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#because I don’t think at this point that kazuha has very much reason to live beyond carrying on Tomo’s wishes

wonik1ss · 1 year

Text

6th member of le sserafim hcs — le.m

chaewon

— 3 words

— SO . OVER . PROTECTIVE

— You could accident stub your toe. “ Y/N ARE YOU OK ARE TOU BLEEDING? “.

— One of the member accidentally hits you in the face. Will literally cradle you in her arms till the end of the day

— But while she is very overprotective she also loves to tease you

— For example, once you accidentally tripped on stage and she started tripping all over the place making the other members join in

— She also loves to touch you. Meaning hugs.

— There has not one single time she hasn’t meet you and hugged you like she was never going to see you again

— Going back to her being overprotective. Once the girls had to go bungee jumping but you were scared of heights so she stayed on the ground with you

— Loves to call you “ Kiddo “ and “ My child “.

— All started at the beginning of anti fragile promotions and since then it hasn’t stopped

— Always the first to notice when your down. Also the first to make you feel better too

— Boost about how great you are on vlive

— All in all Chaewon loves you to death

sakura

— From the start Sakura made her relationship with you known as father and son

— Always pulling out random dad jokes on you

— It’s not even like it happens every time your sad, she just does it out of nowhere

— Always fighting with Chaewon saying that she cares for you more

— Always toying with your hair begging you to let her style it

— Once you let her she will expect to always do your hair

— Taught you how to gave. This is how it happened.

— “ Zuha I don’t really think I can bend my leg like- “. You get grabbed by sakura as she shoves you into her room saying “ It’s time I teach you the art of gaming “.

— After that you are her number 1 gaming partner

— Loves cup your cheeks and tell you how cute you are on camera just to embarrass you

— Walks you to school anytime she can

— Constantly wondering what your doing anytime she is not with you

— Can’t even stomach the idea that you will ever be an adult

— Want’s you to be her little gaming partner forever

— Have I mentioned she also continues to randomly grab you and “force” you to play with her?

yunjin

— Big sister

— Always teasing you but it’s never enough to get you actually made

— Gets you random trinkets that she finds anytime she goes out without you

— You know how she calls eunchae “ baby gurl “ well she calls you her “ barbie doll “.

— For the reason that she loves to take you shopping and dress you like you her Barbie doll

— Anytime Sakura and Chaewon are fighting on who loves you more she slips in and drags you away to cuddle

— Most of your time during breaks your in her room

— Totally against you dating

— Anytime you mention it while you two are cuddling she holds onto tighter and shushes you

— You are the first person she shows her songs too

— She trust you so much she lets you help her with lyrics too

— Also is always trying to get you to write a song with her

— Loves taking you on little dates

— Like cafes, outdoor movie or just walking talking about what’s going on in both of your lives

— Oh and did I mentions she loves to randomly kiss you and act like it’s nothing just so she can see your face turn red

— “ Jinnie I think Fearnots will really- “. kiss “ Me too I think Fearnots will love this song too Y/n “.

kazuha

— Is basically just your mentor

— loves to teach you ballet moves and Japanese words at random

— “ Zuha are we getting food soon “. “ Y/n come here I wanna teach you how to do a pirouette “.

— Loves being with you because she thinks your her little mini me

— Even though Zuha tends to be very quite sometimes she always loved to talk with you

— Sometimes you go to her room and just see her doing random things and you join her

— Which instantly cheers her up when she is sad

— Hates anytime you go to Yunjins room

— Sometimes to the point when Yunjin isn’t looking she grabs you and runs

— Fearnots love your relationship because it’s just so random

— Mostly because in every other video you can see you two talking and laughing

— Loves to be all buddy buddy with you of camera because certain people are all over you on camera

— She just loves you so much

eunchae

— Loves to pull pranks on the older members with you

— Some how is always first to be your partner in any games

— Loves to go out on small shopping trips with you and buy everything not in the list

— Always by your side to the point Fearnots think your twins stuck to eachother

— Loves to boost about how awesome you are to anyone that isn’t in the group.

— An example is when she had to interview Kyujin

— “ I think that my member Jiwon is one of the best rappers. “ “ Are you sure? I’ve seen Y/n rap and I swear she raps faster then Eminem. “

— Likes to sit in the back of the groups can with you and make up silly haves to pass time

— Can’t stop stealing your stuff

— “ BUT Y/N THE TOP WAS REALLY CUTE AND YOU NEVER WEAR IT “.

— Always staring at you in videos, always smiling

— Has this idea in her head that when you both grow old you will both live together. With a bunch of snacks Yunjin can’t steal.

— Admires everything you do

— You give a small speech in English at mama

— “ Y/n is so fluent and so cool “.

— You bake a cake that looks nice and you don’t drop “ I’m so lucky to have Y/n as my bestfriend “.

— Is your partner in crime not matter how dangerous the crime is

— She is your ride or die

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crimsonji · 1 year

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HELLO!! if requests are open, may i please request kazuha x reader who's personality is like emu otori? (pjsk) if you don't know her, that's alright, thank you!!

୨୧ Smile, Smile!

“ what if kazuha had a lover that’s the equivalent to a hyperactive puppy? “

ft. kaedehara kazuha x energetic!gn!reader

cw: fluff, bullet points / drabble, accidentally turned into character/dynamic analysis instead of fun hyper antics whoops, reader has 2 older brothers like emu, reader's catchphrase is wondahoi lmao, not proofread

>> 🍁 kazuha’s musings: I don’t play pjsk often but I’m familiar with all the characters so dw !!! The more I think abt this dynamic I kinda feel like kazuha would be rui but… less scheming just matched calm energy yknow? (I HAD SO MUCH FUN WRITING THIS I’m a loser for the calm x hyperactive dynamic)

You just have such a fast-paced upbeat energy that few people can seem to keep up with you and many often disregard you for being too childish for your age. It's very shocking when people find out you have two older brothers who are much more realistic and stoic than you are, and people seem relieved that you tend to mellow out more when in their presence.

When Kazuha met you, he was very intrigued by your eccentric attitude toward things. He's met people on his journeys who have turned cold, corrupted by the difficult truths of this world that they've tried to defy or embraced with hopeless defeat. Kazuha's past is less than pleasant, and meeting someone who, much like him— focused purely on living each day to the fullest made him feel some sort of unspoken understanding towards your reasonings behind your actions.

When you and Kazuha gradually grew acquainted with each other, the more he grew to appreciate you. He notices that you don't really talk about your own life, small fragments falling into place in his mind when he happens to greet you in the presence of your siblings one day. You seemed... different, a washed-out version of yourself that your peers seemed to prefer much more than the actual "you".

There is a part where you two differ. While Kazuha tends to run alone, finding solace in the company of himself, you throw yourself at people (literally sometimes.) and put in all of your efforts to make everyone around you happy. Something about you laughing joyfully while playing puppets with young children or putting on an entire show for the sake of making everyone laugh made his heart swell with a mix of emotions and his stomach flutter like a butterfly slowly emerging from its cocoon for the first time.

He was basically the opposite of you, but your underlying shared similarities of each other somehow managed to make you two work so well together. As gleefully idealistic as you were, he'd never be one to shoot down those ideas or discourage them. Kazuha isn't one to label, people are nuanced and much more flawed and complicated compared to heroic protagonists in novels. Likewise, he knows that just because you're happy and overly optimistic doesn't mean you're stupid or don't struggle at times, and he vows to be by your side every step of the way.

The two of you are THE power couple. Kazuha is usually just tagging along with you as you carry on with your daily antics with your lover by your side. Your actions are determined by impulse most of the time, and Kazuha likes to "go with the wind"— as he says— so what harm would it be to participate in the fun with his partner?

Sometimes bystanders will give their best pleading gazes towards Kazuha as they all hopelessly watch you do another spontaneous thing to the next, but all Kazuha gives is a polite smile and turns his attention back to you.

Kazuha is easily charmed by your catchphrase and habit to incorporate onomatopoeia into your speech, easily picking up on what you're saying and being able to talk to you like any other "normal" person.

"And then, the balloon went kaboom pow, and when the confetti went off it made a sound like phew pew chew—! It was so cool!" "Really? I wish I could have been there to see it."

…

"Kaedehara?! Good wonderhoy! ☆"

"Good morning, the sea is calm and the breeze soft; I'm sure today will be a wonderful day... And if I may ask, what's um, 'wonderhoy'?"

"Ahh...? Well, 'wonderhoy' is something you say when it feels wonderhoy! Like your birthday!"

"What a charming catchphrase."

"Right, right?! I thought of it myself when I was really young, hey, let's practice saying wonderhoy together! 3... 2... 1...!"

"Wonderhoy! ☆"

"Hehe, wonderhoy."

Kazuha isn't nearly as imaginative as you are, but you tell him ten times over that you love it whenever he adds some of his input for the upcoming shows you like to do with your close friends. On multiple occasions, you've tried to get him to participate in one of these events as the main lead, but he says he'd much rather admire you performing from an audience perspective as "You're the sun, the star that keeps the stage's world spinning." (his words)

It's really funny seeing you two talk with each other. Kazuha is so hopelessly smitten with you and isn't afraid to convey that in his at times flowery style of speech-- and your whimsical descriptive words and energy only double tenfold when it's about your boyfriend. It's like night and day, yet you understand every word he's saying and so does he.

"Kazuha!"

"Yes, dove?"

"W-Well, I don't think I say this a lot, so, you make my heart beat a bajillion times like Yoimiya's fireworks and it grows thiiiiis much bigger! ♪ Smile every day for me, okay?!"

"...Pff, hehe; and I feel the exact same and more. Let's smile together today, tomorrow, and the next, my sunshine."

#[🍁] kazuha's haiku collection #[💌] letters of songbird #kazuha x y/n #kazuha fanfic #kazuha x reader #kazuha fluff #kazuha smut #kazuha #genshin impact #genshin #genshin fanfic

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kirimoochi · 9 months

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4 — PAPER PLANE.

₊˚ ᗢ synopsis; getting over breakups is difficult. after your partner leaves you, you find comfort in your friends. when you least expected it, your childhood friend kazuha pulls you from the darkness.

⤷genres; modern college au, romance, and angst.

⤷masterlist; here.

The blond-haired man lowered the windows, staring out in front of him as you leaned your head against the side of the car. Your eyes were still puffy and teary, though not as terrible as before. You’ve rubbed the edges too much to the point it has been stained red. He holds his breath for a moment, bobbing his leg up and down at the stoplight as the night draws near. Next to your leg was a bag of McDonald’s fries that you haven’t touched since leaving the drive-thru. You still felt sick to your stomach, and the thought of eating wasn’t processing in your mind as well as the heartbreak.

He squeezes the steering wheel, anxiously waiting for the light to turn green. The car was playing his Spotify playlist, filled with tons and tons of love songs that you try to ignore. They masked your sniffles just enough for him to be unaware when you’re about to cry. He understands that heartbreak is not an easy thing to swallow.

He has had his fair share of relationships in the past. He’s learned that people fall into two categories: people who want to fix others, and those wanting or needing to be fixed. This idealogy has followed him since his first relationship in high school with a classmate of his. He attempted to “help” them out of their depression and previous relationship, only to end up feeling exhausted and whittled away.

He considered himself the “fixer” because he was attracted to people who needed help. He always felt the need to bring someone up. It made him feel just as good. Though he understands now that this was no healthy lifestyle to be living, and that the search to help others may never end well. It was in his nature though. His kind-hearted nature to want the best for others despite it being the worst for him.

It was a constant cycle that he was acutely aware of.

He worries that the only reason why he is beside you today is because he wants to fix you. He wants to repair your broken heart and bring you back up to where you belong. He knows this is wrong though. And that the feelings he holds for you far surpass the desire to “fix” you. You were not meant to be fixed, nor were you meant to be the fixer. You exist for yourself. You should at the very least. He doesn’t want you to think his sympathy and efforts are just his way of worming into your heart.

You were not ready to be in another relationship. You need time, space, and love to heal. He knows this very well. He’s been on your end and has seen you countless times in this state of need. When the light turned green, he continued forward, steering the car in different directions until you were following a straight line. He heard your soft sniffles and the way your hands would raise themselves to hide your tears.

“Do you want me to drop you off at your apartment?” He asked, out of respect for your feelings he does not turn to look at you. There were a few cars out tonight. Not as many as there would be in the day, but enough for him to feel weary about being hit. You wrapped your arms around yourself, hugging your body as open windows causes you to shiver. “Ayaka and Yoimiya must be worried about you. Did you tell them what happened?”

You haven’t told your roommates about your departure. They’ve called you and texted you a few times to which you would give dry replies. They didn’t know that you and your partner had broken up. And you weren’t sure when you’d ever tell them the truth.

You press your lips tightly together before shaking your head. “I don’t know. I didn’t want to tell them because they’d get worried, and I’d feel awkward. I wouldn’t want them to look at me differently. I talked about my partner a lot and I just…”

“I’m scared that talking to them might open the wound.” This was partially true.

You were indeed scared that when you open up to them about your recent breakup, you’d be forced to remember the old memories that have now soured. However, what you were truly afraid of was the shame that came with it. You thought it was pitiful that after half a year of being with someone, half a year of constantly talking about how you loved them, and how you want to see them more often, they would leave you.

“I see. That’s fine by me,” He continues to drive. “You could stay at my place until you feel better. Gorou wouldn’t mind the extra company. I don’t think it would be comfortable for you to sleep on the couch so… You could just sleep in my room for now.”

You pick at your nails, “I think I intruded enough. You should keep your bed, I’m fine with the couch. It’s a lot more comfortable than you think.”

“Oh really?” You listen to him chuckle, “I wouldn’t want you to sleep there though. You never know if there are snacks hidden beneath the cushions. Scaramouche likes to eat chips on there. His friend Childe comes over often as well for drinks. You shouldn’t worry about that now, I’m just throwing it out there. The only people at the apartment right now are me and Gorou. Scaramouche is on a roadtrip.”

A huff escapes you. Scaramouche? You were honestly astonished that he was still living in the apartment with him. Do not get it wrong, you were sure he was a kind man at heart, though not to the same degree as Kazuha. You only knew that after leaving his mother’s company, he needed a place to stay and that Kazuha, his seatmate was the singular person who offered to split the rent.

You and he were on neutral terms. Shared a few classes but never talked. However, you always had the sneaking suspicion that he and Kazuha talked about things that were outside of your reach. You weren’t sure how to describe it. Whenever you and Kazuha hang out during lunch or passing periods, he gives you a bit of a stink eye.

“Are you… upset at me?” He nearly hits the brake when he hears this news.

Upset? At you? He taps his fingers on the steering wheel. Should he be mad at you? If he were to ask his friend Scaramouche what to do in this situation, he might tell him that you were trying to get into his head. He’s always been the cautious man. It doesn’t surprise him that he might tell him that you were desperate and needed a rebound. But he doesn’t want to believe in such nonsense.

He wouldn’t get mad at you. You’ve done a lot for him in the past and he is grateful. He thinks that it would be wrong to ignore you in your time of need. It wasn’t about feelings or romance, it was about the friendship that he has long kept with you. You just need time. Someone to listen to your problems. Someone who can lend a shoulder for you to cry on when nights get long.

“No. I am not mad,” Kazuha makes a right turn. “Everyone has their moments. I’m not going to fault you for feeling this way. You’ve invested a lot into the relationship, and you tried your very best, but things just didn’t work out. It’ll be okay.”

You straightened out your back. Was it truly okay? You’ve heard countless times by others that if you loved something you should fight for it. If you lost, what then? Weren’t you the terrible person for being an unforgivable partner? You’ve crossed the line many times. You’ve done things that you can’t take back anymore.

You can’t keep playing the victim and acting like everything is fine when it's clear it’s not. You believe that there has to be more done to you. You deserved to be left behind. Abandoned by everyone else. You couldn’t stand being alone yet you can’t even be with others.

You can’t be using Kazuha like this. You shouldn’t be shielding yourself from the harsh realities of your problems. However, what could you do? What was the point of beating yourself up? Would you gain anything from it? You weren’t sure. You weren’t sure about a lot of things. You knew that you were being unreasonable and that punishing yourself wasn’t the right answer.

No matter how much you hate yourself, you won’t be able to move forward without acknowledging your mistakes. And yet, even when you do acknowledge them, you feel terrible. You feel like hurting yourself or putting yourself down because you think you deserve it.

You let out a sigh. “It doesn’t feel okay.”

“Why is that?”

“Because I feel like I'm a terrible person. I ruined the relationship and… I made a lot of mistakes along the way.” You squeeze the fabric of your clothes, your eyes beginning to tear up. “I keep watching those dumb Instagram reels… all those relationship advice videos, they make me feel like I’m the problem. Like I deserve to be left behind or something.”

“Things aren’t always that black and white,” He clarifies, “There is a lot more to relationships than just that.”

“But!”

“But? There are no buts. You just need to know that things aren’t as simple as they seem to be. Relationships are hard, it’s a two-way street. You did everything you could to make things right, but they wanted to move on. The right thing to do is to move forward on your own. You have to learn from your mistakes.”

There was some truth to his words. It’s not right for you to feel hung up over someone who no longer wanted to try. You did give it your all, and you should feel proud that you were at least acknowledging your mistakes. You were taking the right steps to improve. You just need to give yourself a chance, Kazuha thinks, looking at your shivering body.

“Are you cold?”

“...Sort of.”

He pulls up the window before deciding to stop on the side of the road. He wasn’t too far from his apartment now. There wasn’t much more he had to drive. He just wanted to take a breather. The stress of his classes was beginning to take a toll on him. Having you around and worrying about you wasn’t helping much either. However, he would never tell you the second part out of fear of pushing you away.

Unbuckling the seatbelt, he reaches out to the back, pulling out a blanket and wrapping it over you. You clutch onto the soft fabric as you slowly bring it close to your face. It smells like his cologne. You wonder if he always kept a blanket in the back. Did he sleep a lot when driving? Or did he have someone else in the car?

“I always keep one in the back for emergencies,” It seemed like he read your mind. Was it the childhood friend's telepathy? “I always wash it, so don’t worry about it having puke or anything on it.”

“I wasn’t thinking of that but… okay,” You laugh for the first time in a while. Kazuha could feel his ears grow slightly red as he breathes a sigh of relief. He’s glad that for a moment, you were able to at least enjoy a small bit of this night with him. “Does Gorou have a weak alcohol tolerance?”

He scratches the back of his neck, “Not really. I think he’s quite good with it despite what he says. I’ve driven him back from a couple of parties a few times, but he’s never thrown up before.”

“I always thought of him as someone being bad with alcohol. Maybe on your level,” You giggle into the back of your hand.

“You think I’m still bad at alcohol? I’m getting better.”

“By how much?”

“Not much.”

You lean back on the chair, staring at him with your head tilted slightly to the side. He has to admit that despite the dreary night, you looked at peace here. You were distracting yourself with a few of his words. Was it working as well as he wanted?

“Thank you, Kazuha,” You start, closing your eyes.

You try not to get distracted by the sudden intrusion of the song, ‘Are You Bored Yet’ playing in the background. It seemed so cheesy that you had to resist the urge of mentioning it. He still played this song even to this day? You were impressed. You only remember hearing this song when he first found it in high school, and now the two of you were college students. You push your tongue against the front of your teeth as you inhaled deeply.

“You didn’t have to do any of this for me. It’s just a silly breakup. I was just… the stupid one for getting caught up in my feelings.” You wipe away at a stray tear that had slipped. Your voice was cracking slightly as you forced out words of gratitude.

“I don’t think it was much. You need someone to talk to and I don’t mind it if I’m that person. We’ve known each other for years after all. It’d be quite irresponsible of me to abandon you.” He made it sound so easy to be there for you.

“You don’t have to do this much for me. I’m already sort of… intruding and everything,” Before you could blurt out any more words, Kazuha stops you by pressing a french fry against your lips. Your eyes widen and you stare into his autumn-colored irises with an expression of confusion.

“Just eat your fries. They’re going to get stale if you keep putting them off.”

#₊˚ ᗢ kirimoochi #₊˚ ᗢ canvas #genshin #genshin x reader #genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #kazuha kaedehara #kazuha kaedehara x reader #kazuha #kazuha x reader

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wispycecilia · 2 years

Text

to all the ones i’ve loved before: the letters

the letters sent to all your past loves.

irene’s milestone series! - various! genshin impact x reader. (albedo, childe, diluc, ganyu, hu tao, kazuha, venti, xiao, yanfei, zhongli.)

will be separated into singular routes. refer to series masterlist.

synopsis: a hopeless romantic can keep their feelings contained for only so long, don’t you think? let us reminisce on the feelings you held once upon a time.

notes: lowercase intended. gn!reader. words of mythology & poetic figures used. somewhat edited & proof-read, please point out any mistakes! <3 arranged in alphabetic order.

a/n: written in lowercase on purpose - up to the reader's interpretation as to why :) fret not, the main story will be written with proper punctuation & all that good stuff!!

series masterlist || masterlist

dear...

albedo - the art kid.

athena granted you a paintbrush; the creation of life was within your hands. with the way our school praised you for being a genius, anyone could see that you were destined for greatness.

the whole world was handed to you on a silver palette. your very being seemed to be the epitome of renaissance: the art of rebirth and perfection. but, as i looked closer, i realised that you were more abstract. the motifs of what you really were hidden away, for only those with a proper eye to interpret it in its full.

yet, why do you look so lifeless? every painting you produce had the spark that was missing within yourself. i hated how i could see the same sadness that resided in me, in you.

that afternoon on the fated day, was the answer to the question that seemed to plague my mind. our meeting could only be described in one way: avant-garde, but i wouldn't have it in any other way.

your picture-perfect walls were guarded up around everyone else, but came crashing beneath me in our secret meetings. i felt special, like i was your magnum opus. say, has anyone else felt this way towards you before?

you made me your muse, and as intricate galleries - filled with the thoughts of you - started to wrap around my very soul... i made you my reason to keep living.

so, i beg of you, albedo. keep this forbidden dance between us two a secret, and let's continue to meet in our enchanted workshop, with you sketching our surroundings in the way that i love so dearly.

childe - the campus celebrity.

celebrities are just lucky people who are over-glorified. what was i thinking? to pine after someone who was sought out by the rest of the cohort was obviously a death wish in the making.

i’m the biggest hypocrite ever, don’t you think? falling for you. just as how i’ve always hated using the term ‘a diamond in the rough’, and yet, that’s the only way i describe what you are to others.

let's not forget that you’re worse than i am. i know you made an oath to stay away from those who are not the likes of you: people who do not fit within the elite of the community. if you hate 'commoners' so much, why do you keep testing my feelings like this? you must have an ulterior motive, there’s no other way to explain why you would throw away valentine's declarations just for me. it’s unlike you.

...and, i was right. looking back, i should’ve listened to my gut feeling. because maybe then, i wouldn’t be here, suffering from the heartache i feel now. maybe if you didn’t throw everything we had under the pretense of a prank, this could’ve been something magically beautiful.

there’s no need to apologise, childe. i know you’re guilty. i know it in the way your cerulean eyes seem to be emptier than usual; i know it in the way your little brother came crawling to me behind your back in the dark of the night.

please, let us keep our fleeting glances as just that. don’t come any closer to me. i don’t think i can pursue this heartbreak any longer. being in your life is one big popularity contest, and i don’t mind being an outlier for once.

diluc - the lost-and-found.

how dare you steal my heart away? with story books hidden under oak trees, we'd bask in the sunshine as the world around us disappeared. it was just me and you, against the world.

when i lost you, it felt like the universe was against us. the world was crashing down against me; i could never find anyone else who made me feel the way you did. so when i found you once more, on the corner of the creekside - the place where we once met in what seems to be childhood dreams - you'd never expect the happiness i felt. i thought you'd feel the same.

so why do you stare at me that way? with such discontent and disgust? do i remind you of long forgotten, repulsive childhood memories?

and yet i still cling onto those said recollections, as if doing so will make you return to the cheerful boy you once were; the boy that i would share hushed kisses with under the shade, ones that seeped of the innocence we no longer had.

the child whose eyes once sparked with a fiery passion, intent on saving me from the tops of the playground as kids, was now replaced with one who seemed to have grown up too quickly. may i ask, do you remember me in the way i do to you?

the answer is simple. no, you don't.

to the one named diluc, this is my way of letting you go. to finally accept that things will never return to the way they once were. enjoy your freedom, as i will with mine.

ganyu - the bakery shop owner's daughter.

i now understand why eve picked the forbidden fruit. i understand why icarus, with his wings made of wax, flew too close to the sun. the taste of rebellion, of achieving something you cannot have, was too tempting.

to be tempted by your kindness was my fault. your father would never approve of someone like me, anyways. and yet, we continued to drift after each other out of insurgency. nowadays, it gets harder and harder for me to remind myself to not misinterpret things.

i knew you were dangerous. i should’ve stopped then; should’ve rejected any offers you gave me. your kindness wasn’t a facade, but it was your downfall. was helping you free from the shackles tying you back a bad idea?

please, forgive me. but i am falling harder for you and your newfound freedom. there’s something so beautiful about witnessing a circumstance bloom into this. to think it started from you simply gifting me bread... i’m a fool.

i’m left to wonder what happened when you, an angel, dropped from the heavens. how’d it feel, to be released from the chains keeping you locked up? but i knew better than anyone else. to fall from grace, was an inexplicable feeling. it could only be truly understood if one experienced it first hand.

but ganyu, if you were an angel, then surely i was icarus. you were the forbidden fruit. and yet, i dared to come close to the sun, ignored any divine intervention, in order to reach the heavens that was you.

hu tao - the universally hated.

hatred was a strong word. and in the grand scheme of the universe, i never understood why people couldn’t just forgive and forget.

but i wasn’t a saint. i discovered that after i met you, the most insufferable person i have ever had the unfortunate honour of meeting. suddenly, when you appeared, when you were the cause of the beginning of the end, all of my redeeming qualities disappeared.

the way everyone orchastrised you was surely your divine punishment. that should’ve been our last encounter. us two, were to never cross paths again. so why do we seem to be connected by a string of fate? not one of burning red desire, but one of molten gold?

i had every reason to hate you, everyone told me that. but i just couldn't. not after i saw you at the same cemetery i was visiting. they were loved by all; you were not. but you both had the prettiest eyes i’ve ever seen.

how can people move on, knowing that if a person who has left us physically, and no longer lingers in our thoughts, will be erased from this world entirely? and how am i supposed to feel, knowing that the name i worked so hard to immortalise was slowly getting replaced by yours?

so, hu tao, if we must bond over the death of our loved one, if we must keep breathing to keep their legacy alive, i will do so with a heavy heart. even if our love story develops into nothingness, we can at least preserve theirs.

kazuha - the childhood best friend.

the way you perceived yourself could not compare to the way i see you. if only you can see yourself through my eyes.

i am the moon that revolved around you, the earth. there were stars in your eyes, galaxies and a millennia of stories waiting to be told. and i'm here, more than willing to listen to each and every word you have to say.

there are no words to convey how thankful i am to have had you by my side ever since we were little. you were there to pick me up. always. to watch your evolution from a nebula to a white dwarf caused a supernova to combust within me.

but then again, would you ever see me in a way that's not just as your best friend? sue me for wanting more, but the way my heart warmed up whenever i saw you... reminded me of my selfishness. still to this day, i can't help it. i love you more than a childhood best friend should.

we were constellations, and the way you drowned me in your flowery prose made me feel like the northern star; like i'm the only thing you need in your life to guide your way.

and if that's all i'll ever be to you, kazuha, so be it. i’ll swallow away the pain and learn acceptance. i'll ignore the pang in my chest whenever i see you with the new friends you've made, knowing that i'll still be the andromeda to your milky way.

venti - the confession interrupter.

screw you. seriously, i hate you. well, that’s what i would’ve said a few months ago. after all, one who crashes a ceremony with such fervour is bound to remain in everyone’s hearts, no?

i'll never forgive you for what you did. a potential relationship with my first crush, the dream that many could only wish to gain, shattered by a dumb boy playing careless whisper on the recorder. a hilarious sight for all, but caused an epiphany to reverberate through those involved.

that lover of mine drifted, and while my feelings for them decrescendoed out of my heart, the song that is you entered. you may have ruined it all, but then again, you painted symphonies in my heart without fail. when will my heart-beat return to its original tempo?

you make music with more than just that lyre of yours. you make it in the way you laugh, in the way you breathe.

but… when will you start to take things in life seriously? when will the heartfelt confessions of admirers stop being rejected as fast the wind can go? i refuse to be a part of that group whose orchestra of feelings are rejected by the conductor of it all.

well, i'll sit here, and let the wind tell me, as my feelings crescendo into madness with you by my side. venti, they do say that time heals all wounds, so why does the wind continue to scald my heart beyond repair?

xiao - the out of reach.

tangibly intangible. that’s what you are. i can see you; i can hear you. but i cannot touch you. you are the act of two contradictory words working at once.

you’ve always been so close, like i could stretch my hand out right then and there, and you’d fall perfectly into my grasp. and yet it felt like i was eons away from understanding you. the prettiest things are the ones we can never have, so i will continue to admire from afar.

even if all of my efforts end up being futile, it’s better than not trying at all. falling for you was something that i can never regret. you are the reason why my dreams were so sweet, a juxtaposition to the non-fiction world.

i’ve heard people describe you as the clouds. something we can reach up to, climb on top of mountains to touch, but still never have within our grasp. but i see you more as a shadow. i see you everyday, but i cannot catch you. you are something that appears during the light, and disappears without a trace in the dark. you do it for a reason that i cannot comprehend. why risk your safety for my honour?

if i must be reduced to the person who can’t be moved, the one who peaked in their youth, so be it. i will continue to study you like a historian; i cannot move on until i understand.

continue to bask in shadows for me, xiao. wait until i can understand the meaning behind your actions; until you comprehend the meaning of mine. may it take centuries, or until the stratosphere dissolves away, please wait.

yanfei - the academic rival.

you ruled a jurisdiction over my heart. if i was tried for loving you, i would be sentenced for life. but, if you were to be my alibi, my partner in crime within this love of ours, i am more than willing to become bonnie and clyde, selfishly pursuing our love for one another.

i don’t know when or how i lost track. my 3am study sessions to ‘out-brain’ you turned into me rolling around in bed at the bare thought of your gleeful face. i blame you for comforting me on the park bench that day. maybe if you went on with your day, our simple rival titles wouldn’t have to extend to something more.

how we could be shouting at each other during heated debates in class, and lending one another a shoulder to cry on at the next? i applaud myself for understanding even the most complex of terminologies, but my clueless heart cannot keep up this time.

you may not like me and my constant dispositions, or our constant conflict. and that’s okay. you may have not aced our politics midterm, but that’s okay too, because you surely aced your way into my heart.

yanfei, i know you hate the stereotypical couple jargon. i do too; i think the word ‘babe’ is stupid. you’ve always been more of a pride and prejudice girl, so, i wonder, if our tale ends up being one more akin to enemies to lovers, will you be okay with me calling you love?

zhongli - the prom saviour.

everyone knows of the tragedy tale, the one that includes the star-crossed lovers. but when will they know ours? the one of a fated meeting, a story that stopped before it can even start.

to be alone on a day such as that one was humiliating, almost as much as tybalt’s very existence. but then you swooped in, not as a knight in shining armour as some may describe, but as a dragon protecting its treasure.

i felt like a precious jewel just from the way you looked at me. you gave me a rose and said even above all else, i was prettier than the rest. that the inspiration behind shakespeare’s tales could not compare to me.

it was shocking how you held me in such high regard. but my poems… you didn’t like them as much. it hurt - it really did - but then again, i shouldn’t listen to you tell me what are my words worth.

you were romantic, one straight out of a dream. and it seems to be just that, a figment of my imagination. one day you made me believe in the concept of love at first sight, and the next, gone. i dubbed you as my prom saviour to those around me, and they know you nothing as a man of enigma.

but to me, zhongli is an unforgettable name. i will continue to pursue the qualms of literature in order to write out the scenes that we can hopefully reenact one day. so, i beg of you, meet me at our spot, right where we met on that prom night. let us dance in daffodils: in the field of new beginnings.

taglist (open!) - bolded users cannot be tagged.

@izayanna @irrellia @melkxsh @kazu-topia @klee-nomania @almondtofuu @lynnforever @hhhhhhjjjj @doublehomiecide @mooonluv @yeetmeoffjueyunkarst @akemipng @ttaechi @quin-tarte @levicorpses @kazukazusbaby @yukihonda19 @lminhyungie @serenenation @yonakiomoto @heavenologist @kerokeropng @astrxealis @yuchanyuna @flerpdederp-likes @hermionie-is-my-queen @tokyosrevenge @therandomunicorn @abyssheart @justtiarra

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veradescent · 2 years

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Streamer AU!

streaming now live!! with . . . tartaglia, kazuha, kokomi and itto

please do not rewrite, redistribute, or repost in any shape or form. thank you! check out the masterlist! masterlist and info/dni here

- feel free to come talk to me on asks! -

❱ now streaming… kazuha!

he does study streams!

he started just by showing his notes and his hands but after a while he finally showed a picture of his face (which was followed by an INSANE amount of people panicking)

now he does streams where he shows himself studying rather than just his hands (as a treat <3) but only on occasion.

stop im so in love with him 😭 i feel very strongly on the kazuha study aesthetic agenda

if it’s a full body stream he probably wears a big hoodie and you can see his organized set up. his room is full of plants and soft warm lighting, and he has an essential diffuser on his desk.

at the beginning of each stream the audience gets to decide what scent he puts in the diffuser for the day. somebody typically tips to get their favorite and he always smiles very fondly as he puts in the oil.

nobody ever complains in his streams or gets upset. it’s just safe. viewers might ask questions and somebody else will answer. or they talk about how pretty and calm kazuha is and hope he doesn’t notice since he’s busy working. (he does. but he thinks it’s funny)

he still doesn’t fully see the point of it all and finds it kind of amusing that so many watch but definitely is very peaceful and enjoys helping people relax. it’s why he keeps doing it.

sometimes people don’t even come to study they just come to see him and enjoy how calm the chat is.

okay the difference between the chaos of childe’s chat that goes at light speed of people freaking out and kazuhas gentle chat where everybody helps each other and talks about how soothing it all is is so funny

in terms of popularity he and kokomi are pretty close, she’s a bit ahead but they’re def friends who talk every time he’s in town.

i’m sorry i’m sorry i’m done but just 🥰🥰 he makes me all soft.

❱ now streaming… childe!

childe is 100% a popular streamer who plays COD and games of the sort i think we can all agree on that.

except sometimes he plays stardew valley. only stardew valley. nobody knows why but when asked he’s only ever responded with “i like fishing” which is true. he only ever spends time fishing in stardew. viewers either love it or hate it. (usually love it because it’s him)

i don’t know why i just feel like he gets frustrated and squeezes his controller really tightly and furrows his brows when he’s trying to focus and not die in game.

instead of hitting things since he’s not destructive he just throws his head back or rubs his face. sometimes he very dramatically takes off his headphones and takes a breath.

he’s always a good sport saying something along the lines of “i’ll get them next time.. i just missed it” and proceeds to figure out what he did wrong to fix for next time.

the absolute sweetest when people send him tips. he’ll always stop to say how appreciative he is and gives this big genuine smile the second he sees the notification. that’s probably the reason he gets tipped so often.

overall just a huge softie, going on his streams is addicting because he’s honestly just so fun to watch with how expressive he is and how amazing his laugh is.

simps. plenty of simps. but in a cute way sort of?? i don’t know how to explain it. everybody loves him so much.

there is this streamer from inazuma though called thoma… they get compared a lot. childe is secretly jealous. thoma is unfazed. might talk about his channel in a part two 🤔

❱ now streaming… kokomi!

i feel like her and kazuha would get along or collab at some point! people probably begged for it and she casually went “oh yeah! kazuha, i know him.” and people were so excited.

she has a pretty big audience honestly, she’s probably the most popular here overall and her community has remained calm and kind.

she has a lot of stationary and writes letters, sometimes she decorates those little photo cards. do you know what i’m talking about??? i think she makes custom ones for her viewers who tip nicely.

her audience is less a devoted same people every time type thing. she encourages this, and for people to come when they want to see her and not because they feel like they have to.

although she does have regulars who will drop by to say hello once in a while, and she never forgets a single person. talking to her on stream is very personal but also not invasive. nothing deep, just reassuring. if it’s been a bad day you can come to her streams and de stress and talk about happy things (happy things?? how do i phrase that??)

her upload schedule can be kind of sporadic, she’s busy and people are always happy to catch her. it’s kind of a i’ll see you when i see you type deal.

she plays animal crossing sometimes! her favorite villagers are merengue, lolly, and merri! she does not like raymond. no i won’t elaborate on that. she has a cluttered cottagecore theme for her island

she has a lot of sponsorships lined up (companies just reach out to her a lot. she’s very unproblematic) but it’s only for things she’d actually use and tells her fans her honest opinions. she does a bit of everything so most of the time it’s makeup or pens or something like that. she likes when she’s sent those little food subscription boxes.

she always has her nails done in pretty colors or acrylics, i don’t know why this is important in the slightest but i just feel like she does. it’s always some sort of creative nail art

she likes supporting small artists! like a lot!! if she buys stickers she’ll always link the shops and tell her viewers where any materials are from. she doesn’t gatekeep her little hobby at all.

people still like to buy from her regardless of if they know how to make them or not, she just is really good at it and makes super pretty layouts. you can tell when she’s the one who made it. plus she sends them in super pretty packaging with a note and extras!

❱ now streaming… itto! (the one and oni!)

itto streaming onikabuto fighting- just kidding betting on that is illegal and against the tos! he learned that last time…no more field trip streams

there is a stream clip out there of itto running from kujou sara after filming an illegal onikabuto match…. but let’s not talk about that!

he actually streams video games a lot like childe, but he’s extremely enthusiastic. extremely.

he calls his fans the arittaki gang. yes he does.

his audience is die hard for him. everybody acknowledges he’s a genius (sarcastic) and it’s like a “hey bro” dynamic. everybody is referred to as ‘bro’ or ‘man’ when itto addresses them. it’s just in his vocabulary.

somehow it gets very deep very fast. itto picks up on if a regular isn’t acting like they usually do and asks what’s wrong. it’s become a space of safety where the entire audience helps with the person.

“oh man i’m sorry you’re dealing with that- yknow i felt like that last week. it’s a hard place to be. yeah chat thinks so too! see? we’re all here. you’re always welcome on the stream we’ve all got your back! always!” the whole chat relating and sharing their personal stories.

if ANYBODY. i mean anybody. says something remotely negative everybody in the chat takes them down almost immediately. it’s so intimidating. like your best friends booing somebody off a stage. it’s great. ittos fairly sensitive to insults deep down anyway even if he brushes them off so it’s probably for the best it’s shut down fast.

not too much else to say here but ittos streams are just hilarious. he sometimes brings the stream places just to show his audience him having lunch or doing something exciting.

he is SHOCKED at his first time being sponsored but gets sponsored quite a few times.

his sponsors sponsor him very cautiously. very. cautiously. because he frequently nearly accidentally violates TOS but they do it because he’s so good at it man can sell anything. his viewers would buy anything to support him.

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ventisehe · 3 years

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crying on their wedding day, or not / genshin impact / part two

this is the second part of crying on their wedding day. i didn’t add dainsleif and baizhu because i don’t have enough creative juice to squeeze them in.

requested by: @bakuhoe-is-my-bakubro

includes: venti, kaeya, xingqiu, scaramouche, razor, albedo, chongyun, xiao, kazuha

warning: unedited, not proofread, different variation of not seeing the bride before the wedding ceremony, written before kazuha was released

part one

THOSE WHO WILL NOT CRY

VENTI

Although his wings that have soared through the vast open azure skies was as ancient as the winds that swept ever so delicately through the lands that made up Teyvat, although his curious viridescent hues have become quiet witnesses to numbers of renowned and untold tales of mortals across nations, no matter the countless years he devoted trying to cognize the mortals and their atypical behaviors, Barbatos – or Venti, as he refers to himself now – can never truly understand how so many human beings can stay in one place with one person.

Before he had even come to be the Anemo Archon, all that Venti knew was how to heed the call of the wind. To him, it was confounding how mortals do not have the similar urgency as he to follow the winds. Even when he had taken the form of his dearest friend, Himmel, and has elapsed through myriad of seasons and centuries, still he soared gently in the air, lyre in his possession as he sung melodies of his own composition and strummed symphonies for those who yearn to hear his voice, and with his braids billowing in his travel to a destination even he cannot tell yet.

One has made an attempt - and unfortunately, a fruitless one - to make sense to him why some has gone against the heed of the wind, a very peculiar decision in the eyes of someone like him. His form nothing but a mere wisp at that time, nothing but a small creature with little understanding, and he remembered he was seated on the shoulder of his companion as they perched by the edge of a mountain, legs dangling and kicking gently back and forth. They basked in the caress of the wilting warmth as the sun bid its farewell.

Himmel was humming a tune with the corners of his mouth curving up and his eyes closed, and Venti's small frame thrummed with delight at the euphony he made.

And in the serene quiet, his dear friend spoke, "Someday, you'll find yourself wanting to stay somewhere. For something, or for someone. You don't understand now, but when you come to love one thing, you'll always want to be close to their side." Himmel turned to him, a subdued smile etched across his features, and upon catching sight of the sincerity and fervor Himmel in his bright eyes, Venti cannot help but mirror his sentiments and reciprocate his smile the best he can with the body he manifested in.

"When that day comes, you'll understand why many choose to . . . stay." Venti tilted his head to the side, and Himmel let out a small chuckle once he catches on the puzzlement that he displayed in his actions. "Don't look at me like that. I know you're curious about the whole marriage thing. Who knows, maybe someday you'll find yourself a nice fellow wisp and - "

All it took for Himmel to cut his statement short and burst out in laughter was how Venti prodded against his neck as a feeble attempt to make him quiet down.

And as Himmel has predicted, Venti - in time - did understood.

Venti was able to perceive the reasonings of mortals to turn their heads away from the beckon of the wind, to live a peaceful and quaint life, some alone, and some with their spouses. Himmel had done his absolute best to explain to him the wanders which are humans, and gleefully watched as Venti attentively listened to every word he spoke.

However, at the end of the day, Venti was still a free spirit. He can never be tied down to one place, much more to another living being. He will always find himself favoring the whisper of the winds in Teyvat, adrift and letting himself go adrift.

It was after he had witnessed the life in Himmel's eyes leave, heard his last breath, the whisper of the triumph of Mondstadt in achieving freedom, and his final request as he stroked Venti's quivering figure - A sad smile has been painted upon Himmel's brims as he gazed at the smaller entity weeping under his touch, "I ask only for one last favor from you, my dearest friend. Look after Mondstadt, after our people, for me, and never let everything we've sacrificed go for naught."

Venti was still a free spirit, but with what happened to Himmel, he longed to understand how he saw the world. It seemed he understood it differently than he did. And thus, he took the form of his beloved friend, and ventured closer than he had before to mortals.

The day he found a place in The Seven, the fateful he became the Anemo Archon, Venti has not once missed an event with his people. He celebrated with them in festivities, cried with them in their sorrows, aided them in battles against transgressors or wars within their own mind. He laughed with them, ate with them, drank with them, and his love for his people grew everyday.

But still, he can never stay for too long.

Venti tried to, he really did, for his friends, as his last gift before he lets go of the pain of losing him. But cannot force himself to remain in one place if his heart kept searching for places to explore, people to meet, discover the secrets of Teyvat.

Hopelessness was beginning to gnaw inside him as hundred of years has passed, and he has already traveled through long distances and saw generation after generation of his people in Mondstadt, and yet nothing he has yet to fulfill his own promise to hos friend.

Perhaps this was the way it was supposed to be. Maybe only mortals are giving the ability to be content and stay, but the Anemo Archon was forever to be appearing and disappearing - always, always stringing along with the wind.

And Venti believed that thought of his, and it stuck to him throughout many more years in Teyvat.

Not even a dust of faith was left in the ruins of what he now thought of as a vanquished promise, marring Venti with a wound in his heart, and a doubt in his standing as an Archon. However, it was through this belief that took him by surprise when he met a rather strange woman at the last day of the Windblume Festival, and in Stormterror’s Lair, no less.

The Honorary Knight, and their odd traveling companion have long been gone after they bid him farewell and a safe travel in his return to his abode – or whatever dwelling was the closest he could denote as home – leaving Venti by himself to reminisce in the ruins of where Old Mondstadt once stood.

The heavens were a color of black dotted with stars and the moon. The wind has grown softer, as though to accompany him in this lonesome hour, leaving chaste kisses against his pallid skin. From afar, the City of Mondstadt remains lit with lanterns and plethora of flowers. Even in this distance, he can oversee the joy that exuded from the people as they celebrated the remaining hours of the festival and take in the fragrance of the flowers friends and partners exchanged with one another. It was a beautiful sight to behold if one sits in such a desolate and dark place, in the very tower that he had confronted Stormterror – no, it was Dvalin now, Stormterror has perished along with the danger of the past.

But a presence – curious, sorrowful – has intervened in the quiet evening Venti thought he had saved for himself. He stood up from the platform where he has previously perched upon and took off to take a gander in the Lair, and it did not take a moment longer for him to spot a figure nearby. There, standing on top of a boulder clad in a crestfallen expression was a lone woman. She was casting her gaze around Old Mondstadt, and the breeze blew her tears away,

Venti had never seen her before. He had met every family, every person, in Old Mondstadt, and the same was to be said to the generation that followed after them. He knew them well, recalled their quirks and appearances, and this woman has no resemblance to any of them. Has she come from another nation?

Venti made it his point to glide down and noiselessly land behind her, but it seems his efforts have failed him for this stranger spoke the second his feet made contact with the ground.

"I wonder how this place used to be." You stated, and Venti was unsure whether you have felt his presence or you were speaking to yourself.

“So, this is Old Mondstadt.” She stated in a murmur. Her voice was laced with awe, but with evidence of forlornity. “I heard rumors about what happened here, and-and the thing with Stormterror too. Archon, I wish someone would tell me the real story of the City of Freedom. Back in my home, we’re not even allowed to learn much about the Archons of other nations. It’d be foolish to just trust rumors.”

There was something about her that piqued his interest. He did not know what it was. Maybe it was the way she talked about Mondstadt, her interest in the history of his city and his people, the sincere sorrow she felt for what the fallen tyrant of Mondstadt had had done to his former subjects, and how he had forced their hands to rebellion to protect their nation.

Venti spoke before he can stop to think. “If you’d like, I can retell the story of how Old Mondstadt came to be. I’m well versed in the history of this city, so rest assured everything you’ll hear is the truth.” He carved a smile to his lips. “And I am a Bard, so you have no need to worry about me chatting your ear off. All it takes is an audience and my lyre to get me started. Of course, a private performance will cost you, but since you’re new in the city, I suppose I can – ”

His breath was taken away when the stranger turned to face him, and his words withered from his tongue. Ever seen a speechless bard? It was a sight people will scarcely see.

Could he ever compose a song to even come close to the lovely view that was before his eyes? Gleaming curious pair of eyes, a smile so eager to listen, hair flitting with the wind as his heartbeat raced –

Venti was used to captivating his audience with his songs and stories. However, this time, it was he who was captivated, and when he took out his lyre and played a sweet tune to sing the story of his beloved city, with this gorgeous woman listening to him with bright and shining eyes, Venti knew then that he wanted to play for her every song he knew, every story he saw and heard, to the end of time.

You told him your name after his song, and you came all the way from the isolated nation of Inazuma. It took him by surprise how you have confidence in him to reveal to him your identity and place of birth. Surely, not everyone will trust a stranger who has appeared out of nowhere who offered to sing them a song. But then again, Venti trusted you as quickly as you trusted him, and now it was his turn to listen as you confide in him.

You have escaped from your home nation and survived out in the seas under the heat of the sun and threat of starvation for days until a compassionate Captain from Liyue, and her crew found you and delivered you to safety. And it was after your recovery that you fled to Mondstadt, the opposite of the nation you were born in.

Venti found himself sitting down in front of you as you told him your story, sight never leaving your frame as he did so. You were no Bard, and you were no storyteller, but he cannot tell the time or noticed the sun has set as you regaled him with story of Inazuma and your life after and before your escape. He was enchanted with the way you spoke, how you looked about Old Mondstadt with saddened awe, the fervidness in your voice – Have I found myself a rival? Thought Venti, eyes softening as you went on about your admiration for the affability and generosity his people have shown you.

When you left that day, you promised to come back and when you do, you shall ask him to sing to you more of his songs. At first, Venti was hesitant to believe your promise, but to his relief and happiness, when he saw you in the same place in the ruins undoubtedly waiting for him with your eyes closed and relishing in the wind that rushed past you. Venti always came to Stormterror’s Lair to oversee what remained of his old home, but for once, his sights were held torn and you have all his attention.

Seeing you keep your promise of return made his day, but when you whipped your head to face him with a smile, waving a hand as you asked him to sit with you, Venti knew that his heart desired yours. Was it a wise decision to fall for someone you've only just met? Certainly not, but he was an Archon who had too much time but too little for those who he holds dear. He cannot afford to be unsure when his time with you was limited.

So, he decided – when the day is right and the wind is quiet, he shall make his feelings for you known.

It became a routine for the two of you to meet in Stormterror’s Lair and share your stories with one another, Venti always telling his in songs, as a Bard would. There was never a dull moment between the two of you, and every story told in the ruins were to be fascinated of. And soon, it wasn't just stories. Soon, he was finding out more about you, knowing you better until he couldn't get you out of his head.

It became a routine for the two of you to meet in Stormterror’s Lair and share your stories with one another. Venti always told his in the form of songs, as a Bard would, you will always applaud him after, to which he would respond with a melodramatic bow. There was never a dull moment between the two of you, and every story spoke in the ruins and the silence of the night was to be fascinated of. He was learning more about you, knowing you better, until he couldn’t get you out of his mind when his head falls against his pillow.

Venti cherished these times he had with you. He knew it won't be long until you were gone. He knew his fate as an Archon – seeing loved ones perish and more to come, and the cycle continued.

He hasn't even told you about his identity.

Venti was grateful for the Traveler for pushing him to tell you about his feelings and his standing in Teyvat, but he was still uncertain. What would you say if he confessed to you? What will you say if he admits to being the Anemo Archon? Will things change between the two of you? Will you leave? Venti can’t think about that.

Venti grew worried when you didn’t come to Stormterror’s Lair one day, and then another, and his concern grew as days turned to weeks. Everyday he found himself visiting Stormterror’s Lair in hopes of seeing you waiting for him again, but he was always left disappointed. You did not mention going on an adventure or a commission, so his worry was warranted. Were you safe or were you simply sick of him?

When the day you finally appeared in the Lair, relief washed over Venti and he practically jumped off the broken tower he frequently resided and made haste towards you. But his footsteps faltered when he found no traces of a smile on your face. He can see the relief and joy, but the smile was absent. From that, Venti’s own beam wilted as he walked over to you with reluctant steps.

When he came close to you, he opened his mouth to ask how you have faired for the past weeks and question your abrupt disappearance when you said something that took him by surprise.

“I know who you are.”

It felt like his entire world has stopped for a moment as he stared at you with disbelief smearing his countenance. How ever did you discover the truth? Certainly, he had similarities with his statues, but none of his people nor visitors from outside ever pieced the puzzle together.

He averted his gaze, ashamed. Why was he wallowing in shame? Or perhaps was this regret of not telling you sooner? Did you feel betrayed? Will you cast him away?

“But how . . . ”

“The man at the Tavern told me, Master Diluc.” You answered. “I was telling him about you, and I guess he thought I already knew of you being the . . . Anemo Archon.”

“Is that why you were gone for weeks?” Venti questioned, and when you nodded in response, he winced. He can’t help but think of the worse – She’ll leave me.

Venti looked away. “Ah, I shouldn’t be surprised. I mean, it is hard to believe someone like me is an Archon.” He laughed out, but the humor was nonexistent in his statement. “So, how do you feel about that?”

Venti let out a gasp when you threw yourself to him and enveloped him in a tight hug. Venti froze at your actions and waited for you to withdraw, but when you did not, he slowly accepted your embrace with gratefulness. He didn’t know what you do this, but he was more than happy to reciprocate your actions before he lets you go.

It won’t matter, anyway. He’ll hear the winds calling for him somewhere soon. Maybe letting you go now would hurt less in the long run.

“Are you not . . . angry?” Venti asked as he closed his eyes and rested his chin on your shoulder.

“Oh Archons, no, Venti. I could never hate you.” You assured him in a whisper and from the brokenness on your voice, Venti knew you were crying. “Those times you told me about Barbatos . . . all the stories about his past . . . everything he had gone through . . . ” You murmured, tone lowering. “ . . . you must have been so hurt and lonely.”

He didn’t know why your words shot through him. He can feel tears streaming down his cheeks as memories of his past and the continuous pain of loss and regret caught up with him. Finally, after thousands of years, his false smile was shattered.

How pathetic. He thought. An Archon weeping in front of a mortal that he is in love with. Could things get any worse?

Your hand stroked his hair, comforting him as he cried against your shoulder and in your arms.

“I was . . . ” He breathed out, choking as he tightened his grip around you. “ . . . it never stops hurting . . . I keep seeing Himmel, and everyone, and – ”

He couldn’t finish what he was saying and just relished in the comfort of your arms, breathing in your scent.

“I don’t understand what you’ve been going through these thousands of years, and I never will, but it’s okay now, Venti.” You whispered in his ear, and he can detect the compassion and love lacing your voice. His heart hammered against his chest. “You have me. You don’t have to pretend everything is okay. I’m here for you. I want you to be Venti and Barbatos with me, I want all of you.”

He couldn’t believe his ears. Did he hear you correctly? You want him?

Venti gently retracted himself from you, but his arms remained at your sides. “You still want me, even after I kept this from you?”

“I want you, Venti.” You clasped your hands over his shoulders, firmly looking into his eyes. “I’m not going anywhere anymore. I’m staying here, with you.”

And so, you stayed, and so did he – it was the first time he stayed, and he will never regret it.

One would think that as a renowned Bard in Mondstadt, Venti would push for a grand wedding where all people of Mondstadt are invited to wine and dine together as bards banded together to regale everyone with their music, and as the Archon who values freedom above everything else, a big part of him wanted to. But he thought of you and what you wanted. It took some time for him to deliberate over how selfish it would be for him to make you uncomfortable in your wedding day and agree a small wedding would be a much better option considering how sacred and intimate marriage is.

However, knowing you cannot simply have the Anemo Archon go against his belief, and of course because of your love for him, you have secretly devised a plan with Jean and Kaeya to invite all the citizens of Mondstadt to your reception to celebrate this joyous occasion for the two of you. There was more than enough food and drinks to feast, courtesy of Master Diluc, and you’re sure Venti will be over the moon with this surprise.

Venti had no family, and those he did consider as family were long gone, just a memory from the past. Even though it is unusual for a groom not to have a best man in his wedding day, Venti claimed he was fine without a best man. He had no doubts in marrying you. When he proposed to you, there was no touch of regret or doubt. Albeit reluctantly, you were in a mutual agreement in that matter, as well. Until, of course, an unexpected tribute arrived offering his services.

Venti was not the least nervous when the day of your wedding came. He did not waste time when he woke up and immediately got to work on his appearance. Jean was kind enough to have his wedding suit tailored for him, an early wedding gift, as she says.

Venti knew of the rule that a groom mustn’t see his bride in her wedding gown until the time she walks on the aisle. But he was just so thrilled for this day that he forgot all about it. And even if he did remember it, who in the world would stop him from seeing you? He has no best man to stop him anyway -

Venti almost choked to death when a hand came to grasp him by his the back of his collar, and he blubbered pathetically as he was thrown off balance and was dragged back to the altar.

“Who are - Master Diluc? What are you doing?”

Diluc let out a huff as he continued dragging Venti away from your house. “Stopping you from upsetting your bride. I’m sure you know that you shouldn’t see your bride in her gown before the wedding?”

“But Master Diluc, as much as I appreciate what you’re doing, you’re not in any position to - ”

“Actually, I am in a position where I’m allowed to stop you from making a mess of your wedding.” Said Diluc. “I’m your best man, after all.”

Venti couldn’t put to words how touched he was, and more so when you revealed to him after the wedding that Diluc has offered to be his best man by his own volition. As thanks, the next time Venti visited the tavern to drink, he paid for a single bottle of wine once. It wasn’t exactly ideal but considering how he had no original plan to pay Diluc for any of the drinks he will consume, this was as good as it gets.

When the doors opened to reveal you in your pretty white wedding dress, Venti swooned, and a large joyous smile stretched across his lips.

A gentle breeze swept in the altar and Venti felt his feet leave the ground briefly, floating in the air as he excitedly watched you walk down the aisle, and it took Diluc’s hand pulling him down by the back of his suit to stop him from floating up above the cathedral.

“My, my, if I knew any better, I would have thought the Archons have taken favor on me and blessed me with a beautiful bride.” Venti said once you join him in the altar and took your hands in his own. “You look beautiful, darling. I might just write another song about you.”

You shook your head, pink tinting your cheeks. “Haven’t you written enough songs about me?”

Venti inched his face close to you, his large smile altering to a soft smile. “There aren’t enough songs to tell you how much I adore you.”

The wedding went on, and when the two of you kissed, only one thing entered in Venti’s mind - I found my reason to stay, Himmel. I just hope you can see this.

The wind blew gently.

KAEYA

Kaeya did not know what to feel when his brother has made it clear once and for all that he wanted nothing to do with him. His dismissive remarks, his heated glares, his cold and aloof treatment – he had known Diluc for so long, and his memories with him in their childhood never grew old in his mind, so it pained him to have his once bright-eyed sibling who aspired to be part of the Knight acting as though they were strangers. No, strangers would have been merciful. He acted as if the bond they had never meant anything to him, and casting him aside and seeing him under the light of contempt was the easiest decision he has ever made.

Even you were not spared from the same fate. The three of you become inseparable the day you and Kaeya were introduced to each other. You’ve done everything together, and it would be a strange sight to see one missing from the group.

When Diluc has cut ties with Kaeya, you suffered the same fate as he. You poor, poor thing – you tried your best to patch the friendship he no longer wanted to be part of, and Kaeya did not waste time running to your side and picking up the pieces Diluc shattered. It was not an easy feat for both of you to lose Diluc – he lost a brother, and you lost a good friend.

But it was because of your fall out with him that you and he become closer than ever, closer than before, if that could even be possible. The two of you support one another and you go to each other when things get difficult.

Kaeya will never admit it, and he would rather die than do, but he has loved you for many years. The moment Diluc pulled him into an unknown house, claiming that he wanted to meet someone important to him, and his eyes landed on your form with the sunrays kissing your skin, a wide smile stretching across your face, and a fake sword in your hand, his heart was taken.

You were one of the reasons he wanted to become a Knight. Diluc admitted his want to become a Knight, and you expressed the same sentiment, and of course, hearing his friend and brother say so, he became inclined of joining the Knights. I’ll get good training. He thought back then as stared at you, blushing as you braided Diluc’s hair. Then, I’ll be able to protect ( Your Name ).

Now that Diluc no longer wanted to be in contact with you than more than is necessary, Kaeya grew to be more protective over you. He knew you can handle yourself as you were a Knight yourself and wields a Vision, too, but his heart clenches at the thought of you getting hurt when he could have easily had your back, like he always did.

Kaeya didn’t knowif you had feelings for him, or for anyone, for that matter. Many times he thought of confessing to you just to rip the band aid off, but he couldn’t. He’ll keep his feelings to himself and continue being the Cavalry Captain that everyone adored, and your own personal protector.

But it was getting harder and harder to hide his feeling. Everyday he was always under the threat of falling deeper in love with you. Everyday, you always give him more reasons to love you. Waiting for him to come home after taking too long in his work, taking care of him after a nasty battle or when he’s drunk, always checking up on him even if your schedule was hectic, offering him help if you deem the responsibility given to him is too much. How much longer can he pretend that he wasn’t thinking of you everyday and every night?

He was pulled back from his train of thoughts when he felt a soft material doused in alcohol perch on the wound blemishing his skin. “Ah, be gentle, ( Your Name ),” Whined Kaeya, stilling himself to refrain from moving and delaying your nurse on his cuts.

“We wouldn’t be in this situation if you had only been careful fighting those Abyss Mages.” You reprimanded with a stern glare. “Think of this as your punishment from me. Now, hold still.”

“I was fighting Abyss Mages and came back with small wounds. How am I not careful?”

“You can be more careful.” Quipped you, and finding your chance, you pressed the cotton again his skin, causing the Cavalry Captain to hiss in pain.

“Ow, ow, ow – I said be gentle!”

“Oh, you can fight Abyss Mages but can’t handle getting your wounds treated? What a baby.”

Kaeya pouted while you pulled away from him. “My dearest ( Your Name ) doesn’t love me anymore.” He cooed. “Tell me, what can I do to make it up to you, hmm?”

You shook your head and placed your hand over his head, beaming. His heart leaped in his chest. “Stop being reckless.” You responded. “You’re the most important person to me, Kaeya. I don’t want to lose you too.”

Days and days he spent thinking of what you said. He never truly knew how he important he was to you. The thought of that had him sleeping and dreaming of you and your smiles, how the days will be if you loved him the same way he loved you, and the fateful day you owned his heart.

He had to thank Diluc for introducing him to you. He couldn’t imagine being in a world where he has no one to lean on when he lost the only family he had. You became his rock, someone he could lean on and trust. His friend who he loved more than he should have, the woman he wished to see in his arms someday.

But it will never be. He has to protect you. He is always in danger and he doesn’t want to hurt you more if he died and you two are in a relationship. And he had seen firsthand how affected you were when Diluc no longer wanted to be friends with you. He won’t let you go through the same pain if your relationship didn’t work. He loved you too much to let you suffer again.

Kaeya didn’t think he would be able to thank Diluc again after their fall out but he was mistaken.

He didn’t know the full story of what had happened the night he got shitfaced drunk in the tavern but woke up the next day to learn he has revealed his feelings for you in front of his brother, and the latter had casually mentioned it to you when you dropped by the tavern to escort him back home.

Regret and frustration welled up inside of him and he spent ten minutes walking back in you guest room, trying to explain himself and perhaps even jest about having feels for you but his preparation was all futile when you opened the door just as he was about to.

Before he can speak, you beat him to it.

“The next time you get drunk like that, you’re sleeping on the couch.” You chastised, shaking your head and proceeding to turn your back to him to return downstairs. “Freshen up, and head down. I already cooked you breakfast, so hurry up before it gets cold.”

Kaeya stared blankly at the spot you previously stood before smiling. He rushed over to the staircase and looked down to watch you descend the steps. “I won’t keep you long, love.”

His smile broadened when he saw redness rush to your cheeks.

Kaeya proposed to you in a way you expected him to propose to you. A fancy dinner at a fancy restaurant where he ordered a fancy bottle of wine and placed the fancy ring he bought into your glass. It was only because you knew him well that you have no accidentally imbibed the accessory.

Upon receiving your answer to his proposal, the first thing Kaeya did the day after is hunt down for a best man. As a popular and charming Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius, he thought it would be an easy task finding himself a best man but that notion gradually wilted as the date for your wedding approaches, he has yet to find someone to take the position.

In his pursuit for a best man, Kaeya came to realize something. His relationships with others aren’t exactly intimate. They drink and laugh together, but none of them really knew him. Kaeya couldn’t go to them with his personal problems or have their shoulders ready for him to cry on. They were good friends, but not people he would let inside his heart and vulnerability.

There were only two people who knew him behind the title of Cavalry Captain - you, and of course, his estranged brother, Diluc.

The very thought of Diluc sent a shiver down his spine. Diluc hated him and ( Your Name ). He pushed them away, treated them horridly, like they had been nothing to him but strangers with bad memories. Why would he want him to be his best man?

He remembered one day in Angel’s Share, he asked Venti if he could stand as his best man in the wedding and he swore he heard a glass dropping from behind the counter but when he turned, he saw Diluc wiping a wine glass with a blank expression. When Kaeya faced Venti once again, the excitement of being asked of such honorable position has withered and the Bard kindly declined before telling him to ask Diluc to be his best man. He did not.

Who cares about best man? The only thing important to me right now is marrying ( Your Name ).

But when the day of his wedding dawned, Kaeya was in a panic. Behind his charm was a man with a dark past, dark memories, and dark thoughts. He began doubting his ability to give you the life you deserve, began feeling insecurities he thought he had set aside.

He tried his best to remain calm, and for the most part, it worked. Everyone did not find something amiss when Kaeya was interacting with them before the wedding, but someone did, and that someone took him by his arm and dragged him a far and secluded corner after excusing him from who he was conversing with.

“Stop fidgeting with your tie, it’s beginning to bother me.”

Kaeya let out a huff. “Master Diluc, what a . . . surprise that you’re here.”

“You sent me an invitation.” The red head retaliated.

Kaeya had indeed sent him an invitation but he had no recollection of this or whatsoever. He was too wasted to remember.

“The Cavalry Captain losing his cool. Now this is a wedding just waiting to be ruined.”

It was almost like magic how the anxiety that has been eating him up vanished at his brother’s taunt. Kaeya glared at Diluc, opening his mouth to retaliate but before he can even let a single word move past his lips, Diluc turned his back to him and returned to the cathedral, leaving Kaeya in disbelief.

He let out a huff as he stared at his brother’s retreating form. “Bastard still knows me best.”

Kaeya has taken the reins over his emotions again, and he was sure he can keep his composure when you enter through the doors. But he was thoroughly mistaken as he swallowed the lump in his throat when his sight landed on you.

It felt like a dream. How can someone like you love him? In all his flaws, mistakes, and faults, how did you see him as someone you can lean on? Someone you want to spend the rest of your life with?

Surely, he must be dreaming. He’ll wake up in his bed any moment now and realize that everything had been the foolishness of his mind -

Except you continued making your way down aisle, and then you were in front of him with a veil covering your flushed face, and then he was slipping his hands in yours. This was real. You love him.

You leaned forward to him, nose brushing against his. “You look very dashing today, Kaeya.”

Kaeya chuckled. “And you look splendid today, Mrs. Alberich - oh, don’t go shy on me now.”

His smile broadened at the sight of your reddening cheeks. If it wasn’t for the priest speaking right now, he would have flipped over your veil and kiss you.

But there is plenty of time to do that. Kaeya will make sure of that.

XINGQIU

The youngest of the Guhua Clan will rarely be seen without a novel in hand. Everyday, Xingqiu will be seen with his friends with a book near him, always different from yesterday. He had read many novels and heard stories from storytellers, but one story he will never get tired of was his story with you.

Although it may not seem like it, Xingqiu was a hopeless romantic, and he has always imagined seeking a woman to make his bride. However, it will always be something he can only imagine. As a heir of the Guhua Clan, he has responsibilities to keep and adhere, and he has willingly accepted this. Being given the freedom to choose his bride is something he cannot afford. When his father has informed him about offering him to a daughter of another prestigious clan, he has voiced his discontentment and disinclination to the arrangement but has nonetheless followed.

What a horror it would have been if he had followed through with the tiny voice inside his head saying to run away because if he did, he would have missed the chance of laying eyes on you and experiencing what many romance novels he read called – a heart skipping a beat.

It was a tiring charade of formalities and display of pristine etiquette. All Xingqiu wanted was to retreat to a secluded area and continue immersing himself in the book he has picked up from the local library. With how often he reads, the novels in his own house he has already read, twice.

And so, he did. He kindly excused himself from the dinner between the families, making up a lie about feeling unwell and needing rest, and hurried over in the fields near his place. It is not exactly rude for him to skip dinner. It is not exactly ideal for his bride-to-be to be late in an important occasion like this so why shouldn’t he exhibit the same treatment as they did to him?

When he came to the spot be frequented, he caught sight of an unfamiliar figure from afar. A girl around his age sat on the bench under the tree, in the same spot he always occupied. She wore clothes similar to the families of the clan his family are negotiating with, so it didn’t take long for Xingqiu to learn this girl was related to them. He just didn’t know what her standing was with them.

She was beautiful, he will admit, but it was the book in her hand that caught his attention. Thus, he approached her, adorning a friendly mask as to not scare her away. It is rather uncomfortable meeting strangers in the dark of the night and somewhere far from civilization.

“Her hair billowed as she stood by the precipice, golden hues dimming in the dying light as she was left disappointed for yet another century. Her tears stung her skin and her throat tightened, but another century is simply common for someone like her. She will wait for his return, even if every mountain has eroded and all that was left of her was hope.” He recited a line from the novel as he took even ambles towards the girl, and he did not falter as she turned to face him. He offered her a smile and bowed with the elegance that his family taught. “Apologies for my disruption, my liege, but I can’t help but be thrilled to see someone with such incredible taste for literature. Not many are fond of historical fiction. Well, in my case, not many are into literature.”

Her eyes appraised him with wonder as she perfected her posture. “That’s one of the lines in the book. My, even I haven’t memorized a single phrase from any of the books in my collections.” She remarked.

“I like to memorize a line or two from all the books I’ve read. It feels like a part of them will always be with me even if my memories fade in time.” Xingqiu gestured to the vacant spot beside her. “May I sit next to you?”

She let out a laugh, to which sent shivers down Xingqiu’s spine. “You may. It’s not everyday I get to speak with someone with the same interests as me.”

He gladly seated himself beside her and immediately, he was greeted with the fragrance of flowers.

The girl extended her hand to him, smilingly softly at him. “My name is ( Your Name ),” She introduced herself. “You’re probably thinking you haven’t seen me around in Liyue, and you’re right. My family is here to meet with the Guhua Clan.”

Xingqiu took her hand and pressed a chaste kiss on the back. “Glad to make your acquaintance, my lady. My name is Xingqiu from the Guhua Clan.”

Her eyebrows raised in acknowledgment. “Is that so?” She mused. “Then, I must show my sincerest gratitude for letting my family into – ”

“Ah, there’s no need for that,” Dismissed Xingqiu as he shook his head. “We’re far from the dinner they’re sharing together. No need to be so formal with me.”

Her smile brightened. “I have a feeling we’re going to get along splendidly, Xingqiu.”

Upon returning together to his house and finding an excuse as to why Xingqiu had been outside did he and ( Your Name ) learn that it was them who were destined to be married when they are of age. The disappointment of meeting his soon-to-be bride has dissipated at the revelation, leaving him filled with utmost joy and pride as to having you as his, and from the shy and gleeful smile that wandered to your lips, Xingqiu can tell you think the same with him.

It was to be expected that the two of you will have a luxurious and grand wedding. With the two of you coming from wealthy families, it was no surprise. If you have insisted for a small wedding consisting only of close relatives and friends, your parents will fear some other elite clans will perceive this as them losing power and money and will take advantage of them or simply cut ties with them. You and Xingqiu had no other choice but to respect their requests. Although Xingqiu was secretly relieved you agreed to a big wedding. For him, you deserved only the best of the best, and in this case, larger is better.

Both families came to an agreement that it would be for the best if the two of you are not to see each other for the week before your wedding day. You found nothing wrong with this arrangement. Xingqiu, however, was the opposite of you.

Many times he tried to sneak out of his house to visit you in secret but Chongyun has thwarted this attempts many times. When he goes to adventures with the Traveler, he find himself missing you in mere hours. How can he survive a whole week without communicating with you?

Oh, how foolish of him. He was now allowed to visit you but he can, however, write letters to you.

For the whole week, Xingqiu will be writing to you without ceasing. You’ll have a difficult time keeping up with his letters but you’ll always find time to respond to him. After all, you missed him just as much as he missed you.

Xingqiu woke up before the sun can call for him. He walked around in his room, breathing in and out as he tried to soothe his joy. Chongyun, who was tasked to look after Xingqiu for the whole week, woke up from the sound of his footsteps. When he stepped inside his best friend’s room, Xingqiu held Chongyun’s hands and twirled him around, startling the half-asleep Cryo user.

“I’m getting married to ( Your Name ) today!”

“I know, Xingqiu. I’ve been stopping you from visiting her the whole week.”

Your wedding was held in a beautiful garden where cherry blossoms flutter and the wind was gentle and cool.

Xingqiu always held his composure in any situations and circumstances he encountered. But he was going to admit that seeing you in your wedding dress with the cherry blossoms kissing your skin and tresses every now and then had him malfunctioning.

It took a worse turn when you finally stood before him, expectantly looking at him. A compliment, a playful jest, a seductive remark - but there was none of that.

Xingqiu stared at you, eyes shining with admiration and his lips parted in pleasant surprise.

“Xingqiu, earth to Xingqiu,” You whispered. “You there?”

It was only after you spoke that Xingqiu snapped out of his stupor.

“Get yourself together, Xingqiu.” Stated Chongyun beside him in a whisper.

It took him a while to find him bearings but when he did, Xingqiu smiled at you and pressed a kiss on your forehead.

“Beautiful, just like the first time I saw you.”

SCARAMOUCHE

Scaramouche has dedicated his entire life to seeing through what his majesty, the Tsaritsa, desired. His life shall be nothing but a pawn for her to use in her schemes and may her will be done through him and her subjects. If she must dispose of him to make success of her endeavor, Scaramouche will gladly surrender before her eyes and bare his neck for her to cut. He will do anything she commands without a second thought, and anyone who dares get in his way will face the wrath of an incensed Harbinger.

It was all about the Tsaritsa. His entire his existence is for his majesty. It was all he ever believed in when the honor of being the sixth Harbingers was crowned over him. With that said, Scaramouche can never bring himself to admit his resolve has been altered upon his discreet visitation to the City of Freedom to conduct a more intimate investigation over the meteorites and the impact it had on the people of Mondstadt.

His skull was throbbing, his thoughts scattered, and frustration was beginning to settle inside of him. Scaramouche has just dispatched his soldiers to continue their research on the meteors after his failed attempt to eliminate the traveler. He was left alone in the tranquility of the night, with the remnants of the astrologist’s escape glittering beneath his eyes, mocking him.

“I should have acted quicker. The Traveler will continue foiling The Tsaritsa’s plans.” Mumbled Scaramouche to himself. “No matter. There will be another chance in the future to finish off the hero of Mondstadt, and I’m sure it’ll come sooner than I expect. I must prepare for that time. I can’t make this mistake again.”

A curious hum that echoed behind him had him stiffening in his place and drawing out his weapon from thin air. “Are you interested about the meteors too?” A voice asked.

Scaramouche turned around, and he found a woman standing behind him a few meters away. She has a beauty that he favors, a smile so gentle that it thawed a bit of ice in his heart, but a scowl made its way to his countenance. She’s taller than me.

She didn’t look particularly like anyone he would have any interest in knowing, and when she has introduced herself to him after he supplied her with no answer, Scaramouche predicted correctly. She was merely an ordinary folk in any ordinary city with no Vision or any skillset that could benefit him in anything.

“I must get going.” Curtly stated Scaramouche and he turned around without even bidding goodbye to the woman.

“So soon?” You asked. “I thought we could at least talk what’s been happening – about the meteors, the stars.”

Scaramouche frowned at the mention of the latter and he spun back around to meet your gaze. “The stars? What about the stars?”

You smiled a secret smile. “The stars . . . they’re fake.”

Scaramouche stared at you with wonder and amusement in his dark hues. He has always believed in that notion, and only a handful came to agree with him. Now, here a lady stands before him, with nothing in particular to offer him, speaking of the truth many has rejected.

He examined you from head to toe, evaluating your form before beckoning you to come over to him, saying, “Perhaps I can spare some time to talk.”

What was supposed to be a conversation within an hour or so has extended for a day, and when you requested to accompany him back to ship docked in Liyue Harbor to continue your conversation (it surprised him but has nonetheless allowed you to tag along) about the meteors and the stars, it dragged on for weeks.

But Scaramouche would be lying if he said that was all you discussed about. There was only so much information they can relate to the subject that has intertwined their fates that it did not take long for the two of you to stray from it to favor a more civil conversation. He learned of your mundane life back in Mondstadt where you were merely another dot in the bustle of the city and he managed to extract from you valuable material regarding the Honorary Knight (in truth, you have willingly told him everything you knew about the Hero of Mondstadt and this he was very pleased with). He learned about your family, your work, your past, and your ambition to adventure throughout the lands of Teyvat even without a Vision.

He thought it was foolish of you to believe you can ever get out of your city without a Vision. There were too many enemies that a simple adventurer like you could easily be overwhelmed with. Not to mention the Fatuis that he and his fellow Harbingers has placed all throughout Teyvat. The thought of you getting hurt, especially by his own soldiers . . . it did not sit right with him.

Arriving at Liyue Harbor, Scaramouche proposed that you come with him. It is no secret that anyone who do not possess a Vision cannot survive if they were ever to embark on a journey. Hearing your desire for an adventure, Scaramouche has come to decide that as gratitude for your pleasant company and for your compliance in giving him information about the renowned traveler, he shall take you along in his voyage, showing you the grandest landscapes, granting your every need and desires, all the while keeping you at his side where he was certain you were safe.

It was all to thank you, nothing else. It wasn’t because Scaramouche knew he would find himself missing you and the comfort you bring when you leave, nor was it because he was fond of you. Yes, yes, all just to show his gratitude.

As his soldiers watched as Scaramouche led you aboard in ship with his hand interlocked with yours, they thought the same thing – Scaramouche is never the one to show gratitude to anyone. You had him smitten.

How you were able to fall in love with Scaramouche in such a short period of time is fascinating. Especially with his horrid personality.

But he was different with you. He was gentle, caring, and never raised his voice. The insults remained but there was no venom behind them. It took you quite some time to get used to his belittling remarks but it didn’t evade your perception how Scaramouche begun lessening his insults, opting for a more playful jab instead.

He proposed to you over at dinner. He had just come back from an expedition and came home to a table filled with your cooking. As the two of you are exchanging your stories of what went with your lives when you two were separated, Scaramouche placed his chopsticks away, looked at you straight in the eyes and said, “Marry me.”

How can you say no to such a romantic proposal?

Actually, you made him redo his proposal before you accepted but nobody else has to know about that.

There was no best man for Scaramouche in your wedding. The man was feared by everyone, and his fellow Harbingers hated him. Childe did insist on being his best man at one point but he almost ended up being fried by a lightning bolt. Apparently, the 11th Harbinger pestered him for a whole week trying to convince him to let him be the best man so his actions were justified - just a little bit.

You have to give it to Scaramouche. Regardless of his busy schedule and the current predicament in Inazuma, he managed to find time and opportunity to plan your wedding and marry you without having to worry about the Electro Archon and her subjects.

Scaramouche scoffed at the tradition of not being able to see you on the very day of your wedding. What good would it be? You were going to be his wife, and he wanted to see his wife. He saw himself above tradition, and visited you first thing in the morning at the day of the wedding.

It was no question Scaramouche was an authoritative man but he was more so as he prepared himself for the wedding.

His maids ran about in the room, providing everything he needed and wanted. Scaramouche was not known for being compassionate, but this was the first time they’ve been on the receiving end of his wrath. Normally, he would ignore their existence and not even bother to call them by their names but today, he was different. He acted worse than when he comes home after a failed mission.

The maids knew he was beyond frustrated with the wedding. So, they called to ask for your help.

“Scaramouche, you’re scaring the maids.” You cooed as you came up behind him and placed your hands on his shoulders.

Scaramouche let out a scoff, but you felt his frame soften. He sat before a mirror, and he gazed at your reflection as he placed a hand over one of yours. “Even they weren’t so terrible with their jobs . . . ”

“You’re making things so hard for them. And for yourself too.” You stated. “Marrying me shouldn’t be hard, should it?”

That statement set Scaramouche right, and when you left to carry on with your own preparation and the maids returned to their duties, he was more civil with them. If that’s what you want, then he can endure it.

The hour has finally arrived. Scaramouche has faced many dangers in his life, but it was only now he felt restless. What is taking you so long? He thought you wanted to marry him. Then what’s warranting your late arrival?

At that thought, you finally appeared by the end of the aisle, holding a bouquet in your hands. Everyone in the venue gaped at your beauty, and Scaramouche was thankful you had everyone gazing at you. He didn’t want them to see the dumbfounded and poorly hidden lovestruck expression that crossed his mien for a moment.

But a sense of pride also touched him.

That’s my bride.

When the ceremony begins, you and Scaramouche were seated side by side. You smiled brightly at him when you sat, but he didn’t any indication that he saw your smile and continued giving his undivided attention on the person conducting your wedding. You pouted heavily at this but said nothing and followed his actions. However, your smile returned when you felt his fingers hooking with yours. It was a small improvement, but it was intimate and loving.

Scaramouche didn’t cry in your wedding but when his arms held you tightly to his chest when evening came and two of you lied down on your shared bed, it was enough for you to know he loved you as much as you loved him.

Maybe more so.

RAZOR

Razor rarely experience human interaction, and if he did, it would be abrupt and depending on how the communication was being dealt by both parties, it would either be Razor who parts from them first out of wariness or lacking knowledge of being social or the other would, most of the time for the reason they find it disturbing a human could act so much like a wolf. The humans Razor constantly encounter are the hunters from Springvale and due to their bellowing voices and violence against his Lupicals, he has limited his ventures to Mondstadt unless something calls for an emergency.

Other than the man who gave him his name, Razor only knew a handful of people – six of them being the Traveler, Traveler’s companion, Bennett, Klee, her big brother Albedo, and the woman he sees as his mentor, Lisa. He can only ever let his guard down when around them, though he was still a wee bit cautious of Albedo whenever Klee drags him to his camp.

He didn’t think he could meet anyone else who can consider a Lupical. That was until he met you. You were taking a peaceful stroll around Wolvendom – Archons know why you chose the most avoided place in Mondstadt to walk through – at the same time he was hunting down boars for his Lupicals.

There was no rescuing or danger involved when he met you. It was a simple encounter, to which Razor was pleasantly surprised with. In almost all occasions, when he is meeting a fellow human being, it would be under rather unusual circumstances. He met the Traveler and her floating friend when they were being attacked by slimes. He met Lisa when she has painted the skies dark as she was singlehandedly fending herself off from a mob of Hilichurls. He met Klee when she was using her bombs to fish. He met Albedo in the middle of a chaotic experiment to which resulted in an evacuation. He met Bennett when he was hanging upside down from a tree when he tried to take an apple from a high branch, and the tree was up in flames.

To say, meeting you normally was a breath of fresh air.

The two of you hit it off almost immediately, or so that is what it seems to you. Although you consider Razor a good friend even in just the few days you have met, he was still very careful of you. He had been deceived by humans before and it may be a little unfair to you since he trusted the Traveler and Bennett almost in an instant, he must first know you are trustworthy.

And indeed, you’ve proven yourself as such. Perhaps, more so than the Traveler. You have done everything to show him you have no ill intentions against him and his Lupicals – helped him in hunting for sustenance for his family even if you have to knowledge in hunting, helping him broaden his vocabulary, helping him read and write – but it was your sacrifice to protect them that made him truly open himself up to you.

An Abyss Mage has appeared out of nowhere and has wreaked havoc in their residence. Razor can feel his heart thundering as he raced through Wolvendom along with a few of his Lupicals who he had gone out with to hunt. Upon arriving at their home, Razor has anticipated to see the grass painted with red and wounded wolves whimpering in pain as others try to battle against the Abyss Mage. But to his relief, such image was not implemented into reality. Instead, he found his Lupicals sleeping soundly in their den, and the remains of the Abyss Mage has slowly evaporated in thin air. As the particles gradually disappeared, they made way for your presence to be revealed.

Razor let out a gasp when he laid eyes on you. Bruised, bleeding, exhausted, but smiling as you happily waved at him with the hand clutching your weapon.

You happily advanced towards him, tittering. Razor reached out to take your hand, and reluctantly asked of your welfare. Now he understood why humans ask how one is fairing when they are clearly unwell – they do not know what else to say.

“Why would you do that?” Razor questioned as he brought you far from his den to tend to your wounds without waking his family. “You are hurt now.”

“I can’t let an Abyss Mage hurt your Lupical.” You answered firmly, the smile you wore dissipating as you gazed into his eyes. “I might not be as strong as the Honorary Knight or Acting Grand Master Jean, but I fought well.”

What was this odd sensation he was feeling? This strong urge to protect you, to take you in his arms and never let you go – what was this? He has never felt like this before. So light, so . . . flustered. He thought this feeling would be gone after a few days, but months has passed and since then, the feeling became more prominent, stronger. All the time he could never get enough of you and there will always be that lingering trickle of pain in his chest when you have to leave for the day. Razor knew you would come back the day after when the night has gone, but it never stopped that little ache.

Razor understood that he lacked understanding of feelings, so he confided to Bennett about it. Bennett was almost as clueless as Razor about feelings – almost – but he did know when someone was taking a liking of someone in a more amorous manner. He has filled Razor about exactly what he was feeling for you, and not the kind of feeling that he has for him and the Traveler, but the kind of liking he would have towards a . . . girlfriend? (Bennett had to explain to him the meaning behind girlfriend and it was no easy task).

“Liking someone like a girlfriend . . . ” Razor muttered, scrunching his face in puzzlement. “ . . . like a mate?”

Bennett flushed at the word but nodded. “Yes, like a mate.”

Bennett tried his best to help Razor confess to you, and this is where disaster happened. Since Razor is mostly uneducated in terms of romantic feelings, he did not feel any anxiety crawling up to him when he decided to admit his feelings to you. The problem is that he has decided to confess in a wrong time and in a difficult situation.

“You should confess to her after you’ve saved her from danger!” Exclaimed Bennett, beaming at Razor.

The latter tilted his head to the side. “Razor doesn’t . . . get it.”

“Well, in the books I’ve read, the guys confess to the girls they like in a dangerous time. I don’t know how that’s safe, but it works. But since we don’t want to hurt ( Your Name ), you’ll save her before confessing!”

Bless his innocent heart, Razor trusted Bennett’s word without a smidge of doubt. His opportunity to admit his feelings came when the two of you saw Reckless Pallad being surrounded by Hilichurls getting ready to pounce on him. The thing is you too knew your way around a battlefield and have efficiently begun fighting off the Hilichurls. Razor watched as you made quick work of rescuing Reckless Pallad and he didn’t even notice himself beginning to pout in disappointment until you were right in front of him again, worriedly gazing at him.

“Razor, what’s wrong?” You questioned, appraising him. “You’re not injured, are you?”

He shook his head. “Razor not injured.” He confirmed.

“Well, that’s good, but why aren’t you moving? We need to save that man.”

“Razor wanted to confess to ( Your Name ) by saving her.”

Razor explained the plan of his confession he conspired with Bennett, how he would save you from danger and tell you his everlasting love that he didn’t notice the redness tinting your cheeks and the wide smile stretching across your face.

Razor only took note of the phenomenon occurring on your features when he has finished elaborating his scheme. He narrowed his eyes curiously. “Your face is all . . . red. Sick?” He asked.

Razor didn’t have a chance to further speculate just exactly was ailing you before you took hold of his face and softly placed your lips against him, catching him off guard.

There was a blossom in his chest when you kissed him – this is love, right? Razor decided there and then he liked this feeling of love.

Needless to say, Reckless Pallad was left alone for the Traveler to save. Again.

Razor had no idea what weddings were. He has never heard of such thing before. The first time he did learn about it was when he was hanging out with you and the Traveler. The latter mentioned that you and him are invited in a wedding. Razor tilted his head in confusion but when he turned to ask you what it was, he froze. Your eyes were shimmering with joy and excitement. Razor liked seeing you like that.

So when you were preoccupied, Razor asked the Traveler what a wedding was. Perhaps a wedding was some sort of food that he can find in the wild?

After Traveler has explained what weddings are and the concept of marriage as well, Razor did not waste time trying to propose to you. Since he had no money to buy a very expensive ring, he asked Bennett for help to find materials so he can make one of his own. In the end, they had Wagner help them form a ring. It wasn’t exactly the best looking but when Razor showed it to you and asked for your hand in marriage (Traveler helped him with his proposal speech and had to explain that asking for your hand doesn’t mean literal), and he saw the pure joy on your face, he thought it was pretty enough for you.

Razor didn’t know you were happy mostly because he proposed to you but you didn’t tell him. He looked so proud with the ring.

Your wedding was small and only a very few people were invited. Klee insisted on being one of the flower girls and Razor almost agreed until she began spouting about bombs which will detonate in the air and will explode with flowers. Albedo advised Razor not to make her one of the flower girls because Klee, for sure, will bring flower bombs (it will explode with flowers, but the explosion is still there).

Razor chose Bennett as his best man. That was supposed to be a good thing but when the two of those pair up together, they can tend to cause a lot of chaos, unintentionally.

At the day of the wedding, nearly all the invitees refuse to enter the cathedral as they claim there was danger inside. When Kaeya and Jean came to inspect this danger they speak of, both wielded their weapons once seeing a pack of wolves huddled at the front, just before the altar, with Bennett and Razor telling them to behave.

You had to explain to Razor why it was dangerous and made people uncomfortable when there are wolves present in the cathedral. Although Razor was understandably disappointed by this, he conceded and brought his Lupicals back to Wolvendom. To make it up to him, you promised a private celebration will be held in Wolvendom with nobody else but you, him, Bennett, and of course, his Lupicals.

Razor didn’t know why Bennett seemed more nervous than him when the two of them were standing by the altar.

“I’m going to ruin your wedding, Razor! Aren’t you worried?”

“ . . . but you not ruining anything . . . ?”

When you finally arrived in the cathedral, Razor felt excitement surge in his body and he can hardly stop himself from squirming on his seat.

But he wasn’t smiling. These emotions . . . he was having a hard time comprehending them. It was good, it was nice, but it was overwhelmingly so.

He could have cried, and he almost did but when you were before him, smiling at him, he couldn’t help but smile back.

His beautiful wife, his Lupical.

Bennett was the one who cried in your wedding.

ALBEDO

It was always a fascinating sight to see a traveler meandering through Dragonspine without minding the sheer cold or flawlessly fending themselves off from the enemies lurking around. Even Albedo has some degree of difficult in navigating his way back to his camp without the Fatui spotting him or tailing him. But it was more fascinating to see a young woman standing in the middle of a freezing lake with nothing but her trousers and her brassiere.

It was a peculiar meeting, yes, but out of the ordinary people and matters has always endeared him.

Albedo brought you to his camp as quickly as he can and asked Timaeus to hand you a cup of warm tea and a blanket. After thanking him for his kindness and consuming half of the beverage generously given to you, you introduced yourself.

You were an adventurer who came all the way from Liyue to embark on a journey to discover the harshness and secrets that laid within Dragonspine, a mountain many do not dare set foot further in. Other than the mentioned reasons, training was a top priority of yours. You claim one cannot go further in their adventure while being comfortable in their current, and he completely agrees with your statement. When Albedo questioned why you had been in the middle of a lake in Dragonspine, you answered that being able to withstand the cold was just part of your training and seeing as he had caught you shivering to close to death, it was not going well.

Albedo didn’t think he would see you again after you parted from him, but he was surprised when the next day he found you waiting for him in his camp, a smile on your face as you stand proudly and wave at him.

Something about you piqued his interest, if his interest was somehow related to how his heart accelerated whenever you come close to him to offer help with his experiment, or when his face grows hot if you offer him a compliment. He thought it was your way of showing him your gratefulness for taking care of you yesterday, so he allowed your presence in his camp, around him. Albedo didn’t expect you to visit again the next day, and the day after that, and so on and so forth. But he can’t say he disliked your frequent visitations, or your presence that always seem to be following him everywhere he went. He very much liked your company and thoroughly enjoyed listening about your adventures and everything you came across in your adventure. They were a good distraction from his experiments. Everything about you set his mind in ease.

It wasn’t long until the two of you are spending more time together alone. No experiments, no work in mind. It just the two of you keeping one another company and sharing stories about your days, and making banters here and there – whether it be in a walk under the moon, or sharing a meal in Good Hunter, or while he paints somewhere in Dragonspine.

Although Albedo was not well versed in the complexity of romance and has deemed relationships to be rather tedious to uphold, but he was knowledgeable enough to know that in the process of his growing friendship with you, he has caught feelings for you.

This has certainly brought difficulty in his relationship with you. Albedo, although never verbally admitting so, has always thought of feelings as a nuisance. In a relationship, in his own observation, disadvantages trump over advantages. He had seen the irrationality that love has caused, the stupidity. His observation led him to one conclusion – other than being friends with people, relationships is not for him.

You have put him in a challenging situation. It would have been easy to cut ties with you if you haven’t successfully infiltrated his walls and snaked your way in his heart. The very thought of pushing you away was repulsive to him. Seeing the hurt cross your features – it will haunt him for the rest of his life.

The interest he had for you was not interest at all. It was the beginning of love. He should have been more alert, and this wouldn’t have happened.

What if you returned his feelings and your relationship did not work? There was no way your friendship could be salvaged. Isn’t it much better to remain as friends than risk ruining any chance of keeping you in his life?

No, no, that would be insanely idiotic. It will eat him up. Thus, he treated his feelings for you like an experiment. Dipping carefully, testing the waters – confessing to you.

He can construct a confession that will perfectly enunciate his feelings for you while emphasizing your freedom to reject him and his desire to remain good friends with you. Surely, you didn’t reciprocate his feelings. All he needed is for you to let him down, and he will hope you can still see him the same way after.

All his preparations, however, were thrown out of the window when you beat him to confessing.

Albedo had no idea how struck his expression must have been with puzzlement, anxiety and flatter as he attentively listens to every word that leaves your lips. His heart pounded at everything you were saying – everything he adored about you, you adored about him. Being unable to speak his mind felt foreign to him. After you finished your confession, a beautiful red hue coloring your cheeks as you looked into his eyes with hopefully eyes, all he can do his open his mouth a smidge, and close, and then open again. He must have resembled a goldfish at that time.

Albedo couldn’t believe it. You loved him, and here he was expecting to be rejected and thinking relationships were a waste of time.

He was in a dilemma now. Accept your feelings as his heart desired to, or gently reject you for practicality? Having a lover would complicate his life and he will risk so many things that he were used to just to be able to keep his relationship with you fruitful. Was he ready for something like that?

This was the first time Albedo has listened to his heart. He still remembered how he cupped your face in his hands and pressed his lips against yours, muffling the gasp that tumbled out of you.

Albedo might be a stranger to romance but he is an Alchemist and risks are part of his job, and risking coming out of his comfort to be with you was something you deserve, and maybe something he deserved as well.

You knew Albedo was going to propose to you. He was always immersed in his experiments and research that you took the responsibility of tidying up his lab. It did not take long for you to find a small black box nestled in the back inside a drawer filled with haphazardly thrown papers and used pens.

Albedo knew that you knew he was going to propose to you. The two of you were taking a peaceful stroll around Dragonspine and after a heartfelt speech, he knelt down to one knee, he curiously watched as you malfunctioned right in front of him, trying to elect which route of surprise should you take before displaying a less then satisfactory theatrics of surprise.

Nonetheless, the two of you are still happy.

You and Albedo agreed that the two of you will have a small and private wedding. Klee, however, did not. She was less than thrilled to hear about that and went on a whole spiel of the reasons why you should have the biggest and most fun wedding ever, as she said.

“ - then where will a really, really tall wedding cake and Klee is going to make a bomb that will explode in the skies where it will burst out many pretty flower petals - ”

Jean promised the two of you that she will keep an eye on her at the day of the wedding.

Albedo is adamant on two things - a small wedding, and having no best man, and the latter had two reasons. Although he is highly respected in Mondstadt, there was no one he could ask to be best man, and the second reason is that he loves you and is certain that marrying you is something he wants. No doubts. He didn’t need a best man helping him in something he didn’t need help with.

Albedo was also not someone to conform to the ritual of not seeing the bride on the day of the wedding until the very ceremony, but for you, he begrudgingly followed.

On the day of the wedding, Albedo prepared himself without the help of anyone. He prepared his own clothes and had Klee braid his hair (it was a wee bit sloppy and Albedo fixed them when she had her back turned to him and gave her all the credit).

The man reached for the door to visit you but he let out a sigh when he realized that he cannot. He made a promise that today, the first time he’ll see you is when you walk down the aisle. He has to keep his promise. Not to mention Klee blocked his way and reminded him of that (tried to block).

Albedo was a patient man. Patience was nothing new to him. His research and experiments needed patience or they will ultimately fail. It came to the point where being impatient made him uncomfortable. That’s exactly what was happening when he was standing at the altar. Nobody, not even the observant Kaeya himself, can tell Albedo was beginning to lose his patience.

The day had been a little too long. He wanted to see you already. It didn’t matter if the ceremony would take a while before he can kiss you and call you his wife. He just wanted to see you again.

Albedo turned away the moment you stepped inside the cathedral. You were far from repulsive or ugly (and he can never think of you like that), but he had to cast his gaze somewhere but on you. He knew you’ll be beautiful in your wedding dress, but seeing you now with your adorable and shy smile, with Cecilia flowers in your hands, and your eyes fixated on him and only him - Albedo nearly lost his composure.

This time he was sure Kaeya saw it.

“Waah, big sister ( Your Name ) looks soooo pretty!” Klee cooed loudly, causing the guests to let out a few chuckles of amusement.

His impatience was beginning to pierce through him. The moment you faced him, Albedo did not waste time grabbing your hands, and once he did, you saw him visibly soften, as though a huge burden was lifted from his shoulders.

“What happened to you?” You asked, giggling.

Albedo returned your smile. “I’m just very happy to see you.”

The fervor that he exuded when he kissed you certainly supported his statement.

THOSE WHO WILL HIDE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RECEPTION TO CRY SOMEWHERE NO ONE CAN SEE THEM

CHONGYUN

Chongyun was known for two things – being an exorcist and having a type of condition that needed his keen observation and awareness.

He has always disliked his condition. Whenever his Yang energy overwhelms, he must immediately consume an icy treat to be able to soothe his nerves. But it seems he can be thankful for it for this one time. If it wasn’t for his congenital positivity, he wouldn’t have stumbled across you, and your hundred homemade ice cream you smuggled out of your own home.

Chongyun had been hurrying to meet his friend at that day. He had just finished an exorcism somewhere in Qingce Village and was rushing to where he and Xingqiu usually meet in Liyue. He was already running late, and who knows what Xingqiu will do if he was late again. He let out a pained yelp when he crashed against your form when he made a sharp turn, and his Yang energy has never been in a more unstable state than when he saw you seated on the ground, groaning in pain, with peculiar looking containers littering the floor around you.

Chongyun had profusely apologized for his actions and assisted you in gathering all the belongings he had knocked off your possession. He felt the coldness in the small containers you once held and wondered what was inside. He hasn’t seen anything like this before. He knew his Yang energy was starting to ooze out of him but he underestimated its manifestation until you placed your hand over his forehead. He pulled back away instantly, startled by your actions, to which you immediately apologized.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” He repeated, light blue hair bobbing with his movements as he bowed his head over to you again and again, mortification palpable on his features. “I-I didn’t mean to run – ”

“No, no, I should be the one apologizing! I wasn’t looking where I was going and I put my hand on you all of a sudden – ” You were about to continue spewing apologies and explanations when you froze, concern etching across his face. “ - oh, hey, you’re really, really red. Are you okay?”

Even when it had been years since his encounter with you, he still gets embarrassed when he remembered that, and you and Xingqiu tease him about it.

He explained to you then about his condition and when you offered him a container you owned containing ice cream you made, that’s when your friendship begun. When the two of you snuck out to a secluded area in Liyue Harbor to gorge on the tons of ice cream you have once again brought out of your house despite your mother’s warnings did he know it would be a friendship that will last long. His only regret was that he introduced you to Xingqiu, and now he must endure double the teasing.

One thing he appreciated about you was how ready you were whenever you were with him. You made it your point to know what can cause his condition to act up and soothe him by your words, and always having ice cream with you. And the best part was that the ice cream you give him is always homemade, made by you. His popsicles could never compete to your masterpiece.

He never really thought of you as someone he would be romantically interested in. Sure, there were instances when his Yang energy would flare up because of having you by his side, when your smile brought upon his own, when his heart raced when you held his hand as the two of you were returning from a commission, when he gazed at you with adoration when you took care of him and fed him cold noodles when he was having a fever (he refused to eat hot noodles even in his illness). Surely, all friends do that with one another, right? And feeling this odd sensation in his chest was normal, right?

When he confided in Xingqiu with this, the boy laughed at his cluelessness. It wasn’t surprising. Chongyun did not have a lot of friends so distinguishing friendship and romance was not easy for him. The Hydro Vision holder filled him in with everything he has to know about relationships, and he used some pretty unconventional ways like giving him a too descriptive image of how a man and woman would kiss, and other explicit doings of adults.

But it did bring light one thing – Chongyun liked you, and of course how he handled such revelation was, simply put, disastrous.

His entire body felt hot, and he was stammering to the point even the ever so eloquent Xingqiu cannot understand him. Normally, when things get like this, he’ll rush over to your place and request for some of your delicious ice cream but seeing as you were somehow part of the reason for this, he had to rely on Xingqiu to take care of him.

After learning about his feelings for you, Chongyun have never been more uneasy around you, which was odd, and he was sure you’ve noticed, and yet has never dropped any comment about it.

He was always nervous around you. Blushing whenever you come close to him, jumping when you take his hand in his, stammering whenever you praise him for anything, feeling the need to run away if you ask him about how he was fairing – he has lost count just how many popsicles he has eaten just to keep his cool. He has stopped asking ice cream from you and declined any offer from you because he thought accepting your homemade ice creams could lead him to falling deeper in love with you until he couldn’t move on anymore.

Chongyun didn’t notice your growing impatience. He was so immersed in his own feelings that he didn’t take into consideration how you felt whenever he flinched away from your touch and rejected your treats.

It took Xingqiu for the growing tension between the two of you to alleviate. He made an elaborate plan to get the two of you together in an isolated place (a broom closet) and has made a claim not to let any of you go until the two of you have confessed your feelings with each other.

“Just tell me what’s wrong with you, Chongyun! Why are you acting so weird around me?” You asked him but he refused to answer you just as he refused to look at you.

You let out a sigh as you reached out to take his hand but when he pulled away from your touch, that was the last straw.

“If you don’t want to be friends with me anymore, just say so.”

Alarmed, Chongyun faced you, stuttering. “No! Of course, I want to be friends with you - I mean, I don’t want to be friends - wait, that sounded wrong, and so bad - ”

Your brows burrowed together in question. “You want to be friends but you don’t want to be friends?”

Chongyun groaned as he buried his face on his hands. It’s now or never.

“I like you, ( Your Name ).”

The silence that followed was deafening for Chongyun. He removed his hands from his face and prepared himself to apologize and beg to continue being friends when he felt hands cup his face, and your lips pressing against his. It was a good thing you had ice cream on you even after he avoided you for weeks. He almost fainted in your arms if it wasn’t for you shoving a finger in his mouth with a scoop of ice cream.

It was one of the few times Chongyun was grateful for Xingqiu’s interest in romantic tropes because if it wasn’t for him, he wouldn’t have left that room with a blushing but happy face with you.

Xingqiu smirked as the two of you exited the room, hand in hand and redness coating your cheeks. “Well, well, well, look who - ”

“Shut up, Xingqiu,” You and Chongyun chorused. The two of you looked at each other out of surprise and then burst out laughing, all the while the Hydro Vision user stood by the side, sighing.

“Now, I have to deal with these two’s teasing.”

When Chongyun realized he was ready to propose to you after years of being together, he asked Xingqiu to propose to you on his behalf.

His best friend nearly destroyed his book from whacking the Cryo user for thinking such an inane idea could work. Not only was it not romantic, it was also inappropriate. Xingqiu had to reprimand him for an entire hour proposing that idea but being a good best friend that he is despite his mischievous streak, he vowed to help the man propose to you.

It was no easy task and there were times where Chongyun held himself back and risking yet another proposal plan. He was thankful Xingqiu was well versed with romance and everything entailed with it and knew more ways to help him. After a countless of delays, Chongyun managed to get down on one knee one fine evening by the trails leading to Liyue Harbor, spew out affirmation of his love for you in stammers, and asked for your hand in marriage.

When you accepted his proposal and adorned your finger with the ring, Chongyun discreetly showed a thumbs up to a nearby bush. About three hands popped out from the leaves, offering the same action.

Xingqiu let out a sigh as Xiangling and Xinyan giggled. “Finally.” He breathed out. “Now, time for me to be his best man.”

Of course, Chongyun chose him as his best man. Who else would be a better choice than him?

Chongyun is firm about Xingqiu being his best man but sometimes he can be a little bit . . . pushy, especially when it comes to something he believes in.

There was a tradition where he cannot see you for a whole week until the ceremony. Chongyun was mildly bothered by this arrangement but nonetheless, since you agree with it, he will respect your wishes and do the same. Xingqiu has over and over again tried to persuade him to visit you at home, and he made some interesting points why he should. He almost convinced him a few times but in the end, he refused to be lured in his trap and stopped the temptation of breaking his promise.

He missed you dearly, yes, and his patience will surely be rewarded soon.

Chongyun, as expected, was freaking out at the day of wedding. Marriage is a huge step for the both of you. You’re not going to regret marrying him, will you? What if this marriage didn’t work? He’ll lose you for you.

Xingqiu had to guide him away from the altar and to a corner for privacy. Other than you, Xingqiu was a person who had been when his condition start acting up and how it worked.

After successfully cooling him down with a popsicle, Xingqiu consoled Chongyun. “I don’t know what you’re thinking about back there but you have nothing to worry about. ( Your Name ) loves you.”

“What if it doesn’t work between us?”

“It will. I’ve seen how you two are. You’re perfect for each other. I think you already know that, and ( Your Name ) does too. Why would she accept your proposal if she didn’t think the two of you wouldn’t prosper together?”

Chongyun murmured. “Pity?”

If Xingqiu had a book with at that moment, he would have smacked Chongyun again.

Once his condition has subsided, Chongyun returned to the altar and Xingqiu stood behind him, waiting.

The moment you arrived, Chongyun can feel himself heating up and his heart pounding against his chest. It felt like his condition was acting up but he wasn’t feeling nauseous or at the edge of fainting. It was a pleasant sort of warmth, the warmth he felt when he first met you.

No. It was the same warmth that travels through his body whenever he sees you, but this time, it was stronger to the point he it almost felt like his condition.

Your smile immediately disappeared when you saw Chongyun flushed red and his eyes averting from yours.

Worry encapsulated you. “Is your condition acting up?” You asked in a whisper.

Chongyun blinked, puzzled. “What?”

Discreetly taking a gander at the audience completely unaware of your interaction, you slipped your hand under your dress and showed Chongyun was a small ice cream container.

“I brought this with me just in case.”

Chongyun decided he made the best decision of his life to marry you.

He took your hands in his and pressed a small kiss on top of one.

“Thank you, love.”

After the wedding, Chongyun immediately visited the comfort room. You tried to follow him but Xingqiu told you there was nothing to worry about, and he was right.

When he entered the comfort room, Chongyun locked the door behind him and headed straight to the sink to splash some water on his face.

One won’t be able to tell Chongyun was crying from the water streaming down his face.

He looked up at the mirror, staring at his reflection as he let out a small, and content sigh.

“I’m married. I’m married to her.” Chongyun tried to hold back his smile, but he failed. “She’s my . . . wife.”

And did it sound nice to call you his wife.

XIAO

It was his duties to Rex Lapis, to the thriving land of Liyue, that kept Xiao grounded and his mind temporarily fleeting away from the karmic debts that weighed on his shoulders. If it had not been for the responsibilities laid down on him, he was sure to have succumb to the consequences of his bloodshed from the past long ago. It was the reason behind his creation, to serve the people of Liyue and protect them from any transgressors or anything that could potentially lead to their destruction, and it was all he knew. His existence was all for Liyue, and to seek out the desires of Rex Lapis and accomplish them no matter how difficult and by what means.

Day and night he oversees every part of Liyue and hears every call of his name and seeks refuge in Wangshu Inn. It was a cycle that has never changed ever since the gruesome war between gods has taken place in Teyvat, and all was same until that night when he heard a cry for help from a distant place, and rescued a strange maiden from the peril she found herself in.

Love at first sight disgusted him the most. He can understand, to some degree, that mortals can fall in love with people they have built a caring and trusting relationship with but falling in love with someone who one has no dust of knowledge of their identity was simply unwise and incomprehensible. And yet there he was, leaping from the precipice of a soaring mountain and securing the mortal in the middle of her fall.

Xiao had no clue why it felt like time has stopped and they have gently floated in the air as he took a gander at the woman in his arms. Scratches littered her features, and twigs adorned her mop of hair, but she still shone brighter than the stars and moon behind her.

He did not let her speak to him after he has placed her safely on solid ground and he quickly took his leave without even a glance back.

When he had painted the lands of Teyvat red with the other Yakshas, he did not blink an eye or feel a bead of sweat trail on the side of his face. But that woman has caused his chest to flutter, and he always find himself thinking back to the day he had saved her. If he had been like any other mortal which has sleep as a necessity, he would find himself thinking of you every morning and every night, longing for another chance to meet you again. What has she done to him? He already has to carry the burden of his sins, and now he must endure this painful curse she casted on him?

But it didn’t matter now. She was already long gone, for all he knows, and he doesn’t even know her name.

Xiao already came to accept that she was merely going to fleet away from his mind, a distant memory that his heart will ache every time he remembers her. He had many regrets in his lifetime, and this leaving her behind without knowing her name is one of them.

But it seems to him that Rex Lapis has taken favor of him and has graced his undeserving existence. Xiao had just exterminated a Hilichurl camp getting increasingly close to Wangshu Inn when his ears preened and his pupils dilated – that voice, the same voice that he never thought he’d hear again, was calling out for him again. He did not find the time to dispose of the monsters in a more appropriate location where they will no longer continue their venture towards the inn, and quickly made his way to where he heard her.

When he arrived, it did not take long for him to spot her standing perfectly still in front of him, hands behind her back. His eyes dilated as he took in her familiar form. Her tresses were no longer matted with twigs and mud, the scratches that once marred her skin no longer present, and a smile has replaced the cowering fear that adorned her visage before.

Xiao ignored the increasing heartbeat that drummed against his chest and surveyed the area with a flick of his spear. “There’s no danger.” He remarked after assessing the parameter, his mask dissipating into the night as he returned his gaze back at her.

She rubbed her arm as she averted her eyes from him. “I spent months trying to find you again.” The mortal woman murmured. “When all has failed, I thought back to that night you saved me, and I called – and you came.”

Xiao did not speak another word, but he was afraid that you can hear how loud his heart was racing. He needed to ignore his selfishness, he needed to leave. “If you’re not in any danger, then I’ll be leaving.”

He turned around to do as he said, but his eyes widened when he felt your hand around his wrist.

“Wait, please,” She pleaded, and when he looked over his shoulder, any resolve of leaving her again vanished. She was looking at him with hopeful and vibrant orbs. How can he ever let her down when she’s looking at him like that?

Xiao let out a sigh and turned back around to meet her properly, but her hand never left him. Were you afraid he might disappear as quickly as he did like last time?

“Don’t go.”

“Why not?” Xiao questioned. “If you know anything about an Adeptus, then you understand my duties.”

She bit her lip as he withdrew her hold. Xiao missed the warmth she gave him already. “I know that but . . . ” She trailed off. “ . . . can I . . . at least know your name?”

Xiao did not give her an answer.

“Even if we never meet again, I want to at least know the name of man who saved me.” She mumbled softly. “But I’m afraid if I ever know your name, I’ll never get to think of any other man but you.”

Xiao appraised you, taking in her apprehensive frame. A mortal has fallen in love with an Adeptus? This was preposterous. He saved her months ago, and back then they shared little time together. Too little to gain feelings for him.

But still, he found himself relenting to your wishes.

“Xiao,” He answered. “My name is Xiao.”

Don’t look for another man. I’m here. I’m staying.

That’s how he met his first and last love, ( Your Name ).

Xiao has lived in Teyvat for thousands of years and is knowledgeable of the culture of mortals, one of them being marriage. He had witnessed humans bounding themselves to another, promising to cherish them, protect them, to love them. For Xiao, marriage is something far from disgusting. Although he cannot understand the need for them to be together under an oath, it was undeniable that many great things and opportunities birthed from them.

However, no matter how beautiful it is for them, it will never stop perplexing Xiao. How is it that one can look at another and know that they’re the one? Are they not afraid to be betrayed? Are humans so willing to have themselves get hurt and offer forgiveness for the sake of love? It’s confusing for him.

Not until you came along that it made sense. Every argument, every disagreement, sleepless nights, every sincere apology, every countless forgiveness, every embrace, every kiss - is this what mortals feel? If so, he’ll endure all the hardships of love if it means staying by your side, and he knew that you feel the same.

Unfortunately, Xiao is not one for marriage.

Not that he does not love you - oh Archons, because he did, deeply so - but the consequences of your relationship always hang in front of him.

It’s already a risk to let you in his heart and love someone as sinful as him, but the thought of you bearing his karmic debt terrified him.

What happens if the two of you are bound together, and under a contract that Rex Lapis will surely oversee? Will the demons that torment him sink their teeth on your pure and innocent soul? Will he see the life in your eyes wither as you strive to remain with him? And what if you try to break the contract to escape karma? Will the both of you suffer in karma and the wrath of the rock?

Xiao can’t do that to you. This is one way he can guarantee your safety. It hurts him to know he cannot marry you, and it hurt more when he saw the disappointment and pain in your eyes when he explained himself. But keeping you safe is his top priority. He deserved this punishment, he can’t put it over your shoulders too.

But that didn’t stop Xiao from imagining how your wedding could have been if things we’re a little different.

A small wedding in a place of your choice with only a handful of close friends and families. You’ll wear a gorgeous dress and walk up to where he is with the same smile you wore when he met you for the second time.

As you stand before him, Xiao could only imagine the happiness and contentment he would feel at that time.

He’ll hold you close, hear you laugh, and then he’ll press his lips against yours, sealing you to a promise that everything that he is, and everything that he has, is yours.

He’ll find himself retreating somewhere private. He didn’t want you to see him vulnerable, weak, as he cried for the first time in his life, and for the greatest reason.

He could have a chance of happiness, but he can’t.

It was all a dream.

A dream he will never achieve, a dream of yours that he can never grant.

“Xiao, you’re still awake?”

The man looked away from the moon and looked over his shoulder to see you standing by the threshold leading to the terrace. You were tired, and yet you woke up to tend to him.

“You know I don’t need sleep.”

“But you always lie next to me. What’s wrong? Something bothering you?”

Xiao did not respond, and you didn’t push any further. He adored it how you know when to prod to a subject or not. You know him so well.

After a moment of silence, you walked over to him and sat beside him on the railing. You looked up at the moon, and Xiao slowly placed his head over your shoulder.

He felt at peace.

Xiao closed his eyes, dreaming of a day that will never come when he can marry you without anything holding him back.

KAZUHA

Kazuha can no longer remember how long it has been since he was on the run from the shogunate. The Electro Archon and her subjects are on the hunt for Visions of every single person residing in the walls of Inazuma, and he was one of the few who refused to have their Visions confiscated from them. It seems exiling him from his homeland was no longer sufficient and the said Archon has ordered for every so-called transgressor that they banished to be apprehended and have their Visions forcefully taken from them. It was only his luck that Beidou, and the crew she captained, has taken him under their wing and he has been sailing the seas with them since then.

Has it been months? Days? Or perhaps weeks? Being away from land with nothing but the ocean to take in and his mind seemingly always preoccupied with his doubts and worries has him losing track of time.

In all honesty, he doesn’t remember the last time he stepped on dry land. Perhaps they did, but it was not a memory that has fleeted a long time ago. All he can think about was Inazuma, the threat of being having his Vision taken, and his past he buried deep within the back of his mind.

Beidou must have taken notice of his continuous lackluster attitude and has set sail for Liyue for him to take a break from the seas. This, of course, he appreciated though he insisted Beidou that she did not have to dock just for him to clear his mind.

Back at that time Beidou claimed she knew what is best for him and she should put his trust on him, and with the lack of reasons to refute her statement, Kazuha merely let out a sigh and agreed to land in Liyue.

He has never been to Liyue, or to put it more accurately, he has never stepped foot in in the few times the Crux made their return on Liyue. It wasn’t because he hated it there, but he felt more comfortable and more at home inside the ship. The furthest he has gone was on the docks to help the crew load supplies in their next sail. But now Beidou has encouraged him to leave the ship and explore, and implied being forbidden to come aboard if he refused to do as she says.

When Beidou said she knows what is best for him, maybe she was right. He must admit, even if he was still longing to return to his homeland, Liyue had many sights and delicacies to offer. But the best and most beautiful sight he saw was up on a rooftop when he was resting from hours of mindless meandering in the streets.

He played with a green leaf that fluttered over to him after it has been carried away by the wind from its tree, and he pressed his lips against it to whistle a melody. The tune was buried under the bustle of the city night but it seems that one picked it up from the terrace just below him.

Kazuha saw a girl around his age walk out to the terrace, head moving left and right, as though looking for something. Kazuha did not think much of this behavior assuming she was searching for something else, and he tore his eyes away from her and nonchalantly continued to whistle against the leaf.

“So, that was you who was making that beautiful sound.”

Kazuha casted his gaze down to see the girl on the terrace looking up at him as she leaned against the railing with her arms crossed, a gleeful smile present on her brims. He pulled the leaf from his lips as he regarded her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to – ”

She shook her head, chuckling. “No, no, it’s fine. You can stay there.” She assured, and Kazuha eased on his spot. She stared at the leaf in his hand. “I didn’t know you can make a tune using a leaf.”

Kazuha flashed her a small smile. “It’s something only a few can do. It’s pretty hard to master.”

“And you’re one of those few.” She remarked. Silence prevailed between the two until she spoke again. “Can you play something for me?”

Kazuha was bewildered by her request. It wasn’t common to find a foreigner sitting on the rooftop of her household. One would think that their first reaction should be an accusation of trespassing and a demand for identification, but no. This girl was different, you were different.

Kazuha did not question your request, just as you have not questioned him of his place on your rooftop. Instead, he granted your wish. He pressed the leaf against his lips and blew, a tune of his own composition sounding in the air.

He watched in awe as you raised both your hands to your chest and white particles formed above your palm, creating a shape until it formed and bloomed into an elegant wooden lyre. Without saying anything else, you strum the strings along with his tune, and the people of Liyue beneath their feet are unaware of the small haven the two of them created together.

Kazuha is more than grateful for Beidou for pushing him to go to Liyue. Ever since that night, he has made constant visits to your house. Early in the morning – that’s when Beidou would barge into the barracks and force them out of their beds – he would always be the one out of the door to finish his tasks and leave immediately to visit you, a prominent smile over his face. The crew, of course, has pestered him to tell him of the reason for his constant leaving and he could only let out a sigh of relief when Beidou shooed them away from him and asked them to return to their work. She winked at him right after and whispered, “Go and hurry to your girlfriend.” To which he denied with a shy grumble before making haste to Liyue.

Liyue was brighter than the isolationist Inazuma has become, and one of the reasons Kazuha thought this was you. The Crux was like a family to him, and Beidou was like an older sister to him, but you – he has never felt more soothed than in your presence. You felt like home, and it has been so long since he had felt like he was at home. Seeing you smile, hearing you laugh, seeing how you nod attentively as he talked, your arms embracing him when he opened up to you about his past, the music you played together in perfect harmony even without practice – it was all so surreal.

Kazuha didn’t have to tell you about his growing feelings for you. He knew that you knew.

It started with a shy kiss, and then a longer one, and the two of you found solace in each other’s arms. There was no music playing, and there were no stories shared – just him with his arms around your figure and lips connected with yours. None of you dare say it but your days together were slowly coming to an end, and it won’t be long until the day comes when he has to set sail to visit neighboring nations.

But Kazuha will always come back to you, that he promises.

After a few years of frequent visiting and writing letters to one another, Kazuha has finally decided that it was time for him to propose to you. Beidou - being the supportive big sister she is to him - upon hearing of his plan, gathered her crew to help Kazuha in his objective. Everything from food, drinks, location (they chose the ship), and atmosphere, they provided. As thanks for their dedication and help, they only ask an invitation to his wedding, to which Kazuha replied will surely come even if they did not help.

The crew claimed that they shall be far away as possible from the ship so that the two of you can have your privacy, but Kazuha, and definitely you, as well, heard loud cheering from a short distance followed by a shushing Beidou when you accepted his proposal.

“I thought they said they’d be at Wanmin Restaurant - ”

“To be honest, I didn’t really believe them.”

Unlike the other boys who were hesitant of not seeing the bride for a week until the wedding, Kazuha was actually the one to push this tradition. He disliked it as much as the other boys, but Kazuha loved being able to give you his all. Not being able to see you for a week is a sure way for him to crave for your presence, and once the two of you see each other again, he’ll pour out every love and care for you then.

You were dismayed by this whole arrangement but since it is important to Kazuha, you respected it.

The crew fought for the spot of best man, but in the end, all of them got to be best man. Kazuha did not have the heart to choose one from the crew, so he had to explain to you beforehand that the almost the entire male crew of The Crux are going to be standing with him at the ceremony.

It wasn’t a common occurrence in a wedding but you allowed it. The crew was like his family to him, and if it’s going to make him happy to have them as his best men, who are you to go against it?

At the day of the wedding, Beidou was the one to fret over Kazuha’s appearance. The Anemo user tried to calm her down but after she continually tried to fix his hair for the wedding, he just sighed and allowed her.

“I can’t believe you’re going to be married in just a few hours.” Beidou remarked in the quiet after a while. “To think you were just a teenager when we met you, and our little teenager is a big man now.”

“Nothing’s going to change. I’ll just be married.” Kazuha tried to ease her worries but he knew as well there are going to be major changes. One of being concerning his frequent endeavors with the crew. Once he gets married with you, he’d want to be with you always, to settle with you. But he was so used to the sea, to be living with the crew in a ship. Can he really get used to this coming change?

Beidou let out a sigh. She placed a hand over his head, patting him gently. She would have ruffled his hair but that would waste her effort on making it as presentable as she can.

“Things are going to change, Kazuha.” Stated Beidou, beaming. “And it’s not all bad. Trust me.”

Kazuha nodded, but he was still uneasy. He was ready to give himself to you, but at the same time, he wasn’t ready to leave the crew.

This thought haunted him even in the time of the ceremony. He should be focusing on the wedding but he couldn’t.

He needed to talk to you about this. You need to know what’s bothering him.

Was it possible to feel dread for the future while also looking forward to it?

Because it felt like a gust of wind billowed his direction when his eyes landed on you. Beautiful, you’re beautiful. What else can he say?

Was he really going to marry you? Whatever did you see in him? He was a banished Ronin from Inazuma. There must be some other man more worthy of you.

But you loved him, nobody else.

“Stop gawking at me like that. You’re making me embarrassed.” You murmured, cheeks flushed. He didn’t even notice you standing before him until you spoke.

Kazuha closed his parted lips as he turned away from you. “I . . . uh . . . ” He swallowed. “You look beautiful, ( Your Name ).”

“At least look at me when you say that, Kazu-kun.”

He looked at you, breathing in before speaking. “You look very, very . . . uh, pretty.”

You laughed a little. “You look very, very handsome, Kazuha.”

You took his hands in yours and gazed into his eyes, smiling. “Things are going to change once we get married.”

A pang of uneasiness struck Kazuha.

But what you said next shocked him.

“After this, I can finally be part of the crew and join you on your adventures in the sea!”

Kazuha gawked at you again, blinking.

Everyone invited to his wedding gasped when Kazuha suddenly kissed you out of nowhere in the middle of the ceremony.

Beidou, and the rest of the crew, however, cheered loudly for the two of you.

After the wedding, Kazuha snuck away from the reception for a while. He found a tree from a short distance and sat on the branch, breathing in the cool evening air.

He caught a fluttering leaf and smiled as he gazed at it and recalled how the two of you met.

Things will change, and soon, he’ll be adventuring with his wife in the vast ocean. Oh, he has so many things to show you.

#genshim impact x reader #genshin x reader #venti x reader #kaeya x reader #xingqiu x reader #scaramouche x reader #razor x reader #albedo x reader #chongyun x reader #xiao x reader #kazuha x reader

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merakiui · 3 years

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I was reading through your tags and you mentioned at some point the kazuscara roommates finding your onlyfans and I think I completely combusted—thus i present to you my brain rot of late: you attend the same school as them but you’re not actually friends, all you know about kazuha is that he’s the friendly regular at the cafe you work at, who makes polite conversation every now and then but otherwise is nothing of note. In reality he’s been stalking you for weeks ever since your first encounter, and is dead set on the idea that you’re this innocent, weak thing that needs to be protected (maybe he stepped in when you had a bad customer and your meek reply helped fester his delusions?). Scara, on the other hand, is only aware of your presence since you’re his favourite cam model that he recently found. (Since he’s a harbinger he’s probs loaded) Weeks of funnelling money towards you cause him to feel this unwarranted possessiveness, believing that since he’s been providing so much in your “relationship” that it’s time you reward him in turn. However, despite the unbridled interest they have toward you neither are aware of each other’s feelings for you— that is, until you happen to run into the both of them heading to your class. While both are known for maintaining their stoic masks, they’re friends for a reason— and instantly can tell the attraction their roommates have towards their own “lover”. After kazuha finds your onlyfans he’s certain that you’ve been coerced and wants to save you, while scara thinks it’s time that he’s stopped letting other plebeians look at his possession—so, despite their initial reservations, come together to form the ideal plan. When you find yourself waking up groggy in a room you don’t recognize, all they can do is look on with glee whilst planning their next course of action with their new belonging. They’re friends after all, and good friends share though, don’t they?

This is v long srry lol you can ignore this ofc!!

AAAH, ANON!! YES!!! <3 I couldn’t resist writing more on this concept. orz They make for such a terrifying pair when they work together!

(cw: yandere, stalking, nsfw, implied kidnapping/drugging, unhealthy behaviors/relationship, delusional thoughts, savior complex, implied violence)

What if Kazuha and Scara were just acquainted with one another and actually became closer through their mutual obsession with you? Yes, they’re roommates and ought to get along because they’re living together but they haven’t exactly clicked yet. They talk every now and then and know little things about each other. Nothing too special. They don’t really hang out outside of their dorm either, what with their class schedules being vastly different. And Kazuha’s always out of the dorm doing who-knows-what. Most of his time is spent at a café, where he’ll write and read and stare at you while you work. On the other hand, Scara prefers to stay inside if he doesn’t have a good reason to go out. He likes his alone time. Although he has enjoyed going to the library every now and then to study.

So maybe they need to find some common ground. Maybe they need a push in the right direction before they get closer.

Kazuha likes to stare. Talking to you is great, but he worries he’ll say too much and then he’ll be a nuisance, or you might not want to talk to him at all since you’re working. But you always regard him with a warm smile, happy to scribble his name on the plastic cup because you remember him. Because you recognize his familiar face and soft, gentle eyes. He’s the one who saved you from that rude customer, after all, and he’s a polite regular. Why wouldn’t you know him? You might look like you can handle those types of situations, but what Kazuha saw that day was something entirely different. You were nervous—so soft-spoken and scared. He absolutely has to protect you from those kinds of people now, doesn’t he?

And he does exactly that. He’s your second pair of eyes—your valiant knight in shining armor—who sees and hears all. Sometimes he goes to the café with the intention to simply watch over you and make sure no one’s bothering you. He can recall one time when a customer was speaking rudely about you because her drink hadn’t been prepared in a ‘timely manner.’ In reality it’s impossible to make a drink within a few seconds, especially when you’re already preoccupied with making another customer’s drink. She must’ve woken up on the wrong side of the bed, or maybe she’s just a hateful person in general. You didn’t deserve to be on the receiving end of such fiery insults, though.

Her eyes just can’t see your perfection and therefore she does not deserve to see out of them.

Kazuha’s willing to wrestle with all of this darkness if it means you’ll stay safe, oblivious, and pure. You’re like a defenseless kitten, unable to protect yourself from the scary world. He writes about you a lot in his journal; you’re his muse—someone who constantly shows up in poems and short paragraphs where he tries to describe what your dream date might be or what type of wedding you’d prefer. Things get darker the deeper you delve into his writings, where you’ll find entries in great detail. Kazuha writes a lot and he doesn’t even mean to. He just has to get all of his thoughts on paper before they abandon him and he’s left with emptiness.

Everything you do is pure; you’re almost an equivalent to a holy being. Your smell is pure. Your body is pure. Your actions are pure. Your smile is pure. Even when you’re on the verge of crying from harsh customers or when you’re turning down a confession, you’re still pure. And Kazuha likes that about you because it’s special. There aren’t many people in his life who are completely pure. He’s been through a lot of rough things and has seen firsthand how impure people can be. It’s only fair that he gets a chance to protect purity itself.

He might have some impurities, but that doesn’t deter him from watching over you. As gentle and unassuming as he is, there are times when even he loses his composure. Not many are privy to these dark emotions of his. His smiles are sharp and venomous and his eyes fill with a gloom so dark it can swallow you whole. You’ll never see this side of him; he won’t allow it. Instead you’re treated to his sweet, calm side, where he feigns perfection in hopes of catching your interest.

As for Scara… He doesn’t really care about Kazuha in the beginning. He’s just someone he has to live with. It’s not a big deal and as long as he doesn’t try to make lots of pointless conversation everything will be okay. He prefers the peace and quiet, considering he’s acquainted with people who are far from peaceful and quiet. Scara’s relieved that Kazuha leaves the dorm so often because it gives him an opportunity to watch his favorite cam star’s most recent video. He’s your most loyal follower—someone who’s paid lots of money just to have access to the highest tier of rewards and such. He even got a private video where you addressed him and moaned out his name with lustful thoughts of him. Having lots of money comes in handy.

When he finds out that you go to the same school as him, he’s a little shocked. He didn’t expect you to be so close. You’re practically within touching distance. If only he knew your schedule. If only you were in one of his classes. It’s really annoying that he only knows your online presence and not who you might be in your personal life. The last thing he’s going to do is consult Childe, that popular athlete who knows literally everyone in the school for whatever reason. Surely he knows you. But he’ll die before he ever asks Childe for a favor.

Scara loves you out of every other cam model because you’re different. You’re not just trying to get fast cash. You’re genuine. You listen to your subscribers and their feedback. You do your best to improve and do even better streams than the previous ones. All of your hard work is overlooked by the other fools who watch your streams, but it isn’t overlooked by him. Scara appreciates your attention to detail and the way you’re able to hook him with your breathless voice alone. You’re very skilled at what you do, so it’s only fair you get paid for it.

But buying your services isn’t enough. It’s not a real relationship, but it certainly feels like it when he buys preferential treatment. Private shows, special requests, odd favors—you do it all because he pays for it. But this relationship isn’t going to be one-sided forever. You’ll have to pay him back in full eventually. Scara likes to think he has patience and that waiting is fine. It gives him more time to plan his next move—to figure out what he should do to finally have you all to himself. So that those private shows he watches through a screen can finally be real.

Scara finds the journal sitting innocently on Kazuha’s bed, its maroon cover and maple leaves pulling at his curiosity. He might not know everything about Kazuha, but he’d recognize this journal anywhere. His roommate almost always has it on his person. Scara wouldn’t be surprised if he slept with it. To say he’s curious would be absolutely correct. He can only wonder what Kazuha writes in that thing. Perhaps it’s just notes for a class. That’s what anyone would think, right?

Scara opens it and flips through the first few pages. They’re normal for the most part. Just a bunch of haikus and other useless scribbles. When he skips over some pages, he starts to find things that are far more interesting than poetry and doodles of cats. He finds the majority of the journal is comprised of information. More specifically, there are facts and other knowledge about you—the cam model he’s been obsessed with ever since he stumbled upon your onlyfans. He reads through as much of the journal as he can and instantly learns so much: your address, your roommate, your workplace, your friends’ names, names of any potential exes. The list goes on and on.

Scara doesn’t have anything against Kazuha. His first impression of him wasn’t anything groundbreaking. He thought he was a pushover at first. But now that he knows what this journal holds… Well, it sheds an entirely new light on his roommate.

Just days before Scara took a peek inside his journal, Kazuha discovers your secret online life. He snoops through Scara’s laptop when he steps out, having left it open and unlocked. He’s just trying to find what could have caught Scara’s interest, as he’s almost always glued to his laptop on specific days at specific times, with his headphones on and his gaze unyielding. He doesn’t intend to find the file of one of your private videos—something that was meant only for Scara’s eyes.

He clicks on the video out of interest. He’s not sure what he was expecting to see, but it definitely wasn’t this. Kazuha sits there and stares at the sight before him. You’re dressed in skimpy lingerie and you’re muttering the dirtiest things while coating your fingers in lube. And your hands are stroking a thick toy and you’re addressing Scara and you’re lining it up to your hole and— He shuts the laptop before it can get even more explicit than it already is. He’s so conflicted, fraught with a betrayal so strong it weighs his heart down.

Why would he have this sort of video on his laptop? Did you give it to him? Did he make you do this? Are you in danger? Are you still pure?

Kazuha can’t kill on campus. It’s way too risky and he’d be one of the first suspects if Scara’s body is found. Besides, it’s not like he has the full story. He doesn’t know whether or not Scara’s done something that’s worthy of death. You could just be in a tight spot. He knows how easily you give in when you’re under pressure. Maybe you’re just doing this because you feel like it’s the only thing you can do. Not to worry; Kazuha will save you before Scara can ruin your purity with his twisted fantasies.

They confront each other when the time feels right. Kazuha struggles to keep a smile plastered to his face for the sake of politeness, while Scara holds in his raging temper so that he can bear some semblance of cooperation. Neither of them is happy to hear that the other went through their stuff, but they force themselves to make up because a more pressing issue is at hand: their connection to you.

Kazuha says he’s your secret admirer. Scara says he’s in a relationship with you. There’s no way you’d ever date someone like Scara—Kazuha knows this for a fact. Yet he falters at the confidence in Scara’s tone. That can’t be the truth, right? Despite this, Kazuha still strikes up an offer: If they work together to get what they both want, they’ll be unstoppable. With Scara’s riches and his influence and Kazuha’s charisma and clever thinking, they can easily get their hands on you. Of course this means they’ll have to share, but it’s not a big deal when they’re already in so deep. They both know the other’s secret; now they’re swearing to keep it in the pursuit of having you all to themselves. And luckily Scara agrees to the deal, but that doesn’t give Kazuha a reason to lower his guard.

However despite how well they work together when it comes to planning the kidnapping and actually executing it, they both have their own reasons for wanting you. Scara wishes to make his relationship with you a reality—to toss aside the screen that once held him back and finally do all of the things he could only do in his dreams. Kazuha seeks to protect your fragile heart, lest you crumble under Scara’s intense way of doing things and cling to him for salvation. You can’t do those sorts of things with Scara; he won’t allow it. Your purity is meant for him and no one else.

But sharing is caring and some have to learn that the hard way. It definitely brings Kazuha and Scara closer together, even if neither of them will admit it. If they look past their desires, they can be friends. And soon enough they’ll have to accept this new friendship if they want to avoid any unnecessary complications.

However there are times when they’ll cooperate in order to do things with you. They’re a packaged deal you can’t get rid of.

#chit chat #yandere #yandere kazuha #yandere scaramouche #kazuscara roommates #ty for feeding me anon orz #i like the idea of them being friends on the surface #but beneath that they're willing to abandon the other in order to meet their desires #but when they come together they're a force to be reckoned with #aaah i could go on and on with this concept #but i don't want to ramble #ANYWAYS TY AGAIN ANON <3 YOUR BRAIN IS SO LARGE #🧸 anon

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hellonoblesky · 3 years

Text

Tired and. Having Genshin theory thoughts so here we go

(ft: Khaenri'ah. Also some 1.6 stuff)

What if. There's a group of just. Khaenri'an people. Just people who aspire to rebuild the nation. They don't side with the Abyss bc they don't think that domination is the win, and they Don't side with the Fatui because Where Was The Tsaritsa When Khaenri'ah Fell? And they don't side w Celestia for obvious reasons, and what if that's the group Kaeya is a part of and maybe Dain is also part of it but his job is hunting and keeping threats at bay? And maybe Gold/Rhineddottir too,, and maybe it's even involved with the Hexenzirkel and maybe that's how Gold and Alice know each other?

My friend and I were talking today and they pointed out how there are. So Many Crystalflies at the dawn Winery so maybe the Dawn Winery is built over like a ley line thing or just. Some Big Elemental Thing and maybe that was part of why Kaeya was left there specifically

That tower Dvalin lives in in Old Mondstadt apparently goes. Rlly far down. Like maybe even,,, Abyss Deep. And Zhongli says the Blackcliff Forge reaches ruins beneath the earth which is p safe to assume is Khaenri'ah? So,,,,, so far, 2/2 released nations have a thing that reaches down deep enough for Khaenri'ah/The Abyss to be There. Like very much There? And that. Seems like something that might be plot-relevant in the future? Maybe the Abyss/Khaenri'ah uses it to mass-take over Tevyat? Maybe Tevyat uses it to mass-take over the Abyss/Khaenri'ah

What is the Hexenzirkel. What. Like I know they study the Irminsul trees n stuff, but then there's like. Mona who straight-up uses people's constellations to look Directly at their personality, and Alice who's a world-renowned adventurer,, like huh

What did Kazuha do? What has he done? What crimes has he committed? I think he regrets them? Maybe? But also like he did do something and if he was actually Scara's samurai then,,, did Scara make him do something?

Is Alice the Dodo King bc she did make Dodoco for Klee ( I think?) and an Adventure is def something she, an adventurer, would set up for her crazy energetic and destructive kid

TL;DRs:

So what if. the Abyss Order isn't the only Khaenri'ahn organization?

Why are there so. So many Crystalflies. At the Dawn Winery.

There are holes. In the ground. Holes that provide access to the Abyss/Khaenri'ah

Hexenzirkel. What is it

Kazuha. What crimes has he commited

Alice is the Dodo King (I think)

#turtledove yells into the abyss #genshin impact #genshin spoilers #genshin theory #brr #brain buzzing

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autumn-foxfire · 4 years

Text

As people who follow this blog already know, because I have no life I managed to binge read BNHA vigilantes in one sitting. In the same post I said I was going to give a review about it and well, here it is. DISCLAIMER: This is all my opinion and thus subjective!

BNHA Vigilantes is... decent.

Maybe a boring way to describe it and probably not what people were expecting but it's honestly how I feel about the series.

It had good parts and bad parts, parts that kept me entertained and parts that bored me to tears and so the most I could describe the series as is that it was decent.

The main character, Koichi is probably an aquired taste in the sense that he's actually quiet boring as a protagonist. It's the relationships that he develops in the story that really gave his character to shine but by himself he wasn't all the interesting to read about. His design was also boring (which is probably the point but doesn't do himself any favours) and his personality can be very frustrating with how wishy washy he is (again an aquired taste and just not my type in character really). Truthfully, he's not really a stand-out protagonist (which again was probably the point because of the nature of Vigilantes) and he didn't really entertain me.

The female lead, Pop Step aka Kazuha Haneyama, was probably your typical female protagonist. Her persona as Pop Step was cheerful and lively while her true self was much more shy and nervous. The more the story progressed we saw Pop Step slowly come out her shell and gain more confidence in herself. She had more personality then Koichi had most of the time however she tended to fall into the typical tsundere around her crush kind of character which is nothing new or that entertaining.

Truthfully, the chapters the focused on Koichi and Pop Step were some of the most boring chapters for me. It's not necessarily because they're bad but rather because the slice of life aspect of the manga wasn't something I was really expecting from BNHA and that genre of fiction isn't really my favourite. I just really didn't care about Pop Step's growing career of becoming an idol or Koichi being a normal person when it didn't relate into the plot in some way and even then I only really put up with it and didn't really enjoy it.

Another thing I really, really hated about Vigilantes was the forced love triangle for Koichi. It was so bland and was obviously used to make Pop Step vulnerable because her feelings for Koichi might not be returned. They even did the stereotypical "Pop Step accidently runs into the arms of the enemy because she couldn't get the courage to tell Koichi how she feels and Koichi just happened to keep bringing up her rival in some way whenever she tried". It was very... cliche in a boring way (and sorry I keep saying the word boring T-T).

Truthfully, it felt like the manga wanted to do two different things (battle action and slice of life) and then tried to merge them at time but it didn't really work often.

I feel like I've been very negative about Vigilantes so far but I just wanted to get what I didn't like about it out of the way first.

There were some shining moments in Vigilantes too! Although my bias is probably becomes obvious when I say that my favourite parts were usually when the heroes from the main series had screentime. The cameos we got from some of the pro heroes really fleshed them out (baring one but I'll get to that later).

I especially loved the parts with Aizawa and Midnight and how they dealt with villains at the time. Aizawa allowed a villain who he realised was just a victim to watch the end of a concert he wanted to see before he let the police escort him away. Both Midnight and Aizawa would come to Koichi's add when Pop Step rang them to deal with the villains they tackled and protected their identities from the police. It was an interesting thing to see in the sense that 'vigilantes' are illegals but every hero who came to know Koichi's identity protected it in some way.

I actually want to tackle more about hero society brought up in vigilantes and compare it to bnha but I'll save that for another post.

Anyway, as I was saying, my favourite chapters were the ones that focused on the heroes in some way because we got to see more of hero society and I enjoyed the characterisation of the BNHA characters except for one.

Endeavor.

When we saw Endeavor at first, he was his typical bastard self that we saw before the start of his redemption. The selfish man that only cared about himself who was focused on his own career. However in the latest chapters Endeavor's character took a very drastic turn that I just felt was way to out of character, even for pre-redemption Endeavor. He tried to burn Pop Step alive without even considering bringing her in alive. He jumped to the most extreme conclusion and I don't really know why.

Endeavor in canon isn't like this, not even when he faced the Nomu. Before he decided to kill them, he wanted to capture them and bring them in alive for questioning. However when Tsukauchi in vigilantes tried to tell Endeavor that Pop Step was most likely a victim who they want to bring in alive for questioning, he dismissed him and said he'd go straight for the kill. It just doesn't make sense to me that Endeavor, who has the highest closed cases rate, would dismiss that Pop Step might have answers to the case that every hero had been informed about (the villain factory) and decided to kill what could be an important witness. It's bizarre reasoning and not something I expected.

I feel like the writer wanted to create drama and a time limit for Koichi to rescue Pop Step and so used Endeavor and his brashness in order to do so. Honestly the writing for Endeavor was so inconsistent it immediately took me out of the story. There were better ways the writer could have utalised pre-redemption Endeavor and I think they failed miserably.

Overall, Vigilantes is an okay read. It's nothing ground breaking but it does give some good insight into hero society that I plan to adress in another post. If you managed to read this mess a review to the end, I hope you enjoyed and I'm sorry my thoughts are all over the place.

#bnha #bnha vigilantes #ah this got long #and it's not even all I wanted to say T-T #I feel like many people are going to disagree with me but that's fine

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365daysoftododeku · 4 years

Text

23rd November 2019

Author: CrzA

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Live Shows Can Be Deadly

Izuku doesn’t always listen to live radio talks while he’s out on patrol, but when he does, it’s always because of Shouto. Yes, they live together and see each other practically every day (there are always those times when their schedules are on complete opposite ends of the clock), but Shouto is Izuku’s best friend so it stands to reason that he would support him in any way he could. And that includes viewership in exclusive interviews. If anyone—Ochako—were to ask if it has anything to do with the fact that he has been pining for Shouto since they graduated from high school, Izuku would obviously tell them—her—that he has no such feelings towards his friend. You know, like a liar.

Ochako keeps telling him they’ve actually been dating for years, he just doesn’t realise it, and each time, he brushes her off with an exaggerated roll of his eyes and reinforcement that she’s ridiculous for even suggesting it. The thing is, despite the fact that he and Shouto are undeniably close, Izuku had never gathered the courage to go the extra mile and tell him how he feels. Part of that has to do with their line of work and with Izuku’s own standing in the Hero world, but it’s also in no small part due to his fear of messing up a really good thing. He doesn’t want to make things awkward between them when he feels so comfortable around Shouto.

Still, he doesn’t deny himself the pleasure of admiring him from afar, at least, and today is just one of the many examples of how he does it. Besides, things have been rather calm in the city these days, and Izuku only has one earbud in, his communications device still active in the other and ready to alert him to any emergencies that may arise. As he leaps from building to building, Izuku listens intently to Shouto’s smooth voice with a smile playing at his lips as he imagines the little pout he gets whenever he has to think about what to say.

Until very recently, Shouto hadn’t actually been allowed to give interviews without his PR person present, given his bluntness and overall aloof demeanour—Izuku had always found it rather endearing, to be honest, and he is sure the fans would feel the same, but it is what it is. So, Izuku is excited to hear his friend live, for once, without someone talking in his ear and feeding him ‘the right answer’ to whatever question may be thrown at him. He’s been doing great so far, in Izuku’s totally unbiased opinion, and he is already looking forward to the slew of cat pictures he’s going to get in the mail after revealing to the world that he is, in fact, very fond of kittens.

When the interview takes a turn for the slightly more personal, Izuku really isn’t surprised. People are interested in popular Pros’ lives in much the same way they want to know all about their favourite movie stars or musicians. And Shouto is undeniably beautiful, a heartthrob, if you will, and all of his fans are just itching to know his preferences so they can create all sorts of fantasies inside their heads. Izuku can’t really judge, all things considered, seeing as he pauses for a heartbeat at the sound of the next question out of the host’s mouth.

“So, Todoroki-san, what would you say would be your ideal type for a partner?”

In retrospect, Izuku should have probably waited to hear the answer before taking his next leap, but then again, he really didn’t expect to hear what Shouto says next, the fond smile evident in his voice and throwing him for even more of a loop.

“That’s easy. Hero Deku.”

To say that he was so shocked he missed his landing would be the understatement of the century. As it stands, Izuku ungracefully faceplants a stop sign when he trips on his own two feet the moment they hit the concrete down below, cutting off a loud curse as soon as he notices children watching him and instead dips into a crouch with a muffled shriek. His face turns all shades of read from both embarrassment and holding back multiple screams, some of them of joy, others of mild pain, most of them of complete and utter disbelief.

Unable to keep himself together, let alone keep listening to whatever the interviewer or Shouto say next, Izuku immediately tears the earbud out, already feeling his phone blowing up in his pocket with gods know how many texts. Smiling sheepishly at any civilians looking at him funny, Izuku casually takes his phone out of his pocket, rubbing the bridge of his nose when he sees Ochako’s name flashing right above his own PR agent’s, his mother’s and also Rei’s. Sucking in a deep breath and bracing himself for whatever’s to come, Izuku looks through the texts.

[Ochako 02:43pm]

Told ya. You owe me dinner now.

[Akagi Kazuha 02:44pm]

Please call me at your earliest convenience. We need to talk about your relationship with Todoroki-san.

[Mom 02:44pm]

Midoriya Izuku, why am I finding out that you and Shouto-kun are together through the news?

[Todoroki Rei 02:47pm]

Congratulations on the announcement! (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･ﾟI was wondering when you would tell people.

So, apparently, Shouto’s mother gets to know about his supposed relationship before he does. Lovely.

Not even knowing how to respond to any of it right now, Izuku simply locks his phone and moves on to rubbing at his temples now. It takes about thirty seconds for everything to fully sink in, and as soon as Izuku gets a notice through his comms to get to the agency as soon as possible, he starts towards it as fast as his legs can take him, already sensing a myriad of cameras pointing his way.

After a quick talk with his PR agent and apologising profusely for something he is as much at a loss about as everyone around him, he is glad to be sent home where, if his extensive knowledge of Shouto’s schedule is correct—which it definitely is—, the reason for his turmoil should be lounging on the couch. That is, if he isn’t dealing with the backlash of what he decided to just announce to the world without any sort of previous warning.

And, because the universe is fair like that, when he steps through the door to their shared apartment, there he is, completely carefree as he eats a bowl of cereal while watching some cartoon on TV.

“Oh, hey Izuku. You’re home early.”

“Don’t you ‘hey Izuku’ me! This is how you decide to confess your feelings for me?! Through live radio?!”

“Confess?”

“Well, what do you call announcing to the whole of Japan that I’m apparently your type other than that?”

“Apparently?” Izuku throws his hands up in frustration, staring incredulously as Shouto narrows his eyes at him, brow furrowing with confusion. “She asked what my type of partner was. What was I supposed to do? Lie?”

“Yes! I mean—No? What do you even mean by that?” Izuku squeaks, his face so hot he almost worries he might actually spontaneously combust.

“Okay, so apparently everyone keeps saying I shouldn’t have done that. But I mean, it’s been years, whoever doesn’t see it is surely blind.”

Izuku blinks stupidly. “S-see what?”

“That we love each other.” Shouto deadpans and Izuku splutters, covering his face with his arms.

“Oh my god, you can’t just—how can you just—” He trails off into another shriek, turning his back to Shouto and curling in on himself.

“Wait… you actually didn’t know? Haven’t we been dating for a while? We even live together.”

“B-b-b-but we don’t—We don’t even share a room or a-any—what do you mean we’ve been dating for a while?!”

“I keep taking you out to dates.”

“I thought those were friendly outings!”

“Just the two of us? To romantic dimly lit restaurants with really expensive food? And that one time we went into the Tunnel of Love at the fair?”

“I didn’t—I thought that was just stuff you liked and—you never told me, Shouto-kun!” Izuku whines, facing his friend again.

Shouto purses his lips. “I thought it went without saying.” He shrugs, taking another spoonful of cereal to his mouth then speaking around the food. “I mean, we cuddle all the time, and even if we don’t share a room, I’ve slept with you plenty of times. We tell each other everything, cook meals for each other… The only thing we haven’t really done is kiss but I just thought you weren’t interested since you never asked.”

“Oh my god…” Izuku covers his mouth, feeling even more blood rushing to his cheeks. “We’ve totally been dating.”

“Well, yeah.”

“I can’t believe I didn’t notice.”

“And people call me dense.” Shouto snorts and Izuku points a very accusing finger at his face.

“Oh no, you don’t get off that easy! You should have told me!”

“I asked you to move in with me and you said yes.”

“That is not the same as saying ‘Izuku, I like you as more than a friend’!”

“I could have sworn I did.” Shouto hums thoughtfully, then shrugs once again before taking more cereal into his mouth. “Sorry. Well, you know now. Are things changing between us?”

“Well, I mean…” Izuku grumbles, gnawing on his bottom lip in a mix of annoyance and embarrassment. “You could kind of make up for all the time I spent pining for you without needing to, for one.”

“That seems fair.”

His apparent boyfriend crosses his arms over his chest after placing his bowl on the coffee table, leaning against the back of the couch as he tilts his head cutely. God damn it, he has no right to look that charming when he has just completely turned his entire world upside down. Izuku is sure his heart is actively beating itself into an early grave and Shouto looks like the picture of perfect calm.

“What do you suggest?”

“You mentioned that we haven’t kissed yet.” Izuku whispers shyly, clearing his throat and nonchalantly kicking at the air.

Raising a fiery eyebrow at him, Shouto lets a corner of his mouth quirk upwards for a split second. “That can be arranged, if you want.”

“I don’t want it, Shouto-kun. I demand it.”

“Fair enough.”

“Damn right, it is.” Izuku huffs, stomping all the way across the room and pulling Shouto up by the collar.

________________________________________________________________

Would you like your work to be featured in the 365 Days of TodoDeku Project? Apply here! (≧∇≦)/

#Story #crzangel #TodoDeku #365DaysofTodoDeku #TodoDeku365 #365 Days of TodoDeku #tddk #Shouto Todoroki #Todoroki Shouto #Izuku Midoriya #Midoriya Izuku #Boku no Hero Academia #BNHA #My Hero Academia #MHA #Todoroki x Midoriya #Shouto x Izuku #TodoIzu

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sternentinte · 5 years

Text

Emogust 2019 - 22.08.|First Time

„What are you going to do now?”, Haibara asks.

They are at the police station again. The news hasn’t broken yet, but the Black Organisation is down. The coup worked. They did it. Well, the last part was mostly the doing of Hattori and his colleagues, and the FBI, but Shinichi knows they all mostly count it as his success. They are probably right in that, but he doesn’t feel like bragging about it, not like he did when he was still a teenager.

“Well”, Shinichi says, “there’s probably gonna be a press conference soon and we’re gonna have to tell the whole story.”

He looks at her and wonders if that is what she is worried about. “You’re still okay with what we agreed on, right?”

Haibara meets his eyes. “You know I’m sure about that.”, she says quietly, “I’ve always wanted it to be that way, you know that.” She makes a short break. “As long as you are willing to lie about that.”

Shinichi sighs. “We talked about that. It’s for the best. I’m not gonna tell.”

“I know.”, she says. “But you don’t want to lie anymore.”

She’s right. She knows him too well. But this is a whole different story.

“I’ve got all the important parts down. You are Ai Haibara, a child that was pulled into the Black Organisation against her will because of her parents. Her parents are dead so she was raised in the Organisation. However, she decided to flee with me and helped bring down the Organisation ultimately. There’s no lie in that.”

“I guess not.”, Haibara says.

Shinichi reaches down to ruffle her hair. He loves that he can do that now—he’s been permanently big for about a week now and he absolutely loves it.

She gives him a death glare and it melts the soft worry of her face. Shinichi is glad.

“You’re avoiding my question.”, Haibara says and gets her hair out of his reach.

Shinichi frowns in confusion. “What question?”

“What are you going to do now?”, she repeats, her eyebrows furrowing in impatience, or maybe just annoyance.

Shinichi blinks. “I just told you, there’s gonna be a press conference, and then the trials I guess…”

“Not that stuff.” She makes a dismissive gesture with her hand. “I mean what are you going to do, now that you’re free and all?”

Shinichi stares at her. “I- I don’t know.”

The question follows him around. It’s not surprising—really it’s all there is to ask, now that all is said and done, even if the reporters might have a slightly different idea.

It’s not that he hasn’t thought about it at all—but not in terms that seem real. It has always been some kind of parallel ubiverse, where he can be normal again and slip back in his old life—finish high school with Ran and Sonoko, maybe go to college, and then? He’s always wanted to open his own agency, but now, everything just wasn’t as easy.

Ran and Sonoko had long since finished high school, and if he had wanted to go to college he would be almost finished by now. He didn’t even have a high school degree! But even apart from that—returning to his old life was clearly impossible when everyone else had moved on from it. All of his old classmates had long since moved on and where building their own lives, Ran included. And besides, the more he thought about it, the more he realised he barely had had any connection to them anyway. Sure, he had been friendly with some of them, but he had barely had any friends per se. When he had first disappeared, Ran was the only one that had cared enough to make a fuss about it, her and maybe Sonoko. It was kind of frightening to realise that he had had more friends when he was Conan than when he was himself.

His thoughts swerve to Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko. They seemed to still be on the detective train when he saw them the other day. He admits to himself he is a little bit proud. They are smart kids and they could be good someday. He’s almost a little sad he doesn’t have a legitimate reason to go talk to them—maybe Haibara will be able to reconnect to them, then he could at least hear about what they are up to. The thought saddens him, but he doesn’t quite know why.

Aside from Ran and Sonoko his only other close friend had been Hattori. Shinichi is glad to have him back, glad to know he has someone to have his back again, but Hattori has his own life, too. He’s with Kazuha, and he has his work, and on Saturdays he volunteers to teach little kids Kendo when he’s not too busy. It sounds like a good life. It takes Shinichi a few minutes to realise he’s jealous.

The press conference doesn’t exactly shake his thoughts because after trying to squeeze pages worth of terrible memories out of his brain (Shinichi tries to gloss over the worst parts—there’s some of his pain he needs to keep private) the question is there again.

“What are your personal plans for your future?”

Shinichi tries to stall for time. “Well, I’ve always been a detective.”, he says, because it’s true, and even after everything that’s happened, he doesn’t want to give up on that. Apparently, there is still a little idealist somewhere inside of him, longing to bring justice to people’s unjust deaths. “And when I started this case, I didn’t ever think it would take that long. I didn’t realise how big this was until I was in the middle of it and then I didn’t have a way out. So when I first started out with it I just assumed I would slip back into my old life. Going to school, being a teen detective… Obviously it doesn’t quite work out that way, so frankly I’m not sure yet. I don’t even have a high school diploma, I’m far behind other people my age, so I guess I’ll be trying to catch up.”

“Was it terrible?”, he asks Haibara after. She’s sitting outside the conference room, but she’s watched the whole thing. As a child, she doesn’t have to answer any questions herself.

“I thought you did well at the part where they tried to insinuate you abducted me from the professor’s house.”

“That’s not what they said.”

“They kind of did.”

Shinichi doesn’t try to contradict her any further. “What did you think about the part about my future plans?”

She gives him a look. “That’s the part you’re worried about? They asked you all kinds of questions about deeply traumatizing stuff!”

She’s worried about me, Shinichi realises. The sentiment warms his heart.

“I know, but I expected that. I had a strategy.”

“If you must know, it sounded a bit awkward, but mostly reasonable.”

Shinichi makes a non-committal sound. Even if she’s right, it doesn’t bring him any closer to answers.

“So…”, she says, “are you gonna make any life-changing calls?”

Shinichi squints at her, suspiciously.

“You know to tell some people you’re back before they hear it from the press, now that you’re officially allowed to?”

“I guess I should do that…”

“Yes you should”, Haibara says, “Besides, we kind of need a place to live. The FBI probably isn’t gonna kick you out right away, but at some point.”

“I have a house.”, Shinichi says, then he reconsiders. “Well, my parents have a house. I hope they still have it. They could have sold it.”

Haibara looks at him like that’s not quite the thing she was referring to, but eventually she just nods.

“Then you better find that out.”

They call Professor Agasa first. Shinichi still feels guilty for the way he and Haibara left the Professor all those years ago, even though it was for his own safety. They don’t need to worry about the number—Shinichi’s had it memorised ever since he was a little boy.

They put the phone on speaker. The professor answers on the fifth ring.

Shinichi feels his hands shaking, but his voice is surprisingly firm.

“Hi professor”, he says, “It’s Shinichi.”

“Shinichi?”, the professor asks, “I hope you’re not trying your hand at practical jokes again, Ayumi-kun, those aren’t things to joke about-“

“It’s us”, Haibara interrupts.

“Ai-kun?”

“Yes”, she says, “I am Ai Haibara,”, she lowers her voice, “also known as Shiho Miyano, or Sherry. Shinichi and I managed to bring the Black Organisation down.”

“Also, there is a mole on your butt.”, Shinichi says.

Haibara throws him a weird look.

“Shinichi! It really is you! I had my hopes but-“ The professor’s voice breaks and something in Shinichi’s chest does as well.

“Yes.”, Shinichi says. “We’re coming home, professor. We’ve done it. It’s finally over.”

It feels more real telling him than all the reporters.

Haibara looks at her watch.

“If you turn on the TV right about now, you should be able to get all the details.”, Haibara says. Her voice sounds strangely choked. Shinichi looks at her. Of course this is affecting her. The professor was the one that took her in when she didn’t have anybody. He had believed her, even before Shinichi did.

Haibara gives him her ‘Stop staring you creep’-look, but it’s not very malicious.

“Professor?”, Shinichi asks, “Can I- I mean is my- is my house still waiting for me?”

“Yes, yes!”, the professor hurries to answer, “Ran-kun has made sure someone was there to clean it—your parents didn’t quite want to give it up, I might have told them not to, but yes, it’s still there, and in good condition.”

“That’s good.”, Shinichi says. Suddenly he can’t wait to go. Go home. “C’mon Haibara, let’s go- we’ll come, alright?”

“Of course, Shinichi, Ai-kun, I’m so happy-“

“Me too”, Shinichi says. It’s true, He’s starting to feel it.

“Oh but Shinichi? Make sure to call your father. He’s been giving himself a hard time…”

Shinichi feels guilty thinking about his parents. He’s barely thought about them at all. But now, he just wants to get home.

“I will.”, he promises before saying good-bye. No, not good-bye. See you soon. Much different.

“Let’s go.”, he says to Haibara. “I’ll call my parents on the way.”

Things don’t turn out to be as easy. As soon as they try to leave the station, childhood services stop them. Apparently, they’ve been looking for Haibara all over the place.

Shinichi shots her a sideward glance. Of course, rationally, he is not a suitable care-giver for a twelve-year-old girl, no matter how much time they’ve spent on the run together. But at the same time, he can’t imagine being separated from her now—they’re family. They’ve been through so much.

Before he can even try to start to think of something to convince them, Haibara starts crying terribly. She hides herself behind him and clutches to his arm like it’s her lifeline while sobbing into his shirt hysterically.

Shinichi can tell her real crying and her fake crying apart pretty easily, but apparently the social worker can’t, so he does his best to play his part and try and comfort her. It’s like a weird game of good cop, bad cop.

In the end, they agree to let Haibara go home with him—but only as a temporary solution, until something else is figured out. And they are going to be checked on.

Shinichi’s fine with the checking. As for the temporary bit—they’re gonna work it out.

They even get a ride home, Megure puts a young officer up to the task. He’s only a couple years older than Shinichi, and he’s never met him before. Of course not. How would he?

Shinichi actually has to look up his parents’ phone number. He finds one on his father’s page—it’s for business contacts and connects him to the secretary, but Shinichi can convince her to interrupt his fathers frantic writing session, that is, without a doubt, a last minute effort to please his publishers.

It’s good to hear that some things haven’t changed.

The phone call itself is weird. It’s all emotional and stilted and his parents seem to blame themselves for so many things, which is just plain weird to Shinichi—he made his own decisions taking on that case. Hasn’t it always been this way? It feels weird to be confronted with their guilt now.

In any case, they promise to jump on the next flight. Shinichi doesn’t really know how to react to that, but at least he has about twenty-four hours time to figure that out. It takes some time to get to Tokyo from Los Angeles, no matter how many strings you pull.

The professor waits for them in the house. Shinichi is so happy to see him, even more than he knew talking on the phone and for a while, they just sit together and explain. The professor leaves them to settle in, eventually, and they start to take in the house properly.

It’s in a good state, like the professor said, well-kept, but clearly empty, and it has been for a while. Shinichi can barely detect any traces of the time when Shuichi Akai used to live hear disguised as Subaru Okiya, but the marks of his own time are just to clear. It’s not like he just left—his math homework isn’t still lying on his desk or anything, but there are just so many memories flooding his mind it’s almost unbearable.

Haibara strolls around more curious than anything. She’s been in here before, but she never lived here, so it must be different for her. She can still sense his discomfort, but she doesn’t say anything. They are good at leaving room for each other’s pain. Not in a bad way, it’s more like he feels he’s still allowed to feel it. She understands, at least a little bit. And in any case, her company helps ease his discomfort anyway. No matter how long this house has been his home, for the past four years, his home was Haibara.

They spent the afternoon bringing the little amount of things they own from the FBI apartment to the house. It’s not a lot, mostly Haibara’s lab utensils and the cat tree for a cat they no longer have, but it’s something to do. Eventually, they put sheets on in Shinichi’s room and the guest room and go to sleep. Tomorrow’s gonna be a new day. The first new day of their lives.

They first look at the media again the nest day at breakfast. The professor had the foresight to bring some food over for them, since their fridge is completely empty.

“Looks like everything’s going over pretty well.”, Haibara says, which is good coming from a chronical pessimist like her.

“No signs of anyone connecting you to Sherry?”

“No, but that can still happen.” Haibara clicks on another news side.

“Well, then we’ll deal with it when it comes to that.”, the professor says.

Just as he’s finished the sentence, Shinichi’s home phone starts ringing.

Three pairs of eyes stare at the receiver.

“I didn’t think that was still connected.”, Shinichi says.

“Your parents must have kept paying the bill.”, the professor muses.

Haibara just grabs the phone and picks it up.

“At the Kudou residence?”, she says, sounding much older than twelve.

Her eyebrows raise as she listens to whatever the command is, then she covers the mouthpiece with her palm.

“They are asking you for another interview.”

Shinichi frowns. “Didn’t I say everything there is to know at the press conference?”

“It’s a magazine called Red Hearts. Apparently, they want to ask their own questions.”

“That’s a weird name. Is it a true crime magazine or something?”

Haibara looks at him. “I’m pretty sure they mostly do celebrity gossip.”

Oh.

“Oh.”

Haibara gives him another look, then she pulls her hand off the mouthpiece again.

“I’m sorry, but Kudou-san isn’t available for interviews at the moment.”

And with that, she hangs up.

“Thanks.”, Shinichi says, but before he can say anymore, his phone rings again.

“You might want to unplug that”, the professor suggests.

After breakfast, Hattori calls. The call actually comes through, because unlike what feels like a million gossip magazines, Hattori calls his cell phone.

“Have you heard about Neechan?”, Hattori asks without a greeting. “I was so busy wrapping everything up, I only got Kazuha’s text this morning…”

“Ran?”, Shinichi asks, and feels fear growing in him, “What about her?”

“Reporters cornered her about your being back at her concert last night. I don’t think she’d seen the news yet, and she just collapsed.”

Shinichi feels his heart speed up.

“Is she alright?”

“She’s at the hospital now, but she’ll be fine. I think it’s some kind of stress-shock thing.”

“I see.”

Shinichi curses himself internally.

“Do you think I can-?”

He doesn’t need to finish his question.

“Only family’s allowed to visit right now. Everything else is too much stress.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

“Do you want me to come over?”, Hattori asks, carefully. He’s offering his comfort.

“No, that’s alright, you have your job to do.”

“If you’re sure.”

“Yes.”

Shinichi relays what happened to Haibara and the professor in short sentences.

“I should have called her right away.”

“You should have.”, Haibara says.

Shinichi sighs. He knows that’s who she meant the previous day at the police station, but to be honest, he doesn’t know what he could have said to Ran at all.

He had left her without an explanation, so shortly after they’d gotten together, and now she has her own life. She’s so successful (not that Shinichi’s surprised about that, she’s brilliant) and happy, probably. Coming back to that now doesn’t feel right. He doesn’t have a right to interfere with it.

“I didn’t want to mess her life up all over again.”, he says.

The other two just stare at him.

“Oh Shinichi”, the professor says, “that was gonna happen anyway, no matter what you did.”

His parents arrive in the early afternoon. It’s even weirder than the phone call, all messy and emotional.

They keep hugging him and promising to do better, to take care of everything and Shinichi isn’t quite sure what that even means. He’s glad to see them, but they’re just- so much and he isn’t sure what to do with all that affection.

And there is something else about them, the way they look at him.

Haibara of course doesn’t notice it anymore, having been there through all of it, and the professor has overlooked it quite easily. Other people have looked, of course, but it hadn’t mattered as much—they didn’t know him.

But with his parents, Shinichi could see their disgust at his mangled body, and their terror at the weakness in his legs and his occasional painful huffs. All the pills and the tests had taken a toll on him. Shinichi’s entire being freezes at the thought of those labs—but he’s come to be used to the side effects, or at least he can ignore them. Seeing other people’s reactions makes it worse.

Still, his parents offer their help readily, even desperately, and they get directed on dealing with the media—as in, actually dealing with it, beyond unplugging the telephone.

In the meantime, Shinichi tries to leave a message for Ran. He owes her something, an explanation at least, even if he wants so much more. He knows she still has the same phone number and he knows that by heart, so he calls her. She doesn’t pick up. She probably doesn’t even have her phone, a source of stress, and she’s in the hospital to avoid that. Shinichi still leaves a message, then he sets out to find another way.

He ends up finding a number for the band’s management on the internet.

He isn’t really surprised when Sonoko picks up.

She lets of her business greeting.

“Sonoko, it’s Shinichi.”

The other line is silent.

“Listen, I know I treated Ran terribly, ghosting her for all these years, but-“ He breaks. He can’t make excuses for himself. He knows why he did what he did, but it doesn’t make it a better thing to do.

“Anyway, I owe her an explanation at least, if she wants it. Please tell her that when she’s better.”

“I’ve seen the news.”, Sonoko says, and Shinichi understands that she understands, at least at some level.

“Yes.” He doesn’t know what to say to that.

“I’ll tell her as soon as she can have visitors.”

“Thank you.”, Shinichi breathes, the relief lightening his chest immensely.

“You better behave like a decent human.”, Sonoko says, and the tension is falling from her voice.

“Of course”, Shinichi says.

“I’m glad you’re still alive, jerk.”

With that, she hangs up.

Shinichi doesn’t hear from Sonoko or Ran for the next couple of days. His parents dodge questions about her for him and sick the police on reporters tenting in front of the house.

Hattori comes by, as well as social workers to check up on Haibara.

The professor and his parents join forces with her to get them both to therapy, and Shinichi can’t find a reason to argue.

Someone starts an online petition for him to get a high school diploma in recognition for his service to public security, which of course, makes no sense whatsoever, since those things are completely unconnected.

He actually gets a tentative offer to work for the Public Security Bureau from Hattori’s boss as soon as he’s recovered, but Shinichi declines. If he can help it, he will never hunt an evil organisation again.

“I’ll stick with the regular murders.”, he says, which earns him a horrified look by his mother.

“I’ve always been a detective”, he tells her, later, “I couldn’t stop if I wanted to.”

She smiles and reaches to straighten his hair.

“I know, Shin-chan. Can you just try and never get in danger again?”

“I’ll try.”

Truthfully, he’s almost surprised he hasn’t run into a dead body yet. They still follow him around, even after all these years.

If he was in any way superstitious he might think the thought jinxed him, because the very next day, after therapy, he and Haibara try to do something normal for once and get hot chocolate (he’s not allowed to have coffee anymore, it makes the shivering worse) a guest drops dead in the café.

Shinichi solves the case and Megure comes to talk to him afterwards.

“My superiors and I had an idea, concerning your situation right now…”

Shinichi asks to think it over.

When Ran calls, he doesn’t expect it. He honestly didn’t expect her to call him herself at all—he had been prepared for a message from Sonoko, or Hattori, maybe.

He’s actually expecting to hear back from Haibara when he needs to pick her up. She went over to the professor’s house to be reintroduced to the remaining Detective Boys and Shinichi is almost as anxious about it as she is.

He’s basically just staring at the clock waiting for her call. The circus has died down a little, and now Shinichi finds himself with more time at his hands then he knows what to do with. Most of it is occupied by therapy and doctor’s appointments to help with his arguably bad physical condition, but there still is too much calm to take in.

He doesn’t even look at the caller ID when he picks up.

“Do you need me-?”, he starts, assuming it’s Haibara.

“Shinichi.”, she interrupts him and suddenly his mouth is all dry.

“Oh, I thought you were Haibara.”, he says, a little nonsensically. “I was supposed to pick her up.”

He doesn’t really know why he explains himself.

“Ai-chan.”, Ran says, “I heard she was with you. I’m glad. We all thought she was dead.”

Too, is what she doesn’t say.

Haibara’s name sounds weird in her voice. Shinichi hasn’t heard it said like that in so long. He wonders if Ran finds it strange that he calls her by her first name.

“She’s a good kid.”, he finds himself saying.

“I know.”, Ran says. He almost forgot she knew Haibara, too.

“Listen, Ran”, he says, determined, not so sure what for.

“I did some things to you that aren’t excusable and nothing I can say can make them undone.”, the sentence comes out too fast, to rapid. He wills himself to slow down. “But I did have my reasons. If you want to know them, you have a right to.” He stutters. “I guess what I’m saying is, I owe you an explanation. Only if you want it, of course.”

Ran sighs through the line. There is something else. Shinichi thinks she might be crying, but he can’t be sure.

“Are you okay?”, he asks hesitantly.

“I’m- this is just a lot.”, she says.

“I understand completely.”, Shinichi says, but he is still disappointed. He wants to see her so bad.

“No, wait, I still want to talk to you.” She hesitates and Shinichi’s hear soars. “Can you meet me tomorrow?”

Shinichi doesn’t tell anyone about the meeting beforehand. He probably should, but he just can’t bring himself to. Every time he tries to bring up the topic, something stops him. And then it’s time to go.

So when he sits down at the small bar Ran picked out, nobody knows what he is doing. It’s a strange bar. He seems to be the only customer, but he’s also here quite early in the day, not really the best business time for bars.

There are billiard tables in one corner. Shinichi wonders if Ran plays. The old man behind the counter takes his order and Shinichi flips over the card looking for non-alcoholic options (alcohol also doesn’t mix well with his body), landing at chocolate ice cream. Well, why not.

Ran arrives only a few minutes after him.

They stare at each other for a second.

“It’s private here.”, Ran says, obviously feeling the need to explain the strange meeting place, “no paparazzies, no dead bodies. Hopefully.”

Shinichi smiles a little, eyeing the old man. “I really do hope so.”

They sit down.

“How are you doing?”, Ran asks, like they are just casual acquaintances catching up. Her eyes slide over his mangled body.

Shinichi shrugs. “I’m getting better. Lots of physical therapy, and other therapy and special diets.” His hands tighten. “I’m probably going to get a cane.”

“I see.”, Ran says.

Shinichi meets her gaze. “Did you-?”

“I read the articles.”, she shivers, “About the experiments and-“

Shinichi can’t help but shiver as well. He averts his gaze.

“I’m sorry you had to read that.”

She shakes her head. “No, I’m glad. There is only one truth, right? Even when it hurts me.”

Shinichi has to look at her again.

“I’m sorry.”, he whispers, Even though he had sworn not to say those words. He doesn’t have a right to ask for her forgiveness. He doesn’t deserve it. But he wants it, so much.

“Tell me what happened.”, she says, her voice quiet.

Shinichi tells her.

He talks about it all. How it started, Conan, how he realised he had to disappear, all the times they almost got him and how they finally did. His escape. Haibara, and even her cat. She doesn’t interrupt him, not even once. He talks for hours. When he is finished, she is silent.

“I’m sorry”, he says again, and mentally scolds himself.

“No”, Ran says, “it’s just- I understand.”

He stares at her.

“I understand what you did and why. I know you. You had to do it. But I would have understood back then, too. You could have told me right away, when you told the professor. Or in Kyoto, or any of the other times. In London. I would have understood.”

“I-“ Shinichi doesn’t know what to say.

“I could have helped you—there are so many things in that story, if I’d known, it would have been so much easier—why didn’t you just tell me?”

His throat is dry, he’s not sure if it’s because of all the talking he did, or some other reason.

“I didn’t want to hurt you.”, he says, eventually.

Ran doesn’t cry. She doesn’t yell either. It scares him a little. He wants her emotions so he can deal with them, but she’s so calm.

“You just hurt me more, can’t you see that? I always knew you weren’t telling me everything and then you just disappeared, I worried so much, I cried all the time.”

“I know, I- it was wrong of me.”

She nods and looks at the floor.

Shinichi wants to see in her eyes and make it all right, no matter how.

I love you, he thinks and maybe it’s even more true than ever before.

He doesn’t. He has no right to say it, even less so, than ‘I’m sorry’.

“Ran”, he says, desperately, “do you want to never see me again? Because I would understand and I would, just tell me-“

She looks up and this time her eyes are full of tears.

“Of course not, you idiot.”

He feels his eyes fill with tears as well. It’s stupid—this is a good thing and he’s never been a crier, but he can’t hold them back.

She surges forward and hugs him so tightly he almost can’t breathe, but in that moment, he doesn’t want to. He just wants to be held by her forever.

“You’ve been my best friend for almost all my life”, she says against him, “I thought you were dead and I never got over it. I’m so glad you’re still alive!”

The tears come harder.

“I don’t deserve that”, he whispers in her hair, “not from you.”

“Oh Shinichi”, she says, “you are so much better than you know. You did so much good and even if you hurt me, you deserve all the things in the world for that.”

——-

Unedited, I’m sorry for typos and terrible writing but this is eleven pages long and I really need to go to bed.

@mintchocolateleaves, @sup-poki

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mintchocolateleaves · 5 years

Text

On the Blinding of Sunlight (1/3)

Summary: It doesn’t take a detective to realise that this a fairly obvious encounter of what would call a one night stand. Does Kazuha even remember?What does he do if she does? What does he do if she doesn’t?

Notes: Another for the ‘In the Nature of things’ series. Just a note, everyone is about 24/25. And they never confessed when they were teenagers. Hope you all enjoy!

Heiji wakes to discomfort.

Not an aching sort of discomfort, or a painful one, but rather, to the cold. He hardly ever sleeps in his clothes, usually overheats during the night when he wears too much alongside his blankets, but now, he feels goosebumps rising up his arms. He supposes that it’s because his duvet is pooling around his legs, leaving him bare in his not-quite-warm enough apartment.

For a moment, he blinks, wearily, at the ceiling. It takes a few seconds to confirm that yes, this is indeed his ceiling, although he’s not sure why he’s wondering whether it’s his own in the first place.

Maybe his brain is recalling things that he’s incapable of remembering just yet, in his half-awake state.

Heiji decides not to overthink it, and opts on reaching down for his blankets instead, tugging them up.

Two strange things happen as he does so. The first, is that there’s a resistance to the duvet that does not usually exist. The second, is that the area where he touches his sheets are slightly sticky, soiled.

Heiji, twenty-four and having just made detective, does not take long to figure out what the stickiness is from. Which is irritating, frankly, because he thought that at this age, he would be past the whole, wet dreams stage of his life.

Apparently fucking not.

Great.

But then, why the resistance?

Now, Hattori Heiji is good at deductions, is good at finding the evidence and putting two and two together, linking information well enough to build a pretty decent timeline of events. He’s good at connecting the dots. Intelligence isn’t something he boasts about, often, but he certainly has a wealth of it.

What Heiji is not good at, is waking up. He’d been a morning person as a teenager, but like many things, he’d grown out of it, and now he needs a shot of coffee each morning to properly wake himself up. It takes his brain a little while to catch up with the rest of him if he doesn’t.

So, for a few seconds, there is no link between the resistance of his blankets, and the soiling of his sheets.

But then, there is movement beside him, and Heiji’s heart heaves in his chest. He takes in the faint sound of breathing beside him, and his own hitches. He takes note of the extra dip in his mattress, and the penny drops.

It doesn’t take a detective to realise that this a fairly obvious encounter of what would call a one night stand.

He blinks, opens his mouth and is faintly glad when he doesn’t hear a broken sort of internalised screaming. His mouth is dry and his throat is raw, and he hopes that this is from the alcohol and not from the evening that’s just passed.

Perhaps the most worrying thing is that Heiji can’t really remember much of the previous evening. There’d been a party, a celebration for his promotion, and there’d been a fuck ton of alcohol.

There had seemed to be a sort of consensus among the colleagues that could attend, that he was to get completely fucked up.

And blacking out, seems to show that they’d succeeded. Heiji drunk too much and now, there is someone in his bed who should not be there.

He doesn’t want to turn around, worried for who it might be. Someone he knows would lead to awkwardness, he knows, and if it’s someone he doesn’t know, then that’s probably even worse. Or maybe better… you know, Heiji doesn’t know.

He’s not exactly done something like this before.

He’d never thought that he’d be the type to have a one-night stand, always trying to save himself for Kazuha – that idiot – if she wanted him, after he finally gets around to offering his confession.

Heiji was meant to save himself for the woman he’s in love with not–

He turns.

– The woman that he’s in love with?

Kazuha?

You know what, Kazuha is always welcome in Heiji’s bed, if anyone belongs there it’s her, but he kind of would like to remember the entire ordeal of how she got there. In the vivid detail he deserves, and yet does not recall.

(Kazuha?)

Fuck. Why doesn’t he remember? This is a sort of cruel victory.

Heiji decides not to overthink it. He can figure what happened later, find a way to remember everything later on and it’ll be just… fine. Hopefully.

His eyes dart down to Kazuha’s body. She’s wrapped up in his blankets – she’s always been one to steal blankets, jeez, what a menace – but her shoulders are bare, as are her calves. She curls in on herself in the foetal position, breathing even and relaxed, oblivious to Heiji’s own internal conflict.

Does Kazuha even remember?

What does he do if she does? What does he do if she doesn’t?

A sigh. Heiji can hardly go back to sleep like this now. Not now, not when he doesn’t know if Kazuha waking up beside him will cause some… horrible change to their dynamic or something. Not now that he’s wound himself up, and he’s near to freaking out.

Looks like he’s going to have to get up then. First, a shower – he always does his best thinking in the shower. Then, breakfast – he always does his second best thinking around a mouthful of food.

Then, when he’s got a stomach full of food, he’ll decide what to do next.

Kazuha?

(He still can’t believe that they probably…)

Halfway through reheating miso soup, Kazuha makes herself present.

She enters the kitchen in one of Heiji’s shirts, which isn’t actually that strange, since she usually stays over in his spare bedroom on short notice, stealing shirts as bed clothes. He probably won’t get it back, because she steals clothes and never gives them back, but that’s the furthest thing from his mind.

Wearing his clothes is constantly distracting, but now with his memory, he finds his eyes lingering a little longer than usual and – dammit, he just got out of the shower, Kazuha, don’t do this to him.

Alright, all he needs to do is play it cool, Heiji can do that. He’s the epitome of cool, it’s not difficult, and so he takes a deep breath, and plays it lukewarm instead.

“Mornin’,” he says, and of course, his voice is scratchy, breaking ever so subtly. Luckily, neither of them brings any attention to it. It’s going to be one of those days, he supposes, which is just… marvellous.

Kazuha is still her usual relatively evil self though, because she looks at him, raises an eyebrow and smiles, “morning.”

She is never usually this nice to him before noon. Unlike Heiji, she’s never been a morning person, and so whenever she wakes, she spends at least thirty minutes being grumbly, getting angry at little things he does, like opening his mail too loudly, or turning the radio up too loud.

Then, she’ll move on to the fact that she could be having a lay-in right now, or a bundle of naps, and she’ll fixate on it for a while, nose crinkling and eyes bright as she talks about getting more sleep.

(Admittedly, Heiji usually just listens at this point, offering nods at all the right places, so that she doesn’t find out that he’s fantasising joining her as she does the same things. He’s taken to fantasising a lot of domestic shit with Kazuha these days, napping together, watching crappy T.V shows together on his old, tattered sofa.)

Despite himself, Heiji is suspicious. He’s either done something very wrong and now Kazuha is offering him a false sense of security, or, he’s done something very right and he can’t remember how to replicate it for the future. He doesn’t know which it is, only which he hopes it is.

“Miso soup?” He offers when he realises, he’s staring. He points to the stove where he’s stirring the soup. It’s basic, his version, but it’s still filling beside the rice, and it’s got a lot more flavour than the soups he’s made in the past.

He’s not really the best at cooking.

“Sure,” Kazuha says, leaning against the counter and staring. Which is another warning sign, because she’s not throwing jibes out at his cooking – she usually does. “Did you remember to put the rice on this time?”

Ah, there it is.

Heiji forgets to put the rice into the cooker once and apparently that’s it – something to be held against him for the rest of his life. Well, excuse you, Kazuha, Heiji actually did remember this time. It was the first thing he did this morning when he got into the kitchen.

(He always makes sure to do it first, because yeah, he’d probably forget it again. But that’s so not the point he’s trying to make. Shut up Kazuha.)

“Idiot,” Heiji says, but it’s warm, like usual, “of course I remembered. I’m not useless.”

“Juries still out on that one,” Kazuha jokes.

Heiji glowers. He grits his teeth, shakes his head and mumbles, “oi.”

Because she is both evil and some sort of temptress, Kazuha leans forward – enough for Heiji to realise that she’s not wearing a bra – and smirks. She must have some idea what she’s doing to him, right? She does, surely?

And then, an excellent deflection: “Do you have any eggs?”

Heiji is a fully functioning adult who lives two minutes from the convenient store, of course he has eggs. He takes a second to lean over, open the carton. Err – well. Of course, he has a… single egg?

Wow – he hadn’t been expecting to be running so low on the eggs. Heiji would blame work, the stress of early morning wake-ups, but really, this is on him. Maybe he should start writing a grocery list or something. It would help make him into like… a competent adult or something.

A pause. Heiji glances at the egg. It is a testament to how much he cares for Kazuha when he says, “final one, ya want it?”

Some would say that giving his food away to someone else when he’s so possessive of it the way he is, is progress. Or some shit like that. Probably Kudo, it sounds like something Kudo would say in passing.

Fuck Kudo and the voice of reason that lives in Heiji’s brain.

Kazuha lifts a hand to her chest, as if shocked, and overwhelmed. She widens her eyes and looks, for a moment, comically lost.

“You, offering me the last of your eggs?” She gasps, “Heiji you’re spoiling me. Do you have a fever?”

Heiji rolls his eyes. And for a moment, they’re just as playful as ever, are still just usual friends, no awkward air around them. Which is nice, yet confusing. Overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time.

Although, as he’d wondered earlier – does Kazuha even know? Heiji himself only knows because he’d woken up beside her, because he’d had the evidence to sort through. But he’d been gone by the time Kazuha had woken up.

So, does she know that they–

Heiji is going to drive himself crazy, he just knows it. Should they be talking about this, or sweeping it under the rug? What is the protocol for moments like this?

There’s a nervous energy in his stomach and it’s starting to make him feel a little sick.

He would ask someone but there’s only three people he’d ever consider using as a confidant and all of them are out of the question. There’s Kazuha herself, which is just – nope. It’s not possible to confide in the person he’s got the… problem… with in the first place.

There’s Kudo, but well, there’s only so much he can share with his friend before it’s pushing things and Heiji kind of thinks this would be pushing things a little bit.

(Plus, like, Kudo did spend like, eight years pining after Nee-chan, he’s probably not the best person to go around asking romance advice for.)

And then, lastly there’s Kudo’s girlfriend, Ran, Nee-chan. A close friend, but much closer to Kazuha than with him. And Kazuha is probably going to need a confidant if she does remember anyway, so…

Looks like he’s going to have to wing it. And by wing it, Heiji means: hey, watch as I fuck this up because I honestly have no fucking idea what I’m doing.

God, he hopes that Kazuha is mentally more prepared for this than he is. She probably would be, you know, she’s in touch with her emotions a lot more than he is.

“Coffee,” he rasps after a second, because coffee is always good. Kazuha stills, looks at him with a frown, brows drawing together with concern. “I need some coffee, you want some?”

“Uh,” Kazuha blinks, pauses. “Sure? Heiji, are you okay?”

He is, and he isn’t. Heiji is confused and nervous, and fuck, he’s a little bit terrified too, whether this is going to cause a whole big new change. Heiji’s never liked change, it draws itself out, it makes everything different and unchartered.

Heiji doesn’t remember shit, he’s panicking and really, what he needs is to sit down, drink his coffee and process everything.

“Yeah,” Heiji says, straining for a smile and waving the comment away. “Y-yeah, fine. I just need to wake up, is all.”

Kazuha doesn’t call the lie out, but he’s pretty sure that she picks up on it. She knows him better than he knows himself, sometimes, so it’s definitely not gone over her head.

She smiles, it falters a bit as she glances away, but returns within seconds, bright and happy again. She says, “make the pot strong for us both. Jeez, mornings are the worst.”

Heiji lets out a faint laugh. He says, “They really are.”

And that, is that.

#It's a HeiKazu fic and I hope you all enjoy it lots and lots!#Hattori Heiji #Toyama Kazuha #DCMK #HeiKazu #KazuHei #HeiZuha #Detective Conan #mywriting #fic: On the Blinding of Sunlight #In the nature of things

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trouvelle · 5 years

Text

Emogust 26.08 — Roommates

A/N: Halfway through writing this... I realized I had no plot. This is simply a plunnie heavily inspired by (if not based on) Friends! Forgive me ;A; School just started again, I had to tearfully bid my goodbye to summer break, and that resulted in this really late entry. @mintchocolateleaves @sup-poki ily’all !!

In the years Kaito has been legally allowed to drink, he’s made some pretty important discoveries about himself.

The first is that he really, really appreciates their guys’ night in. They do shots when they first start hanging out, sit in the corner of Saguru’s apartment (because he doesn’t have any roommates nor a girlfriend who would kick him in the ass for drenching the apartment with the smell of alcohol). He likes having his back against the cold concrete wall, the liquid cooling his throat as he feels the familiar buzz swelling in his stomach. But no matter how pleasant, it’s not really worth the shivering, anxious mess it makes him the next morning, when he’s trying to fight off the raging nausea.

He steers clear of tequila for a while after that.

So it probably should have been easier to foresee, the other discovery. Kaito and Heiji both bond really well. And they both can be really persuasive especially on the nights when Shinichi and Saguru want to be completely sober. Their excuse has always been the same—that they have jobs they want to keep. Come on, all of them have to go to work too in the morning, goddammit. Those two just don’t want to admit that they’re fucking lightweights.

Kaito just doesn’t want to be alone in his misery. Heiji knows this, knows that Kaito is a social drinker, likes it only when he’s got someone else worse off than he is. The Osakan himself is never one to back down from any challenges. And Kaito is an impressionable drunk, will do just about anything so long as someone thinks to ask. They’re an awesome pair.

The last discovery he makes isn’t so much a discovery as it is a revelation and an inquiry. And it isn’t so much made as it is stumbled upon in the dark with bare feet and a whole lot of disorientation. It happens one of the nights when all four of them were hanging out and drinking in the huge apartment that Kaito, Shinichi and Heiji share.

And Kaito finds out that he’s really bad at keeping things to himself like this, when it’s just the four of them, a little buzzed and a lot open. He feels like he could tell them anything, because they know him now, they’ve stuck together and survived four years of college. That’s saying a lot.

So he feels safe, and he doesn’t even turn to one of them when he says, “I haven’t said “I love you” to Aoko. Do you think I should say it now?”

He doesn’t even notice the room had been so loud until it goes silent. It feels like a blanket, thick and heavy and stifling, and he turns his head to find Heiji staring down at him incredulously from the couch. He’s sitting with one leg thrown over the side. It’s close enough that Kaito could reach out and grab his ankle down, if he wanted, if he didn’t feel like that might not be such a good idea right now. “She’s not here though,” The dark-skinned guy points out.

Kaito regards his roommate in annoyance, “Thanks for stating the obvious.”

Even Shinichi pipes up, “You mean, this whole time you two have been dating, you’ve never once said it to her?"

He winces. “Is it that bad?” he asks, because why the hell not? They’ve all shared secrets bigger than this, right? This isn’t even that big a deal, in the grand scheme of things, whatever that might be. “Although I probably shouldn’t ask you. I know you and Ran say it all the time.”

See, it’s unfair because their situations are completely different. Shinichi and Ran has been together since forever. The pair are a match made in heaven. Shinichi has a steady job as a professor in Tokyo University (The hottie of the Criminology Department, as Shinichi himself puts it.), and Ran is the star teacher in Teitan. Their relationship is solid. Their parents are also really good friends, and they’re bound to get married one day, if not soon. Shinichi is the type to, say, seize every opportunity he can get. That includes telling his girlfriend that he loves her every chance he can. But it’s also because he’s a big, sappy softie underneath his ever-silent and calculating exterior.

The sole reason Kaito has been hesitating to say it to Aoko is because he isn’t sure that he can make her happy like Shinichi does with Ran. He knows full well that Aoko loves him the same way, that she might even love him more than he does. Part of him has always been certain that she’s the one who he will grow old with, because he doesn’t want anyone but her. But what if she can finds someone else, someone better, who can offer her an even happier future for her? He’s an entertainer, for God’s sake, he doesn’t have an elite job in an elite university like his cousin does.

“Are you gonna do it right now?” Saguru asks, chuckling a little under his breath.

Kaito isn’t sure if he’s drunk enough to be that impulsive, just that he feels loose and comfortable. He doesn’t see what the big deal is. Except, it kind of is a big deal. Has been kind of a big deal for a while now, so much so that he’s been wanting to say it for years. Just to say it, because it’s felt like a weight on his chest for too long.

Also because he sees it in Aoko’s eyes, the flash of jealousy in her eyes whenever Shinichi and Ran calls out the three magical words to each other in the smallest of occasion here and there throughout the day. The hint of amusement accompanied by something none other than a dash of envy whenever Heiji and Kazuha calls each other by their infamous pet name “Ahou” like it’s their own version of “I love you”.

“Hang on there. I’m not like Kudo here who needs to say it every five seconds.” He can feel the corners of his mouth sneaking upwards. You know what, maybe he should do it right now. Aoko and the girls’ apartment is literally across the hallway.

If he does it right, it could be a good thing. And this too, is a good thing, this blossoming friendship. Because they are about to have a lot more milestones to achieve.

“Or, you know, you don’t have to verbally say it. Show that you love her through your actions,” Saguru points out, his slim fingers moving in a motion for Kaito to pass him another bottle of beer. Kaito does so with a scowl. “Yeah, like I haven’t been doing that all these times.”

Shinichi decides to give his cousin a little push. “You know, the first time I said it to Ran and she said it back, it easily became one of the most special nights I’ve ever spent with her. But then again, there were also fireworks because we so happened to be in Niagara Falls.”

Heiji face morphs into a scowl. “Yeah, yeah, like you haven’t hogged all the beautiful backdrops already.” But as quickly as his scowl comes, it leaves, his expression changes into a content one. “I remember mine too. It was an amazing night, followed by something even more amazing. Saying those three words can be a way to begin it. ‘Cuz that was also the first time Kazuha and I—”

“Dude,” Kaito narrows his eyes dangerously at him. He’d rather not hear the details, thank you very much.

Knowing that his sister has done it—and quite often too—has made him quite angry at first. Kazuha’s his little sister, and that gives him every right to keep tabs on her and control over what she should and shouldn’t be doing. But the girl is stubborn in every way. Like how he doesn’t approve of her choice of being a model, but she still chooses that path anyway. He’s proud of her all right, because she’s doing so well. She’s appeared in quite a lot of commercials and magazine covers, getting photoshoot offers here and there.

Not that he’s not proud of Aoko too. She’s rapidly climbing her way up the nurses rank in Todai Hospital, and it’s one of the best hospitals in the whole world. “At least none of us has to worry about alcohol poisoning,” Heiji once remarked, “We’ve got an actual living first-aid box with us.”

Kaito’s main concern only lies in the fact that there are many male nurses too in addition to the number of good-looking male doctors who might potentially steal Aoko’s heart away, who would’ve thought?

Speaking of the male population... he turns his attention back to the three familiar faces in the room. Shinichi is now the one leading the conversation, stern and oh-so-like the leader of their little gang. It’s just natural in their dynamic, he thinks.

Shinichi is their all prismatic and crystal-clear fluid, and Saguru is the solid rock, where Heiji is the unpredictable fire roaring all around them, where Kaito is the all-rushing wind above them.

Ten years ago, if someone had told him he would spend most of his time with a Criminology professor, an IT procurements manager with the specialization Statistical Analysis and Data Reconfiguration (it’s amazing how he remembers the exact name of Heiji’s job, seriously, all of them simply refers to him as a transponster)—both of whom highlight as criminal investigators together on the side—and a stuck-up lawyer from a fancy law school in England (Kudo and Hattori both have really boring jobs when they’re not out solving cases, but what Hakuba does is the literal definition of boring), he wouldn’t have believed it for himself.

But oh, look who he ends up hanging out with almost every single day now.

“Just say it, man. She’s been waiting for it.” someone says. It takes Kaito a second to realize he’s watched Saguru’s lips form the syllables, that the words were said in Saguru’s smooth voice.

Saguru smirks, the corner of his mouth curling up. Kaito’s not very sure through the haze of drunkenness, but he thinks he sees mischief and amusement very evident in the blonde’s face. He turns his head to regard Saguru with hard eyes and waits.

“She makes you happy and you make her happy, that’s all,” is what Saguru says next, and almost in sympathy.

Kaito is pretty sure that’s exactly what Shinichi and Heiji have been telling him to do just a moment ago. But it seems what Saguru says is the one that hits the nail, because Kaito’s face goes from nothing—no emotion, no expression—to fierce determination.

And then Kaito stands, grabs a cup of water, downs it in a go and walk out the door, leaving the three in utter dumbfoundedness.

#DCMKEmogust2019 #Detective Conan #DCMK #Kuroba Kaito #Kaito Kid #Kudo Shinichi #Hattori Heiji #Hakuba Saguru #I just had to make kaito and kazuha siblings again bc they'd be amazing siblings #fight me on this #if you missed the friends references..#shinichi is sorta ross #kaito is sorta joey #heiji is sorta chandler #and saguru is idk.. mike? idek yet #but it took so long to decide bc kaito and heiji can both be chandler and joey yknow sksksksk #Friends!AU #oh well this is the friends!AU noone ever asked for #fic

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letitrainasunnyday · 7 years

Note

When I read your answer to that one ask saying that the Nakamichi and Shinichi bond was one of your favourite things I got so happy! Because that's all what I could think about while reading their interactions, how amazing it is that Shinichi has relatively close friends outside his Conan circle. (Even if heiji is still his bro for life, he met him as Conan, and their bond became this strong basically because of Shinichi's situation I think) And it felt good that now we have even more proof (1)

2) That Shinichi is a social and kind of guy that people like to hang with? Because sometimes people represent him as really awkward or disinterested in social activity or as getting annoyed even, and I always found it weird because he’s not like that at all (in my pov of course) Although he’s shy sometimes when it comes to gossiping about his own life (which is normal) he’s really dorky, flirty and fun too. He’s more complex than people give him credit for.

I’m not sure to what extent I agree with you completely. Yes, Shinichi is a somewhat social guy that people like to hang out with. But he is also very incredibly awkward and disinterested many times.

It is my headcanon –somewhat proved by the Ran GIRL and Shinichi BOY chapters/episodes– that before Ran, Shinichi had no friends. I’ve expressed this many times before so I’m not going to repeat myself, but there seemed to be clear evidence of bullying towards him in that first year of pre-school which accounted for him not wanting to go to school, searching for the library as soon as he got there –there was more than just simple reading love to that stunt– and even being reluctant to make friends. Even after he helps Ran out he is still cold and distant with her and Sonoko –probably because he’s scared they might turn on him as well.

His friendship with Ran, in my opinion, is what allows him to slowly open up more and more to people even though he might not be 100% okay with them. I think what you mean about him being social has a lot to do with the fact that he seems to be “charming” whenever he talks to suspects or witnesses or people in those circumstances, but I think that’s more a case of him being obsessed with solving a case rather than it is him being completely social and open to everyone. He’s extroverted for the right reasons, but I don’t think many people known the real him.

I think –well, I know, actually– that he’s one of those people who says a lot without saying anything, so he looks incredibly social and extroverted but in reality no one really knows him. Except Hattori.

Well, and Ran, of course. That’s a given. No one knows him better than Ran.

But back to the point. There is not a doubt in my mind, having said all this, that Shinichi and Nakamichi are true friends. And there is not a doubt in my mind that Shinichi was actually a really popular guy at school –what with being a super cool detective and the star of the football team and whatnot– but there’s a whole universe between that and him being actually super amicable and social. Even his relationship with Hattori is based much more on casework than it is on actual, human, teenage-like things –which is why I am always over-the-moon excited whenever we get them interacting about Kazuha and Ran, and their respective relationships with them, or other more normal topics rather than the organization or some murder that just happened.

Evidently the football club helped in the expansion of Shinichi’s social circle. But it looks more to me like they’re the kind of friendships between guys who gossip about girls every so often and make dumb jokes rather than a serious friendship based on really knowing each other.

That being said, it in no way diminishes the importance of Nakamichi, because, like I mentioned before, it still brings out a rather endearing side of Shinichi. Them not being incredibly close doesn’t mean that it doesn’t show an evolution in Shinichi’s openness or overal social skills. Quite on the contrary, it means he managed to get over that insecurity and start trusting people.

A point that I love about him, to be frank, because despite the horror he lives constantly he still finds the strength to see the good in people and to keep trusting many of them.

#detective conan #shinichi kudo #conan #el famós detectiu que es va encongir #Anonymous #conan ask #shinichi ask

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presumenothing · 7 years

Text

it’s a bird, it’s a plane,

it’s a cloud of detective bats, coming to a crime scene near you!!

or, my first (and probably overdue) Official Contribution™ to halloweenverse au here on tumblr dot com, with long-distance bats to @deductionfreak and @aonomiki aka my conan and heiji enablers respectively

it was, perhaps unsurprisingly, difficult to have a sleepover when neither of you actually needed to – well, sleep.

...this was possibly a problem they should've seen coming. maybe.

not that conan claimed himself to be an expert on sleepovers or anything, but he was fairly certain a proper one was going on over at the toyama house right now, involving at least a reasonable amount of sleep (because ran was there and she'd already made a list of things she wanted to see in osaka tomorrow, which she wasn't going to give up for anything short of a double homicide).

meanwhile, it was quiet enough in the hattori residence that conan could hear hattori take a breath in the moment before he spoke.

"y'know, I heard from the witchy neechan that you've lately been spending an unusually large amount of time in..." hattori paused, waving around in what was presumably an attempt to catch a particularly low-flying word. "...bat form? is that what it's called?"

"well, it is more than one bat, so I suppose the plural would be more accurate." conan glanced over. "but I assume that wasn't your original question."

"actually – " hattori frowned. "I mean, have you ever counted how many there – well, you are? is it, like, a fixed number?"

"have you ever tried counting yourself?" conan asked dryly, though the question was obviously rhetorical. "usually 20, and still not the question you were about to ask."

the sound of hattori clamping down on his next irrelevant question was probably audible from hokkaido. "right, yeah. anyway. excessive bat time. what's up with that?"

a moment of silence passed between them, only filled by the slightly static crackle conan associated with heiji recharging.

"...bat time, really? that's the best you can come up with?"

"shut up, it's accurate ain't it?" hattori muttered. "besides, now you're the one stalling, don't think I wouldn't notice."

"right, because you're observant about everything except kazuha," conan said as distinctly as he could with his face buried in a pillow, ignoring the sound of protests. "ugh, I can't believe ran put you up to this."

"well, she didn't exactly ask, I just – I overheard her telling kazuha about it, and she did suggest this trip herself for once, so – " hattori sat up, tugging at his pillow (halfheartedly, because both of them going at full strength would probably leave it in tatters). "c'mon, kudo, I'm here to help. even kazuha's noticed something off about the two of you, and I don't want her upset."

"in case you lose a limb again?"

"not funny, kudo. believe me, even being a vampire won't protect you from a properly angry kazuha."

conan grabbed his pillow back, hugging it as he turned to stare at the ceiling. "honestly, it's... nothing too major, really, just – I guess bats kind of perceive space – or spatial dimensions – differently? especially when it comes to my own size, and..."

"...being twenty small bats is better than being one small human, is that it?" hattori asked when he didn't continue. conan nodded –

– and let out an oof of surprise when another pillow (hattori's, confirmed by the faint spark of a static shock) landed squarely on him.

"you're right, kudo, it's nothing too major," came hattori's voice from somewhere beyond the impromptu upholstery fort. "because suddenly losing your body as you know it is nothing major at all. no big deal."

conan opened his mouth to say something –

"trust me, I would know," said hattori, with enough irony to rival haemoglobin.

– and shut it again abruptly.

"you're a real idiot sometimes, kudo, did you kno-" hattori dodged the pillow thrown his way, and snickered. "I'll take that as agreement, I think."

"I don't know, you're usually more complimentary towards my intellect," conan grumbled. "now hush, some of us need to sleep."

"no you don't!" hattori announced cheerfully, and conan promptly went bat(s) as one dubiously resurrected detective pounced onto his bed.

hattori attempted to glower at him.

this was considerably complicated by the need to do so in nearly two dozen directions at once, and also by the fact that hattori had tripped over and yanked out his charging wire while doing so.

"owowow," muttered hattori, wincing-or-glowering in some vague direction over the chorus of wings as five bats dove down towards where the wire had fallen. "thanks, kudo, I really apprecia–"

hattori looked up,

and saw the same five bats rapidly gaining height as they held on to his charging wire, all while being careful to stay clear of the live end.

"–'ppreciate it," heiji finished flatly. "very mature, kudo. ha ha."

flapflapflapflapflap, went the five kudo-bats, as they stopped rising to hover two feet above where he was lying down, safely out of reach.

"you can't stay up there forever, you know." heiji paused. "besides, I can just – "

flapflapflapflapflap, went all the other kudo-bats, as they promptly landed on him before he could move to get up.

heiji glared. various numbers of bats stared back, depending on the direction he looked in.

(he had a sudden and foreboding premonition of himself being stuck here until tomorrow morning, pinned down by – heiji did a quick headcount – yep, 20 holmesian bats who were going to take it in shifts to replace the ones holding his charging cord up in the air, all while he slowly but surely ran out of battery.)

"c'mon, kudo, you can't stay up there forever and I feel like I'm talking to myself," heiji said, in a completely sensible and reasonable manner. he didn't know much about bat anatomy, sure, but he was fairly certain that bats weren't supposed to be able to shrug.

twenty bats shrugged at him, including the five who somehow failed to drop out of the air or lose any altitude at all.

(this was ridiculous. they were ridiculous. it wasn't like heiji hadn't seen kudo hitching a ride on the neechan's witch hat, so he knew that the bats could cling onto clothing just fine, and even if any of them fell off they could literally fly, so there was really nothing stopping heiji from getting up right now and –

well. except that dying had done no favours for his night vision, and the last thing he wanted or needed was to accidentally step on and/or electrocute any kudo-bats, because that would be a quick road to homicide via witchy neechan if kudo was out of commission tomorrow, and he didn't think even kazuha could revive him this time.

ugh.)

heiji rolled his eyes and reached up to tug a pillow under his head. if he was going to resign himself to getting stuck here, at least he could do it in comfort.

two of the bats that'd been on his arm took flight as he moved, swapping places with another two who'd been holding up the wire.

"anyway," heiji continued when relative peace had been restored, "you should tell the neechan. she'd understand, you know."

the airborne bats rose another foot, which was about the highest his wire could go.

"you don't want to tell her?" heiji raised an eyebrow. "why, because – that'd remind her that she can't fix whatever curse thing you got?"

the bats went down by half a foot, which heiji took to mean that he'd deduced correctly.

and it wasn't like he didn't understand, kinda – kudo didn't want to make that neechan feel guilty about stuff she couldn't fix, which. well. given the still-improbable stunt kazuha had pulled when it came to him, he wasn't really in a position to say anything.

but, still. letting her worry wasn't much better, at least not in his book, so. “if you don't tell her, I will."

that got no movement on the bat front, though he distinctly felt like he was getting something of a judgemental look from the bat in his direct line of sight – the same kind of Look kudo had when things weren't living up to his particular standards.

the effect was further enhanced by the distinct cowlick each kudo-bat sported.

"...fine, you're right, I wouldn't do that." heiji sighed, and wondered: did each of the bats get allotted 5% of kudo's brainpower, too? or was it more like... cloud computing, maybe, some hive mind thing?

(okay, jeez, he'd never paid attention in those classes – with good reason, they'd never been directly relevant to him and actually still weren’t. he knew enough about the physical characteristics of each species insofar as crime scenes or fights were concerned, of course, but otherwise... his lack of knowledge of other aspects was slowly but insistently becoming apparent.)

his thoughts were interrupted by a yawn, which was more a habit than necessary reflex by now. "point still stands, though, so work out something to tell her before she figures it out herself. and you'd better return my charger now, unless you really want to explain to kazuha and your neechan why we have to stop and look for a high voltage electrical outlet midway through sightseeing tomorrow."

the kudo-bats let out a collective squeak of justified terror at that, and descended with due haste and a wire before collectively swooping down on the backpack he'd brought along.

heiji plugged himself back in before sitting up to watch the bats tug open the bag's zipper and dive in to retrieve – a string of magician's scarves?

...nope, heiji corrected himself, the pieces of fabric were too misshapen to be anything scarf-like, and looked almost like –

one dropped in his lap.

– yep, tiny bat sweaters.

twenty of them, in fact, wielded by a flock of suspciously innocent-looking bats that apparently constituted the Detective of the East.

now in bite sized form, his mind supplied. some rivalry this had turned out to be.

he picked the sweater up, and the bat who'd dropped it circled down to hang upside down from his hand, wings tucked neatly in on either side.

was it the same one from before? maybe, maybe not. honestly, heiji didn't think anyone but the neechan could tell, they all looked too identical each other. and speaking of which – well, witch –

"your neechan made twenty sweaters for you?" he asked, and the bat nodded as heiji flipped it right side up and tried to figure out how to put the tiny garment on. "I don't think kazuha even knows how to knit human-sized ones.”

the now-sweatered bat gave him another of those Judgemental Looks as it shuffled along up his arm to make way for the next bat to land.

heiji shook his arm slightly, and the two bats yelped, wings flailing as they clung on. "fine, fine, I wouldn't be here without her stitching skills, okay?"

the bats appeared to agree with that, from how they were forming a mid-air queue as he put yet another sweater on.

each one was a different colour, he'd quickly noticed, so it was just as well that they hadn't just dumped all of them in his lap at once. that'd have been like a multiple choice question with a negligible 1-in-20-factorial chance of getting the correct answer.

(or, again, basically impossible for anyone who wasn't kudo's neechan. he was starting to see why the two of them were inseparable – in the literal sense, sometimes.)

anyway: bat, sweater, bat, sweater – it was a pattern he was quickly getting the hang of, though he paused halfway through to complain about the massive weight imbalance until the bats deigned to redistribute themselves evenly over both his arms.

he'd pretty much lost count by the time he reached the last bat (dark red sweater, this time), and heiji contemplated the veritable rainbow of bats now dangling from both his arms as he helped to tug the sweater on. "we're real lucky to have them, ya know."

dark-red-sweater-bat chittered in response, and the others echoed in apparent agreement, though they sounded a little sleepy.

well. he supposed that was to be expected – vampires might not exactly need sleep, but kudo was practically a baby by their standards (much as heiji himself tended to forget that) and that probably counted for something.

the bats took flight again – in erratically clumsy paths that landed them on the bed in a haphazard patchwork of knitwear and bat – as heiji tugged at the covers and lay down, trying not to dislodge anyone. "g'night, kudo," he said between yawns.

he was answered only by the briefest flap of wings, and then –

heiji grinned. it wasn't like he was going to tell anyone that kudo-bats snored, was he?

not for now, at least.

(it's futile, heiji, ran already knows and she thinks it's c u t e)

then they somehow overslept and heiji accidentally overcharged himself and therefore spent the rest of the day bouncing off walls rip

EDIT: NOW CONTINUED HERE

#dcmk #detective conan #halloweenverse au #hattori heiji #edogawa conan #mine #fanfiction #i wrote the first 500ish words of this on my phone at 1am this morning and i have the chat logs to prove it #and also the last 750? who knew discord mobile was good for focus lmao #anyway i wAS NOT EXPECTING THIS TO BE EVEN 1K SO #whoops re: the lack of capitalisation #idk i like it like that too #*rover rolls off into the martian distance*#file under: fic written while either half-asleep or very caffeinated

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ferrero13 · 7 years

Text

That Which We Call a Naruto (6/11)

Fic summary

The road to becoming a good Hokage is a long and tedious one. As it turns out, it’s also incredibly confusing — there is no shortage of people who can’t keep track of who he is.

Or, 10 people who didn’t recognise who Naruto was, and one person who did.

Read on AO3

Chapter 6: Civilian Refugee

In which the Seventh Hokage is fond of walking around his village under a transformation.

Kazuha was, in some ways, a little more wary of the new Hokage than most people. The nine-tailed fox had taken her husband and only son from her nearly twenty years ago, and to have its jinchuuriki leading her village was a somewhat…unpleasant idea. Yondaime’s son was not the beast itself, that she knew, but knowing and believing were two very different things.

It had hurt, watching the boy run around the village with that mischievous smile of his. Kazuha’s son could’ve been like that, could’ve been alive. Yondaime may have managed to seal the demon away into his son, but at least the boy hadn’t died. At least he got to grow up, pick up a kunai, and perform his first jutsu.

Sighing, Kazuha tugged the awning so that it extended to shade the bit of the street that was right in front of her shop. The pain had lessened with time, thankfully, but the reminder of what that boy had achieved—Hokage!—where her son never even had the chance was oftentimes the cause of one too many sleepless nights.

“Oh! Kazuha-san!”

Kazuha looked up from where she was pushing a rack into place, the paintings on it swaying a little before coming to rest. “Naoki-san!” she called back, greeting the man who was making his way through the early morning bustle to her shop.

“You’re opening your shop earlier than usual today. Want some help?” Naoki offered. He was a fine young man, the kind of person her husband was, and the kind of person she thought her son could’ve been. He had appeared around the same time war got so bad that Konoha was forced to start receiving refugees, and his unending cheer was something that everyone had been so desperately short of during the war.

She smiled. “If you don’t mind,” she said, gesturing to the racks of paintings still arranged tightly inside the shop, waiting to be pulled out onto the street for display.

“The usual?”

“Yes, thank you.” It was so nice of him, always dropping by. He’d been by often enough that he could probably tell when she sold a painting or put a new one up for sale. The same could be said for all of the other shops along this street, really. Naoki was the highlight of everyone’s morning—she liked to think that he was something of a second sunrise—lending a hand whenever he had time to spare and chatting away like the closet gossip that he was.

“So, Kazuha-san, anything new in your love life recently?” Naoki asked, and she could almost see his eyebrows wiggling even with her back to him.

“What are you talking about? An old woman like me? I’m past the age for youthful dalliances.”

“Ah, but you see, Kazuha-san, Ginbaki-san down the street seems to like you a lot,” Naoki said as he pulled out a rack, arranging it exactly where she would have herself.

Kazuha scoffed. “That old geezer likes every woman who walks past his shop.”

“That’s…not wrong. Ginbaki-san does strike me as the kind of guy who isn’t very picky. How about Testuya-san? He’s been fighting with Ginbaki-san over you a lot lately, ever since you put out that painting of this street with his shop in the corner.”

Kazuha rolled her eyes. “The day I let either one of them touch me is the day I die. But enough talk about me. What about you? Have you found yourself a nice young girl to settle down with yet? Why haven’t I ever heard of you bringing anyone home?”

Now, Kazuha couldn’t claim to be the kind of person who took pleasure regularly from other people’s embarrassment, but watching Naoki turn an earthy shade of red was still better entertainment than watching Ginbaki and Tetsuya bicker two shops down. “Well, I—that is to say, there is someone, but…”

Kazuha felt her eyebrows shoot up. This was new. But then, she hadn’t asked about his relationships before despite having known him for a few years, so maybe it was new only to her. “Really now? Tell me more about this undoubtedly wonderful woman who has stolen your heart.”

Naoki scratched the back of his head in a way that struck Kazuha as vaguely familiar the way the mannerisms of a commonly seen public figure were. “I’ve never known anybody more frustrating. I’m really happy though, even if it still feels like a dream sometimes. I was really lonely until we met, and we probably had the most stupidly ridiculous courtship in all of the elemental nations, but it’s all worth it in the end.”

“Not lonelier than this old woman, surely?”

“Actually, I probably was,” Naoki said, chortling a little. “I didn’t know why but my village was…well, it didn’t like me very much, so I didn’t have friends for a long time. The playgrounds are much better at night anyway—nobody to laugh at your scraped knees,” Naoki joked, but it fell flat when he saw how unamused Kazuha was. He hastily added, “But Konoha is very nice to me right now, and I’m very, very glad that I’m here, so it turned out all right in the end.”

Kazuha frowned. It wasn’t hard to tell that Naoki was giving her a watered down version of things. “I can’t imagine a village disliking a child for no reason, and you’re such a nice young man too. Did you ever find out why?”

“Yeah. Turns out it was something out of my control anyway, so I learned not to care too much. But it wasn’t all bad. I had a really nice teacher, and I eventually made some very good friends. There was also an old man who used to send people to keep an eye on me to make sure I didn’t just end up in a ditch without anyone noticing.”

Kazuha blinked. She could read between the lines well enough and what she saw worried her. What on earth was Naoki’s childhood like, that people had to watch out for him so that he didn’t die? What kind of monsters did the villagers have to be to not care if a child died? But at least Naoki had people who reached out, even if there hadn’t been too many. “Do you miss them?”

“I do miss the old man sometimes. But I’m still in touch with that teacher, and most of my friends are still alive and know where to find me, so I think I’m better off than most people.”

“And you’ve found somebody special, too,” Kazuha said, patting Naoki’s hand gently.

Naoki grinned at her. “Yeah, there’s that as well. I’m really lucky, actually, considering how many of my precious people were active shinobi during the war.”

“You’ve led a hard life. I’m glad you’re not alone anymore.”

“Me too, Kazuha-san. I hope you’ll find the same happiness that I have.”

All was peaceful for a moment, until the sound of people opening their shops was interrupted by somebody yelling at the top of her voice, “Uzumaki Naruto! Where the hell are you?!”

Kazuha sighed, eyeing a pink-haired woman who looked exceedingly irritated. She recognised her as the medic-nin who could sometimes be found nagging the Hokage into taking breaks. For a brief moment, she felt nothing but pity for the Hokage should this woman ever get her hands on him. “Ninja these days don’t know how to keep their voices down.”

Naoki gave a short, awkward laugh. “Seems like people are starting to get up and about. You need help with anything else?”

“No, I can handle the rest on my own. Get going—I don’t want you to be unemployed because I made you late for work.” Come to think of it, what did Naoki do for a living? She hadn’t heard about that either.

“All right. I’ll see you soon, yeah?” Naoki said, walking backwards and waving at her.

“Bring your girl with you next time!” Kazuha shouted.

“Not a chance in hell!” Naoki yelled back, grinning.

Well. It was a long shot anyway. She hadn’t expected it to work.

Kazuha was about to rearrange a couple of paintings when, from of the corner of her eye, she saw Naoki walk up to the woman from earlier who was looking for the Hokage. Curious to know if this was Naoki’s girl, she continued watching as discreetly as she could manage. She had built up her career by being observant, after all, so a little lip-reading was not beyond her.

‘Where have you been?’ the woman hissed. ‘You’re supposed to be in your office, not pretending to be one of your shadow clones. Do you know how hard it is to find you under this stupid henge?’

‘That’s kind of the point?’ Naoki said. ‘Nobody’s supposed to be able to find me.’

‘Look, I don’t normally care if you want to keep an eye on the village, and I actually encourage it even though as your primary physician I should knock you over for sapping an inadvisable amount of chakra. But I expect the real you to be up there, not down here. I don’t want to be killed if he finds you gutted in an alleyway. Leave the wandering to your clones and park your sorry ass on your throne or you’ll never get to wear that hat you like so much again.’

Naoki swallowed visibly, then followed the woman off, his dark hair fading to a familiar shade of blond.

A very familiar shade of blond.

The village Naoki had been talking about hadn’t been some far off, already destroyed pile of rubble after all. And the people who were mean to him, those monsters, they weren’t distant, nameless strangers either.

They were people like Ginbaki, like Tetsuya.

People like Kazuha.

She sat heavily in a chair, staring out onto the street. A little boy ran past her shop, laughing, but instead of seeing her son as she usually did when children passed her by, this time she saw a boy with scars like whiskers on his cheeks.

She remembered that he was a small blond child, far too small for his age. He was laughing, yes, in a way that her son probably would’ve, but there had also been cuts on his face and bruises on his arms, and the clothes he wore were little more than dirty rags. He had caught a head of cabbage tossed at him once and shouted back an obnoxious, “Thank you!” but Kazuha also remembered that the shopkeeper hadn’t thrown the cabbage out of goodwill. It was just a convenient projectile for a vegetable seller.

But the boy just continued to laugh until he turned a corner, leaned against the wall, and let his shoulder sag, shaking as he slowly slid to the ground. For the first time since it happened, she remembered that his eyes were a little red when he finally got up and left, but the brilliant smile on his face—a smile that Kazuha only now realised was hurting him to wear—had easily erased everything else from her mind. It had only been so easy because she hadn’t wanted to acknowledge that she’d seen what she had.

Many things had crossed Kazuha’s observant eyes, but it wasn’t until then that she realised how much of it had gone unnoticed, had been wilfully ignored in order to feed her resentment toward the Hokage, a man willing to protect the people who had once persecuted him. She would like to continue resenting this man who had become a Kage where her son never even had a fighting chance, but it hadn’t all fallen into his lap like a gift like she’d convinced herself it had, and it was hard to be jealous of someone who had to fight tooth and nail for every little bit of kindness.

Kindness that Kazuha hadn’t shown him; kindness that was long overdue.

Uzumaki Naruto—whom she knew as the kind and cheerful Naoki—was a far greater man than she ever knew, and perhaps it was time she started acting like he was her Hokage, not just one in a long line of succession, and not just a ghost of what her son could’ve been. Because, in truth, she was glad that her son never had to live through the abuse that her Hokage suffered at the hands of his village. And if even if he did she didn’t know if he could still find room in his heart to love it enough to want to protect it.

#That Which We Call a Naruto #Naruto #Uzumaki Naruto #Haruno Sakura #SasuNaruSasu #Identity Reveal #Mistaken Identity #AO3 #fic

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