-waiting, nilou, said.

“nilou,” you sighed thankfully as the two maids finished their touches, delicately placing the small crown upon your head, and left the room. even when they left, you could still hear their whispering gossip.

nilou shook her head as she watched them walk away, “in your presence nonetheless.”

“it’s bound to happen, certainly won’t be the last i’ve heard of it.”

“has your father talked to you about, you know, this,” she hinted.

“no, he hasn’t actually. you know he’s always been more lax with traditions.”

“relaxed enough to let you be with him,” she giggled, placing her hands on your shoulders and looking at you through the mirror, her bright hydro vision shook at the movement.

“nilou…” you mumbled, casting your eyes to the side.

she giggled, “just teasing.”

just as you were gonna retort back to nilou, there’s a knock at your door, “princess, the ball is about to start, are you ready?” one of the maids spoke.

“yes, i’ll be right there,” you said, standing up. “how do i look?” you asked nilou.

“perfect like always,” she smiled. you thanked her and walked towards the door.

“please, pardon i wasn’t here to help you get ready, my lady,” the familiar lady bowed, “i was tasked by your father to help arrange the ballroom.”

“sidnei,” you smiled. she had been your head caretaker ever since you were born, like a mother to you since you never knew yours. “i’m glad you’re here now.”

“allow me to walk you, you look stunning tonight, as always.”

you thanked her, and began walking, “speaking of which, where is my father?” you asked.

she nervously laughed, “you see, he’s busy currently, he won’t be able to walk you tonight.”

“i see…”

“however, sir cyno will be walking you,” she said, with a knowing smile, as you both turned the corner.

“w-what—“

“the king personally appointed him.”

“you cannot be—“ you said, before you look away from sidnei to meet his piercing red eyes, standing in wait for you, your royal knight, cyno.

he was shorter than most, shoulder length white hair tied back, and ruby eyes. just from appearance, most would assume he’s a mediocre knight at best, but cyno one of the kingdom’s last lines of defense, the best of the best. and he’s your personal knight, ever since you both were young. even if officially he’s called your knight, you honestly consider him your best friend.

at least you thought you did until a while back, you realized slowly yet quickly you were developing feelings for the man. you’d seen him grow into a respectable man. many do fear him, but with you, you get to see the side of him that loves telling jokes, that is infatuated with card games, that just has a hard time forming thoughts into words. the man you know as cyno, not as the royal knight of the princess.

that’s why, you can’t help but feel this way. long before you know it, sidnei is gone and you’re left with cyno.

“if it makes you uncomfortable, we can find someone else,” he said, breaking your train of thought.

“no! it’s alright, i wouldn’t have it any other way,” you smiled, walking up to him.

“are you sure, your highness?”

you looked into his eyes, giving him a knowing stare. it took him a second, but once he understood he argued, “i will not—“

“you will or we won’t be moving from here,” you said, crossing your arms.

he sighed, “are you sure, [y/n]?”

“yes, i’m sure, cyno,” you smiled.

he coughed into his arm, “then, may i?” he said, extending his right arm to yours. you nod and take his hand, wrapping yourself around it as he walks you towards the ball. “nervous?” he asked you.

“not really, i just want to get the night over with.”

he hums, “i see.”

“what will you be doing?” you asked.

“pardon, me?”

you sighed, “who else would i be asking?”

“it was meant to be a joke…” he mumbled as you sighed once more. “i’m on duty tonight, i’ll be keeping guard. there’s a lot of foreign diplomats visiting tonight.”

“i see.” you nodded. you noted he had his electro vision near the sheathed weapon, a clear sign he was on duty and he wasn’t lying. “won’t you be enjoying the ball tonight?”

he pondered for a moment before shaking his head, “no i won't.”

you looked over at him, wondering what to say. he’s a hard worker, barely taking time off. even if you wouldn’t be enjoying your time tonight, maybe he could enjoy it for the both of you. alas, you couldn’t come up with something fast enough as you were about to reach the door. two knights were waiting. they salute the both of you, wishing for a successful night. you thanked them, while cyno opted to nod.

cyno led you through the door and to the stairs, you caught a glimpse of your father sitting at the throne above, a smile casted your way when he saw you. you take another glimpse downwards, you could hear the murmurs of the crowd, and you weren’t sure if your eyes were playing tricks on you, or was it seemingly a larger number of people this year?

“…we now introduce the princess, [y/n] of sumeru, and her loyal knight, sir cyno.” you heard your father’s primary royal advisor announce only thanks to cyno gesturing you to take your bow. he leads you down the last flight of stairs before taking your hand to your fathers, who had come down from the upper level, before taking his position at the right hand side of the staircase.

“thank you, cyno,” you smiled. he returned one of those rare smiles to you, and nodded.

“would you care to dance with an old man such as your father?” he joked, extending his hand to you.

you softly laughed, “it’s always a pleasure to dance with you, father.”

he led you towards the floor, the orchestra taking its cue to begin the soft serenade of the strings and woodwinds alike. typical. it was the song you always danced to with your father, without fail. it was a variation of a lullaby he used to hum to you when you were younger, not so much now due to royal duties, but you still hear it once in a while when you walk past his office.

“to think,” he begins, “perhaps next year, i won’t be having the first dance with you anymore, my little girl could be whisked away right before i know it,” he said with fake tears laced through his words.

“father…” you whined as he softly spun you, allowing you a momentary glance at cyno.

“i know, i know. i just want you to know, when the time comes, find someone you truly love. we’ve always stood for these ideals.”

you scoffed, “you sound as if i am to be wed by the strike of midnight.”

“who knows, maybe you will,” he heartedly laughs.

“in some wild fantasy,” you laugh as you take the final bow. the crowd around you begins clapping, as your father leads you to them.

“i do have some business to attend to, concerning some of the nobles from snezhnaya. please, enjoy yourself little one. try not to get married and leave this old man behind,” he jests as he walks off before you can say anything.

“princess, you looked enchanting as always,” nilou said, walking up to you. before you could respond, she perked up, “please excuse me, i believe that’s lady eula. it’s been a while since i've seen her, i’ll be back!”

an attendant passes by with a platter of drinks, offering your favorite to you. you thank him and take the glass, softly swirling it in your hand. snezhnaya and sumeru currently were in the middle of a political conflict, your father wished not to involve you, but you understand that it’s majoridly about the akademia, one of this nation’s greatest achievements. the situation was tense, your father was going to cut off the amount of control the snezhnayan court had over the akademia, but it would cause several issues, worst would be a war, but it was definitely plausible. you wanted to help your father, you truly did, but what could you do?

“mora for your thoughts?” you hear a woman’s voice say, sly in her tone. you turn your head to see the duchess of inazuma, yae miko smirking at you.

“lady yae, my apologies,” you said, fully turning towards her.

“none of that little one, i spoke out of line,” she bows.

you spoke, “i hope everything is well overseas, i’ll see it soon visit, the nation of electro is always a pleasure to see.”

lady yae smiled, saying how she wished their region had a more respectable young royal such as yourself.

“speaking of, you do know i’m obliged to ask, wouldn’t you be interested in our princes’ hand?” she hums, laughing when she sees you glancing away. “that brat really won’t ever find someone, now will he,” she sighed.

“are you allowed to speak of the prince in such a manner?” you asked.

“but of course i am. who do you think taught him the sliver of manners he knows?”

you nodded, “right, of course.”

“well then, if it isn’t the prince, might you be interested in lord ayato? or perhaps, you’re interested in the kamisatos’ lord-in-waiting, tohma?” she teased.

“lady yae!” you softly scolded as she laughed once more.

“so much for trying, could’ve made an amazing story. i better get back to making sure the prince doesn’t offend any nations, heavens knows what happened last time.” she says, walking towards a small commotion at the right hand side of the ball.

“why if it isn’t the rambunctious princess? i’ve got to say, you seemed to have mastered waking in those heels, i remember when you’d trip on flats,” a familiar voice spoke.

“kaeya!” you smiled, the marquees of mondstadt, kaeya walks up to you. you had known him and his brother, diluc ever since you were little, but after their fathers death things changed for them, subsequently you lost touch.

you both caught up, exchanging pleasantries and stories on either side. it was nice to speak with a familiar face after so long.

“kaeya, where might diluc be?” you asked him, as you hadn’t seen the red haired man tonight.

“not quite sure myself. why are you asking? looking to court him?” he mused, slightly leaning down to meet your face.

“of course not!” you argued, swatting his forearm, before you could retort, he teased once more,

“or could it be that, you’d be interested in me?” he asked.

you broke eye contact with kaeya to glance to your right, cyno was still there, keeping watch as he’d been doing. you weren’t sure if it was your imagination, but you swore you saw him make eye contact with you. you heard kaeya click his tongue, a habit he had once he realized something, and you quickly turned back to him.

“sir kaeya, with all due respect—“ you began before kaeya softly shushed you.

“i understand, i understand.” he sighs, fake sadness laced across his tongue, “i do value when a fair maiden stays true to her ideals, just like when we were younger. i remember it like yesterday, saying how you’d never marry one of us since we were like siblings after some nobel had spoken out of line. do take care, princess. i’ll be off looking for my—or should i joke, our brother to make sure he doesn’t get his hands full with, a few special guests.” he smiled.

you returned the smile, softly laughing as you caught onto his sarcasm through the whole questioning. he bowed and was about to walk away to take his leave, another male voice entered the scene.

“if i may, i’d love to speak to the princess.” a masked man says.

“who might you be?” kaeya said, smiling but slightly pushing you behind him, leaving you confused.

he chuckled, “do pardon me, where are my manners. my name is il dottore, marquess of shneznaya. it’s a pleasure to meet you, your highness.” he said, taking a bow and your hand, pressing his lips against the back of your hand.

“i leave you in his company then,” kaeya seethes as he walks away, having no other choice as he was supposed to take his leave already, evident by the glare the marquess had been sending kaeya’s way..

“lord dottore, the pleasure is all mine…” you said, nerves beginning to swarm you, from both the odd reaction kaeya had, as well as the fact a shneznayan diplomat wished to speak with you directly.

he laughs, his singular earring swings back and forth, “now now, don’t seem so tense your highness. i assure you, the political standing between our nations musnt spoil our conversation.”

“i appreciate it.”

“i must say, you look rather divine tonight, as you always do,” he says, smiling as it’s only his upper face covered by the mask.

you returned the smile, a lot smaller than his, “thank you, i’d love to complement you as well, but i only have a smile to go off.” you said inquisitively, hoping it would spark a conversation to avoid the awkward pleasantries. how wrong you’d be.

“i assume you mean my eyes? they are indeed covered. say, wouldn’t you like to see the rest of my face.”

you hummed, “i suppose so.”

“i’d allow you to see my whole face as many times as you’d like, if we were wed.”

you nervously laughed, “i suppose i’ll never see your face then.”

“oh? why’s that?” he asked. an attendant walked by and dottore placed his empty glass on the tray. his now free hand takes yours and presses yet another kiss against it, this time taking it and placing it against his cold, metallic-like cheek. “what if this is my proposal to you?”

you remove your hand from his grasp, “i call your bluff.” you scoffed.

“wrong call,” he eerily smiles, “it’s true, i wish to marry you. think about it, we’d tie the knot, not only between us, but out nations as well, ending this vicious cycle that you and i both know will only end in a war. i know you’re smart enough, your highness.”

“i believe our nations can come to an agreement without this sort of thing,” you argued as he clicked his tongue.

“you’re breaking my heart,” he cackled, “who said i only wanted to marry you to help our nations, i could care less. i meant it when i said you’re divine, i’m infatuated by you.” he said. if it weren’t for the underlying creepiness in this strange speech, anybody would’ve thought it was a sweet, heartfelt confession. you were beyond creeped out though.

“how could i even consider a marriage proposal from someone i just met, i barely even know you.” you claimed, instinctively taking a step back, eyes wandering around the room, hoping someone you knew was close by, if cyno was close by. alas, you couldn’t find anyone in the short seconds you had.

“if i told you more about me, would you consider my proposal?” he mused, taking a step forward towards you.

“i suppose so…” you mumbled, reminding yourself you have an image to uphold as this regions princess and you couldn’t just yell out what was on your mind.

“then allow me to share some more, personal details about myself. some call me, the doctor.” he smiled.

“the doctor?” you gasped, eyes widening ever so slightly.

you’ve been out to the main plaza before, but only a few times have you visited farther away villages. a few months ago, you headed out with cyno to gandharva ville for the first time. your father had come down with a unknown sickness, right when the ties with snezhnaya began to sever, and cyno had recommended a doctor who could help. even against the insistings of the court and cyno, you accompanied him. after all, you’d be saftest with your guard, you argued.

begrudgingly, he took you along in a disguise, and you met tighnari. you learned they were friends, good ones too it seemed. you learned tighnari was recommended to become a royal medic, but he refused, stating how his research was better out here in gandharva ville. he learned of the conditions of your father and agreed to head to the castle, but on the condition he was able to give treatment to his current patient.

you had suggested for the patient to come with you guys, only to earn a modest scolding on the dangers of doing so. smiling at your own lack of medical knowledge, you apologized where as he sighed. you concluded that the treatment wouldn’t take longer than a few hours, not ideal, but you understood.

out of curiosity, you asked about the patient. unexpectedly, cyno was the one to tell you about her.

“her name’s collei. she’s a young girl, about 11 years old. she’s…” he stopped before continuing, “she’s a victim of the doctor. some crazed lunatic taking children and experimenting on them for his nation's gain. from my intel, it seems that the bastard is from snezhnaya.”

“goodness…” you whispered. this was the first you had heard of such thing, and by the look on cyno’ s face, it seemed like it wasn’t something he wanted you to find out of.

tighnari spoke, breaking the silence, “the good thing is that she’s recovering well ever since cyno brought her over a few weeks back. she just had a major flare up this morning, and i just need to make sure she’s stable to—“ he spoke before cutting himself off.

“collei, what are you doing out of bed?” he softly scolded as she peeped out of the door.

“i thought…i thought i heard him…” she says, taking a step outside.

tighnari was going to step towards her to help calm the little girl down but you beat him to it. you took cautious steps and lowered your hood, you could already hear cyno scolding you, but to your surprise, he stood silent, only standing guard in case something happened.

“everything is going to be okay,” you softly said, kneeling to her level “he isn’t here, he won’t hurt you anymore.”

“aren’t you the…”

you shook your head, “nevermind that, what’s your name?”

“it’s collei,” she answered.

you smiled at her, “it’s lovely to meet you collei, is there something you’d like to do? i’m sure you must be tired from laying in bed.”

“can we get zaytun peaches?”

“i don’t see why not, why don’t you go get ready? i think tighnari is about ready to give you your medicine anyways.”

she nods and goes back inside, you turn to tighnari who had previously been bickering with cyno while you talked to collie. he excused himself and walked inside to give collei her medicine, while cyno gave you a blank stare.

“what’s wrong?”

“your highness,” he began, “have you ever…picked zaytun peaches yourself?”

“no, but that’s why i have you to—“

“good. because then you’d be hunting your own kind.”

you tilted your head, softly beginning to laugh, “i’m sorry?” you asked.

“because you’re a peach. do you get it?” he deadpanned. “i can explain it if you don’t understand. you see, when people say you’re a peach, it’s to say…”

this time, you began laughing. partially because of the joke, but mainly it was due to your knight's execution of the joke. at the sound of your laughter colored your cheeks, and while you didn’t notice, cyno allowed himself to fondly look at you and smile, a similar color painting his face as well.

“that was terrible. never say that again, cyno,” tighnari said, exiting the small hut.

“now, now, everyone has different tastes. are you insulting the princess’s taste,” you joked as tighnari looked away, mumbling something along the lines of ‘how was i supposed to know.’

“truly, i do apologize, princess. collei got the last of her medicine, we can head out if you’d like.”

“please, don’t worry about it, my knowledge in medicinal science isn’t great, i should be thanking you for teaching me, i see why cyno recomended you.” you said as you began looking around the area, “however, we can’t leave now, i did promise collei we’d pick peaches together. my father isn’t in critical condition, we have a few moments to spare. do you happen to have a basket?”

“you’re just as kind as he—i mean, as they say. i’ll grab you one. in the meantime, i’ll get my materials ready.”

you thanked him as he walked back to the small hut, and out came collei with a small basket. the three of you began to head towards an area of the forest, per cyno’s lead. collei asked you questions every once in a while, and you’d gladly respond.

at one point, she wandered off a little ahead to grab some harra fruit she had seen in a distance. you and cyno stayed behind, but still watched her.

“she’s taken a liking to you rather quickly,” he spoke, looking over at you. a faint look of jealousy washed over him.

“i guess so, what's with that look?” you laughed, poking at him.

he stopped to think for a moment then responded, “nothing, it’s just it took collei a while to like me, and she took a liking to you rather quickly.”

“aww, are you jealous?” you teased. you had expected him to remain silent, like he usually does whenever you bother him, except he surprised you.

“a little, but not really. you’re a wonderful person, it’s no wonder why she felt comfortable around you so quickly.”

you looked into his eyes to see if there was any hint of sarcasm in his statement, but there wasn’t. “cyno…” he coughed to break the silence, looking over at collei who had now resorted looking around for sumeru roses.

“since when have you known about this, the doctor i mean.” you asked, looking away from collei to glance at cyno’s expression.

he sighed, “i figured you’d ask.” he began to explain in more detail what had happened. you learned that she’s from sumeru, she suffers from eleazar. her mother couldn’t cover her treatment, but a sponsor under the name of the doctor said he’d have her treated, with no expenses. only condition is that she’d need to travel to schenzaya. from then on, she was experimented on using ancient relics. cyno had gone to mondstad for not only an expedition, but because an old alma mater had requested for his assistance. he was able to bind the ancient spirit, but it took a lot out on the poor girl.

“why didn't you tell me? you told me about everything that happened on the expedition to mondstat except this,” you argued, not loud enough to disturb collei but enough to get cyno’s attention just how upset you were.

“this is far from your realm of responsibilities, it would’ve just been a burden to add onto you.”

“as far as i'm concerned, i’m the princess of sumeru. it's my duty to make sure my people are safe, and she’s a child of sumeru who was gravely hurt, more than words can describe. this is unacceptable.” you firmly reprimanded. cyno looked shocked for once, but quickly composed himself. “we’ve always worked together, we’ve been a team since forever, cyno. my position means nothing to me when i’m with you and you know it.”

“…i didn’t know you felt that way.” he says.

“of course you knew, you just chose to ignore it at times. i’m not made of glass, you know.”

“says the one who would always complain about not having a vision when we were younger.”

you blushed, “not the time.”

he chuckled, “you’re right, please accept my apologies, for everything. i promise, i’ll let you know if i learn something new.”

“that’s more like it, there’s the cyno i know,” you smiled. “it’s settled then, we’ll find out who the doctor is and take him down, together!”

you smiled at him and he nodded, you took his hand that was in a fist and forced his pinky finger out, hooking yours onto his, intertwining them together. he looked bashful, is what you could describe. you imagined it was because he must’ve thought you were acting childish.

“i’m done, this is for you!” collei says, coming back with a small padisarah and handing it to you.

you smiled as you took it, releasing your hand, rather, your pinky from cyno’s, “thank you collei! i’ll cherish this because it came from an amazing friend!”

“please, excuse me, lord dottore, i must attend to the other guests,” you said, looking around for a way to leave, for someone, anything.

“why so frantic, your highness?” he questioned, leaning down to your ear, “i do think i’d be wise for you to consider this…proposition of sorts.”

“i’d be best for you to—“

“to? what’s this, the princess is threatening me, shneznayan diplomat? on what grounds.” he said, roughly grabbing your forearm, pulling you towards him. “i suggest you chose your words carefully. who knows what could happen to this precious kingdom. perhaps you’d be better off accepting my proposal, you’d have an…immunity of sorts.” he laughs as you rip your arm from his grasp, running towards the back garden.

do you inform cyno now? or even your father? accepting his proposal would put an end to all the political issues your father was facing, but it meant sacrificing your happiness, the safety of your people. who knows what would happen with a crazed lunatic like him ruling, yet again, look at the power he has already, to harm such a large number of people just as a marquess. you couldn’t, you’d be betraying collei, and all his other victims from not only your nations but others as well. but not accepting would also put your people in danger.

“i knew you’d be out here,” you heard a male voice speak. you sighed loudly.

“lord dottore, how many times do i have to tell you, i’m not interested. please leave before i—“ you said before gasping, “goodness, cyno you scared me.”

“what was that about someone pestering you,” he said, bringing his hand to the sheathed weapon on his hip, the purple vision beginning to spark.

“no, no, no need for that,” you said, placing your hand against his, both of your movements momentarily ceased. soon after, he quickly kneeled one leg on the ground, like he does on royal duty.

“your highness, what are you doing out here?” he asked.

“cyno get up,” you commanded as he rose, “i just am outside, no particular reason for it. and could you quit it? it’s just the two of us, no need for the formalities.”

“you seem to forget that tonight is an official event, i can’t toss aside formalities.”

you stepped forward and pinched his cheek, you heard a soft ‘oww’ released from his lips, you were sure it didn't hurt, he probably did as such to make you feel better. wouldn’t be the first time he’s done so.

“i understand that, trust me.” you sighed, “but it’s just the two of us, lighten up won’t you?”

he hummed before asking, “‘s something plaguing your mind?” he asked. you internally groaned. he’s good, you’d expect nothing less from the man who’s been by your side for who knows how many years.

you thought about it for a moment before shaking your head, this isn't the right time, or is it? you weren’t sure, but you had to respond before cyno became suspicious. “i don’t know, i’m just overwhelmed. i think i need to dance to clear my mind,” you said absentmindedly.

“then let me take you back inside, i’m sure there’s plenty of nobles who—“

you shook your head, “no.”

he raised his brow at you, “no? didn't you just say…?”

“i’m aware of what i said,” you sighed, “but i want to stay here.”

“allow me a moment then, i’ll find someone to come out here and dance with you—“ he said as he turned around, beginning to head back inside.

“no!” you shouted, grabbing his wrist. he looked confused, and you looked at him through your eyelashes, “i’d like for you to dance with me, cyno.”

he stared at you for a few seconds before coughing, “princess, i’m aware some of my jokes aren’t the best, but you’ve got me beat here.”

what.

“what part of what i just said sounded like a joke? i’m serious, i wish to dance with you cyno.”

“and i refuse.” he says, crossing his arms.

now you are the one to raise your brow, this time in amusement, “are you telling me no?”

“indeed i am,” he grunts.

“we’ve danced before you know.” you said, “you’re the one who taught me for my debutant.”

“its…different now.” he said, looking up to the moon.

you stood in front of him, using your hands to bring his face down, “how is it different now?”

“you’re a lady who is supposed to be finding someone to be wed to, we aren’t children anymore.”

“i don't care about that, and you know it. cyno, i truly just want to dance with you.”

“i…” he said, finally meeting your eyes.

“please?” you asked, on the brink of giving up.

that was until you felt a pair of hands reach your waist, and your feet forcibly began to waltz. you look up at him to see the moonlight hitting his face in just the right way, enough to visibly show the pinks of his cheeks.

“please, tell me if you wish to stop,” he muttered, meeting your smiling face.

you hummed, placing your hands on his shoulders, “i doubt i will ever want to stop.”

the soft waltz became more grand, he led you through the garden gracefully, perfectly weaving through the bushes of sumeru roses before staying in place and swaying. this reminded you a lot of a few years back, when you were practicing for your debutante, except this time there was no heels stepping on the poor young man’s feet. this time, it was a graceful dance between you and the man you harbored feelings for.

“i take it back.”

“what? we can stop if you wish—“

“no, i mean what i said earlier. when you asked if i was nervous and i said i wanted this to be over with. i don’t wish for this night—well, for this moment to end.”

“you know we mustn’t,” he softly says.

you lean your head to his chest, continuing the soft swaying, “indulge me this once then, please.”

“is that an order?” he laughs.

“if it makes you stay, then yes.”

“i would’ve stayed regardless…” he whispers, low enough for it to be carried away by the midnight wind, but loud enough for you to hear, it too carries away the worries littering your mind. i’d be an issue to resolve tomorrow, you decide.

“good morning!” you hear a cheerful voice sing. “you better wake up before i splash water on your face~” you heard the voice tease.

“nilou, please, it’s archons knows what time it is,” you whined as you sat up.

“now, now, none of that, you have to tell me what happened last night.”

you turned to her as you tilted your head. surely it wasn’t about the marquess, was it? “what are you talking about, nilou?”

“i’m talking about the dance, obviously!” she exclaimed, sitting down with you. “sir cyno brought you hear, claiming you had fallen asleep. but i heard that you were dancing with someone~” she teased as you blushed.

“it was cyno, wasn’t it,” she gushed, as you looked away, “it totally was!”

“nilou! not too loud, you’ll get him in trouble.”

“so it was him! was he the same one who proposed?” before you could ask what was she talking about, one of your attendants walked in the room.

“princess, your presence is called for in the main throne room by the king. please, allow me to assist you in getting ready.

“alright then, where’s sidnei?”

the maid looked around nervously, “she’s…she’s somewhere. we aren’t exactly sure where, this is also the case with a few other staff members.”

what was going on.

nilou walks you to the main throne room, this time she was silent, sensing you were tense. thoughts raced across your head, did your father find out about the dance you shared with cyno? was he okay? what about sidnei and the other staff, where were they? and, what happened with dottore, or rather, the doctor? you had planned on investigating further on his actions, but everything was happening so fast.

your last question was answered as soon as you entered the throne room, and the man was standing before your father.

“my beautiful daughter, you didn’t tell me!” he exclaimed when he saw you enter the room.

“father, what are you talking about?” you asked as he walked up to you, engulfing you in a hug.

“why don’t be silly, lord dottore is asking for your hand in marriage! you’d know this better than i, after the dance you both shared, so he was telling me.”

you briefly heard nilou gag, mumbling disappointedly.

“he did what…?” you asked your father, his expression being the polar opposite of yours.

“please, your majesty, allow me to ask properly,” he says, taking your hand and kneeling on one foot, pulling out a box. “princess of sumeru, will you marry me?”

gasps flooded the room with the few in the room, applauds began to echo, and you could hear the distinct sound of your father sniffling. you glance around to see everyone happy, nilou looked disappointed and was the black sheep in this crowd, alongside you. you look down at the man currently kneeling in front of you, that eerie smile painted across his face.

“i…” you stuttered, unsure what to do. lucky, you wouldn't have to decide what to do.

only a few were able to hear the footsteps, and only another handful saw the purple sparks of electricity fill the room, but everyone saw the fist of the princess’s guardian knight connect with the marquess' jaw, knocking him to the ground. the mask now forgone to the ground, splatters of blood stained the carpet below him that matched dottores eyes. if you were to make the comparison at this moment, his red eyes were blood crimson, while cyno’s eyes reminded you of rubies.

gasps yet again filled the room, whispers exchanged as the only clapping now belonged to nilou, before she ceased her excitement.

dottore groans, attempting to sit up only for cyno to throw a spear—his preferred weapon—right next to his face, grazing the man’s face, yet again more blood. he then rushed forward, holding the spear down.

“cyno!” you gasped.

“cyno!” your dad yelled, voice filled with rage. it was rare to hear the king upset, and whenever he was, all you could do is pray for the unfortunate soul that the anger was targeted towards. “explain yourself! this is treason!”

“forgive me, your majesty, but this man is placed under arrest in the princesses orders,” he said, as everyone gasped once more

“arrested?” dottore maniacally laughed, “my fiancée wouldn’t do such a thing, i’ll have a war waged—“

“you dare make such baseless threats after you threatened this nation's princess on her own land? you’re lucky i didn’t take action last night, but today i won’t be so merciful.” he began, his spear becoming engulfed with electro.

your eyes widened, had cyno really seen everything that happened? at what moment or even where was he, you couldn’t see him at all.

“this man has gone mad!” dottore yells, “your majesty, you see, my suggestion isn’t so far fetched after all, he’s going to spread this madness to the princess.”

“the only one spreading madness here would be you, doctor!” you yelled.

“how do you know about that?” your father asked, more so rhetorically.

cyno continued, “you thought we wouldnt have noticed the missing number of attendants, especially sidnei? the princess’s personal attendant? what a fool you are. we have the reports on certain wine barrels that were contaminated by a poison coming from your region, as well as the personnel serving them. everything ties back to you. however, this is an open investigaton, im typically not allowed to arrest you in those cases, but not only did you verbally threaten the princess, you manhandled her. in front of thousands nonetheless.”

“what about the dance from last night?” the king asked.

both you and cyno coughed, but he continued speaking, “…it was i who was dancing with her.” the room was silent once more until nilou softly squealed, whispers filled the air once more.

“my daughter, is this true?” your father asked, turning towards you.

you looked over at cyno, his eyes shining with determination. you nodded, signaling you’d follow his lead.

“yes father, everything sir cyno said is true. that man on the ground is the doctor, the crazed lunatic who’s been experimenting on our people. i had cyno investigate further after he insulted me last night, and i issued the arrest order. such filth cannot be left unattended to.” you said, your stance radiating a commanding force.

“and the dance?” nilou chimed in, before one of the attendants slapped her hand across her mouth.

you sighed, “yes, the dance too,” you said bashfully.

“that does it then, guards!” your father snapped his fingers, “il dottore, marquess of shneznaya is to be arrested immediately, as per the princess’s orders!” your father commanded. as guards took dottore away, he yelled curses until his voice ran dry.

“princess,” cyno said, kneeling before you. “please, excuse me for my actions. and lack of actions last night.”

“cyno, please stand.” you said as he rose to his feet, “thank you for trusting me and for letting me help even if it was a little. please, allow me to apologize for not telling you last night.”

you turned to your father, “and to you as well, i should’ve told you both sooner rather than now.”

cyno was the first to speak, “you helped a lot more than you can imagine, my lady. you got the doctor to reveal himself. and we're a team, aren’t we?”

“that we are,” you smiled.

“so, who’s gonna court who?” your father mused.

you exclaimed, color painting your face, “father!”

he laughed as your father’s royal advisor sighed, “i thought the choice in dottore was weird, but who was i to judge who you loved?” he asked turning to cyno, “i was rooting for you the whole time, son?”

“…thank you?” he responded, visibly and understandably confused.

you sighed at your father and turned to cyno, “you know last night, i only wished to dance with you.” you smiled at cyno, walking up and kissing his cheek, “thank you.”

“it’s always my pleasure, princess.” it was an address you were used to by many, but this time it felt different given the circumstance.

glass bottle message -> this was NOT supposed to be this long LKJAKBJB but i really hope you enjoyed, and to anyone else reading! thanks kat for pushing me, love you the most stinker @lovely-josuke

also the fact i had to rewrite the whole thing because google docs didn’t save it 😔💔 regardless i love how this turned out hehe

requests are open, but please check the rules :)

#genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact #genshin #genshin royal au #cyno #cyno x reader #cyno x you #cyno x y/n #cyno genshin #cyno genshin impact #gixrsecretsanta2022 #cyno imagines #cyno fluff

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jellalism · 1 year

Text

Genshin x GN!Reader fic: Home is where the hearth is

Every time you exhale, your breath creates little clouds. It’s cold. Very cold. You thought you’d put on enough layers to stay warm, but evidently you underestimated how cold it would be. You trudge your way through the snow-covered streets, careful not to slip. Just a few more turns, and you’ll arrive home, where your boyfriend will be waiting for you.

Characters: Diluc - Alhaitham

Word count: 1424

Content warning: None

Notes: Written for the Genshin Impact Secret Santa event, organized by @2022gisecretsanta. This one is for @orphic-musings; I hope you enjoy!

Read below or on AO3.

Diluc

You waltz in through the front door, and Adelinde rushes towards you. “Oh my, you look like you’re freezing!” she says as she helps you out of your coat. “Do you want some hot chocolate?” You nod.

“Alright. Diluc is in his study,” she says suggestively. You mumble a word of thanks and make your way up the stairs.

When you arrive at the study, you first knock on the door. “Come in,” Diluc’s calm voice sounds. You open the door and enter. Diluc is sitting behind his desk. It is covered in papers but somehow still seems organized. “Ah, you’ve returned,” he says with a warm smile.

“I’ve missed you.” You walk to him and hug him from behind. As your cheek touches his, he jolts slightly.

“Archons, you’re freezing!”

“I am. Warm me up?”

Diluc disentangles himself from your embrace and turns to face you. “What would you have me do, my love?”

“I want to cuddle.”

Diluc gets up and pulls you in a tight embrace. His arms wrap around your back, warm and comforting. Your chests press against each other, and his warmth flows into you. “I can do that. For you, I can always make some time.” He kisses your forehead tenderly. “Let’s move to the sofa.”

“Mm-mm,” you agree. He takes your hand and leads you to the couch. He sits down first, and then, with a quick pull, makes you stumble right into his arms. You chuckle.

“Make yourself comfortable. I’ve missed you too.” When you look up at him, he has the most tender smile on his face, looking at you as if you’re the most valuable thing in the world.

You get comfortable and relax. Your head rests on his chest while his left arm is wrapped around your side. His right hand carefully caresses your head. You can feel his heart beading steadily. Badump. Badump. It’s enough to make you doze off, but just as you’re about to fall asleep, a knock on the door interrupts.

“Come in,” Diluc says. You slowly start to rise, but he pushes you back into his arms. “Stay. You’re not warmed up enough yet.” He sounds kind, yet strict. Meanwhile, Adelinde is entering the room—she’s already seen you together plenty of times, so there’s no embarrassment.

“Your hot chocolate,” she says, as she puts a steaming mug on a nearby table.

You murmur a word of thanks, but she is already elsewhere with her thoughts. “One minute,” she says, hurrying out of the room. A few moments later she returns, carrying a blanket. “This should help you relax even more.

“Thank you, Adelinde. That’s thoughtful,” Diluc answers, taking the blanket from her.

“My pleasure.” She curtsies and then hurries out of the room—no doubt she knows well that cuddling is much more comfortable in private. Diluc unfolds the blanket and drapes it over the two of you.

“Mmm. Comfortable,” you mutter. The material is very soft and pleasant to the touch.

“I could stay with you like this forever,” he mutters.

“Let’s.” You close your eyes again and listen to his heartbeat.

He chuckles softly. “I wish we could. However, at some point we’ll have to enter the world again. But for now, let’s relax while we can.”

“Yeah,” you mumble. The words don’t come out clearly, since you’re already drowsy. His warmth, the steady beating of his heart, the rising and falling of his chest—they slowly lull you to sleep.

Alhaitham

As if prescient, Alhaitham opens the door right when you’re about to open it yourself. “I was expecting you around this time. Come on.” He turns around and walks back into the house, not bothering to check if you’ll follow; he knows you will. Inside, it’s pleasantly warm.

Once you’ve taken off your winter coat and scarf, you make your way to the living room. The fire in the hearth is crackling enthusiastically. Alhaitham doesn’t get cold quickly, so he probably made the fire just a little while before he expected you home, warming the house up just for you. You settle into one of the comfortable chairs near the fire and let your body relax, soaking in the warmth. You close your eyes.

Some noises come from the kitchen. A few moments later, the sound of approaching footsteps—Alhaitham’s.

“Y/n.”

You open your eyes. Alhaitham is holding out a cup of tea for you.

“Thank you,” you say as you move to take it from him. But just before you grab hold, he moves his hand, and places the cup on the table—just out of your reach.

“It’s not free,” he says strictly.

You smile. “Well then, what’s the price?”

He kneels in front of you and moves his face closer. Then he taps a finger on his own lips. The cue is obvious. You bridge the remaining space between you and place your lips on his. He feels warm and tastes of a variety of spices. Turmeric? Cinnamon? Clove? You can’t quite place the combination, but it warms you up further.

When the kiss ends, Alhaitham speaks up again, his face still close. “I don’t think that was quite enough.” Before you can respond, his arms wrap around and under your body, and you feel his strong arms lifting you up, out of the chair.

“H-hey! What’s the plan here?”

“Don’t worry. We’re just switching places.” He turns and then sits down in the chair you were just in, placing you between his legs. “Yes, I think this will do.”

His arms pull you close to him. Your back touches his firm chest. It’s comfortable, you can’t help but think. To be wrapped in his body, the body of the man you trust most, puts you at ease. You close your eyes again.

You hear Alhaitham chuckle softly behind you. “Off to sleep?”

“Not yet. But I’ll bet it won’t take long.”

“Well, don’t forget your tea. I didn’t make it for you to forget it.”

Right. You lean forward as far as you can and can just grab hold of the cup.

“Good,” he says as you lean back against him. “Since I hope to be here with you for a while, you surely don’t mind if I take out a book.”

“Go ahead,” you murmur.

He doesn’t waste a second and conjures a book out of nowhere. The book rests in your lap, his hands holding it with his arms around your waist—and his chin on your shoulder.

“Is it comfortable like this?” you ask.

“I have not a single complaint. Now we should stay like this for a couple of hours. You wouldn’t dare interrupt a scholar in his research, would you?”

“Of course not.”

He doesn’t reply anymore. He is engrossed in the book.

You sit like that for a good 15 minutes. The tea is cooling down and you sip it. But the silence nags at you a little. Alhaitham has such a nice voice—why doesn’t he use it more?

“Alhaitham.”

“Yes, y/n?”

“Can you read out loud what you’re reading? I want to hear your voice.”

You don’t see, but can feel him grinning.

“Certainly.” And he starts. “‘A scientific research is complete only when one has previously examined the dialectical arguments pro and contra because if one has not examined something critically, one does not know the extent of the knowledge of it one has acquired after being ignorant of it, nor the extent of what escaped one of the knowledge of it before one knew it.’[1] Did you get that?” he asks teasingly.

“Not at all. But your voice is nice.”

“Then, I shall continue. ‘Thus he thought that the best didactic procedure was to devote a special inquiry to the problems of this science and their investigation together…’” His low voice puts you at ease, and so do the vibrations his voice bring about in his chest and throat. It almost feels like he is a giant purring cat.

Before you know it, the hours do pass, so peaceful and warm in his arms.

Notes

[1] Ibn Rushd, Commentary on Aristotle’s Metaphysics, Book Lam, p.1398, translated by Hans Daiber.

Alhaitham gets his name from the historical figure Ḥasan Ibn al-Haytham. In the quest 'Cry from the Eleazar Hospital', Alhaitham is shown reading Aristotle's 'Physics' (according to the GI wiki, anyway - I couldn't find the passage in question he was reading). For this fic, I thought it would be fitting to have him read from what is arguably Aristotle's best-known commentator, Ibn Rushd (or, as he is more commonly known, Averroes).

#diluc x reader #alhaitham x reader #gixrsecretsanta2022 #diluc #alhaitham #diluc ragnvindr #al haitham #genshin impact #genshin x reader #twilighttheatre

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primojade · 1 year

Text

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐊𝐄𝐄𝐏𝐒𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐒.

𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘 | in which tighnari makes up for the few weeks of loneliness away from your side as he let you teach him how to ice skate during the winter holiday because 'tis is the season to remember.

𝐂𝐖 / 𝐓𝐖 | gn!reader x tighnari; fluff; a bit hurt then comfort; kissing; let me know if I missed anything!

𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒 | this is my exchange gift for @mako-yaki in the Secret Santa Event hosted by @2022gisecretsanta ! I was supposed to add Ayato and Kazuha (and Wanderer cause I thought of a good scenario for him oof) but I sadly have no time to write more for them so maybe I'll just do a part 2 soon if possible! Still, I hope you like this as much as I love writing them! Happy holidays to you, comrade <3

PS. I'm most certain that teyvat do not have christmas because of its origin but for the sake of this fic, I just renamed it as a winter holidays with unknown origin lol. And I'm not certain too if my dear secret santa celebrates christmas so to be safe, christmas is referred to as 'winter holiday' instead!

masterlist

You glide for a few meters after stepping onto the ice to reacquaint yourself with the sensation beneath your skates. You awkwardly spin around, stumbling a little when the blades hit an uneven chunk of ice, but you quickly get back on your feet before you completely lose balance. You smile to yourself, at least you remember how to do that.

It's been a while since you have been in an outdoor rink, knowing that you were staying in Sumeru and its rainforest for a few years now. But the sight of multiple pairs of lovers skating together hand in hand as if they own the world, little children waddling about unsteadily on the ice, parents flailing around as they frantically attempt to chase after their cheeky children who have yet to wear their mufflers...

It all brings a fond grin to your face, memories of childhood and holiday outings coming to mind.

You gaze up at the place surrounding the rink, the bright blue sky filled with clouds and the towering pine trees located at the other end of the rink, and you feel excitement begin to well up in your chest. An excited hum escapes your lips, and you’re about to skate off when it hits you that you’ve forgotten something—or rather, someone.

You turn around at the sound of your name, and you see Tighnari standing a distance behind you, though even standing seems to pose a huge challenge to him. He’s trembling while flailing his arms as he attempts to keep his balance, even though it’s clear that he’s just barely taken a step off the ground.

His gaze darted between the ice then to you, slight panic glazing in his eyes. Though some relief sets in when you skate over to him, he gives you an irritated glare and an embarrassed flush of his cheeks when he sees you stifling your laughter at his pathetic state.

You hold out your hand to him once you’re close enough and immediately he clutches tightly to your arm like a lifeline.

"The audacity of you to leave me behind, you heartless dunce." He huffed angrily, leaning against you as he tried to release the tension in his muscles, clearly tired from the effort of standing on ice even for a short period of time. "I can’t believe you almost left me alone to rot here!"

The way that extreme embarrassment tends to turn the fennec hybrid into a petty drama queen is so amusing. Especially when he still seeks you out despite how irritated he is.

"But you were doing okay," you said, though both of you know that he was the exact opposite of being okay. "It's your first time so don't be so stressed about it," you continue when his disgruntled scowl deepens at your unconvincing tone. "At the very least, you didn’t cry, 'Nari, I’m so proud of you."

He groaned in irritation when you patted his ears teasingly, brushing off your hand almost immediately. "I did not fall, thank you very much. And I don’t cry over such petty things."

"Oh? I'm confident your eyes were misty when I skated over to support you earlier."

“I did no such thing,” he scowled, though his long ears started dropping in defence. “Skating is rather hard, okay? I believe you were forgetting I have lived in the rainforest all my life. This is my first time.”

“Don't worry, I got you.” You said with a reassuring smile, nudging his waist lightly with your elbow. The action made him stumble and cling tighter to your arm in response. The absolute shock that crossed on his usually stern face makes you giggle, and it takes you a while to calm yourself so that he’ll stop glaring at you.

You pried his hand away from your sore arm, and instead, intertwining his fingers with yours. "Don’t worry, 'Nari. We’ll hold hands, so don't let go."

Tighnari's brows shot up in the hairline, not comforted in the least by your reassuring smile. “I swear to all Archons in Teyvat, [Name], I’ll make you regret this if you let me go or pull weird tricks to make me fa—”

"I won’t! What kind of lover do you take me for?” You pouted.

Before he can come up with a snarky reply, you start pulling him across the ice rink. You have to bite the inside of your cheeks to keep your laughter to yourself when you hear him release an undignified yelp before tightly latching both his hands onto yours.

Come to think of it, despite his ungodly snarks and overall clumsiness at skating, your favourite scholar really isn’t too bad for a first-timer. He merely fell once so far.

That first time was because you let his hand go for staring too long at that person who was executing a beautiful spin and statingstating bluntly that you skated like a "circus snake" compared to them. So rude.

Though it wasn't that unusual when Tighnari insists on taking a break.

“What are you looking at?” His lips were curled downward in displeasure while seated on the bench.

“Nothing~"

"Sometimes, I really hate you.”

“Hehe. Love you too, 'Nari.” You respond in a sickeningly sweet, but mischievous voice. You bark a laugh loudly when he makes a move to get away from you but slips on the icy surface of the ground and lands squarely on his bum instead. That's twice now, you thought with a snicker.

After attempting for several minutes to convince Tighnari that you would stop harassing him for another hour and then failing spectacularly, you are left with little alternative but to drag him there. Back on the ice rink, you make the decision that you should definitely try to make your grumpy partner smile once more.

When he asks suspiciously what you're "plotting" this time, you refuse to say anything and gingerly take his hand before skating slowly toward the center of the rink. His misgivings and distrust towards you make you want to pout, but they aren't entirely unfounded given how you almost made him lose his sanity and completely drove him insane in the past hour.

“What are you doing?” He questioned in confusion.

"Dancing with the music while on ice!" You answer with a grin. "Since you're still new to this skating thing, just thought we could use a change of pace. And so that you would stop glaring at me already."

His brows furrowed. “And you didn’t think that I could use something like this earlier instead?"

You shush him, pressing a finger to his lips. "Shush. Just enjoy the moment, 'Nari."

He grumbles something incoherent under his breath, probably more complaints but nonetheless, his grip on your waist tightens to pull you closer to him, and he allows you to pull him along in slow circles. The both of you sway in time to the mellow beat, and after a while you hear Tighnari humming along softly to the carol while the ghost of a smile plays on his lips. His shoulders begin to loosen as he eases into the dance, the creases on his forehead fading away the more he loses himself in your eyes and in the faintly playing music.

Wordlessly, you felt your heart swell with affection. Tighnari has been so busy these past few weeks, and you both barely saw each other, if not at all. It makes you feel a little lonely, but you understand that his job requires his full attention and that many people rely on him as their leader.

You understand that, yes, still…it doesn't mean that you have to like it.

Perhaps Tighnari felt guilty about leaving you behind for so long either, and he felt it was his fault that he wasn't by your side at your lowest time when you needed him the most, so when the news of a new skating rink reaches his ears in the nearby country of Fontaine, he latches on the chance to take you along, knowing how you loved such excursions but have no time nor place to enjoy doing so.

And even though it was his first time ice skating, and he wasn't even that used to the cold climate, Tighnari still took the effort to bring you here and you were grateful for his thoughtfulness for that. Whether he regrets it now or not because of your mischievous 'plotting' that almost made him senile remains to be seen.

When he appears to be less wary of the ice, you slowly skate backwards to pull away from him so you can lift his arm over and do a twirl along with him. The childish action pulls a chuckle from his lips, which causes your own to curve upwards as well.

"I supposed this isn’t half bad anymore," he remarked lightly.

"Right? I told you you would love this.”

He clarifies his sentence. "Correction: I like it when you don’t push me or make me skate like a Rishboland Tiger on incense."

Chuckling, you start skating and pulling him along with you. "It was your fault that you fell twice."

"You pushed me the first time," he argued.

"That was your fault, too."

"It wasn't, you lummox. I was doing fine until you—hey, look out!”

Before you can even process what he is saying, your left leg smacks against something hard, throwing you off balance. As you recoil and drag Tighnari down with you, all you can see is his gaping mouth and frozen expression of dread.

Your bottom takes the majority of the impact as your body crashes to the hard ice, and something sharp and unpleasant is jabbing at your side. Tighnari slammed directly on top of you, his immense weight knocking the wind out of you. He tries to get off of you as quickly as possible, but accidentally slips and falls on you again, this time, crushing your ribs.

“Ugh. I'm so sorry,” he muttered hurriedly, moving to get up so his weight is on his forearms that are resting on either side of your face. "Are you okay!?"

"I'll live." You replied with a grimace. "What was that?"

"A snowboard," he replies, looking over his shoulder where a blue overturned snowboard is lying. "Who in the world left that lying in the middle of a skating rink? That's highly dangerous! I would love to get some words with—"

"Probably a child," you stopped his tirade before it escalated to something close to a full-blown lecture. "Oww…"

Tighnari carefully crawls away from you so he has sufficient space to get back on his feet and once he’s up, he holds out a hand to you. "I'll help you up,"

You clasped his hand and allowed him to pull you up. But about halfway through, he manages to tip over—possibly because you put too much weight on him—and falls backward, dragging you with him.

You both crash land in a jumbled heap of limbs for the second time today. Perhaps the pain has finally reached your mind, but when you shift so that your weight is off of him and gaze down at his dumbfounded face, you can't help but laugh out loud. You know the people around you are giving you strange looks, but you can't help it.

You manage, struggling to recover your breath between laughs, "Today has been such a mess."

Tighnari is just staring at you like you've finally lost it, but before long the corners of his chapped, dry lips are also curling upwards and soon enough, he's laughing along with you at the ridiculous situation the two of you are in.

He sighed, blowing out a puff of breath and lightly flicking your forehead good naturedly. "You better make up for this later to me, you big lummox."

"Heh. Of course. Anything else you want as compensation?" You asked, brushing the viridescent strand of his hair from concealing his lovely face. He deserves this after all the terrorising from you today.

As he mulls over the query, his features settle into a thoughtful expression, and his lips pursed. Very cute, the way he’s almost pouting with his lips pushed out like that. Looking at him from this angle, with his dark hair splayed out around his head like a halo, lying on the shimmering ice beneath the bright rays of the sun in winter, you can’t help but feel your chest swell with affection. The loneliness you felt over the weeks apart from each other slowly, but surely unveiling itself little by little until it becomes nothing but a bittersweet memory.

He takes so much time to decide, and you feel impatient. So, with a mischievous smile, you lean in, catching him completely off guard when you press your lips to his. You pull away quickly after leaving a gentle peck, but his hand is quick to press on your back to keep you from moving away too far.

“One more time.” His tone is serious, but his face is well on its way to matching the colour of Nilou's hair as his gaze remains on your face, attentive olive eyes tracing the lines of your features and lingering on the changing colour of your heated cheeks. “As...compensation, that is.” he added, by way of explanation.

You smile brightly, ignoring the sting of your cracking lips when they spread too wide, and you lean in, more than happy to comply and compensate, while you’re at it.

This sweet moment is more than anything you could take home as a holiday keepsake.

TAGLIST (let me know if you want to be added in my future works!): @samarill , @maehemthemisfit , @chocogi , @rvoulte , @luvwukong ...

#genshin impact #tighnari x reader #genshin tighnari #tighnari #genshin impact tighnari #tighnari fluff #genshin impact x reader #gixrsecretsanta2022 #gender neutral reader #jaded moments—!

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lusc1nia · 1 year

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gift for @dustofthedailylife, event hosted by @2022gisecretsanta

okay so like have you ever felt so angry because i lost like ~10k worth of words because MY GOOGLE DOCUMENT GOT CORRUPTED? I HAD EVERYONE IN THEIR LIST WRITTEN ANd I AM SO ANGRY BECAUSE NOW ITS ONLY 1 CHARACTER *AND* LACKLUSTER and then you keep rewriting aND REWRITING BECAUSE YOU AREN't SATISFieD AND YOU're STILL NOT SATISFIED BUT IT's THE 29TH AND YOU FEEL BAD BECAUSE THE PERSON RECIEBVING THIS IS WoNDERING WHERE THEIR PRESENT IS AND AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHJHHH

if the person whose receiving the gift wants me to i'll rewrite ayato's and zhongli's parts in separate posts later on because boy they weren't as angsty as al-haitham's and i was trying to do a mix of fluff, angst w/ comfort, and angst no comfort

sorry if i'm rambling too much i'm just genuinely so mad at my pc and google docs

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wc: ~1.1k

Al-Haitham x Reader: Coward

only in Al-Haitham's perspective, reader makes a short appearance and is implied to be missing in action

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Al-Haitham is a coward.

The Scribe of the Akademiya is a coward.

The savior of Sumeru’s deity is a coward.

No matter where Al-Haitham is, or what he thinks, he’s a coward true and through. And as he stands in the Grand Bazaar’s stage, with his newfound ‘friends’ celebrating the reinstatement and the saving of Lesser Lord Kusanali as the archon of Sumeru, Haitham could only remember the expression on your face when you last saw him.

The traveler smiles, speaking in a feminine, child-like voice.

“Everyone, it’s me.”

A soft, adoring smile adorned the traveler’s facial features as she placed her hand over her heart.

Paimon shrieks, and immediately the Scribe begins to tune out the conversation.

“My, I didn’t expect to be having a conversation with the consciousness of Lesser Lord Kusnali in the Grand Bazaar,” He glances at Nilou expectantly, “How interesting. Was this also planned for the feast?”

Nilou shakes her hands in front of her face, replying to Al-Haitham, (who bitterly shakes his head) “No, no.. of course not!” She turns towards the traveler with hesitancy, “are you.. are you Lesser Lord Kusanali, then?”

Lumineー or Nahida, who's occupying the traveler’s body, giggles, “Hello, Nilou,” Nahida gives a short wave.

Taking a step back, Nilou gasps, “You.. you know me?!”

Al-Haitham turns away, tuning out the conversation slowly, but Cyno nudges his shoulder, “The least you could do is pay attention. It’s our archon for Celestia’s sake, show her some respect, Al-Haitham.”

Opting to not respond, Al-Haitham silently glances at Cyno, and Cyno returns the glare.

Dehya stares at them with a pensive look on her face, mouthing, “Not the time for this.”

Cyno relents, breaking the eye-contact between them, “No need to be so ceremonious, Lesser Lord Kusanali, it has always been my duty to protect you.”

Al-Haitham scoffs, “That’s how the relationship between the Akademiya and our Dendro Archon should be like,” Remaining with a cold poker face, Haitham takes a jab at Cyno, “but we just did what was necessary to set things up on the right path.”

Dehya ignores Al-Haitham’s jab at Cyno, and adds on to Cyno’s sentence, “You’re an Archon, but you act so humble. You really don’t need to be..”

Dehya’s words mash together in a distorted way as Al-Haitham drives his focus away from the conversation at hand. Even when faced by a deity, he's still focused on you, and you alone.

No matter what he’s done or what he’ll do, he won’t ever escape your grasp, the hand that’s holding him by the neck and cornering him into a loss. Something the Scribe doesn’t experience daily.

He remembers a time late after everyone had finished with the graduation ceremonies, where everyone went home, rushing to find a position in the Akademiya, or maybe still studying late at night in the archives of the House of Daena.

Al-Haitham remembers finding you sleeping with obvious eyebags under your eyes, and he felt sympathy for you.

How many nights have you spent like this? He wondered. How many times have you fallen asleep, your brain calling to the comforts of sleep? The freshly graduated Al-Haitham looks down at you with (once again) sympathy.

Sure, he was your past so-called academic rival, just in different fields, but he realised at that moment when you both argued about the morals of the Akademiya, that you both were kindred spirits.

You both took different paths, but arrived at the same solutions. While he believes that humans are naturally bad, and choose to do good things to better mankind, you believe that all humans were born kind, but choose to do the wrong things.

“Scribe, and what makes you say that? Why are you commenting on moral philosophy when you’re a Haravatat graduate?”

Al-Haitham rubs his temples furiously, “Suddenly, I’m not allowed to have opinions anymore, as dictated by you, my supposed ‘equal’.”

You shook your head in discontentment, “Maybe, just maybe, Scribe, you should try to stay in your own lane, and not question the ethics and morals of the Akademiya,” you say, tucking your hair into your ear, “I represent the Akademiya, I reinforce the ethics and morals of the Akademiya. You just have to sit pretty and write down the important things for archon’s sake, I swear, you truly are impossible..”

Al-Haitham shakes his head, mocking you in that subtle way that he always did, “You expect me to back down, and bend over for the Akademiya,” His lips previously in a thin line were now turned downwards. Al-Haitham stares at you with amusement pooling in his eyes, and he folds his arms in that weird way he had always done.

“You’re.. you're kidding me. Right?” You stare at him, a bewildered look in your eyes, “you certainly can’t be serious.. A high ranking position at the Akademiya, who doesn’t share the same morals as the Akademiya for Greater Lord ... sake! Next thing you’re going to tell me is that you have the utmost respect for Lesser Lord Kusanali!”

Closing his eyes, Al-Haitham curtly replies, “You’re not wrong.”

At this point, Al-Haitham can imagine that you were pulling your hair out with a furious look in your eyes. That’s how it’s always been, hasn’t it?

But he opens his eyes, just to see you staring blankly, without reason and without a shine in your eyes.

His eyes narrow in on yours, and you simply shake your head, “I should’ve expected someone like you to defy the Akademiya,” you said, a deflated tone in your voice, “maybe you are just better off as a scribe, huh..”

Al-Haitham watches you walk away, he was ultimately the victor of this, ‘pleasant’, conversation, but he certainly didn’t feel like one.

Intrusive thoughts echoed throughout his head as he walks away from the House of Daena:

Coward. Why was it that you always needed to fight [Name]? They were like you, stubborn, but more emotional. You should have just backed down for once. You’re such a cowardー remember those roommate posters you put up after graduation? It had to have been for [Name], but you got cold feet, didn’t you. You had to have picked Kaveh, just because you didn’t want to see [Name] walking around your house, you would’ve caught feelings, huh? You already caught them. So what was the point, Scribe?

Al-Haitham is snapped out of his thoughts of you when the traveler approaches him after the feast.

“Oh? What do you need me for, Traveler?”

But in the end, Al-Haitham is still a coward. He is many things, but he is a coward, true and through.

#genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #alhaitham x reader #al haitham x reader #gixrsecretsanta2022 #lusc1na ー my (shit) writing

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simplyxsinned · 1 year

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𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐒!!

summary; where reader spends an unforgettable and chaotic christmas with their beloved partner

a/n; part of @2022gisecretsanta’s event for @primojade MERRY CHRISTMASSS~!!

genre; fluff, crack

characters; Albedo, Tighnari, Cyno x gn!reader

𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐄𝐃𝐎 ⤜ decorating Christmas cookies!

You and ALBEDO decided to do some baking on Christmas! After both of you simply following the instructions, adding some more things here and there, you were surprised that the cookies actually came out okay :D or so you thought.“Albedo are the cookies supposed to be that hard…?” you tried throwing it at a Hilichurl and it dropped dead on the ground.

You and Albedo immediately smiled mischievously with the same evil idea in your mind. “Captain Kaeya! Would you like to try the cookies me and y/n made?” Without second thought, he took one of them and began munching away, oh god….why is the blue haired man foaming white bubbles and dead on the ground?

𝐓𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐈 ⤜ decorating your Christmas tree!!

It was your idea obviously, your family decorated your own Christmas trees every year, so you decided to continue this tradition with your partner this year. TIGHNARI had no idea experience with christmas trees or whatsoever so you’re doing the most here. “Love can you help me put on the string lights around the tree” you looked away for a second and heard a short yelp behind you,,,, as expected instead of the lights around the christmas tree it was tangled around your one and only partner

You couldn’t help but slap your palm on to your forehead, you sighed before helping him out of the mess “Honestly you’re all I need under the tree” he said with an embarrassed smile.

𝐂𝐘𝐍𝐎 ⤜ making your own gingerbread house!!

“Aaaaand we’re done! CYNO come take a look!” You stood proudly infront of your creation, it was a neatly decorated gingerbread house, your partner was preoccupied with the gingerbread man he was tasked to decorate, his tongue sticking out because of his intense concentration. “CYNOOOOOOO” he jumped out his chair and immediately to your side.

“It looks decent” was all it took for you to pout and whine, you expected a more nicer compliment from him, “U-Uh I meant it looks really nice! Good job honey” your eyes sparkled and you jumped on him to give a big long hug along with some smooches on his face.

-> masterlist

Thanks for reading! <33

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viharbinger · 1 year

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Love and Snowmen In The Air ✨

a/n: fic for @faela404 !! 💯💯 I was your secret santa this year in @2022gisecretsanta, hope u enjoyed it 😼 I wrote all the characters you listed because why not

pairings: kazuha x reader x xiao x ganyu (separate)

synopsis: building snowmen and snowball fights!

warnings: none except I've never touched snow in my life so 100% of this is from my imagination #slay

tags: fluff, established relationships

Masterlists

Kazuha

It was a typical snowy day in Liyue this time around. The cold weather was freezing and you were dying for some warm cuddles. But knowing Kazuha and his itchy feet, he'd want to keep pushing forward in his travels before he can even relax.

So that's where you are now, just outside of Liyue Harbour where there were mountains of snow. The children, and even some adults are playing with the snow, enjoying the cold weather.

You, however, were freezing your boots off while Kazuha was bending down to roll snow off the ground. "What are you doing?" You shivered, keeping your arms under your armpits to keep warm.

"I'm gonna make a snowman. Care to join me?" He huffs, smiling from ear to ear as he finally finished rolling out a big base for the snowman. "You okay?" He asks when he finally notices you're freezing!

You shook your head and gave him a knowing look. He sits down on the base of the snowman, puffing out some air onto his palms to keep warm. "After we make a snowman, I promise, I'll make you some hot drinks. Just the way you like it."

The offer was tempting, but not quite enough. "That's it? Dragging me out in this weather and all I get in return is some hot drink?" You probed for more offers, grinning— which you thought you couldn't do because your mouth was dry from the weather!

"Okay, and I'll throw in some alone time. Just the two of us, in our warm, heated bed and-" "You got yourself a deal!" You shut him up and begun placing more snow onto the snowman to shape it.

With all this fun in the snow, you were feeling really warm already. Maybe now you understand how Kazuha's restless mindset feel. And with that, the snowman was complete! Some rocks placed as the eyes, nose and mouth were already in it but it was missing something.

Since you felt pretty neutral with the weather at the moment, you put your scarf around the snowman's neck and took out your kamera to take a picture of you and Kazuha's little snow baby.

"Hey, aren't you freezing?" He interrogates. There was a chill on your neck the moment you took it off, yeah, but as long as you were getting warm cuddles and hot drinks later, it didn't really matter. But before you could even answer, he wraps his own red scarf around your neck.

"But you'll be cold." You pouted, yet holding onto the warm scarf tightly that smelled so much like him closely. "It's better than you freezing to death." He chuckles, patting your cheeks with his gloved hands.

Xiao

Xiao has no pleasure in celebrating such festivities such as Christmas, having snowball fights or what not. In fact, he's more interested in just eating the snow standing alone on the thick snow looking at the distance!

So one snowy day, you decided to take matters into your own hands. Xiao thought he was going to spend his cold afternoon standing like a mad man that had a menacing aura that said "Don't approach or talk to me." But not on your watch!

Xiao was standing in front of the lake nearby Wangshu Inn, so you approached from behind him. Obviously, with his amazing senses, he could tell you were behind him, but he paid no mind in turning around. You didn't want to waste time on surprising him so you opted to just make an entire family of snowmen instead.

First, you made one of yourself, looking just like you, just a little more round, snow white and, rocks for eyes! Then you made one for Xiao, and you couldn't forget to place some twigs as 'angry eyebrows' to top it off.

Mid rolling some more snow for a new base of a snowman, the man of the hour clears his throat behind you. "And what is this?" He raises an eyebrow with his arms crossed. "Oh, hey. Didn't see you there." You teased, turning back around to continue making your snowman.

He walks closer to observe the snowmen, and tries to make out who's who. And soon, you were finished with 4 snowmen in a row together like a little family. "Which one's me?" He asks, looking at the array of characters.

"Oh, that one's you." You pointed to the angry looking one, and he grimaced. "I don't look like that!" He protests, "Yes, you do!" You giggle and introduce him to the other snowmen.

After the introductions, he still seemed disappointed with what you saw him as. A grumpy snowman. "Oh, don't be like that. I'll change it, don't worry." You chuckle, cupping his warm cheeks in your palms.

And in the end, you changed his snowman expression to a happy looking one. He still doesn't understand it but it does seem acceptable to him now as he had a small smile plastered on his face the rest of the day.

Ganyu

The sweet adeptus couldn't turn down your offer to go build some snowmen when you gave her the puppy dog eyes! She thought that it was finally time to put down her pen and paper, and finally get some time with her loved one, you!

When she stepped out her office, she was adorned in warm clothing and mittens, perfect for the weather Liyue is having right now. She even got out some old clothing she found in her closet that she thinks could be used on the snowmen.

And so, you began making your snowmen! You decided to make a snowman of Ganyu and she make one of you. The fun part is, you don't peak at each other's artwork until you're finished.

The whole time when she needs to turn around and grab some rocks or twigs, she closes her eyes shut when in eyeline of your snowman to respect to privacy. You were giggling the whole time whenever she'd bump into something.

And with the final reveal, your snowman of Ganyu was.... Cute. It had perfectly shaped twigs that could act as her horns and you even put ear muffs and a scarf on the it. Ganyu was really happy at the sight, she even whipped out her special kamera to take a picture of it for keepsakes.

And her snowman of you, was even cuter. It had branches as arms, mittens as hands, and a rockey smile displayed on the head.

Afterwards, you tried to start a snowball fight with Ganyu. She showed a lot of determination in being able to win against you, even prepared tons of snowballs right after your snowball hit. It ended in an anti climatic way with Ganyu losing and you two just laughing in the snow.

#. bee writes #genshin x reader #genshin imagines #genshin impact #xiao x reader #ganyu x reader #adeptus xiao #xiao x you #ganyu x you #kazuha x reader #kaedehara kazuha x reader #kazuha x you #kazuha #ganyu #genshin headcannons

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maaarshieee · 1 year

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⎯⎯ ୨ Budding Love ୧ ⎯⎯

ੈ♡˳ Tighnari x Gn!Reader *ೃ༄

ੈ♡˳ 1.9k words ┊ Fluff *ೃ༄

ੈ♡˳ Masterlist *ೃ༄

author's note ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

the one i got for my secret santa is @aquatik for the @2022gisecretsanta event! Merry christmas, i hope you like this fic i wrote for you !! have a good day/night! ^^ its not Christmas themed or anything, just general fluff eheh I HOPE THIS IS GOOD ENOUGH DKCHDIHDD ❤❤❤

One of the more respectable merchants that has something to do with the forest Tighnari ever came across was a fellow botanist with a small stall in the Grand Bazaar in Sumeru City.

Collei was the one who told him about this particular stall, and the person who ran it, so he gave it a visit since she urged him to do so. He doesn't understand as to why she's so persistent, but he begrudgingly gave it a chance in his free time. He does love plants, so what's the harm of it?

Your business is quite slow, often overshadowed by other bigger stalls but it did very little to deter your passion for becoming a great florist as Collei described. What made you so different in Tighnari's eyes once he got to know you? It was definitely the genuine care for every plant you get your hands on, admiration of the structural composition of each flora, each mushroom, and the ever-growing love you have for the beautiful nature each nation could offer. Every time your delicate hands start arranging flora in a bouquet, caressing the charming hues of each petal, each leaf, there was a spark in your eyes and the way the corners of your lips would crinkle in delight when you pull it close to your nose, inhaling the pungent smell each plant gives.

Tighnari doesn't understand why, but when he first saw you at the Grand Bazaar, his tail grew confusingly restless behind him, watching the plants seemingly lean close to your form, basking into your presence that's easily comparable to the healthy rays of the sun, rejoicing for the love and care you abundantly provide.

He had seen you before, back when he still studied in the Akademiya, though he was never close to you. In fact, he was sure that you didn't even know who he was. Tighnari can't recall why exactly, but perhaps you were quite the hectic senior; from actively criticizing the Akademiya for what it has become, fancying plants more than other people, and your sharp tongue when it comes to the Grand Sages. Having enough of the Akademiya's nonsense halfway into Tighnari's first year, you dropped out, not without unpleasantries leaving your mouth and a couple other scholars following behind your trail. That year, the Akademiya suffered great losses of unique and intelligent individuals and additionally inspired a young budding fox, who's now the 'leader' of the Forest Watchers.

It appears that not everyone in the Akademiya was foolish, seeing how you've consistently done anything in your power to change the school to no avail. Tighnari never would've thought he'd meet you ever again since he heard gossip that you'd fled to a different nation, far away from Sumeru to achieve whatever dream you once had in the Akademiya. Still, now it seems like they've mellowed down over the years. Cold and calculating eyes now soft, and warm, a face that was once fierce now purely friendly and all gentle smiles. Well, whenever you were working with plants, that is. He supposes, that one of the reasons you attracted few customers was your aloof personality.

So imagine his surprise when you gave him a smile and a small wave, walking toward the counter to greet him. "My my, it's been such a long time, hasn't it?" You started, crossing your arms. Tighnari paused, giving you a blink before a confused frown tugged on his lips. But before he could speak, you asked once again; "Your name is Tighnari, right?" He raised his brows in shock, taken aback that you'd remember his name. "Yes yes, I remember you! And of course, I've heard quite a lot of you, especially around Gandharva Ville." You said with a knowing smirk on your lips, tilting your head to the side. Sumeru is not a stranger to multiple rumors and gossip, so of course, you've heard about the famous 'Forest Watcher' that is Tighnari. He shouldn't be surprised, that's for sure, but he didn't think you'd have an interest in Sumeru's affairs other than what happens in the merchant industry, let alone his accomplishments.

"Though I think the most memorable one was when you corrected that one researcher at a conference—" Tighnari flushed at that, turning away and mumbling a quiet 'that's enough' under his breath, which made you chuckle in turn. He didn't even know you were there when he had gotten his Vision, probably because you hadn't started a ruckus. Then you'd invite him into your stall, to behold his eyes with various flora, most he had never seen before due to never being outside of Sumeru. He has read about them, sure, but he never thought he'd ever see them in person, let alone touch them.

As it turns out, the real reason why you have such a small stall is that you barely visit it. You focus more on interior or exterior design that includes plants, decorating for festivals or occasions, and fixing up personal gardens. Tighnari thought it was rather ambitious, especially when you told him you'd travel all over Teyvat to do your work if you ever receive a letter from someone across the nation that required your assistance.

He spent the whole day talking to you about plants, marveling at the assortment of flora and mushrooms he's yet to grow and study, listening to you ramble about design and scientific facts, and you'd listen eagerly in return to what he has to say, informing you what he knows about certain things. It was honestly refreshing talking to someone who was as passionate as he is in the biology of nature, sharing deep respect when it comes to the earth they live and breathe on. It was as if he was back at Sumeru, reciting knowledge he has and each other would correct and remind him what they'd gotten wrong or forgotten. You'd often visit him to further discuss various things, but also volunteer as a Forest Ranger. Tighnari was hesitant at first since you've never done ranger duties before, but to his surprise once again? You handled it just fine, giving clumsy, irresponsible adventurers the same level of lectures as he does. Now people who mindlessly waltz in Avidya Forest have to worry about encountering troubles to get a lecture from either one or both of you. And it always brings a big smile to his face that he has to hide with his hand. Though it didn't go unnoticed to you, since his tail never fails to reveal his true emotions, silently giggling at his reddening cheeks.

"Underestimating your own senior, General Watchleader?" You teased as you tucked away your bow, watching his surprised face flash to brief embarrassment, then morphed into a displeased expression. "Please don't call me that." Tighnari huffed, crossing his arm as he watched you slide down on a tree trunk, landing right in front of him with a basket full of fruits. You merely laughed at his reactions, shaking your head. "Oh? Everyone seems so keen to do so! Why is it that when I do, you start getting flustered?"

Tighnari's cheeks burned a little hotter, and he swore that it was only because of the sun's heat. "I do not get flustered because of you." He rolled his eyes with a click of his tongue, pointing in a different direction to continue patrolling around Avidya Forest, and immediately shuts your voice from his head once you start teasing him again, a smirk on your lips that you always wear whenever he's around. As much as he refuses this fact, you'd always have to physically stop yourself from bursting out in laughter once you see his tail swishing side to side.

But of course, you have to eventually leave to travel around Teyvat once more or become too busy with your own priorities. Tighnari understands, after all, everyone has to make a living... However, he's grown quite fond of you for the past few weeks you've conversed. So what does Tighnari do, much to your amusement? Commission you day by day to 'arrange flora' for him, volunteering for the Forest Rangers since they're 'conveniently missing some members' or helping Collei with her personal garden. While you don't mind since he's consistently paying you the exact Mora he's promised, it's quite funny to you when you've immediately caught on to his intentions.

"So," You started, hands on your hips whilst you followed the fox across the forest, barely restraining yourself from touching his big, fluffy ears as it twitched and moved to listen to every sound he could, but he hummed in acknowledgment, so you continued to speak. "When are you gonna properly ask me out?" Now that was a shock. Tighnari froze on the spot and you hadn't even realized until you bumped into him, almost knocking him down to the ground. Caught off guard, you quickly grabbed his shoulders to keep him from falling, a nervous smile forming on your lips. Jumping to conclusions due to his perplexed reaction, you said; "It- it seems like I've misinterpreted some signals..."

Tighnari stiffened as he turned to suddenly face you, grabbing the collar of your shirt as he yelled, a pitch higher than his usual tone, "No, no!" Now he's completely embarrassed, face red, ears flat, and hands lightly trembling. Blinking at him in surprise, you stared into his averted eyes, waiting for him to speak again but he ultimately faltered which brought a grin to your face. "Oh? Then the famous General Watchleader admits he's been vying for my attention for the past few days?" You teasingly leaned close to his face and he immediately backed away, giving you a pointed glare as his grip tightened on your shirt. "Nonsense, of course not!"

"You've spent more than you should for commissions directed to me that I'm concerned for your financial situation—" Says you as you tilted your head with faux innocence, continuing to prod his patience. His face twisted to annoyance quickly, but the reds that dusted his cheeks hadn't faded. "I know how to handle my mora just fine." Tighnari huffed, finally releasing you and crossing his arms, turning his back on you. You just hummed, nodding at his words before saying; "But of course, it's not like our General Watchleader emptied his wallet just for me to rearrange his office for the 4th time this week, no?"

Tighnari sighed into his hands, unable to bear the heat spreading from his cheeks down to his neck. He wasn't subtle at all, someone with half a brain cell would guess that he was truly trying to spend more time with you even if it meant splurging all his Mora. You were a busy person that took upon the job of a merchant to make a living, so he thought it would be very selfish of him to ask for more of your time when you should be working to pay for the expenses of your day-to-day life, so decided to commission and request your services to his own home. Embarrassing, sure, but it worked! He managed to talk to you more, even helping you with your work until he was so familiar with it that he began assisting you at your stall from time to time. He just didn't like the fact you caught on so quickly.

Of course, Tighnari couldn't just admit that! He already humiliated himself before his peers just by clinging to your side a lot whenever you volunteered for Forest Ranger work and enthusiastically talking to you, so announcing that he's deeply fancied you since you met at the Grand Bazaar just like that? Absolutely not!

"You've surely misinterpreted my intentions."

"Of course, of course, my mistake, Sir Tighnari."

The corners of his mouth twitched, and your grin stretched wider.

- ̥۪͙۪˚┊❛❛ If you like this a lot, consider reblogging! I'll appreciate it very very much! Don't repost and/or translate my work anywhere. ❜❜ ┊˚ ̥۪͙۪◌

#tighnari x reader #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #:;marshie.writes #:;event.writing #:;tighnari #kinda different on what i usually write but im just #a little demotivated but i managed to push through to post this !!#I TRIED SO HARD NOT TO GIVE UP AHDSGDHSAH #gixrsecretsanta2022

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1eaf-me-alone · 1 year

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This was specifically written for @seirenspinel in the secret Santa writing event.(hosted by @2022gisecretsanta Hope you enjoy this piece I wrote for you and have a very merry Christmas- and if you don't celebrate it happy holidays :)

Summary: it's snowing in Sumeru- in the desert where it never snows and you and Cyno are going out to explore

Word count: around 1.6k

Character: Cyno

Genre: fluff- includes cuddling and small kisses

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

𝕯𝖊𝖘𝖊𝖗𝖙’𝖘 𝖘𝖓𝖔𝖜

It’s snowing in Sumeru.

You looked out towards the frosted windows in child-like wonder as the snowflakes danced gracefully in the sky. They fell gently, blanketing the ground in a pure mist of white.

Cyno stood in awe as he watched the snowfall. His eyes shimmered in glee, as he witnessed something he had never seen before.

It was snowing in Sumeru. Truly snowed, in the country of dust and dunes where the sun beat down cruelly in the day; the desert where sand burned like hot coal beneath one’s feet; where dung beetles toiled their way across the barren plains and sumpter beasts crawled slowly along a horizon shimmering with heat.

Snowing

Now it was no longer the orange, dusty yellow landscape you were both used to but a blanket of fresh, white, fluffy snow that covered the land and everything in sight.

The two of you couldn't believe the beauty of the snow as it fell. You stripped your eyes away from the window and the falling snow and looked at Cyno, wrapping your arm around him, gazing into his fiery red eyes, holding his hand in yours.

You lead him towards the door and walked towards it, you opened it- as the snow rushed into the house and blew on your face. You stepped outside and it fell towards your hair, your face, your legs, and your feet. It cascaded in small speckles and as they reached your hands they melted into small puddles of water. The snow was a foreign feeling to the two of you- It was cold and hard, yet soft and fluffy at the same time.

You let go of Cyno’s hand as you left to roam, feeling the snow on your hands and looking up into the sky, watching mesmerised whilst it tumbled down from above.

As you watched the snow fall continuously, you ran freely, letting go of your worries and fears altogether. You jumped into the snow and landed on the floor as the snow flew upwards and fell up onto your face. The cold feeling against your skin felt rejuvenating and new-you who were used to the hot, desert days. Cyno watched you from close by, a small smile etched on his lips as he observed you smile and laugh from the ground.

You stood back up and slowly jogged towards Cyno, he clasped your hand in his as the two of you walked around to explore the new scenery. All the plants, cacti and rocks were covered in white. All the animals that usually walked along the desert had disappeared. The only thing in sight was your footsteps- which crunched when you walked and imprinted the snow.

The sand now looked like a cinnamon swirl as the earthy orange colours of the desert mixed in with the bright, white snow. A few spots remained in which the desert sand remained visible- as if to show that it wasn't yet gone.

You were in ankle-deep by now. You could feel your feet go wet as the snow enveloped and entered your shoes. Cyno’s eyelashes were coated in a sprinkle of snow.

You looked down now, towards the carpet of snow. You bent slowly and scooped together some of it in your hands, rolling it into a ball. You turned towards Cyno and smirked. You threw the snowball towards him - it landed perfectly on his face. He stood in awe for a second and then raised his eyebrows in amusement

“Oh? Is this how we’re playing?”

Cyno crouched towards the ground as he swiftly made a couple of snowballs. He aimed them perfectly, throwing them exactly and precisely towards you. You were hit by an army of snowballs, watching as they erupted and broke into balls of dust and snow.

You shrieked as they hit you. You bent down to make more snowballs and clenched one tightly as you threw it towards Cyno, it hit his shoulder and then fell into powder on the ground.

Cyno’s usual strict, menacing gaze had melted into a soft smile. He was already ready for the next round of snowballs as he swiftly had them prepared and slowly and tauntingly walked towards you. Grabbing each snowball in his hand and then throwing them at you.

You ran, trying desperately to avoid the snowballs and frantically trying to make new ones as Cyno continued to throw them towards you. You plunged onto the ground and bent down covering your face in an attempt to avoid being hit. You gathered the snow around you into one big ball. It was your turn now, you turned around with the will to win as you threw the huge snowball towards Cyno. It hit him right on his stomach and then fell, rolling onto the floor and disassembling itself.

“I win!”

The game had ended and now that you weren't running and jumping, the cold had begun to settle in. You shivered- Your hands felt numb and your teeth were chattering. You tried to talk but found that it was hard to move your lips as they seemed to be pushing against you, sealing themselves shut. Cyno dropped the snowball he had in his hand and walked towards you in concern. His eyebrows knitted together in worry.

“Should we go back in now?- I think you're getting a little too cold.”

you raised an eyebrow looking at him. He was walking barefoot with his chest completely exposed “and you aren't!?”

He patted your shoulder in comfort whilst he walked you towards the door and sat you down on the sofa in the living room, wrapping a blanket around your body and rubbing your back to make your blood flow again.

“Stay here whilst I make ourselves a fire to warm up.”

Your whole body trembled from the cold, Cyno’s skin seemed to have adopted a light blue tinge to his body, the snow stuck to his hair and his face. He crouched towards the fireplace as he struck the match against the matchbox, lighting the wood in the fire. The place was illuminated in light. A small glow erupted from the wood, as it expanded, becoming larger by the second, enveloping the wood within it, as it flickered mesmerizingly in ambers and reds.

You felt your cheeks grow warm whilst you sat next to the fire, watching Cyno as his eyes shined like bright stars in the night sky. His white hair glowed warmly in the light of the fire as his skin seemed to be regaining its normal colour. The fire crackled and sizzled as you heard the flames licking the wood.

You huddled next to Cyno and pulled the blanket over the two of you, you snuggled him closer to you. Your cheeks now flushed a bright red- perhaps from your face re-gaining its colour from the cold or maybe it was a hidden blush.

Your fingers started to tingle as you regained your senses and your body parts became less rigid. Finally, you were able to move them without it feeling forced or robotic. You looked back towards Cyno- he looked a little pensive and cranky as usual but you were glad to see that he looked like he was warming up too. Your shivering had stopped and your cheeks and ears were no longer stinging from the cold.

“Are you feeling less cold now?”

Cyno’s voice broke out from the silence in the room.

“I'm starting to warm up but I can't say I'm still not shivering a little .”

Cyno looked down at your lips, he raised your chin and leaned towards you. He kissed you- you felt his warm lips against yours, and your heart beat fast next to his, your body buzzed and vibrated in delight. He broke off from the kiss and stared back into your eyes.

“Better now?”

You sat stunned in silence, still processing what Cyno had just done to you. Your cheeks felt hot, you looked back towards Cyno and suppressed a smirk of satisfaction as you realised you had given him the same effect. Although he was attempting to hide it, his cheeks were red and blushing too.

“I still won that snowball fight by the way”

you looked towards Cyno-a small smile had appeared on your face.

He rolled his eyes towards you

“The only reason you're still talking about this is that that’s the only thing you've ever been able to beat against me.”

You gasped offended.

“That's not true. And... In that case, would you be too scared to have another one with me?”

Cyno looked at you- at your smile, your gaze, the small hint of a glint in your eyes.

“I won't lose this time.”

“We’ll see about that.” You glanced back towards Cyno

“we can have a rematch but as long as you promise to dress more appropriately for the snow. I don't want to see you half-naked.”

“Alright” he answered.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — —

It’s snowing in Sumeru. You and Cyno watched the sun go down and the night sky rise. You observed from the window as the small fragments of snow drifted upon the ground. You watched as darkness fell upon the land and a feeling of silence blanketed you all.

You watched the stars twinkle brightly in the pitch-dark sky and the sound of the wind that came- dancing around in the sky.

Cyno looked back towards you, as you lay sound asleep- your head on his shoulder. He could hear the sound of you breathing softly in your sleep.

He watched as the sun returned, creeping up from the clouds and into the sky. The snow no longer fell.

It snowed in Sumeru.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Hope you enjoyed reading this and props to @2022gisecretsanta for hosting the event :)

#gixrsecretsanta2022 #genshin impact #genshin x reader #cyno #cyno x reader #Have a shot everytime I say snow #You’ll have a fun time #cyno fluff #cyno scenarios #cyno imagines #cyno genshin impact #cyno x y/n

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sinhasfluffyheadfur · 1 year

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making sugar cookies with Xiao

secret santa gift for @iruiji !! event organized by @2022gisecretsanta

Xiao x gn reader, established relationship, fluffy, some kisses

“Wait, Xiao, you’re rolling the cookies too thin!!” Your boyfriend startled, jerking the rolling pin away from the dough.

“…Sorry.” He sighed, “I told you I’m not good at baking.” You leaned over his shoulder to inspect the dough, then put the cookie cutters down on the table.

“Don’t worry, Xiao, the dough looks fine! We’ll be able to make more cookies this way anyway,” you said with a smile. You picked a heart-shaped cookie cutter out from the array of different holiday related shapes, and handed it to him.

“Start cutting out some cookies!” you told him. “I’ll prep the oven for baking. Remember to start at the edges so we can make the most cookies possible!”

You preheated the oven, then turned around to start cutting out cookies with Xiao. He had already cut out six hearts, meticulously arranging them so there was barely any dough left between where the cookies had been cut from. He seemed a bit too focused, though you supposed he was having fun in his own way. You picked out a snowman-shaped cookie cutter, leaning over next to your boyfriend to press it firmly into the dough. He looked over at you, pausing his cookie cutting to give you a quick kiss on the cheek.

“You might wanna switch cookie cutters,” you said after giving him a kiss back. “You’ve made eight hearts now.” He looked at the heart shaped cookies arranged neatly on one tray.

“I suppose I have,” he said, taking the tree-shaped cutter you offered him. The two of you chatted while cutting out enough cookies to fill two trays, before you went to get the sprinkles to decorate them with.

You both covered the cookies with some sprinkles in random colors and shapes, though you picked out one vaguely human-shaped cookie (cut with a gingerbread man cutter) and decided to decorate it to look like your boyfriend, Xiao. You gave it some badly placed green sprinkles for the hair, and arranged a few more to look like eyes and a smile. It barely looked like Xiao, but you thought it was hilarious.

After putting the cookies in the oven to bake, you decided to pass the time with more chatting and a few badly executed pick-up lines to which Xiao gave you weird looks for saying, despite the slight blush on his cheeks and the tips of his ears. Once the cookies were done and cooling on the kitchen table, it was time for the taste test!

You picked out the Xiao cookie and showed it to your boyfriend.

“Look, Xiao, it’s you!” You laughed.

“It’s almost impossible to tell who’s who!” He looked skeptical, clearly judging your cookie craftsmanship. He gave a noncommittal hum, not wanting to damage your pride, and picked out one of his many heart shaped cookies to try. His eyes lit up when he bit into the cookie, eating it quickly so he could tell you his thoughts.

“It’s so sweet!” he said, awed. “Almost as sweet as almond tofu.” You grinned, proud your family cookie recipe could impress your boyfriend, who was well known for not liking most ‘mortal food’, as he called it.

“Really? Let me try.” Your voice was playful as you leaned in close enough to kiss him. Xiao clearly thought you were going to, because you could see him freeze up in anticipation and a soft blush creep onto his cheeks.

“Just kidding!” You grinned mischievously as you leaned back on the table, taking a bite out of the Xiao cookie’s head. You made a noise of satisfaction, saying, “I think this cookie’s the sweetest of them all!” Xiao stared at you, looking a bit like a sad animal that had been taunted with food then not given any. His face made you laugh a little, though you weren’t so mean as to not give him a kiss at all. You leaned in once more, took his hand with your free one, and pressed your lips gently to his.

The kiss was short and sweet, his lips soft and his cheeks dusted a cute pink. “Your lips taste like sugar,” you said with a laugh, taking another bite of the Xiao cookie. He huffed, something he always did when he was embarrassed by your teasing, and something you found incredibly endearing.

“So... wanna watch a movie?” you asked. Xiao’s cheeks still had that pretty pink tint as he nodded and gave a curt “yeah” before giving you a quick kiss on the cheek and stealing a bite of the cookie you held.

“You’re right, it does taste better than the rest,” he said over his shoulder as he left for the couch. You could see the tips of his ears were dusted pink as you followed him, more than ready to binge movies on Christmas Eve.

#grim writes #gixrsecretsanta2022 #this was based off the sugar cookies my family makes every year #I’m the best decorater hehe #sorry I asked about your preferred name then didn’t put it in ;;#hope you like it tho!!#xiao x reader #xiao fluff #man what do I tag #genshin x reader

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faela404 · 1 year

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☆ Dance with me? ☆

cyno, kazuha & candace x gn! reader (separately)

prompt: after a long and exciting christmas day, your lovely partner asks you to dance with them to christmas music <3

*this is a piece written specifically for @1eaf-me-alone as part of @2022gisecretsanta ‘s writing secret santa! i hope you enjoy this and it lives up to any expectations you had! have a very merry christmas and a wonderful day! take care of yourself <3 *

also just quickly, i am british so just to clarify that a sofa is a couch, it just feels weird to write couch-

warning! fluff, just pure wholesome fluff, physical contact, kissing (cheek, forehead, temples)

the fic’s christmas playlist enjoy!

☆ CYNO ☆

cyno had never been too keen on the idea of christmas before, all the stress and anxiety it could bring.

like trying to figure out that perfect gift for your friends and loved ones, having so many people just crowding around you, the loud music booming and forcing it’s way through the air. he hated it all.

that was before he met you though.

you made christmas seem more tolerable.

which is how he found himself here, with you, on the sofa cuddled up with eachother after a “pretty successful” christmas day, as you had called it.

your christmas playlist echoed quietly throughout your shared home, adding to the relaxing atmosphere.

you had been playing this playlist throughout the entire day, causing one song in particular to get stuck in cyno’s head.

let it snow! by dean martin.

the rhythm, the melody, even just the lyrics, they all seemed so perfect to cyno.

so he simply couldn’t help himself when the song began to play.

he wanted to know how it would feel to be so close to you, to hold on to you as you both swayed in time to the beat.

gently, cyno untangled himself from your body, rising to his feet. you looked up at him; confused. “is something the matter, cyno?” it wasn’t like him to refuse a cuddle in such a way.

he cleared his throat as a light blush rose to his cheeks, “may i have this dance, my love?”

i swear to the gods above, my eyes almost popped out of their sockets at his words. this is just too sweet.

“of course you can!” i lightly chuckled as i allowed cyno to help me rise to my feet.

cyno and you gently begin swaying to the tune of the song.

it’s calm, it’s sweet - in cyno’s mind, it’s the perfect way to end christmas day together. being so close to eachother, it was so lovingly intimate.

as the song came to an end, cyno presses a light kiss against your temple as he continues to hold you.

what an amazing end to the day <3

☆ KAZUHA ☆

weaving throughout the crowds decorating the deck of the crux, kazuha clung to your hand as he continued to make his way towards his room.

the music from the party drifted through the thin door that separated your lover and yourself from the craziness of the party.

sure, christmas parties can be lovely and they bring a certain togetherness for those celebrating christmas, but they can get extremely loud - especially if beidou is hosting.

kazuha just needed a few minutes alone with just you, with none of his crewmates coming over and bothering him.

it wasn’t until he heard the beautiful intro of the song pass through his door that he got an idea of how to perfectly end this christmas.

it’s beginning to look a lot like christmas by alexander thoma

if he was being completely honest it could’ve been any song, he didn’t care, he just had to be close to you.

standing in his room, i attempted to relax from the craziness of the party outside his door. of course i was incredibly happy to have come with kazuha to beidou’s party, however i didn’t realise just how long it would go on for.

just as i was about to turn to speak to kazuha i felt a hand lightly settle on my waist as i feel myself getting pulled into kazuha’s chest. looking up at him in slight shock, i notice the way he’s smiling down at me. carefully, he leans down towards my ear before whispering,

“dance with me?”

a shiver runs up my spine as i finally take note of the music drifting through the door. a small smile takes it’s place on my face as i nod gently towards him.

kazuha and you gently begin swaying back and forth to the music, his head still taking refuge on your shoulder.

it was unbelievably loving, as everything usually is with kazuha.

as the song came to a close, kazuha gently spun you before kissing both of your cheeks and whisper a small thank you against your neck, as he cuddled back into you.

he’s such a sweetheart <3

☆ CANDACE ☆

candace and you actually met during a christmas party quite a few years ago, she says that she knew just how important you would be to her from the moment she met you.

after spending the entirety of christmas day together, candace and you finally began your trek back home - hand in hand.

the streets of aaru village were completely empty, with everyone already residing in their homes with their families.

christmas music could be heard drifting sweetly through the air, where it was coming from, you had no idea.

candace loved this christmas day with you, seeing you getting excited from every little thing as though you were a child again.

she found it absolutely adorable.

as you turned the corner of your road, it started playing.

winter wonderland by tony bennett

how ever could she resist pulling you towards her when the song you met during was playing.

after all, in her head, this was your song.

candace stopped in her tracks as we approached the house. turning towards her, confused “is something the matter, love?” i asked.

i watched as her eyes lit up until suddenly, she pulled me plush against her. “it’s our song, y/n!” she beamed at me, “may we dance, darling?” she looked at me expectantly.

i smiled up towards her before giving her a curt nod. i watched as, somehow, she smiled even brighter at me. how ever could a woman be so beautiful?

she held you against her body as you began swaying and moving to the music.

she easily spun you before cuddling closer to your body, her hands holding onto your waist as your arms wrapped around her neck.

it was so passionate, you could almost feel the love radiating from her body.

as the song came to a close, she gently pressed her lips to your forehead before whispering “i love you” against your hair.

i suppose this really is our song <3

a/n - ahhh i hope you enjoyed this! i have to admit at some points while writing this istg i was blushing, twirling my hair and kicking my legs- i do have to admit that i did struggle quite a bit writing candace’s part as i don’t know her character very well, so if she is ooc please forgive me! anyway, merry christmas and take care of yourself <3

#faela404~🍓🍰writes #cyno x reader #kazuha x reader #candace x reader #genshin cyno #kazuha x gn reader #kazuha #cyno #cyno scenarios #genshin candace #christmas #gixrsecretsanta2022

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prawndip · 1 year

Text

Cold Hands (as well as Everything Else)

CHARACTERS: Beidou, Diluc, Thoma x gn!reader

TAGS: fluff. reader is an adventurer (diluc)

WORD COUNT: 1 935 in total

SYNOPSIS: world cold. you’re cold. partner warm.

NOTES: written as part of the @2022gisecretsanta writing event for @spoops-inliyue ! hi. tis I, your secret santa :] I hope you enjoy and happy holidays! tbh this isn’t as snow-themed as it probably should be, I just went with being cold in general instead. I’m willing to make any changes if you want!

BEIDOU:

accompanying beidou on the alcor was a common occurrence. you, who would get the privilege to sail to places most people only had the dream of seeing, and beidou, who would be able to make many precious memories with you while sailing all over teyvat.

though no matter how much you sail the seas with her, one thing has never changed: although the sun would shine so gently on you, its rays resting on your skin with such a delicate touch, the wind would always prick at your skin at the same time, sending shivers down your spine as you find yourself being kicked down by the cold winds of the sea. it's not like it snowed or anything - you're incredibly far from both snezhnaya and dragonspine - it's still just a little too cold for you to handle when things get a little too windy for your taste.

today was one of those days, where the wind blew with such ferocity no matter how bright the sun was. you decided to help beidou and her crew moves boxes around, yet you feel the way that the cold begins to make you shiver, placing the box down and rubbing your hands together, blowing warm air on them in an attempt to feel some sort of warmth. you swear it’s colder than usual today, for even though there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky, you felt the wind roaring in our ears.

you soon feel a large, soft blanket draped around your shoulder, and a pair of large, calloused hands cup around your own. they’re warm, familiar hands, and you turn around to see beidou grinning back at you.

"sheesh! the wind is really starting to pick up now isn't it?" she exclaims, letting out a small laugh as she began to guide you inside, still keeping her hands wrapped around yours, though you try to cling onto the blanket before the wind could tear it away with you, letting out a shiver as you sat down somewhere within the interior of the ship, pulling the blanker even more so around you as beidou managed to shimmy herself underneath it with you. as she leaned her head onto your shoulder, you could feel the way she warmly pressed up against you, letting out a sigh of relief as you feel the warmth seep into your body.

"don't worry about all the boxes. my crew can finish up the rest of them. so just relax, ok? once the wind settles down we can go back out and enjoy the nice weather. man, I don't remember the last time the skies werre so clear! so let's take it in when it isn't so windy!"

she puts an arm around your shoulder, and you feel yourself melting into her touch, your eyelids beginning to flutter shut as you leaned on her shoulder. her warmth is making your drowsy. you can't see it, but beidou looks at you with an adoring smile, holding one of your hands with one of hers, rubbing her thumb over the back of it as you fell asleep.

"that's alright. you've done a lot today. rest easy, love."

DILUC:

dragonspine expeditions were always the worst, you think to yourself. normally you would decline those sort of commissions, for the unbearable cold of dragonspine was never to your liking, but the leader of your guild insisted that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to look at some of its ancient ruins in person. a part of you wished you just stayed home instead, cozied up next to your boyfriend instead of fighting for your life in some of the most coldest conditions in all of teyvat, where someone in your guild accidentally ticked off a bunch of hilichurls barely a few feet into dragonspine’s harsh conditions.

drawing your weapon, you would have helped your guild fend them off after chastising one of them for causing this in the first place, had you not been knocked into the freezing cold water by one of the hilichurls. the water was shallow, thankfully, but you could already feel the icy water creeps into your clothes and settle on your skin. in literally anywhere else in mondstadt, the water would have been relieving in contrast to the pulsing sun that beats down on youwhile completing your commissions. in dragonspine, however, in this weather, it only served to make you even colder than you were before, so cold in fact that your skin felt like it was on fire, your fingers and toes going numb as you pulled yourself our of the water. you could feel the way the cold began sucking the energy out of you.

that’s how you found yourself stumbling out of dragonspine, covered in your fellow guild member’s various blankets, having stripped yourself of your thick jackets and extra clothing that would have otherwise kept holding water and dragging you down. since you barely made it into dragonspine, it was just better to head back to the camp that laid just on the edge of dragonspine. you were being supported by your guild members as you tried your best to avoid freezing to death, mumbling various things about wishing to have been at home instead, and how none of them could make it three feet into dragonspine without complaining about the cold, and how maybe they should turn back and give up on the commission. you loved your guild, truly, but they’re a little simple minded when it comes to experiencing new things. the four of you settled at the camp just out of dragonspine, the warm sun doing nothing to combat the soaked clothes that hung on your body.

when the other guild members began to attempt to start a fire, the wood suddenly lit ablaze, shocking you and your guild members. fire doesn’t usually do that, so it’s probably the work of a vision, who-

someone suddenly waves a warm bowl of soup in your face, and as you look up you recognize that the red hair and the look he was giving you and your guild mates belonged to diluc.

“diluc? what are you doing here?” you look at the soup, and then at diluc again, as if both were an illusion. usually diluc would be in the winery at this time. why was he here?

“I had a feeling none of you would be able to make it three feet into dragonspine with some sort of accident occuring. I didn’t htink one of you would fall into the river.” you feel the way you and your other guildmates share sheepish looks as diluc sits down next to you, and your guildmates start profusely apologizing, for despite everything, diluc was still a man with a reputation, and you were his partner. this was a bad look ont he rest of them. he places the bowl of soup in your hands. “I’m glad you all made it out safely. are you alright?”

though his voice is stern, and though he terrifies the living daylights out of your guildmates when things go wrong, he has genuine concern for all four of you, and especially you. he cupped his hands around yours as you guided the edge of the bowl to your lips, and you hummed happily as you took a sip of the soup. a soft smile had crept onto his face as he watched to make sure you were ok.

“I’m ok, diluc. just cold is all.” you replied, feeling relieved as warth crept through your body, a relief from the non-stop shivering you were experiencing mere moments ago. the fire was warm. the soup was warm. your boyfriend was warm as he pressed his forehead against yours, closing his eyes and sighing contently. your guildmates were watching (though they were preoccupied with their own bowls of soup, so it was less about watching you and more about eating soup now).

“good. I don’t mind if you go into dragonspine, but you gotta be more careful.”

scolding the rest of your guild could happen later. right now you were safe, and that’s all that matters.

THOMA:

at first it was just supposed to be a routine shopping day, go buy food from the merchants, stop by the yae publishing house to get a new book, and then head home to make dinner. everything seemed fine at first, everyone was chatting with each other and you were happily walking through the streets of inazuma. you just didn’t expect it to rain. well, you sort of did. you saw the clouds beginning to loom over inazuma city, but you didn’t think too much of them until they began hurling rain at you. the rain sure began to fall hard. and fast. just like that, the mood quickly flipped as everyone began heading inside for shelter, leaving you to have to bolt it back to your home.

if only I brought an umbrella, you thought to yourself, maybe then the water wouldn't be soaking into your hair and clothes, your goods, and also your book.

you found yourself clutching soaked goods as you sprinted back home, feelings your clothes get continuously weighed down with water and the cold creep onto your skin. as you ran home, water that pooled on the ground would splash as you sprinted through them, your feet completely drenched as they continuously shuffled through puddle after puddle. the wind began to howl, and you could hear thunder in the distance. you shivered as you finally made it back to yours and thoma’s shared home, completely drenched, goods soaked, and you’re quite sure the book didn’t make the trip without being completely ruined by the water. you can hear the sound of your boyfriend practically scramble to the entrance as he heard your arrival, where he found you standing in the entranceway looking like a drenched puppy.

"there you are y/n! I was worried you got stranded somewhere once that big storm rolled in, but you're absolutely drenched!" before you can say anything, thoma had already handed you a towel, and a spare change of clothes, taking the drenched goods from your hands and heading into the kitchen. "let me go make you a nice warm tea! maybe that'll help you warm up before you catch a cold."

you're left to your own devices to dry yourself off and change out of your soaked clothes before wandering into the kitchen. though dry and out of the rain, you still felt the cold lingering on your skin as you hugged yourself. you soon noticed that thoma had already prepared a cup of tea and draped a thick blanket over your shoulders as you sat down, before joining you in taking a seat and holding a cup of tea in his own hands. you let out a content sigh as you felt the warth of the tea seep into your hands. your boyfriend had prepared it just right. it was warm, yet not so hot that it burned to even touch it, and as you took a sip you felt yourself begin to warm up, grinning happily at your boyfriend. "Thanks Thoma."

"of course, darling." he places his hands around you hands, and you can feel the way both the cup of tea and his hands were beginning to arm up. "and don't worry about the book. we can go get another copy tomorrow together! although I can't help but feel it might rain tomorrow too..."

you find yourself begin to softly chuckle at his words. "I'll make sure to bring an umbrella this time."

#shrimp genshin writing #gixrsecretsanta2022 #genshin #genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #beidou #beidou x reader #diluc #diluc s reader #thoma #thoma s reader #genshin imagines #genshin drabbles

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