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#gixrsecretsanta2022
dustofthedailylife · 1 year
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Let It Snow
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Pairings: Zhongli, Diluc, Alhaitham x (gn!) Reader (separate)
Summary: Snowy adventures with the boys.
Tags: Fluff (the cavity-inducing kind), SFW, kissing, established relationship (Zhongli, Diluc), unestablished relationship (Alhaitham)
A/N: This is my gift fic for @jellalism for the GI Secret Santa event. Merry Christmas to you and I hope you like what I wrote! I had a look at your blog and saw you also like Alhaitham so I took the liberty to include him as well, because I had a great idea. No biggie if you actually don't want to read his part though <3
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ZHONGLI
"Good morning, love.", the soft baritone voice of Zhongli hummed into your ear. His voice still sounded a little sleep drunk, so you assumed that he must’ve just woken up as well. 
It was still fairly early in the morning. You could tell by the way the light was falling through the cracks of the blinds.
Zhongli lazily draped his arm over your waist, pulled you firmly against his chest, and placed a featherlight kiss on the back of your neck. You felt his shallow and relaxed breaths tickle over your skin, prompting you to push up against him further. If it was up to you to decide, this moment could’ve lasted forever. 
“Good morning.”, you mumbled in response as your lips curved into a smile.
You turned around in his arms, pressed your forehead against him, and nuzzled into his broad chest. He placed his chin on top of your head while he slowly traced circles over your back with the thumb of the hand that he placed over your waist. You lay in his embrace in silence for a while and simply basked in his comforting presence all while listening to the steady drumming of his heart and inhaling his homely scent that never failed to calm you down.
After a while, you slowly got up from bed and tiptoed over to the curtains to pull them open. And what greeted you in front of the window made you gasp in ecstasy and turn around with a smile that was a telltale sign for Zhongli.
“Did any snow fall overnight?”, he asked, propping his head up on his arm in bed and smiling fondly to which you nodded excitedly in reply. “Let us go for a walk, love. What do you think?”
Of course, you agreed and quickly slipped into some warm clothes before rushing outside. It was as if someone had evenly sprinkled powdered sugar all over the ground and the cold air smelled like the icy bliss that the world was covered in. Every sound seemed muffled by the thick layers of snow and all you could hear was the familiar crunch below your boots after each step and the quiet sounds the thick snowflakes made when hitting the ground. 
Zhongli approached you from behind and intertwined the long slender fingers of his right hand with yours. The snow that was falling got caught in his brown locks and his cheeks and nose were starting to become red from the cold. He pulled his scarf a little higher into his face and smiled fondly before gently pulling you along with him by your hand.
A comfortable silence settled between you as you walked. Each other’s presence was enough to feel content.
You eventually let go of his hand when a big frozen puddle came up along the path and you decided to charge toward it and smoothly slide across it. Turning around on your heel with a proud smile in Zhongli’s direction you prompted him to follow suit.
“Come on! Try it as well!”, you cheered him on, seeing a sliver of uncertainty peek through his facade. For how well-mannered and regal he usually acted you always managed to coax a different side out of him that only you had the honors to see. 
He took a run-up and mirrored how you slid across the frozen puddle, or at least he tried. Because unlike you, he slipped at the end of it. A crack in his usual graceful expression exposed itself before he crashed into you, toppling you over in the process and inelegantly landing on top of you. Both of your forms molded a shape into the unscathed snow along the path he had just thrown you in, sending the powdery snow flying and spreading it all over both of your hair and faces.
The next thing you heard were a thousand apologies falling from his lips, asking you if he hurt you and if you were okay. But the only thing you replied with was laughter so intense it made your belly hurt and tears of joy well up in your eyes.
You crossed your arms behind his neck and pulled him closer to your face so that your breath was fanning over his lips. A deep loving gaze into his amber eyes made your heart skip a beat. They would never cease to amaze you all over again.
Zhongli raised one of his hands to brush some of the excess snow of which had landed on your face before gently cupping your cheek. You nuzzled into him with closed eyes, once again making his heart swell with pride that he was able to call you his’. 
Still lying on the frozen ground in the midst of the falling snowflakes he tenderly placed a passionate kiss on your lips that made you forget the cold that had begun to seep into your clothes. 
His warm breath fanned over your face and the cold tip of his nose grazed your cheek before he pressed his forehead against yours and held your face in between both of his hands. Gazing at you as if you were the greatest treasure he ever had the honor to lay his eyes on. And if he was being honest, you were.
“I love you so dearly.”, he muttered.
“I love you, too, Li."
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DILUC
“Luc!”, you yelled as you rushed out of your shared bedroom and down the stairs of the Winery.
Diluc was sitting at his desk, filling out some paperwork before looking up as soon as he heard your voice. You peeked at him with a wide smile before rushing straight for the front door and outside.
Diluc got up from where he was sitting to follow you for whatever you were planning to do outside. The sun was already setting and he watched as you spun around amidst the falling snowflakes. You hadn’t even bothered to put your jacket on or any warm winter clothes for that matter. All you were wearing were your slippers and some comfy but thin clothes.
“Look, Diluc, it started snowing!”, you exclaimed excitedly, spinning around, leaving footprints in the deep snow that fell over the course of the last couple of days.
“You will get a cold, love.”, he remarked and stood in the doorway to the Winery with crossed arms. But you didn’t miss the small smile that played around his lips as he watched you twirl around in excitement.
“I’m not cold.”
You turned around with a smile and stretched your hands out to let the thick snowflakes fall into your palms. You looked up into the sky and watched how they fell into your face, leaving icy specks on your skin wherever they landed. You absolutely adored snow and while it was indeed cold, the excitement and happiness that washed over you made you numb to it.
You rushed down the stairs in front of the winery, feeling the satisfaction of leaving the first footprints in the otherwise undisturbed snow blanket covering the ground. You stretched out your arms before plopping down into the thick snow, creating a snow angel.
Diluc yelled your name and hurried after you as soon as he saw you dropping into the snow only wearing what could be considered a glorified T-Shirt. Although as soon as he arrived by your side he couldn’t help but smile. You were laying in the snow with snowflakes covering your hair and the brightest smile on your face. The one that always made his heart skip a beat.
He plopped down into the snow himself and created a snow angel right next to yours. And you both had to laugh at the sheer absurdity and childishness of the situation.
He paused for a moment staring at you, before half tackling you and throwing you back into the poofy snow. His long scarlet locks fell over his shoulder, along with some snowflakes that had gotten caught in his hair, tickling your face in the process. 
One of the snowflakes that fell down landed right on the tip of your nose. Your skin was already so cold that it didn’t immediately melt. Diluc’s eyes shot up from the flake to your eyes for a brief second before he placed a warm kiss on the tip of your nose to kiss it away. A warm flush crept across your cheeks and you were sure you were never going to love another man as much as you loved Diluc. Every moment with him was like a gift from the Heavens themselves. And you were eternally grateful you were the one who had the honor to see him as you did now.
He felt equal about you, too. Eternally unsure how someone like him managed to find someone as perfect as you. You made his heart feel light and never failed to make him smile even on the darkest of days. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say you were the light of his life.
You took his face between your hands, your icy-cold fingertips grazing his warm cheeks. Both of you gazed deep into each other’s eyes, each mirroring the other’s adoration. Every exhale from each of your mouths crystallized in the cold afternoon air, glittering in the setting sun.
You pulled his face down to your lips and tenderly pressed your lips against his. You felt the cold slowly seep through your clothes and prick at your skin and the slight shiver that had started to settle in but you didn’t even realize you were freezing, for Diluc made you feel so incredibly warm.
He sat up and grabbed one of the hands you had rested on his cheek to pull you back on your feet again. The cold air pricked at your back since a bit of the snow had melted while you had been lying on it, leaving a wet splotch on your clothes.
“You’re shivering, let’s get back inside and warm up, love!”
Diluc draped his coat around your shoulder and led you back inside, never letting go of your hand. He sat you down in the armchair in front of the fireplace and knelt before you, taking both of your hands into his.
A warm glow emanated from the vision on his hip and you immediately felt a shot of warmth seep into every fiber of your being. It was hard to describe the way you felt every time Diluc used his vision on you but it was as if he was pouring his entire heart into your soul. To you, it was the most beautiful feeling in the entire world.
“That feels nice.”
“Getting warmer already?”, he asked with a fond smile painted across his face. “Next time you should wear a jacket.”
“Aww, what do I have you for then? You’re like my personal portable heater!”, you pouted. 
“Oh, so is that all I am to you?”, he inquired with a smirk and teasingly raised an eyebrow at you.
“No.”, you fervently shook your head. “You’re the love of my life.”
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ALHAITHAM
You’ve been sitting in the library for the majority of your morning so being greeted by snowfall as soon as you stepped out of the Akademiya building was the last thing you had expected. After all, Sumeru City lay in the Rainforest area of Sumeru. So not exactly the part of Teyvat that regularly got any snow, if at all. You could probably count the number of times you had experienced snow in your life on one hand.
You walked down the path up to the Akademiya and took shelter from the falling snow under one of the awnings of the stalls. Snowflakes were swirling around you and the air smelled cold and pricked at the skin of your face. You opened your palm and caught some of the snowflakes with your hand, watching them melt upon contact with your skin.
You decided to approach him and plopped down on the bench next to him. He didn’t even bother to lift his eyes off the book to look at who had sat down next to him. But that didn’t deter you, you knew him for long enough to know his mannerisms. Maybe even too long. Because due to that, you knew he was more to you than just a friend.
Suddenly you saw a familiar figure appear in your peripheral vision and turned your head around.
Alhaitham was striding toward one of the benches under a roof. He shook the snow off his hair and clothes and kicked the snow off his boots before sitting down and opening the book he had been holding. His face remained as unphased while doing so, as it always did.
“Not exactly the weather to read outside.”, you remarked.
“I needed some fresh air.”, he replied curtly, not even dropping his book by an inch.
“What are you reading?”
“Combinatorics and graph theory.”
You got up from the bench again and went to gather some snow. You formed it into a ball. Carefully weighing it around in your hand. With a mischievous smirk plastered across your face you flung it in the direction of the Scribe. It landed right on his neck, some specks of snow sliding down into his shirt and making him cringe from the cold.
Ew.
It never ceased to amaze you how he read some complicated science books like light novels. Especially without falling asleep while doing so.
He turned around with a frown, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand and trying to pick the melting ice pieces out of the collar of his shirt in vain.
“What was that for?”, he grumbled failing to hide the little upturn of the corners of his mouth, even with how much he tried to suppress it.
You simply just shrugged, preparing the next snowball to throw at him. But you didn’t get far since he lunged at you to snatch the snowball right out of your hands. He quickly took a few steps back and threw it right at your face in return.
“Oh you…!”, you grumbled with a laugh.
“You picked the wrong person for a snowball fight.”, he stated matter-of-factly, taking a few steps in your direction.
You ran into a side alley in an attempt to escape the next snowball he threw after you. With success. At least partly, because you had run into a dead end. Playfully cursing under your breath you turned around, stretching your arms out left and right in defeat.
“Guess you win.”, you shrugged.
“Not yet.”, he said and put his hand next to your head on the wall you were leaning on. 
He lifted the perfectly round snowball up in front of your face and smirked victoriously. You preemptively closed your eyes, fully expecting him to smoosh it into your face. 
But instead of the cold snowball, you suddenly felt his lips crashing into yours. The unexpectedness of the situation caused you to open your eyes in shock and inhale sharply. You feared your knees would give in any second as they were turned into pudding in the span of milliseconds. Alhaitham’s intuition seemed to be quite on point since he wrapped his free arm around your waist to stabilize you and keep you upright. 
Emotions of unknown caliber washed over you and it felt like a swarm of butterflies tried to escape your core, transporting you right to cloud nine.
As soon as your lips parted again you each looked the other deep in the eyes. Your expression was one of disbelief while he had donned a complacent smile, whispering three words into your ear that damn near made you pass out.
“Now I win.”
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Do not repost, copy, translate or edit - © dustofthedailylife || reblogs, comments, and asks about Genshin or my fics are always greatly appreciated! Maple dividers are mine - do not copy.
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zhongrin · 1 year
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ꦱꦸꦒꦺꦁꦢꦭꦸꦱꦪꦁ
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◇ characters ◇ kaeya
◇ tags ◇ gn!reader, fluff, hurt/comfort, reader is sick and clingy (don't we all-), kaeya is so soggy and in love it's making my teeth hurt
◇ a/n ◇ happy holidays, all!! this is a fic for the genshin impact x reader secret santa 2022 event and is dedicated to @maaarshieee! hi there! we've never really interacted before but i found your blog because of the event and can i just say, your works are so sldkfjlskjdflsd. i wish this was longer but i am out of writing juice and i am hoping that you like the finished product :3
my javanese is super rusty so i might have butchered that title but yk what i am curious how many people can read it lmao no google translate to help you this time- ok fine i'll stop being mean- [en] translation of that title is 'good night, dear'.
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡 ⬙ 𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡
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“kaeyaaaa....”
“darling, go back to bed.”
it’s hard to take kaeya seriously when he’s standing in your kitchen with an apron and a ladle in his hand as he nurses a pot of porridge bought from good hunter this morning.
you pout and wobble towards him, eyes droopy and face flushed from your fever. with his swift reflexes and subtle display of precise control he has over his vision, the cavalry captain freezes off the fire on the stove before catching your body in his embrace. he's going to struggle to light the fire again without diluc's help, but your safety matters most and he doesn't think you'd appreciate your house burning down even in your delirious state.
you then proceeded to nuzzle him affectionately; he’s cool and smells good and comfy - the perfect companion for your feverish self, “missed you.”
“am i so attractive you crave my presence after just ten minutes of being deprived of it, hmm?”
you can’t see it, but a bashful, fond smile spreads unto your boyfriend’s lips when you readily nod against his chest. your sick self might be ten times needier than the normal you and is quite a handful, but he personally adores the way you oh-so-naturally seek and cling to him. it tells him that you need him even when you’re not in a rational state - that you trust him to care for you when you’re most vulnerable.
he’s wanted. he’s needed. by you. the light of his life.
but while he’s so smitten by your endearing self, he, unfortunately, also has to play the bad cop to ensure that you recover well under his care.
“just five more minutes, sweetheart. go lie down and i’ll bring you some food, then you can take your medicine.”
“mmm… don’ wanna…”
“do you want me to revoke your cuddling privileges?”
you look up at him with such horror in your expression, and he urges himself to not break his serious facade. had you known the way you're able to easily tug on his heartstrings, he’s sure it would be the end of him. it takes every bit of his determination to not crumble upon the crestfallen look in your pretty eyes and the slight downturn of your lips.
“… i’m sorry,” you finally say after a few beats of silence, understanding that he's not going to change his mind.
“you don’t have to apologize, love. just go lie down, and i’ll be with you in a se-”
“your day off,” a sniffle leaves you, “our date. i ruined it.”
your guilt isn’t unfounded - the knights of favorius doesn’t exactly have holiday breaks or frequent day offs. after all, disturbances of any kind still happen. rain or sun, summer or winter, hilichurl attacks and nefarious crimes threatens mondstadt and its citizens at all times. and so as the official protectors of the nation, it's only normal for them to be on standby at all times. and yet, now that your knightly boyfriend had managed to take his hard-earned vacation…
the edges of his eyes soften and kaeya hums, raising his hands to cup your burning cheeks and wipe the tear that had just fallen off the side of your eyes. you sigh in contentment at the feeling, and this time he’s unable to hold himself back from pressing a long kiss to your forehead; the cold sensation a pleasant distraction from the burning temperature of your body.
“is that what you’re so worried about? we can always go on dates another time,” he quickly adds when he sees you about to protest his claims, “and i don’t mind taking care of you on my day off. think of it as a repayment for all those times you nurse my hangovers.”
“but…”
“[name], darling,” the teasing lilt in his voice is nowhere to be found when he tilts your chin so your gazes meet, “it’s really fine. as long as we’re together.”
you give him a weak smile and shift to stand on your tiptoes, bringing your lips together in a sweet ki-
“-oops, naughty, naughty,” kaeya laughs from behind his palm that had covered his lips, effectively blocking your attempt at a kiss. upon seeing how offended you look, he laughs harder, hand moving to pinch your puffed up cheeks, distorting your series of grumbled protests. “i’m sorry, sweetheart, but i don’t want to get sick. sharing germs aren’t exactly caring, you see?”
“bu’ i wan a kith-” your plead is muffled against his hands and a fond look crosses your boyfriend’s face.
he’s always been weak to any sort of requests you make, especially if said request involves your ardent desire to profess your affection to him. it took him quite a while to feel worthy of your love in your early stage of relationship, but he has learned to enjoy them immensely now - although that’s not to say that he appreciates them any less. you’re still as precious to him as the first day he fell in love - if not more -now that he’s had a taste of how it feels to belong to you.
“when you're fully recovered, i’ll give you as many kisses as you want.”
“…… promise?”
“promise.”
“okay…”
“good, now that that’s settled - would you like to be carried to bed, your majesty?” your suave knight is back with the question, pearly white teeth glinting as he gives you a dashing smile.
you don't bother answering him verbally, but he still readily held you up the moment you latch onto him like an adorable sloth. it’s a short walk to the bedroom from your kitchen, and you spend the short time of tranquility nuzzling onto the knight’s shoulder, eyes closing peacefully as the feeling of safety wraps you in a blanket.
kaeya lowers you onto your bed gently, helps you adjust your pillow, and tugs the blanket up to cover your body. only when you’re tucked in comfortably your boyfriend allows himself to lovingly pat your cheek and places a kiss on the crown of your head, murmuring something under his breath; a language unknown to most and lost to time.
“what’s that one mean?” you ask drowsily, not recognizing the phrase of this specific one. you can recognize khaenri’ahn for i love you and be safe simply because of kaeya’s routinely reminders, but this one sounded foreign in your ears.
“it means ‘get well soon’,” he says as his palm rests against your cheek, further cooling the warm skin.
“i will,” leaving him with the promise, you drift onto the land of dreams.
kaeya stays for a few minutes and tells himself that it’s only so he’s sure that you’re asleep - and most definitely not because he missed your presence just as much as you did. eyeing your soft, relaxed sleeping face, he holds back the urge to press a quick kiss to the corner of your lips and redirects his target to the side of your temple instead.
another phrase falls from his lips; another routine, although he’s positive you wouldn’t recognize the words either, because he’s always said it whenever you’re sound asleep. it’s a little different than the others, only because in the language, there are a few meanings to those words.
good night.
sleep well.
i’ll be there with you when you open your eyes.
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© zhongrin | 2022 ◆ no repost. reblogs much appreciated. feel free to reach out to submit suggestions, feedback, comments, or if you just want to talk!
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◇ taglist ◇ @thestarsofenkanomiya | @genshinparty | @abyssmal-skies | @hamdehlesmis | @depressivecomforts | @sophiethewitch1 | @why-am-i-here-someone-save-me | @sunnshineflxwer | @heartonthemoon | @yuutasbabe | @percyval-archives | @carbs-need-more-love | @rebeccka | @queen-belial | @stygianoir | @niverine | @silentmoths | @niktwazny303 | @dustofthedailylife | @herdrops | @clovcly | @marina-and-the-memes | @angryhope | @mixed-kester | @shuangxo | @fiannee | @lordbugs | @anonymousficreader | @shizunxie | @ladylofspades | @sup-zfam
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Pagtingin
"I'll just wait for the wind to sweep away my words."
Scaramouche/Wanderer x Fem!Reader.
Fluff; keeping your feelings secret; glimpses of Wanderer before he got his memories back; classic Scaramouche behavior; feel good story.
Heeey, @monicahar, guess I'm your secret santa uwu you know how much I love angst so know how I tried my very best to make this as fluff and kinda crack as you wished! I have FOUR retakes of this because I'm writing for the Scaramouche master writer (first one got rejected cuz it's quite angsty but I hope you liked it!)
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"Mr. Sandman, sand me a saaand," you take a sighing pause, breathing in, and starting again. "Dendro archon, send me a siiiign -"
"What the hell are you singing about?"
"Wanderer!" And there he was in all his glory, arms crossed and stare full of judgment yet stuck to you as you stumbled across the room to reach the windowsill, opening the window to see that - yep, he's floating in mid-air.
The high rising moon behind him framed his ethereal form so beautifully, as if he was a messenger of Celestia ready to take you to the skies above.
You cough to your hand.
His squint lightens, descending to sit on the windowsill so you wouldn't have to crane your neck awkwardly to maintain eye contact.
"There's that Wanderer I know."
The sweet lost foreigner that first stepped foot into Sumeru City with eyes filled with innocent wonder. As a proud citizen and a strange sense of responsibility, you approached the then stranger for an impromptu tour around the humble place, something that he seemed to have needed desperately.
You still remember when he asked about where the sunsettias and harra fruits could be found, in case his employer needed to restock his stall. Of all the beauty that no other nation could compare, he wanted to know where the fruits are.
Safe to say your sudden guffaw had him spooked for a bit, but are you really to blame for how adorable he is for being so new to the world like he is?
It was a nice surprise too when you stumbled upon his fabled stall in the Grand Bazaar one day while he was tending to customers, flustered from the rush hour and his lack of training. Despite not needing it, you willed yourself to buy a watermelon just to talk to him again and give him a better customer service experience.
"Thank you for your purchase - ah, and come again sometime!"
You had to eat watermelon slices for a week because of that impulse buy, but his shy smile was worth the diet change.
But then his overall demeanor changed when you found an anemo vision hanging near his chest, at the same day that he left his merchant work with a blonde traveler. The Wanderer you knew didn't glare like that, talk like that, act like that. It was so quiet between you two, and it felt like he was sizing you up, unsure what to do with you.
"Hey!" His indigo eyes watched you place your hands on your hips with an annoyed huff. "You can't act like this just cuz you got a vision now, getting one doesn't mean you have to change up on me. We're friends still!"
And while his huff and eye roll are baffling to see on your sweet Wanderer, you can't deny his smirk suits him perfectly.
"Look who's the lonely one now." He clicks his tongue, mockingly, yet there were no apparent venom in his words. Back when he asked why you were hanging around him, you told him that he looked lonely too.
("Why are you doing all this? For me? Someone who's -" his Adam's apple bobbed so harshly as he gulped. "A stranger." The way he said those words sounded strangely strained.
"I just thought you looked quite lonely," you settled with no double meanings or deep words those scholars in the Akademiya tend to use. There's no need to beat around the bush with him. Leaning over your stall, you dipped your head under his hat to level his gaze more clearly. "Lonely and a lil confused, like you needed a friend.")
"Yeah, I missed you." He's always seemed like the type of person who wants the blatant truth.
"I -" And his actions had always been honest with you. What with the way he paused and avoided your stare, how he turns his head away and tilt his hat down to hide the expressions he's making. Perhaps your honesty doesn't just come from his preferences. "I suppose that's expected what with you being locked up here for - what? Eight days?"
"Almost nine." Heaving another sigh, your arms hang over the platform as you slump on the spot next to him.
Stuck in your dormitory room because of a flu you caught while out collecting data. While it's not life-threatening for anyone whatsoever, it's still contagious enough for the Akademiya to force you to self isolation until you got better. You haven't had contact with others in days, at least, that's what the Akademiya knows.
Wanderer stares at you with a look that screams out 'why the hell are you looking at me like that?' as you feel a smile force its way to your face, unable to hide it even from him. How could you when the man in front of you, no matter how many times you warned not to get close because of your flu, would only scoff about how ironic it was that you're the one saying those words.
You're thankful that he's confident of his immune system to keep visiting you like this.
He didn't have to visit every day the hour before your assigned bed time, but he's always here on the dot.
Despite the sudden change, Wanderer is still just as easy to read no matter how hard he tries not to be.
"Right, I almost forgot." You watch as he pulled out something wrapped in a beautiful blue furoshiki, the sweet smell already betraying the surprise before he unwraps the baklava for you. "You asked for some yesterday and I didn't want you to whine again."
"Pastries! Oh I love you so much!"
He can remember it so clearly that he could recreate every frame of the scene: The overwhelming feeling in his chest with the tightness in his throat, him opening his mouth before pressing his lips together before the first word could even come out.
Wanderer felt physical pain from the battle in his mind while you happily indulge in the pastry, blissfully unaware of the things you do to him.
Why was he here again after he got his memories back? Why does he keep coming back to this student that showed him around the city when he first arrived?
Lesser Lord Kusanali proposed to keep this connection instead of wallowing in self pity now that the world has forgotten him (that was his own doing), yet it was something that locked him in ball and chain despite having the conscious mind to get away.
Yet the way you immediately turn to him with an amused smile, "Something on your mind?" Easily defeated the clashing virtues debating in his mind. "You want a baklava?"
There was a pained expression on his face as he clutched his hand over his chest, he knows you've seen it no matter how he tried not to look like it. The Wanderer had always been so honest with you that's true, because it was so easy to just be him with you.
But that's not really him, is it?
Puppets like him don't need to breathe.
Yet at that time, perhaps Nahida was right that there really wasn't any difference between a human and a puppet.
"Do you think I deserve a second chance?" He let slip in front of the archon one day when his thoughts raged like the fires of a faraway furnace, too slow to bite his tongue and too frustrated to cover up with a 'forget it.'
Nahida, in contrast, takes time to think things through and watch his body language. From the way he avoids her stare and how his crossed arms looked more defensive of a different insecurity. The god of wisdom doesn't need to read minds to know this is an entirely different case.
"Let's put it this way, what's stopping you from thinking you don't deserve it?" Deserve her, more like.
And his old self would have said nothing, that he deserves everything he desires for all the efforts he had done to get to where he is now. But he's better than that now, no, he's better than that because of you.
Why must he be awkward around you?
Why must he be so hang up on every detail about him and you?
Why must he be so insecure of who he is and who you are?
"Because I'm not human," yet he uttered those words as if he was baffled by his own answer, eyes wide with confusion as he clutched his head. "Yet these days I feel like I'm one."
He practically all but shoved the poor pastry into his mouth, biting down with just a little too much force than intended. Fuck, he hates sweet things!
And so the puppet known as a human does his best to ignore your snickers with how his face contorts into irritation and disgust as the layers melt stickily in his mouth. Oh, he hates you, hates how much he loves you.
He hopes you don't blame him, it's hard to take a gamble with the only chance he's ever getting.
"How's your research going?"
"My proposal is ready, when I'm out of here, I wanna try and get funding to go conduct research in the desert."
"Mhm."
"Then I'll take you with me and tour you there too, I promise the views are worth it!"
"Alright, I'll hold you to it."
So for now, he will keep his peace until he's ready. He only hopes that when he confess his secrets, your opinion of him won't change.
He only hopes... when he reveals his feelings, your opinion of him won't change.
Maybe tomorrow, you'll be his. He can only hope.
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This is loosely based on a song called Pagtingin, with English translations here! That's the vibe I'm going for where the singer is hesitating to confess his feelings because he's afraid that the person he loves would treat/see him differently if they don't share the same feelings.
Tagging: @maehemthemisfit @ireallylikehamsters @chuusposts
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xiaoao · 1 year
Text
For : @hotgirlshit5
Authors note : I'm sorry if this wasn't to your liking ! But I hope you still enjoyed it nonetheless <33 I am very honored to write for you ! This is also for the secret santa <33
Why they broke up with you :
Ningguang :
• As Ningguang as the Tianquan, she is a very busy person. Hence, not giving you enough attention. And to this, not being able to communicate well. Ningguang loved you dearly, but not enough as for mora, and the jade chamber. She decided to prioritize those two items, instead of you.
• It was indeed a healthy breakup, it was not a one-sided opinion, both sides believed that each other should part ways for now. You both loved each other very very much.
Diluc :
• As much as Diluc is very loyal to you, you both needed to part ways, Diluc was, of course, angst it, but is very reasonable with you. You wanted to persue your dreams, you wanted to live in Inazuma, and he very much supported you in your decisions. He still loves you 'til this day, and he is very proud of you.
• This was yet again, a very healthy breakup, he supported your decisions, and you supported him and his winery. You will always be his true love.
Kamisato Ayato :
• Ayato as well, loved you dearly. Him and Ningguang are similar, as being the Yashiro Commissioner, he is a very busy person, he couldn't clear his schedule ever. You always wondered why? Ayato wishes could've spent more time with you.
• It was a half-ish healthy breakup, first part, there was a lot of yelling. But halfway through, it started turning into a normal conversation, just a sadder vibe. Ayato did agree that he should've talked to you more, and whatever you felt is completely acceptable. He understands your pain, and he supports your decision in breaking up.
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venexus · 1 year
Text
winters are better (with you)
featuring: ayaka, cyno & alhaitham
notes/warnings: gn!reader, aprx. 500 words each, fluff, romance, established relationship (ayaka), snow angels (cyno), over-dramatized snowball fight (alhaitham)
hello @naraven !! (my fellow ven in arms haha) i was your secret santa for the @2022gisecretsanta event this year <3 i haven't written ayaka before and im not entirely familiar with cyno or alhaitham in canon universe yet, but i had a lot of fun with these drabbles and i hope that you like them ^-^
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Ayaka’s gloved hand flexes within your own as you walk through Inazuma City, providing steady warmth in spite of the light dusting of snowfall that cascades through the air. The mittens you both wear are ones she has knitted herself, pretty yarn of icy blue and your own favourite colour to mark them as a matching set.
Snow in Inazuma is a rarity, a myth told to enthusiastic bright-eyed children to spark their taste of adventure. Only adventurers really get the opportunity to experience it, if they go to the snowy climates of Dragonspine in Mondstat or all the way to the frozen nation of Snezhnaya. And yet today, you have been granted the opportunity to share such an elusive event with your beloved girlfriend.
“Where do you want to go first?” she asks with bright eyes and a warm smile, oozing with the sort of infectious bleeding energy that seeps into your bones and settles all fuzzy and tender in your veins.
Ahead, the typical street vendor stalls remain open– though most of them now boast seasonal goods and bright coloured signs to attract your attention towards the delicacies on offer. You can see in your peripheral that Ayaka’s attention is directed to a small hot drinks stand, steaming cups of hot chocolate in the hands of those who walk away from it.
“Lets go get a drink, hmm?” you suggest, leading her towards the stall. “My treat.”
“Are you sure?”
She looks at you as though she can’t possibly accept your offer. But when you nod sincerely, already asking the vendor for two cups, she smiles and squeezes your hand a little tighter in appreciation.
The paper cup is hot in your hand as you hold your own beverage, heat seeping through your glove and into your skin, but it is nothing compared to the gentle radiating heat from the hand that remains steadily enclosed in your own. Her slender fingers hold onto yours like she never wants to let you go, like you’ll have to pry the two appendages apart with a crowbar if you even wish to make the attempt.
(Not that you would, you think. You would much rather give up the use of one of your hands for all eternity. You’d give up your entire corporeal form if it meant you continued to see the fond smile that blossoms on pretty pale pink lips every time Ayaka looks at you.)
Ayaka may be the notorious daughter of the Kamisato Clan, rich and powerful and in some incredibly rare cases even feared, but to you she is simply the woman you adore. She is the light in the darkness, the warmth in the cold- despite what her elemental prowess may suggest- and the one woman who has managed to make you feel alive in ways very few people have ever come close to.
And you are surely allowed to treat the sole beholder of all your love and desires to a simple hot chocolate every once in a while.
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Taking Cyno to Mondstat for winter might possibly be the best decision you’ve ever made.
Though the fact that he is already somewhat familiar with the area can be seen as a bonus, it is not the reason you decided to bring him to the land of freedom for the week.
Crunch.
Crunch.
The fresh overnight fall of snow crackles underfoot as you reach the outer edges of Mondstat and Cyno takes a moment to pause and observe the fluffy white blanket below.
He’s seen snow before, of course, he’s not a sheltered man. But Sumeru’s warm rainforest climates do not lend well to the frostier temperatures you find yourself in now, and snow quickly becomes one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences for those who find themselves integrated into the beating lifeforce of the nation of wisdom.
“Come on,” you urge with a smile, taking his hand and pulling him along with you. His eyes widen, but the look on his face settles into a fond smile as you drag him through the snow. “Look, copy what I do.”
Arms splayed out either side of you, as though you’re about to attempt flight, you flop backwards into a particularly soft expanse of snow. Loose flakes flurry around your figure under the impact, swirling in the air and clinging to your clothes.
“What are you doing?” he asks with a dry chuckle, a startled laugh that slides out involuntarily. “You’re going to get messy.”
“Join me,” you beckon, lifting one arm to dramatically curl your finger towards yourself. “Lay down in the snow like I am. It’s fun.”
“It’ll be cold.”
“It’ll be fun.”
And he joins you nonetheless, though with less reckless enthusiasm as yourself. Though hard to see you properly now at this angle, he turns his head to you.
“Now what?”
You giggle and start to splay your arms and legs out, retracting them back in and repeating the process. The snow bunches up either side of the sweeping arcs you create, forming a clear indentation in the ground.
“We’re making snow angels!” you declare enthusiastically. “You’ll understand when you see it.”
Cyno plays along despite the hesitation, and soon enough can’t help himself from chuckling along with you as you both wriggle around in the snow.
“This is ridiculous,” he snorts, “why do people do this?”
“Why not?” you return, shuffling to your feet at last. You’re careful to leave the impression intact in the snow, though some of the edges crumble all the same. Hands on your hips, you admire the masterpiece you have created, before offering to help Cyno stand. “Come on, let’s see what yours looks like.”
By the time he’s at your side, you have already doubled over with laughter. Cyno looks across at you as though you’ve lost your mind, but then he turns back to the little angel he has created and finds himself joining you.
Whilst you have created a rather solid-looking snow angel, perfect circular head and glorious curved ‘wings’, there is a very clear difference with Cyno’s.
It is the shape of the ears from his headpiece, pressed deep into the outline of the snow, poking out from the top.
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Alhaitham has a penchant for deliberately selling himself short.
Not in a mousey and meek way, oh no. It is a way more akin to how a carnivorous flower may paint its petals to appear more enticing to its prey, luring them in with sweet temptation and promises of innocence before delivering the killing blow.
“You want to have a snowball fight?” he had asked incredulously as you picked up a small clump of snow from the chilled Dragonspine ground, shaping it into a sphere in your gloved palms. “We’re here for research, not frivolity. Besides, I’m not cut out for such things. I’m just a scholar, you know.”
Liar.
If he isn’t here for frivolity, why had he given in so easily when you pouted and fluttered your lashes at him? And if he is ‘not cut out’ for a mere snowball fight, how in Teyvat has he managed to acquire the upper hand against you this quickly?
You are tucked down behind the rock you’ve found momentary reprieve in, taking mental stock of your situation. Alhaitham has hit you twenty-nine times now. In turn, you have only landed a measly five successful throws.
"Oi!" you call out over the rock, "I thought you said you weren't good at this?"
Alhaitham chuckles from his own cover, another tall rock like your own, "I'm not. You're just absolutely terrible in comparison."
In frustration, you poke out from your hiding spot and call tauntingly. "Alright then, feeble scholar, prove it."
A small tuft of silver hair pops up from the top of the rock and you simper in satisfaction. Of course he wouldn't be able to resist your name calling.
Yet before he has even breached his cover, before you have the chance to aim for him effectively, you are sputtering out snow from the ball that has hit you square in the face.
Thirty archon-damned times.
You storm out from your spot and march all the way across the makeshift no-man's-land between you until you are directly in front of Alhaitham. He stands in turn, a singular snowball still clasped within his palms.
"You don't play fair," you accuse, prodding his chest hard with your gloved index finger.
"I never once said that I did," he objects smoothly, catching your hand with his spare and holding it up by the wrist. "After all, isn't this supposed to be a fight? You don't gain the advantage in battle by playing fair. That's a tactical warfare basic."
Ah, of course. Even this he's taken from books.
That's fine. Two can play at this game.
"Hmm," you muse, shifting out of his grasp to lace your fingers together. He flushes at the contact, gaze directed intensely at the interlocking digits between your faces as you smile innocently at him. "I think you're forgetting the real fundamentals of being a master tactician, dear scribe."
"And what, pray tell, might that be?"
You lean in close, brushing the tip of your nose against his. The hand in your own twitches on instinct and you can feel the erratic beat of his heart as your chests bump together. Ever so delicately, you edge forwards just far enough that your breath ghosts against his lips.
Whilst his composure falters from being teetered on the brink of your kiss, you take a tender hold of his other wrist… and smash the snowball he's still holding against his own face.
With a triumphant grin you step back, leaving an absolute mess of a scribe in your wake.
"The most fundamental tactic in battle is to act in a way the enemy will never expect."
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aquatik · 1 year
Text
guardian knight , cyno 𓆝
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synopsis from the marine lover -> the seasonal winter ball is upon your region, as it’s princess, you must attend but this year there’s a few twists involved or my piece for @2022gisecretsanta​! this one goes out to you, @mestiako​, i hope you enjoy and pardon me for being late </3
phylum echinodermata -> genshin impact - sumeru
characters -> cyno x reader, nilou, yae miko, kaeya, tighnari, collei and dottore(🧍) make an appearance. diluc, ayato, tohma, and scaramouche are mentioned. sidnei is a made up character here!
word count -> 6.7k 
content -> one shot; fluff, royal AU - female reader
water levels -> all safe, warnings — dottore. just dottore. 
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your family famously holds two balls, one in the winter, and one in the summer. currently, your retainers are preparing you for the winter ball. this year, there’s more excitement, for the public at least. now you’re at the age where you are supposed to find someone to be betrothed to, and at tonight’s ball, you expect the flocking of men trying to win your hand. you aren’t excited.
“princess, is something troubling your mind?”
“nothing at all,” you sighed.
one of the ladies who was doing your hair but the brush down, and began to gush, “i bet you must be excited! you’ll be getting loads of men coming up to you today!”
“how excitingly wonderful,” you said, sarcasm seeping through your teeth.
“maybe lord ayato will ask for your hand,” she continued.
“or perhaps the duke of mondstadt, diluc!” another one piped in. they continued listing nobles that had confirmed attendance, your annoyance grew further.
“that’s enough you two, please leave the princess alone and quit pestering her,” your lady-in-waiting, nilou, said.
“nilou,” you sighed thankfully as the two maids finished their touches, delicately placing the small crown upon your head, and left the room. even when they left, you could still hear their whispering gossip.
nilou shook her head as she watched them walk away, “in your presence nonetheless.”
“it’s bound to happen, certainly won’t be the last i’ve heard of it.”
“has your father talked to you about, you know, this,” she hinted.
“no, he hasn’t actually. you know he’s always been more lax with traditions.”
“relaxed enough to let you be with him,” she giggled, placing her hands on your shoulders and looking at you through the mirror, her bright hydro vision shook at the movement.
“nilou…” you mumbled, casting your eyes to the side.
she giggled, “just teasing.”
just as you were gonna retort back to nilou, there’s a knock at your door, “princess, the ball is about to start, are you ready?” one of the maids spoke.
“yes, i’ll be right there,” you said, standing up. “how do i look?” you asked nilou.
“perfect like always,” she smiled. you thanked her and walked towards the door.
“please, pardon i wasn’t here to help you get ready, my lady,” the familiar lady bowed, “i was tasked by your father to help arrange the ballroom.”
“sidnei,” you smiled. she had been your head caretaker ever since you were born, like a mother to you since you never knew yours. “i’m glad you’re here now.”
“allow me to walk you, you look stunning tonight, as always.”
you thanked her, and began walking, “speaking of which, where is my father?” you asked.
she nervously laughed, “you see, he’s busy currently, he won’t be able to walk you tonight.”
“i see…”
“however, sir cyno will be walking you,” she said, with a knowing smile, as you both turned the corner.
“w-what—“
“the king personally appointed him.”
“you cannot be—“ you said, before you look away from sidnei to meet his piercing red eyes, standing in wait for you, your royal knight, cyno.
he was shorter than most, shoulder length white hair tied back, and ruby eyes. just from appearance, most would assume he’s a mediocre knight at best, but cyno one of the kingdom’s last lines of defense, the best of the best. and he’s your personal knight, ever since you both were young. even if officially he’s called your knight, you honestly consider him your best friend.
at least you thought you did until a while back, you realized slowly yet quickly you were developing feelings for the man. you’d seen him grow into a respectable man. many do fear him, but with you, you get to see the side of him that loves telling jokes, that is infatuated with card games, that just has a hard time forming thoughts into words. the man you know as cyno, not as the royal knight of the princess.
that’s why, you can’t help but feel this way. long before you know it, sidnei is gone and you’re left with cyno.
“if it makes you uncomfortable, we can find someone else,” he said, breaking your train of thought.
“no! it’s alright, i wouldn’t have it any other way,” you smiled, walking up to him.
“are you sure, your highness?”
you looked into his eyes, giving him a knowing stare. it took him a second, but once he understood he argued, “i will not—“
“you will or we won’t be moving from here,” you said, crossing your arms.
he sighed, “are you sure, [y/n]?”
“yes, i’m sure, cyno,” you smiled.
he coughed into his arm, “then, may i?” he said, extending his right arm to yours. you nod and take his hand, wrapping yourself around it as he walks you towards the ball. “nervous?” he asked you.
“not really, i just want to get the night over with.”
he hums, “i see.”
“what will you be doing?” you asked.
“pardon, me?”
you sighed, “who else would i be asking?”
“it was meant to be a joke…” he mumbled as you sighed once more. “i’m on duty tonight, i’ll be keeping guard. there’s a lot of foreign diplomats visiting tonight.”
“i see.” you nodded. you noted he had his electro vision near the sheathed weapon, a clear sign he was on duty and he wasn’t lying. “won’t you be enjoying the ball tonight?”
he pondered for a moment before shaking his head, “no i won't.”
you looked over at him, wondering what to say. he’s a hard worker, barely taking time off. even if you wouldn’t be enjoying your time tonight, maybe he could enjoy it for the both of you. alas, you couldn’t come up with something fast enough as you were about to reach the door. two knights were waiting. they salute the both of you, wishing for a successful night. you thanked them, while cyno opted to nod.
cyno led you through the door and to the stairs, you caught a glimpse of your father sitting at the throne above, a smile casted your way when he saw you. you take another glimpse downwards, you could hear the murmurs of the crowd, and you weren’t sure if your eyes were playing tricks on you, or was it seemingly a larger number of people this year?
“…we now introduce the princess, [y/n] of sumeru, and her loyal knight, sir cyno.” you heard your father’s primary royal advisor announce only thanks to cyno gesturing you to take your bow. he leads you down the last flight of stairs before taking your hand to your fathers, who had come down from the upper level, before taking his position at the right hand side of the staircase.
“thank you, cyno,” you smiled. he returned one of those rare smiles to you, and nodded.
“would you care to dance with an old man such as your father?” he joked, extending his hand to you.
you softly laughed, “it’s always a pleasure to dance with you, father.”
he led you towards the floor, the orchestra taking its cue to begin the soft serenade of the strings and woodwinds alike. typical. it was the song you always danced to with your father, without fail. it was a variation of a lullaby he used to hum to you when you were younger, not so much now due to royal duties, but you still hear it once in a while when you walk past his office.
“to think,” he begins, “perhaps next year, i won’t be having the first dance with you anymore, my little girl could be whisked away right before i know it,” he said with fake tears laced through his words.
“father…” you whined as he softly spun you, allowing you a momentary glance at cyno.
“i know, i know. i just want you to know, when the time comes, find someone you truly love. we’ve always stood for these ideals.”
you scoffed, “you sound as if i am to be wed by the strike of midnight.”
“who knows, maybe you will,” he heartedly laughs.
“in some wild fantasy,” you laugh as you take the final bow. the crowd around you begins clapping, as your father leads you to them.
“i do have some business to attend to, concerning some of the nobles from snezhnaya. please, enjoy yourself little one. try not to get married and leave this old man behind,” he jests as he walks off before you can say anything.
“princess, you looked enchanting as always,” nilou said, walking up to you. before you could respond, she perked up, “please excuse me, i believe that’s lady eula. it’s been a while since i've seen her, i’ll be back!”
an attendant passes by with a platter of drinks, offering your favorite to you. you thank him and take the glass, softly swirling it in your hand. snezhnaya and sumeru currently were in the middle of a political conflict, your father wished not to involve you, but you understand that it’s majoridly about the akademia, one of this nation’s greatest achievements. the situation was tense, your father was going to cut off the amount of control the snezhnayan court had over the akademia, but it would cause several issues, worst would be a war, but it was definitely plausible. you wanted to help your father, you truly did, but what could you do?
“mora for your thoughts?” you hear a woman’s voice say, sly in her tone. you turn your head to see the duchess of inazuma, yae miko smirking at you.
“lady yae, my apologies,” you said, fully turning towards her.
“none of that little one, i spoke out of line,” she bows.
you spoke, “i hope everything is well overseas, i’ll see it soon visit, the nation of electro is always a pleasure to see.”
lady yae smiled, saying how she wished their region had a more respectable young royal such as yourself.
“speaking of, you do know i’m obliged to ask, wouldn’t you be interested in our princes’ hand?” she hums, laughing when she sees you glancing away. “that brat really won’t ever find someone, now will he,” she sighed.
“are you allowed to speak of the prince in such a manner?” you asked.
“but of course i am. who do you think taught him the sliver of manners he knows?”
you nodded, “right, of course.”
“well then, if it isn’t the prince, might you be interested in lord ayato? or perhaps, you’re interested in the kamisatos’ lord-in-waiting, tohma?” she teased.
“lady yae!” you softly scolded as she laughed once more.
“so much for trying, could’ve made an amazing story. i better get back to making sure the prince doesn’t offend any nations, heavens knows what happened last time.” she says, walking towards a small commotion at the right hand side of the ball.
“why if it isn’t the rambunctious princess? i’ve got to say, you seemed to have mastered waking in those heels, i remember when you’d trip on flats,” a familiar voice spoke.
“kaeya!” you smiled, the marquees of mondstadt, kaeya walks up to you. you had known him and his brother, diluc ever since you were little, but after their fathers death things changed for them, subsequently you lost touch.
you both caught up, exchanging pleasantries and stories on either side. it was nice to speak with a familiar face after so long.
“kaeya, where might diluc be?” you asked him, as you hadn’t seen the red haired man tonight.
“not quite sure myself. why are you asking? looking to court him?” he mused, slightly leaning down to meet your face.
“of course not!” you argued, swatting his forearm, before you could retort, he teased once more,
“or could it be that, you’d be interested in me?” he asked.
you broke eye contact with kaeya to glance to your right, cyno was still there, keeping watch as he’d been doing. you weren’t sure if it was your imagination, but you swore you saw him make eye contact with you. you heard kaeya click his tongue, a habit he had once he realized something, and you quickly turned back to him.
“sir kaeya, with all due respect—“ you began before kaeya softly shushed you.
“i understand, i understand.” he sighs, fake sadness laced across his tongue, “i do value when a fair maiden stays true to her ideals, just like when we were younger. i remember it like yesterday, saying how you’d never marry one of us since we were like siblings after some nobel had spoken out of line. do take care, princess. i’ll be off looking for my—or should i joke, our brother to make sure he doesn’t get his hands full with, a few special guests.” he smiled.
you returned the smile, softly laughing as you caught onto his sarcasm through the whole questioning. he bowed and was about to walk away to take his leave, another male voice entered the scene.
“if i may, i’d love to speak to the princess.” a masked man says.
“who might you be?” kaeya said, smiling but slightly pushing you behind him, leaving you confused.
he chuckled, “do pardon me, where are my manners. my name is il dottore, marquess of shneznaya. it’s a pleasure to meet you, your highness.” he said, taking a bow and your hand, pressing his lips against the back of your hand.
“i leave you in his company then,” kaeya seethes as he walks away, having no other choice as he was supposed to take his leave already, evident by the glare the marquess had been sending kaeya’s way..
“lord dottore, the pleasure is all mine…” you said, nerves beginning to swarm you, from both the odd reaction kaeya had, as well as the fact a shneznayan diplomat wished to speak with you directly.
he laughs, his singular earring swings back and forth, “now now, don’t seem so tense your highness. i assure you, the political standing between our nations musnt spoil our conversation.”
“i appreciate it.”
“i must say, you look rather divine tonight, as you always do,” he says, smiling as it’s only his upper face covered by the mask.
you returned the smile, a lot smaller than his, “thank you, i’d love to complement you as well, but i only have a smile to go off.” you said inquisitively, hoping it would spark a conversation to avoid the awkward pleasantries. how wrong you’d be.
“i assume you mean my eyes? they are indeed covered. say, wouldn’t you like to see the rest of my face.”
you hummed, “i suppose so.”
“i’d allow you to see my whole face as many times as you’d like, if we were wed.”
you nervously laughed, “i suppose i’ll never see your face then.”
“oh? why’s that?” he asked. an attendant walked by and dottore placed his empty glass on the tray. his now free hand takes yours and presses yet another kiss against it, this time taking it and placing it against his cold, metallic-like cheek. “what if this is my proposal to you?”
you remove your hand from his grasp, “i call your bluff.” you scoffed.
“wrong call,” he eerily smiles, “it’s true, i wish to marry you. think about it, we’d tie the knot, not only between us, but out nations as well, ending this vicious cycle that you and i both know will only end in a war. i know you’re smart enough, your highness.”
“i believe our nations can come to an agreement without this sort of thing,” you argued as he clicked his tongue.
“you’re breaking my heart,” he cackled, “who said i only wanted to marry you to help our nations, i could care less. i meant it when i said you’re divine, i’m infatuated by you.” he said. if it weren’t for the underlying creepiness in this strange speech, anybody would’ve thought it was a sweet, heartfelt confession. you were beyond creeped out though.
“how could i even consider a marriage proposal from someone i just met, i barely even know you.” you claimed, instinctively taking a step back, eyes wandering around the room, hoping someone you knew was close by, if cyno was close by. alas, you couldn’t find anyone in the short seconds you had.
“if i told you more about me, would you consider my proposal?” he mused, taking a step forward towards you.
“i suppose so…” you mumbled, reminding yourself you have an image to uphold as this regions princess and you couldn’t just yell out what was on your mind.
“then allow me to share some more, personal details about myself. some call me, the doctor.” he smiled.
“the doctor?” you gasped, eyes widening ever so slightly.
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you’ve been out to the main plaza before, but only a few times have you visited farther away villages. a few months ago, you headed out with cyno to gandharva ville for the first time. your father had come down with a unknown sickness, right when the ties with snezhnaya began to sever, and cyno had recommended a doctor who could help. even against the insistings of the court and cyno, you accompanied him. after all, you’d be saftest with your guard, you argued.
begrudgingly, he took you along in a disguise, and you met tighnari. you learned they were friends, good ones too it seemed. you learned tighnari was recommended to become a royal medic, but he refused, stating how his research was better out here in gandharva ville. he learned of the conditions of your father and agreed to head to the castle, but on the condition he was able to give treatment to his current patient.
you had suggested for the patient to come with you guys, only to earn a modest scolding on the dangers of doing so. smiling at your own lack of medical knowledge, you apologized where as he sighed. you concluded that the treatment wouldn’t take longer than a few hours, not ideal, but you understood.
out of curiosity, you asked about the patient. unexpectedly, cyno was the one to tell you about her.
“her name’s collei. she’s a young girl, about 11 years old. she’s…” he stopped before continuing, “she’s a victim of the doctor. some crazed lunatic taking children and experimenting on them for his nation's gain. from my intel, it seems that the bastard is from snezhnaya.”
“goodness…” you whispered. this was the first you had heard of such thing, and by the look on cyno’ s face, it seemed like it wasn’t something he wanted you to find out of.
tighnari spoke, breaking the silence, “the good thing is that she’s recovering well ever since cyno brought her over a few weeks back. she just had a major flare up this morning, and i just need to make sure she’s stable to—“ he spoke before cutting himself off.
“collei, what are you doing out of bed?” he softly scolded as she peeped out of the door.
“i thought…i thought i heard him…” she says, taking a step outside.
tighnari was going to step towards her to help calm the little girl down but you beat him to it. you took cautious steps and lowered your hood, you could already hear cyno scolding you, but to your surprise, he stood silent, only standing guard in case something happened.
“everything is going to be okay,” you softly said, kneeling to her level “he isn’t here, he won’t hurt you anymore.”
“aren’t you the…”
you shook your head, “nevermind that, what’s your name?”
“it’s collei,” she answered.
you smiled at her, “it’s lovely to meet you collei, is there something you’d like to do? i’m sure you must be tired from laying in bed.”
“can we get zaytun peaches?”
“i don’t see why not, why don’t you go get ready? i think tighnari is about ready to give you your medicine anyways.”
she nods and goes back inside, you turn to tighnari who had previously been bickering with cyno while you talked to collie. he excused himself and walked inside to give collei her medicine, while cyno gave you a blank stare.
“what’s wrong?”
“your highness,” he began, “have you ever…picked zaytun peaches yourself?”
“no, but that’s why i have you to—“
“good. because then you’d be hunting your own kind.”
you tilted your head, softly beginning to laugh, “i’m sorry?” you asked.
“because you’re a peach. do you get it?” he deadpanned. “i can explain it if you don’t understand. you see, when people say you’re a peach, it’s to say…”
this time, you began laughing. partially because of the joke, but mainly it was due to your knight's execution of the joke. at the sound of your laughter colored your cheeks, and while you didn’t notice, cyno allowed himself to fondly look at you and smile, a similar color painting his face as well.
“that was terrible. never say that again, cyno,” tighnari said, exiting the small hut.
“now, now, everyone has different tastes. are you insulting the princess’s taste,” you joked as tighnari looked away, mumbling something along the lines of ‘how was i supposed to know.’
“truly, i do apologize, princess. collei got the last of her medicine, we can head out if you’d like.”
“please, don’t worry about it, my knowledge in medicinal science isn’t great, i should be thanking you for teaching me, i see why cyno recomended you.” you said as you began looking around the area, “however, we can’t leave now, i did promise collei we’d pick peaches together. my father isn’t in critical condition, we have a few moments to spare. do you happen to have a basket?”
“you’re just as kind as he—i mean, as they say. i’ll grab you one. in the meantime, i’ll get my materials ready.”
you thanked him as he walked back to the small hut, and out came collei with a small basket. the three of you began to head towards an area of the forest, per cyno’s lead. collei asked you questions every once in a while, and you’d gladly respond.
at one point, she wandered off a little ahead to grab some harra fruit she had seen in a distance. you and cyno stayed behind, but still watched her.
“she’s taken a liking to you rather quickly,” he spoke, looking over at you. a faint look of jealousy washed over him.
“i guess so, what's with that look?” you laughed, poking at him.
he stopped to think for a moment then responded, “nothing, it’s just it took collei a while to like me, and she took a liking to you rather quickly.”
“aww, are you jealous?” you teased. you had expected him to remain silent, like he usually does whenever you bother him, except he surprised you.
“a little, but not really. you’re a wonderful person, it’s no wonder why she felt comfortable around you so quickly.”
you looked into his eyes to see if there was any hint of sarcasm in his statement, but there wasn’t. “cyno…” he coughed to break the silence, looking over at collei who had now resorted looking around for sumeru roses.
“since when have you known about this, the doctor i mean.” you asked, looking away from collei to glance at cyno’s expression.
he sighed, “i figured you’d ask.” he began to explain in more detail what had happened. you learned that she’s from sumeru, she suffers from eleazar. her mother couldn’t cover her treatment, but a sponsor under the name of the doctor said he’d have her treated, with no expenses. only condition is that she’d need to travel to schenzaya. from then on, she was experimented on using ancient relics. cyno had gone to mondstad for not only an expedition, but because an old alma mater had requested for his assistance. he was able to bind the ancient spirit, but it took a lot out on the poor girl.
“why didn't you tell me? you told me about everything that happened on the expedition to mondstat except this,” you argued, not loud enough to disturb collei but enough to get cyno’s attention just how upset you were.
“this is far from your realm of responsibilities, it would’ve just been a burden to add onto you.”
“as far as i'm concerned, i’m the princess of sumeru. it's my duty to make sure my people are safe, and she’s a child of sumeru who was gravely hurt, more than words can describe. this is unacceptable.” you firmly reprimanded. cyno looked shocked for once, but quickly composed himself. “we’ve always worked together, we’ve been a team since forever, cyno. my position means nothing to me when i’m with you and you know it.”
“…i didn’t know you felt that way.” he says.
“of course you knew, you just chose to ignore it at times. i’m not made of glass, you know.”
“says the one who would always complain about not having a vision when we were younger.”
you blushed, “not the time.”
he chuckled, “you’re right, please accept my apologies, for everything. i promise, i’ll let you know if i learn something new.”
“that’s more like it, there’s the cyno i know,” you smiled. “it’s settled then, we’ll find out who the doctor is and take him down, together!”
you smiled at him and he nodded, you took his hand that was in a fist and forced his pinky finger out, hooking yours onto his, intertwining them together. he looked bashful, is what you could describe. you imagined it was because he must’ve thought you were acting childish.
“i’m done, this is for you!” collei says, coming back with a small padisarah and handing it to you.
you smiled as you took it, releasing your hand, rather, your pinky from cyno’s, “thank you collei! i’ll cherish this because it came from an amazing friend!”
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“please, excuse me, lord dottore, i must attend to the other guests,” you said, looking around for a way to leave, for someone, anything.
“why so frantic, your highness?” he questioned, leaning down to your ear, “i do think i’d be wise for you to consider this…proposition of sorts.”
“i’d be best for you to—“
“to? what’s this, the princess is threatening me, shneznayan diplomat? on what grounds.” he said, roughly grabbing your forearm, pulling you towards him. “i suggest you chose your words carefully. who knows what could happen to this precious kingdom. perhaps you’d be better off accepting my proposal, you’d have an…immunity of sorts.” he laughs as you rip your arm from his grasp, running towards the back garden.
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do you inform cyno now? or even your father? accepting his proposal would put an end to all the political issues your father was facing, but it meant sacrificing your happiness, the safety of your people. who knows what would happen with a crazed lunatic like him ruling, yet again, look at the power he has already, to harm such a large number of people just as a marquess. you couldn’t, you’d be betraying collei, and all his other victims from not only your nations but others as well. but not accepting would also put your people in danger.
“i knew you’d be out here,” you heard a male voice speak. you sighed loudly.
“lord dottore, how many times do i have to tell you, i’m not interested. please leave before i—“ you said before gasping, “goodness, cyno you scared me.”
“what was that about someone pestering you,” he said, bringing his hand to the sheathed weapon on his hip, the purple vision beginning to spark.
“no, no, no need for that,” you said, placing your hand against his, both of your movements momentarily ceased. soon after, he quickly kneeled one leg on the ground, like he does on royal duty.
“your highness, what are you doing out here?” he asked.
“cyno get up,” you commanded as he rose, “i just am outside, no particular reason for it. and could you quit it? it’s just the two of us, no need for the formalities.”
“you seem to forget that tonight is an official event, i can’t toss aside formalities.”
you stepped forward and pinched his cheek, you heard a soft ‘oww’ released from his lips, you were sure it didn't hurt, he probably did as such to make you feel better. wouldn’t be the first time he’s done so.
“i understand that, trust me.” you sighed, “but it’s just the two of us, lighten up won’t you?”
he hummed before asking, “‘s something plaguing your mind?” he asked. you internally groaned. he’s good, you’d expect nothing less from the man who’s been by your side for who knows how many years.
you thought about it for a moment before shaking your head, this isn't the right time, or is it? you weren’t sure, but you had to respond before cyno became suspicious. “i don’t know, i’m just overwhelmed. i think i need to dance to clear my mind,” you said absentmindedly.
“then let me take you back inside, i’m sure there’s plenty of nobles who—“
you shook your head, “no.”
he raised his brow at you, “no? didn't you just say…?”
“i’m aware of what i said,” you sighed, “but i want to stay here.”
“allow me a moment then, i’ll find someone to come out here and dance with you—“ he said as he turned around, beginning to head back inside.
“no!” you shouted, grabbing his wrist. he looked confused, and you looked at him through your eyelashes, “i’d like for you to dance with me, cyno.”
he stared at you for a few seconds before coughing, “princess, i’m aware some of my jokes aren’t the best, but you’ve got me beat here.”
what.
“what part of what i just said sounded like a joke? i’m serious, i wish to dance with you cyno.”
“and i refuse.” he says, crossing his arms.
now you are the one to raise your brow, this time in amusement, “are you telling me no?”
“indeed i am,” he grunts.
“we’ve danced before you know.” you said, “you’re the one who taught me for my debutant.”
“its…different now.” he said, looking up to the moon.
you stood in front of him, using your hands to bring his face down, “how is it different now?”
“you’re a lady who is supposed to be finding someone to be wed to, we aren’t children anymore.”
“i don't care about that, and you know it. cyno, i truly just want to dance with you.”
“i…” he said, finally meeting your eyes.
“please?” you asked, on the brink of giving up.
that was until you felt a pair of hands reach your waist, and your feet forcibly began to waltz. you look up at him to see the moonlight hitting his face in just the right way, enough to visibly show the pinks of his cheeks.
“please, tell me if you wish to stop,” he muttered, meeting your smiling face.
you hummed, placing your hands on his shoulders, “i doubt i will ever want to stop.”
the soft waltz became more grand, he led you through the garden gracefully, perfectly weaving through the bushes of sumeru roses before staying in place and swaying. this reminded you a lot of a few years back, when you were practicing for your debutante, except this time there was no heels stepping on the poor young man’s feet. this time, it was a graceful dance between you and the man you harbored feelings for.
“i take it back.”
“what? we can stop if you wish—“
“no, i mean what i said earlier. when you asked if i was nervous and i said i wanted this to be over with. i don’t wish for this night—well, for this moment to end.”
“you know we mustn’t,” he softly says.
you lean your head to his chest, continuing the soft swaying, “indulge me this once then, please.”
“is that an order?” he laughs.
“if it makes you stay, then yes.”
“i would’ve stayed regardless…” he whispers, low enough for it to be carried away by the midnight wind, but loud enough for you to hear, it too carries away the worries littering your mind. i’d be an issue to resolve tomorrow, you decide.
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“good morning!” you hear a cheerful voice sing. “you better wake up before i splash water on your face~” you heard the voice tease.
“nilou, please, it’s archons knows what time it is,” you whined as you sat up.
“now, now, none of that, you have to tell me what happened last night.”
you turned to her as you tilted your head. surely it wasn’t about the marquess, was it? “what are you talking about, nilou?”
“i’m talking about the dance, obviously!” she exclaimed, sitting down with you. “sir cyno brought you hear, claiming you had fallen asleep. but i heard that you were dancing with someone~” she teased as you blushed.
“it was cyno, wasn’t it,” she gushed, as you looked away, “it totally was!”
“nilou! not too loud, you’ll get him in trouble.”
“so it was him! was he the same one who proposed?” before you could ask what was she talking about, one of your attendants walked in the room.
“princess, your presence is called for in the main throne room by the king. please, allow me to assist you in getting ready.
“alright then, where’s sidnei?”
the maid looked around nervously, “she’s…she’s somewhere. we aren’t exactly sure where, this is also the case with a few other staff members.”
what was going on.
nilou walks you to the main throne room, this time she was silent, sensing you were tense. thoughts raced across your head, did your father find out about the dance you shared with cyno? was he okay? what about sidnei and the other staff, where were they? and, what happened with dottore, or rather, the doctor? you had planned on investigating further on his actions, but everything was happening so fast.
your last question was answered as soon as you entered the throne room, and the man was standing before your father.
“my beautiful daughter, you didn’t tell me!” he exclaimed when he saw you enter the room.
“father, what are you talking about?” you asked as he walked up to you, engulfing you in a hug.
“why don’t be silly, lord dottore is asking for your hand in marriage! you’d know this better than i, after the dance you both shared, so he was telling me.”
you briefly heard nilou gag, mumbling disappointedly.
“he did what…?” you asked your father, his expression being the polar opposite of yours.
“please, your majesty, allow me to ask properly,” he says, taking your hand and kneeling on one foot, pulling out a box. “princess of sumeru, will you marry me?”
gasps flooded the room with the few in the room, applauds began to echo, and you could hear the distinct sound of your father sniffling. you glance around to see everyone happy, nilou looked disappointed and was the black sheep in this crowd, alongside you. you look down at the man currently kneeling in front of you, that eerie smile painted across his face.
“i…” you stuttered, unsure what to do. lucky, you wouldn't have to decide what to do.
only a few were able to hear the footsteps, and only another handful saw the purple sparks of electricity fill the room, but everyone saw the fist of the princess’s guardian knight connect with the marquess' jaw, knocking him to the ground. the mask now forgone to the ground, splatters of blood stained the carpet below him that matched dottores eyes. if you were to make the comparison at this moment, his red eyes were blood crimson, while cyno’s eyes reminded you of rubies.
gasps yet again filled the room, whispers exchanged as the only clapping now belonged to nilou, before she ceased her excitement.
dottore groans, attempting to sit up only for cyno to throw a spear—his preferred weapon—right next to his face, grazing the man’s face, yet again more blood. he then rushed forward, holding the spear down.
“cyno!” you gasped.
“cyno!” your dad yelled, voice filled with rage. it was rare to hear the king upset, and whenever he was, all you could do is pray for the unfortunate soul that the anger was targeted towards. “explain yourself! this is treason!”
“forgive me, your majesty, but this man is placed under arrest in the princesses orders,” he said, as everyone gasped once more
“arrested?” dottore maniacally laughed, “my fiancée wouldn’t do such a thing, i’ll have a war waged—“
“you dare make such baseless threats after you threatened this nation's princess on her own land? you’re lucky i didn’t take action last night, but today i won’t be so merciful.” he began, his spear becoming engulfed with electro.
your eyes widened, had cyno really seen everything that happened? at what moment or even where was he, you couldn’t see him at all.
“this man has gone mad!” dottore yells, “your majesty, you see, my suggestion isn’t so far fetched after all, he’s going to spread this madness to the princess.”
“the only one spreading madness here would be you, doctor!” you yelled.
“how do you know about that?” your father asked, more so rhetorically.
cyno continued, “you thought we wouldnt have noticed the missing number of attendants, especially sidnei? the princess’s personal attendant? what a fool you are. we have the reports on certain wine barrels that were contaminated by a poison coming from your region, as well as the personnel serving them. everything ties back to you. however, this is an open investigaton, im typically not allowed to arrest you in those cases, but not only did you verbally threaten the princess, you manhandled her. in front of thousands nonetheless.”
“what about the dance from last night?” the king asked.
both you and cyno coughed, but he continued speaking, “…it was i who was dancing with her.” the room was silent once more until nilou softly squealed, whispers filled the air once more.
“my daughter, is this true?” your father asked, turning towards you.
you looked over at cyno, his eyes shining with determination. you nodded, signaling you’d follow his lead.
“yes father, everything sir cyno said is true. that man on the ground is the doctor, the crazed lunatic who’s been experimenting on our people. i had cyno investigate further after he insulted me last night, and i issued the arrest order. such filth cannot be left unattended to.” you said, your stance radiating a commanding force.
“and the dance?” nilou chimed in, before one of the attendants slapped her hand across her mouth.
you sighed, “yes, the dance too,” you said bashfully.
“that does it then, guards!” your father snapped his fingers, “il dottore, marquess of shneznaya is to be arrested immediately, as per the princess’s orders!” your father commanded. as guards took dottore away, he yelled curses until his voice ran dry.
“princess,” cyno said, kneeling before you. “please, excuse me for my actions. and lack of actions last night.”
“cyno, please stand.” you said as he rose to his feet, “thank you for trusting me and for letting me help even if it was a little. please, allow me to apologize for not telling you last night.”
you turned to your father, “and to you as well, i should’ve told you both sooner rather than now.”
cyno was the first to speak, “you helped a lot more than you can imagine, my lady. you got the doctor to reveal himself. and we're a team, aren’t we?”
“that we are,” you smiled.
“so, who’s gonna court who?” your father mused.
you exclaimed, color painting your face, “father!”
he laughed as your father’s royal advisor sighed, “i thought the choice in dottore was weird, but who was i to judge who you loved?” he asked turning to cyno, “i was rooting for you the whole time, son?”
“…thank you?” he responded, visibly and understandably confused.
you sighed at your father and turned to cyno, “you know last night, i only wished to dance with you.” you smiled at cyno, walking up and kissing his cheek, “thank you.”
“it’s always my pleasure, princess.” it was an address you were used to by many, but this time it felt different given the circumstance.
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glass bottle message -> this was NOT supposed to be this long LKJAKBJB but i really hope you enjoyed, and to anyone else reading! thanks kat for pushing me, love you the most stinker @lovely-josuke​
also the fact i had to rewrite the whole thing because google docs didn’t save it 😔💔 regardless i love how this turned out hehe
requests are open, but please check the rules :)
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notreallysorryxx · 1 year
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#”No Matter What”
You’re just a retainer for the Kamisato family. But Ayato falls deeply in love with you, which surprises the public.
Warnings: a bit suggestive(?)
Characters: Kamisato Ayato
Note: This is for my secret santa from the 2022 Genshin Secret Santa Event on Tumblr (@throwaway-yandere​)
Words: 1.7k
Whispers circulated around you whenever you walked next to your fiance, Kamisato Ayato. It wasn't uncommon for people to gossip about you, saying you were unbefitting and unworthy of such an amazing man like Ayato. He was handsome, he was the head of his family, and he contributed greatly to Inazuma, unlike you. You were just his retainer that he happened to fall in love with. Some people thought it was sweet, a cute love story. But others were against it, saying that the marriage would be a disgrace to the Kamisato family. Those against it prayed to the Shogun that the marriage would fail.
At first it didn't bother you, but the whispers grew. You couldn't walk into a room without hearing rude remarks about you. Ayaka tried to reassure you that you were going to be a perfect addition to their family. As much as you appreciated her, it was hard to believe her when there were so many people that thought differently. It bothered you immensely and you resorted to staying inside the estate, wrapped up on your futon. You barely went out anymore which was worrying to Ayato. He always made sure to have Thoma watch you.
Thoma's presense was calming and he was nice to talk to. He would make whatever you wanted to eat, keep you entertained, and balance his usual chores. You honestly felt a bit bad that he was doing so much. After all, he was a retainer, just like you, but he did all the work. It couldn't really be helped though because Ayato demanded that you never cooked or cleaned. However, you would make the occasional dinner for the two of you, and sometimes Ayato would help. You missed the outside world a bit and you were tempted to go out. Just how many changes had there been after the Vision Hunt Decree? It was a bit nervewracking to go out, you didn't want to go alone either. In the end, you went to ask your fiance to go with you, hoping he wasn't too busy.
The walk across the estate towards his office was quite calming. There was only a light breeze and the air wasn't too cold. It helped you relax a bit before you arrived at the door to the room. You were about to knock on his door, when the door opened, a smiling Ayato standing in the doorway. "Hello, darling. I didn't think you would come visit me in my office today. I fully expected you to be waiting for me on your futon," he reached a hand up to caress your cheeks, pushing hair out of your face. "Is there something you need?" It was as if your words were caught in your throat. You wanted to say "Can we go into town today?" but what came out was a croak that sounded similar to a small toad.
Ayato simply hummed, amused at your loss of words. "What was that, dear?" Your ears warmed significantly, as did your cheeks which you were sure Ayato felt in his palm. You tried to swallow, mouth feeling dry. "Can we... can we go into town today?" you asked quietly. Ayato's smile disappeared, being replaced by a serious look, "Are you sure? Don't force yourself." You nodded, you were mostly sure. Although you weren't completely certain that you wanted to face the people in town, you hoped to get over the anxiety of being seen by so many people in a bad light. Plus, you would have to be seen with Ayato once you got married. The Kamisatos's public image was important after all.
"Absolutely sure?" he asked again. You nodded once again. Ayato's thumb traced the outline of your lips, "Use your words, darling. Are you absolutely sure?" Why was he always so cheeky? Your ears burned even more than before, "I'm sure, absolutely sure." He grinned, leaning down to give you a quick kiss. "Give me a few minutes and then we can leave, okay?" "Okay." He gave you another kiss, turning to go to his desk. "If you want, you can go wait outside." You decided to do just that, greeting the guard at the entrance of the estate. Thoma happened to pass by you, also greeting the guard and you. "Are you going out today?" he asked. "I want to go, but it's stressful. Ayato is going with me, so it should be okay," you grinned sheepishly.
Thoma nodded, "Have fun. By the way, if you go to the grocery stall, could you pick up some rice and tofu? We're running out and I plan to try to make chicken tofu pudding for dinner. And Ms. Kamisato wanted some of my special miso soup." He scratched the back of his neck nervously, "I'm sorry, you probably want to spend time with Ayato." You smiled at him, "It's fine, Thoma. I've been wanting to help with your errands anyway. I wish I was allowed to work." You sighed. "But he won't let me." A chuckle came from Thoma, "Of course he wouldn't let you. He wants his 'lover to be spolied', that was an exact quote, mind you." "What are you two up to?" Ayato's voice interrupted your small talk with the retainer. "We were talking about you," you spoke up.
"About me? What about me, dear?" "We were talking about—" "About what you were going to do when you go to town today. Since, they haven't been out in a long time," Thoma interrupted you. You watched as Ayato's eyes sparkled. He obviously wasn't buying Thoma's quick lie, but let it pass anyway. You had a hunch that perhaps he knew what had just been discussed anyway, even without you telling him. He was just intuitive like that. "Well, anyway," Thoma cleared his throat, "I should probably... get back to work. The estate won't clean itself." Ayato smiled at the retainer, "That it won't. We'll be leaving as well. If anyone should visit while I'm away, please inform them of my outing." Thoma bowed, saying a quick 'of course', and left to go complete his household duties.
Seeing as it was just the two of you, Ayato turned his attention to you. "Would you perhaps wish to carry a Kamisato family fan with you? Or maybe one of mine or Ayaka's robes?" A fan? Weren't those only for members of the family? Although you were engaged to the commissioner, you had yet to marry, meaning you technically weren't part of the family yet. "Ah, no thank you," your face heated up in abashment. "As my darling wishes." Ayato outstretched his hand which you took, "Let's go explore the town." And with that, the two of you were on your way to shop and traverse the shops.
Your stomach became full of fluttering crystalflies as you stepped past the guards stationed near Byakko Plain. Ayato stopped  for a moment to greet them, introducing you as his fiance. As per usual, he introduced you in a manner that seemed as if he was boasting, which he very much was. He always introduce you the same way: "Here's my wonderful fiancé. I assure you that they are one of the best people to acquaint." And when someone would ask how you two met: "Ah, funnily enough we met at my estate. Their charm was too much for me, and I simply fell in love with them." Everywhere you two went, you saw unfamiliar faces. There were only a few people you recognised. Ayato informed you that a few of the people you had previously met in Inazuma City had relocated to Watatsumi Island during the Vision Hunt Decree and still lived there. He promised to introduce you to the priestess and her top general as well.
One familiar person you bumped into while in the city, was none other than one of the few people that had previously gossiped about you. They were surprised to see you, apparently  they had been hoping you had broken off the engagement. You tried to pay no mind to them, but no matter where you and Ayato went, they would follow. Store owners and citizens alike, looked at them with disgust. It appeared that no one really like them. The adventure out into the city was going successfully—as successfully as it could with the person following you—until they said something that made you freeze. "Why are you even dating such a well-off person, huh? Your worth is nonexistent, you'd be better off dead," they spat.
At those words, Ayato immediately turned on the person, a glare directed at them. "Would you like to repeat that? I will have you know that that was extremely out of line. Next time you decide to talk about someone in that manner, think about yourself." When he looked back at you, his features softened. Your eyes were watering slightly, on the verge of tears. "Shall we go home, dear?" He didn't wait for a response, picking you up in his arms, and carrying you back to the Kamisato Estate. Ayato carried you all the way to his office, setting you down on a cushion. He kneeled down in front of you, pressing a kiss to the hand he  grasped. "My darling, my love. Do not take their words to heart. They know nothing about what they were speaking about. You're the most wonderful person to exist. Your worth is not nonexistent, you're worth everything to me."
He paused to take a breath before continuing, "I love you, and I will always love you no matter what. My love for you is something that cannot be measured. And I assure you that I will never let you go, unless that's what you want." "No, I never want you to let go of me...  please," you threw your arms around Ayato, pulling him impossibly closer. "I love you, too. Please never let me go." "Anything for you, my dear,"  Ayato replied quietly, wrapping his arms around you. His embrace was comforting to you. So comforting that you drifted off in his arms. At least, when you would awaken, Ayato was sure to be there...
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throwaway-yandere · 1 year
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The Boar Prince/ss (Tighnari/Reader)
A/n: Tis I, your secret raccoon @riabef offering you a humble present for this day 🦝 🎁!!! It is probably wet cuz my trash animal brain tried to wash it by the creek but eh, hope ya like it!!! I can't say I celebrate Xmas, but happy holidays, belated happy birthday and best wishes for the new year!!! <333 - with love, ansytea
CW: none!!! Pls trust me– they're just sassy children being sassy children. Just wholesome fluff-crack vibes with added soulmate elements (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)
Unreliable Synopsis: Seven-year-old Tighnari meets his soulmate in the forest on the eve of Celestia's Day. Hilarity ensues.
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Tighnari was FREEZING!
He was just a kid! Why was HE the one tasked with picking up branches for the fireplace?! That's not fair at all! Just because he had maintained his ears and tail better than the rest of his family doesn't mean he's best suited for this job. Sure, it doesn't snow much in Sumeru, but he's not the most resilient fox compared to his relatives! Tighnari's too young for this. The place is positively humid and there is little to no room for his whining unless he would devolve into a fit of sneezes. 
With "Grrr"s turning into "Brrr"s, young Tighnari cloaks himself up with the same scarf by adding more layers to protect his neck. When he went out, Tighnari's hair was wild and unruly, constantly falling in his face as an act of immature defiance. He didn't care how much his mom preached about appearances as the kid fennec stomped to the rainforest. 
The rainforest was positively duller than it was in any other season, and he can't even perceive colors. All greys and darker shades. Then again, he's just a kid so that's only natural. He's not as lucky as his mom and dad who found each other back when they were five. And yet, woe is Tighnari for being seven years old and unable to tell plantains and bananas apart. 
Grey… grey… grey… everything was dreadfully grey. Why can’t it snow here now like it did in Liyue? That’s not fair. He wanted to see something lighter and more cheerful than this cold sight.
Tighnari trudged through the place with his tiny legs, hoping to pick up what he needed and head home fast. He whined and his shoulders sagged. In the common egocentric view of children his age, he complained loudly as he picked up a branch as if he was Atlas and it was the Earth. Tighnari rebelliously waved the stick at the sky for a bit when he did pick it up.
Now would be a good time for him to gain a vision, Celestia! It’s Celestia’s Day Eve! Do you hear his thoughts?! A pyro vision would be great, thank you very much!!! 
When Tighnari noticed four mushroom boars cuddling up to one another, he came to a complete halt. The cold must be hard on them too, huh? They stand out against the less vivid background because of their lighter fur. Tighnari might be able to bring some home. 
He instinctively reached for his bow but stopped midway.
Hold on– Dad didn't send him out here to hunt! He's supposed to bring back lumber like a grown-up!
Tighnari pouted. 
Ngh… but hunting's much more fun, though!– 
Hold on.
His eyes widened. His ears jolted upwards as Tighnari revolved his feet on an axis. He turned his heels around in an alert stance. There was no danger around him– there were no ruin guards, no eremites, no fungi– but his surroundings drastically changed. Tighnari kept shooting glances at the new world– the real world around him.
… What is that...?
“What color is that?!”
His hold on the branch tightened, squinting at the small leaf that grew on its side.
Green… green! This has to be green!
He grabbed his tail. Green– dark green? This is green! Are all of these leaves green? 
Tighnari grinned widely. 
His young and simple mind had decided that he liked the color green.
… Green… Yellow-green…
Those were the first colors he saw, but they didn’t come from the trees and the sprouted leaves surrounding him. What do other colors look like? As he was about to hastily scout the area for Sumeru roses, a dire thought occurred to him.
... Why did he start to see colors?
His heart dropped as he looked at the herd again.
… Green… Yellow-green boars…
Oh… oh no… to think he was just planning to kill them earlier...
Is his soulmate… a BOAR?!
His knees buckled down to the ground, the dewed tall grass scraping it slightly. No, it can't be. Tighnari laughed humorlessly. His parents take great pleasure in their son's innate intelligence and curiosity. It's only natural that he likes reading books– he leafed through some encyclopedias so there’s no way for Tighnari to miss that boars…
… have a life expectancy of 10 to 14 years.
"Ngh...!" Tighnari nearly teared up.
How… how can he fall in love with a boar, especially when they'll die before him? H-how can he kiss a boar? Is that even okay? Won’t his friends make fun of him?! Then again, if it's love, then there shouldn't be anything wrong with it, right?
But the rainforest… it’s greatly affected by the withering…By the time Tighnari graduates, he may not even see his soulmate frolicking in the grass anymore...
… That’s it.
The child clenched his fists. Tighnari’s knuckles grew pale– he had never felt this much resolve in his childhood years. It doesn't matter how long his soulmate lives, as long as he can help extend what little time they have, he'll make the most of it. Tighnari wasn’t going to let them die young, nu-uh! Especially not after he saw how beautiful the world is in full color.
He made up his mind. Starting today, he’s going to be a forest ranger to save his soulmate’s natural habitat!
"I-I…!" Tighnari puffed his cheeks out. The child didn’t care if he looked stupid, especially when his only audience was the silence of the rainforest. "I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE UGLY! I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE A BOAR!"
He shut his eyes tight, mustering the courage to accept his (hilarious) fate. If he had them open, Tighnari would’ve noticed two (h/c) protruding fox ears at the center of the bewildered herd.
"I’M GONNA LOVE YOU!!! I'M GONNA BE FOREST RANGER AND I'M GONNA PROTECT YOUR HOME!!! PLEASE STAY STRONG AND DON'T DIE YET!!!"
“W-Why are you screaming?!”
An unexpected voice called out. Tighnari froze, opening his eyes. 
A fox, you, suddenly appeared in the sea of yellow-green fur. Your face was coated in dirt, and your wool jacket was littered with hair that wasn't yours. You were a bit smaller in stature, probably younger than him, and you pulled your ears down to feign meekness and pain from Tighnari’s previous wailing. But most notable of all, you donned a nervous yet mischievous smile– a smile Tighnari will increasingly grow accustomed to for the entire duration of his life, and it gets better each time he sees it.
Your (e/c) eyes blinked, groggily realizing something was amiss. 
“O-Oh, woaaahh, COLORS!!!” You gawked in awe, mimicking the same movements Tighnari did when he gained the ability to see in full colors. “Hey, are you my soulmate?!– Achoo!!!”
Wait, is his soulmate one of the boars or…?
He shyly combed his hair down, now hyper-aware of how embarrassingly messy it was. Tighnari should've listened to his mom earlier. He didn't know he was meeting his soulmate today!
“I… I’m not sure…” Tighnari blinked, visibly perplexed. He glanced at the boars, troubled. A person was cuddling between those stinky animals? How could a fox's nose even handle that? He could barely keep his jaw from hitting the floor.
“Whack!” You blew a raspberry, your small fennec ears drawing back down. “W-Who else would it be other than ME? The boars???”
He grumbled. 'Well, excuse me, prince/ss', that was exactly what Tighnari thought earlier since you were hiding under their fur like an egg waiting to hatch.
“Never mind that! How about you? What are you doing here alone? Where are your parents– and why are you snuggling with them?!”
“C-Cuz it’s cold, alright?!” You sneezed again. Your voice echoed, cute and high-pitched. “M-My parents are adventurers and I wanted to follow them cuz they’re leaving me alone on Celestia Day b-but–”
You sneezed for the umpteenth time.
“B-But I don’t know where they went... I just wanted for us to drink hot cocoa b-but..." You sniffled. 
"S-so I’m hanging out with my REAL family now! They’re nicer and they gave me mushrooms. HMPH!!!”
You proudly put your hands on your hips as your fluffy ears pricked up. You mimicked a "dignified" posture you observed in exaggerated storybooks, pointing your chin upward.
Tighnari clicked his tongue. “Whatever, Boar Prince/ss. Get out of there before they ram their noses to your butt!!”
His weak threat only made his fellow fennec grouchier. “H-Hey! My name is (Y/n) and I’m five years old, th-thank you very much!”
(Y/n)... That’s a really pretty name… He wouldn’t mind saying it often.
“Whatever, I’m still gonna call you Boar Prince/ss. My name’s Tighnari. I’m seven so I’m two years older than you.”
“T-Tighnari, Tighnari. Heh. S-Sounds cool. What’s your last n-name?”
“Huh?”
“O-Obviously I don’t wanna keep my papa’s last name after they abandoned me, so I’M taking your last name, soulmate.”
“Gah– D-Don’t say things like that, you big lummox!!!” Tighnari huffed, his angry breath visible in the cold air. “And they probably didn’t abandon you, you’re just stubborn and you didn't listen to them like a bad kid.”
You purposefully ignored his last remark. “Why not? Aren’t we going to get married someday?”
Tighnari paused, his face heating up. Technically, you're right, but he didn’t want to admit that. 
He reached his hand out to help you get out of the boars’ place. “S-Shut up! Before you freeze, why don’t you come over to my house? My parents can make some pretty good hot cocoa.”
Your eyes beamed at the suggestion. “Drinking hot cocoa? Hmm... But I wanna do that with my cousins though.”
Tighnari's eye twitched. So much for "soulmates".
“HMPH! If you don’t wanna drink cocoa at my place then be one with the forest!”
“W-Wait up!”
Tighnari walked faster, a few paces ahead of them. You profusely apologized to your "new family" as you swerved out of the herd. Unfortunately for him, despite nearly shivering to death, you're a faster runner than Tighnari. Your hand seized his tail, and he felt his face and ears warm up. You could have yanked him playfully, but you chose to look at him and catch a glimpse of yourself in his eyes.
You decided at that moment that you like the color green, too.
“Hehe, your tail’s prettier than mine.”
He felt his heart race again. 
“W-Wa…” Warm...
“Wah?”
Tighnari trembled in jittery frustration.
“W-Watch your step, our place is near s-so it shouldn't be long until we see mom and dad. And grab my hand instead, won't you!” Tighnari huffed. His place WAS near, but that doesn't mean he won't complain about being ordered to pick up wood earlier.
You did what was instructed, and Tighnari suddenly recalled that you referred to him as your soulmate numerous times. He looked down and noticed how much your hands fit perfectly with his.
A perfect fit... A perfect match...
"Hey, soulmate?"
He answered reluctantly. "...Yeah?"
"I like how warm your hands are too..."
"Ngh!"
Tighnari's hand is sweating and his heart can't take it. It's physically impossible for him to fire a sassy retort to that. He closed his eyes again, overwhelmed.
Slightly, he wished that he couldn't see colors so that he wouldn't notice how cute his soulmate is with that "pink" blush dusting their face.
—----
“Oomph– y-you surprised me, love.”
Neither of you can believe it’s been 14 years since you both found each other– and this would be your 12th year spending Celestia's Day together.
Tighnari, now visibly older but just as energetic as he was before, captured your waist from the back. He put his head on your neck, humming contentedly as he basked in your presence. 
"Sorry, I just missed you…"
You smiled and ruffled his hair slightly. "I missed you, too…"
That's right, 12th year. You're finally home after a two-year-long expedition in the Chasm with Miss Yelan. Suppose being a bit adventurous does run in your blood. However, you weren't too late to not witness the nation of Sumeru change because of the traveler's influence. Since your return, Tighnari frequented your house more often– leaving the rangers with more work. Not that they mind, they’d rather pitch in than see their forest watcher mopey and depressed. Besides, you might've missed the Sabzerus festival, but you won't leave your fiance at his lonesome again for Celestia's Day. 
It’s impossible for him to keep under wraps just how much he adores you. Tighnari sighed dreamily, his expression softened as he looked at you. His fingertips shyly brushed against yours until he intertwined your hands. Although you were slightly tense, you relaxed into the hug and squeezed him back.
He whispered in your ear, his soothing tone complimenting the crackling of the fireplace. "I'm not letting you go… Ever…"
"I know."
"You know what? I'm locking the doors."
"Then what's the point of inviting the others to spend Celestia's Day if you did that, hmm? Do you want poor Collei to be alone on the holidays?"
His nose scrunched. The kid was sleeping soundly upstairs after she got tired of waiting for the traveler and Cyno. Tighnari's never going to abandon her, she can't be alone when she got the best parental figures with her. Better than those boars, at least.
"Collei can stay in, she’s like your daughter at this point. The others can perish."
"OUR daughter. Plus, last time I checked, it was your idea to invite them."
His hug tightened, "I made a grave mistake. I don't want to hear Cyno's jokes under the pine tree." 
By no means a novice to his snark, you chuckled softly. As time flew by, your old playful happy-go-lucky nature refined to be more serious, but never dull. You've both matured into fine adults. However, you're behaving rather timidly compared to your usual banter, which only pushed him to act skittish.
Tighnari pouted intentionally cute. “Honey... you know there’s no one else in the world more gorgeous than you, right?”
You tell each other everything, and this is often his best conversation starter for it. “What is it this time, love?”
“Hypothetically speaking, what if I told you I accidentally gave the others the wrong map?”
“...The wrong what?”
“The wrong map to your house.” His voice was muffled this time as he buried his face in the crook of your neck. You’re used to the sensation of him hiding his meek expressions behind you. “What if I told you I mailed them Collei’s drawing?”
You put your hand on your chin profoundly, your ears drooping down. You're something of a schemer yourself, so it's in your nature to doubt his claim. “Ah yes, because I’ll definitely believe you did that accidentally after you just said you don’t want them to come over.”
“Yes– cause this time I’m not lying.”
“Sure, you rotten fox…” You grumbled. “I can’t believe you’re exposing to everyone that I’m the Boar Prince/ss. It was supposed to be a secret!”
Tighnari laughed, his joy so contagious that your pretend dismay collapsed in an instant. The both of you stood by the fireplace for a while, your ears listening to the sound of your soulmate’s breathing.
It's the warm and comfortable moments of silence like this that can wash two years of loneliness away.
Life has kept you both so busy that the beginnings of your somewhat haphazard love story have been buried behind numerous tasks and research papers. Nevertheless, regardless of the conflicts you two had experienced, it all comes down to one tale. It is a wonderful serendipity that both perspectives coalesced into a single, cohesive narrative of a child who believed a boar was his soulmate and another who was unexpectedly adopted by the herd while looking for their parents.
Tighnari traced the engagement ring in your hand. His eyes were intensely green yet soft whenever he gazes at you. 
Green’s such a beautiful color, especially when it paints his features. You'll never grow tired of observing his face.
“(Y/n)... I'm so glad that you're alive, unlike a boar's lifespa–”
As if to ruin a magical moment in a Fontaine rom-com film, the door busted open, revealing a particularly unamused scribe with a mercenary, a dancer, a general, a gliding champion, and a traveler trailing behind him like lost puppies. You flinched at the sound while Tighnari put a distance between you and the “intruders”. He only relaxed when he saw Cyno lazily raise his hand.
“Motherfu– See? I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you, Dehya.”
“Relax, Haitham, what matters is we’re here now.”
“We would’ve gotten here earlier if SOMEONE didn’t trust a crayon map.”
“I’m sure Tighnari didn’t mean to send us that one.”
“Stop defending him, Cyno, you’re not his damn lawyer.”
While carrying a sizable sweet madame, Lumine shrugged at the very back and looked directly at you and Tighnari. Paimon drifted next to her while sluggishly drooling.
"Happy Celestia day!"
Despite being worn out, the traveler tried her best to ignore the miserable arguments being had by everyone with a large smile.
You snorted behind your hand as Alhaitham brushed off the snow in his cloak by the carpet. You found it funny that none of them, except the scribe, ventured to doubt the quite literally sketchy map. It's impressive that they managed to read Collei's handwriting.
Deciding not to point that out, you helped them get inside. Dehya stood behind him with a sheepishly amiable smile with Nilou directly next in the queue. Nilou giggled as Alhaitham muttered a string of curses under his breath about how he’s too feeble of a scholar for this amount of legwork. Meanwhile, the person who you assumed was "Amber", looked around for any signs of her Sumeruan friend.
Your satisfied smile never left your face as you watched your friends chat heartily. Celestia's Day with friends and family... it's just like what you asked for 14 years ago.
"I'll go and wake Collei up," Tighnari muttered before he pecked your cheek. You nodded along. It was your idea to surprise Collei with Amber after all.
"Bring out the mugs and hot cocoa too."
"On it."
Alhaitham noticed the fox was about to leave and scoffed, his face souring in an expression similar to his housemate's. Oh, he's pissed.
“You…" He pointed an accusatory finger at you. "Why did you send us to the middle of the rainforest? And why on earth is it jam-packed with boars? Is this some high-level joke I can’t comprehend?”
“That’s what I would also like to know too, actually,” Nilou mused, but by the teasing lilt of her voice, it seemed as if she already guessed the answer. “Why did you mark the boars’ habitat as (Y/n)’s home?”
You and Tighnari looked at each other in unison. Your shoulders shook as you both silently held back your laughter.
“Yeah, well, about that…”
----------
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Ansytea: happy holidays, riabef!!! hope you liked this <33!!!
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jellalism · 1 year
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Genshin x GN!Reader fic: Home is where the hearth is
Every time you exhale, your breath creates little clouds. It’s cold. Very cold. You thought you’d put on enough layers to stay warm, but evidently you underestimated how cold it would be. You trudge your way through the snow-covered streets, careful not to slip. Just a few more turns, and you’ll arrive home, where your boyfriend will be waiting for you.
Characters: Diluc - Alhaitham
Word count: 1424
Content warning: None
Notes: Written for the Genshin Impact Secret Santa event, organized by @2022gisecretsanta. This one is for @orphic-musings; I hope you enjoy!
Read below or on AO3.
Diluc
You waltz in through the front door, and Adelinde rushes towards you. “Oh my, you look like you’re freezing!” she says as she helps you out of your coat. “Do you want some hot chocolate?” You nod.
“Alright. Diluc is in his study,” she says suggestively. You mumble a word of thanks and make your way up the stairs.
When you arrive at the study, you first knock on the door. “Come in,” Diluc’s calm voice sounds. You open the door and enter. Diluc is sitting behind his desk. It is covered in papers but somehow still seems organized. “Ah, you’ve returned,” he says with a warm smile.
“I’ve missed you.” You walk to him and hug him from behind. As your cheek touches his, he jolts slightly.
“Archons, you’re freezing!”
“I am. Warm me up?”
Diluc disentangles himself from your embrace and turns to face you. “What would you have me do, my love?”
“I want to cuddle.”
Diluc gets up and pulls you in a tight embrace. His arms wrap around your back, warm and comforting. Your chests press against each other, and his warmth flows into you. “I can do that. For you, I can always make some time.” He kisses your forehead tenderly. “Let’s move to the sofa.”
“Mm-mm,” you agree. He takes your hand and leads you to the couch. He sits down first, and then, with a quick pull, makes you stumble right into his arms. You chuckle.
“Make yourself comfortable. I’ve missed you too.” When you look up at him, he has the most tender smile on his face, looking at you as if you’re the most valuable thing in the world.
You get comfortable and relax. Your head rests on his chest while his left arm is wrapped around your side. His right hand carefully caresses your head. You can feel his heart beading steadily. Badump. Badump. It’s enough to make you doze off, but just as you’re about to fall asleep, a knock on the door interrupts.
“Come in,” Diluc says. You slowly start to rise, but he pushes you back into his arms. “Stay. You’re not warmed up enough yet.” He sounds kind, yet strict. Meanwhile, Adelinde is entering the room—she’s already seen you together plenty of times, so there’s no embarrassment.
“Your hot chocolate,” she says, as she puts a steaming mug on a nearby table.
You murmur a word of thanks, but she is already elsewhere with her thoughts. “One minute,” she says, hurrying out of the room. A few moments later she returns, carrying a blanket. “This should help you relax even more.
“Thank you, Adelinde. That’s thoughtful,” Diluc answers, taking the blanket from her. 
“My pleasure.” She curtsies and then hurries out of the room—no doubt she knows well that cuddling is much more comfortable in private. Diluc unfolds the blanket and drapes it over the two of you.
“Mmm. Comfortable,” you mutter. The material is very soft and pleasant to the touch.
“I could stay with you like this forever,” he mutters.
“Let’s.” You close your eyes again and listen to his heartbeat.
He chuckles softly. “I wish we could. However, at some point we’ll have to enter the world again. But for now, let’s relax while we can.”
“Yeah,” you mumble. The words don’t come out clearly, since you’re already drowsy. His warmth, the steady beating of his heart, the rising and falling of his chest—they slowly lull you to sleep.
Alhaitham
As if prescient, Alhaitham opens the door right when you’re about to open it yourself. “I was expecting you around this time. Come on.” He turns around and walks back into the house, not bothering to check if you’ll follow; he knows you will. Inside, it’s pleasantly warm.
Once you’ve taken off your winter coat and scarf, you make your way to the living room. The fire in the hearth is crackling enthusiastically. Alhaitham doesn’t get cold quickly, so he probably made the fire just a little while before he expected you home, warming the house up just for you. You settle into one of the comfortable chairs near the fire and let your body relax, soaking in the warmth. You close your eyes.
Some noises come from the kitchen. A few moments later, the sound of approaching footsteps—Alhaitham’s.
“Y/n.”
You open your eyes. Alhaitham is holding out a cup of tea for you.
“Thank you,” you say as you move to take it from him. But just before you grab hold, he moves his hand, and places the cup on the table—just out of your reach.
“It’s not free,” he says strictly.
You smile. “Well then, what’s the price?”
He kneels in front of you and moves his face closer. Then he taps a finger on his own lips. The cue is obvious. You bridge the remaining space between you and place your lips on his. He feels warm and tastes of a variety of spices. Turmeric? Cinnamon? Clove? You can’t quite place the combination, but it warms you up further.
When the kiss ends, Alhaitham speaks up again, his face still close. “I don’t think that was quite enough.” Before you can respond, his arms wrap around and under your body, and you feel his strong arms lifting you up, out of the chair.  
“H-hey! What’s the plan here?”
“Don’t worry. We’re just switching places.” He turns and then sits down in the chair you were just in, placing you between his legs. “Yes, I think this will do.”
His arms pull you close to him. Your back touches his firm chest. It’s comfortable, you can’t help but think. To be wrapped in his body, the body of the man you trust most, puts you at ease. You close your eyes again.
You hear Alhaitham chuckle softly behind you. “Off to sleep?”
“Not yet. But I’ll bet it won’t take long.”
“Well, don’t forget your tea. I didn’t make it for you to forget it.”
Right. You lean forward as far as you can and can just grab hold of the cup.
“Good,” he says as you lean back against him. “Since I hope to be here with you for a while, you surely don’t mind if I take out a book.”
“Go ahead,” you murmur.
He doesn’t waste a second and conjures a book out of nowhere. The book rests in your lap, his hands holding it with his arms around your waist—and his chin on your shoulder.
“Is it comfortable like this?” you ask.
“I have not a single complaint. Now we should stay like this for a couple of hours. You wouldn’t dare interrupt a scholar in his research, would you?”
“Of course not.”
He doesn’t reply anymore. He is engrossed in the book.
You sit like that for a good 15 minutes. The tea is cooling down and you sip it. But the silence nags at you a little. Alhaitham has such a nice voice—why doesn’t he use it more?
“Alhaitham.”
“Yes, y/n?”
“Can you read out loud what you’re reading? I want to hear your voice.”
You don’t see, but can feel him grinning.
“Certainly.” And he starts. “‘A scientific research is complete only when one has previously examined the dialectical arguments pro and contra because if one has not examined something critically, one does not know the extent of the knowledge of it one has acquired after being ignorant of it, nor the extent of what escaped one of the knowledge of it before one knew it.’[1] Did you get that?” he asks teasingly.
“Not at all. But your voice is nice.”
“Then, I shall continue. ‘Thus he thought that the best didactic procedure was to devote a special inquiry to the problems of this science and their investigation together…’” His low voice puts you at ease, and so do the vibrations his voice bring about in his chest and throat. It almost feels like he is a giant purring cat.
Before you know it, the hours do pass, so peaceful and warm in his arms.
Notes
[1] Ibn Rushd, Commentary on Aristotle’s Metaphysics, Book Lam, p.1398, translated by Hans Daiber.
Alhaitham gets his name from the historical figure Ḥasan Ibn al-Haytham. In the quest 'Cry from the Eleazar Hospital', Alhaitham is shown reading Aristotle's 'Physics' (according to the GI wiki, anyway - I couldn't find the passage in question he was reading). For this fic, I thought it would be fitting to have him read from what is arguably Aristotle's best-known commentator, Ibn Rushd (or, as he is more commonly known, Averroes).
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asexual-but · 1 year
Text
A Surprisingly Silent Night
Secret Santa Gift for @eunoiaaaivy
Zhongli is a favorite of mine <3
Here's something hurt/comfort fluffy for a cold holiday ^^
I am so sorry for how late this is.
Overseeing the world, playing the game.
Granting strength to the most beloved of worshipers, grinding artifacts for your team.
Showering them with your love and trust, pulling them on whatever banner had taken up your fancy.
This was horribly overwhelming, and soul-crushingly lonely. To be regarded as above everyone meant that you had no peers, no true friends. Not anymore.
Your previous life seemed so far away, everyone you had known, loved, even hated... Gone. Slipped from your grasp like sand. It was immensely lonely and very... Strange. Like your memories were only a distant dream, though a majority of your life was spent immersed in it. As far off memories from the deity everyone held you as started taking hold. Power cradled in your arms, respect holding people at your feet. You had seemingly everything.
Yet you longed for nothing more than the relative simplicity of your previous life. Even if the world fell at your feet and the skies and mountains would split at your request... What good was this power when you were alone in it?
Everyone loved you, but it was a distant and reverent type of love. One that never let them get close.
Except...
As your memories of the creation of the Teyvat returned, you found yourself mourning a great deal. Friends, lovers, all turned to dust in the face of your pure immortality. Now, in modern Teyvat, the only familiar face among your acolytes was Zhongli.
A favorite of your when you thought this was a game, and one of your most devout followers. Though not without reason. Zhongli had known you before you left Teyvat. A young, rash god who wore his heart on his sleeve and was often bowled over by other gods at the time, who used his anger against him. He learned to control himself. That much was obvious.
In the infancy of his godhood, Morax, like many godlings, followed you closely a duckling. They gained power and learned to control it by basking in your shining divine aura. He had been fierce and capable even then. But you were there to protect him, even when the others teased him until he swore he'd have them in their graves.
Now Morax was refined, polished like a fine jade. But still he sought your attention and presence more than anything.
Being so ancient, and having been so close to you even back then, Zhongli finds himself reminiscing. Sad eyes follow you as he notes the ways you have changed, and the ways you have stayed the same.
Your presence now staves off the erosion, reverses it even. You are comfort. But you always seem so far away... Not in the way it seemed when he was young, where you were busy and yet the picture of true divinity. But in a sad, lost sort of way. Zhongli could only stand watch over you as your power returned in full. A slow process, but one which was very exciting to the eldest of your worshippers.
But still, many of the Adepti agreed that something had been bothering you, and so the "revived" archon of Geo was sent to your side with a new task.
Find out what is bothering The Divine Creator, and remedy it.
Winter was always a somewhat difficult time for you. Perhaps the winter holidays were a time of joy before, but without the friends, family, and familiar festivities...
Winter in Teyvat was just as cold, and just as dark. From where you sat, seasonal sadness seemed like it was inevitable now. No festive lights, and no friends to join you.
You considered your options, perhaps you'd visit a temple of an old "friend," someone you only remembered through memories you didn't feel like you made. Or maybe you could take a look around the same game areas you'd already explored a million times.
Your personal chambers were warmed by a gentle fire which gave you some pleasant ambient noise, but somehow it felt too quiet here still. But an unsure tap at the door broke that monotony.
Walking from your place by the window, you opened the door to greet your guest. You weren't sure who to expect. Though, you weren't entirely surprised to find Zhongli. He seems to be at your side as often as possible, a consistent presence that was oddly comforting.
"Your Grace, may I enter?" Zhongli bowed as he requested permission to enter your home. You held back an urge to sigh, and stepped aside to let him in.
As he walked in, he took a good look at your space. It was simple, you decorated it with familiar plants and patterns. It reminded you of home, but Zhongli was seeing it as a holy site. He complimented the style, and was sure to make note of your choices. These would shortly become more common throughout all of Teyvat.
But his attention drifted back to the problem as your polite smile fell, and you went back to your place beside the window.
Zhongli was here for a visit. Perhaps you'd have him listen to stories from your home. Maybe you'd spend your time near your winter holiday season reminiscing about times you'd never get to enjoy again. But before you could offer to tell him, he cleared his throat, and caught your full attention again.
"Your Grace... we, the Adepti and I, have noticed that you haven't been acting quite yourself in the last few days. You've been more reclusive, and it has brought us a bit of concern. If it is not an overstep on my part... may I ask what troubles you?" Zhongli stepped a bit closer to you, but did not meet your gaze.
Oh. So they'd noticed.
You shook your head.
"Don't worry about it, Zhongli. I'm just..." You paused to consider how best to word it.
Venti had told you before that you didn't need to miss anything from your previous life,that everything you could possibly need was in Teyvat. But that couldn't stop you.
"I'm just missing old times is all. In the other world, I'd be celebrating the holidays with my friends." You said it. You told the truth and watched closely for his reaction.
Zhongli's eyes narrowed in thought, and then you saw the flicker of curiosity on his face.
"Holidays, Your Grace? What was it that you celebrated back then?" You'd clearly had his interest now.
You smiled fondly and sat beside the fire, gesturing for him to join you near the dancing flame.
"If you can do one thing for me, I'll tell you all about it." You offered as he sat with you.
Zhongli nodded. "Whatever it is you wish, I will do, Your Grace."
"Call me (_), and please... I just need a friend." You reached for him and grabbed his hand gently. He nearly flinched away in surprise.
"It is horribly lonely here, and I have so many people who love me... But none who really know me... So please, Zhongli.... Will you be my friend?" You pleaded with him. Somewhere in your mind you expected he would never refuse you, but Zhongli was full of surprises when he really wanted to be.
For the first time ever in his memory, Zhongli held your gaze. He looked into your eyes and saw a reflection of himself long ago. Having lost so much to become an archon, he too was once gripped by loneliness.
But couldn't change your form and seek company of the common people, and you couldn't return even to places you missed, even if the people who mattered to those memories weren't there with you.
And so with a gentle smile and nod, Zhongli placed his other hand on yours.
"Of course, (_), I will be your friend."
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lovely-josuke · 1 year
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𝐌𝐘 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐃 — 𝐊𝐀𝐄𝐘𝐀 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐇!
❝Letters by an unknown sender arrive at your office desk daily. The Cavalry Captain suggests you figure out who is the one behind the pen.❞
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❝𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: NONE!
❝𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓: 5.5K!
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❝NOTE: Hello hello to @kaeyas-beloved! You were my secret Santa for the Genshin Impact Secret Santa event! I decided to write a Kaeya fic for you and I hope that you enjoy it lovely! <3
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“Oh? What do we have here?” Kaeya closes the door to your office behind him. “Yet again another letter?” He recognizes the familiar white envelope. You had it in your hands while reading the letter that was inside it. You don’t look up from the letter and only nod. Kaeya finally reaches your desk and leans against it with his arms crossed.
“Found it this morning. I finally had time to read it.” You say.
“What did our friend say this time?” Kaeya asks, trying to read the letter alongside you but not having a good angle to make out the words. “He hasn’t run out of things to say, especially after five months of daily letters.”
“My dear beloved. I appreciate the work you do in order to keep us safe as much as I appreciate your entire being.” Kaeya stops all of a sudden and finishes the letter in silence. “You need to figure out who this guy is. Come now. You mean to tell me in five months you haven’t had a day off to find out the sender?” Kaeya places both of his hands on your desk. You scratch your head, unsure about it. Kaeya raises his eyebrow. You sigh, pushing your chair back and standing up to stretch.
“My dear beloved. I appreciate the work you do in order to keep us safe as much as I appreciate your entire being.” Kaeya stops all of a sudden and finishes the letter in silence. “You need to figure out who this guy is. Come now. You mean to tell me in five months you haven’t had a day off to find out the sender?” Kaeya places both of his hands on your desk. You scratch your head, unsure about it. Kaeya raises his eyebrow. You sigh, pushing your chair back and standing up to stretch.
“Trust me, I have. But every time I try to think, there’s no one that comes to mind.” You tap your finger on the stack of papers sitting on the desk. “And work hasn’t been so kind to me lately.” Kaeya’s eye travels down and he chuckles.
“Alright alright.” He holds his hands up in defense. “Point taken. There are many possibilities. I wouldn’t even know where to start.” Kaeya glances at the letter still in his hand and back at you who started shuffling papers into a neat pile.
“If you want to get a lead on it, be my guest.” You set the stack aside and grab another one, flipping through the pages.
“In that case. Do you mind if I take this with me?” Kaeya raises the letter up. “I’ll bring it back. I know you like to keep them.” You agree, giving permission for Kaeya to do as he likes.
He’s gone but not before letting you know he’d be in the library in case you need him. You decide to finish up the current stack and then you’d go see what Kaeya was up to. It would also give you the opportunity to check out a new book. You make your way to the library and there’s Kaeya sitting at one of the many tables.
His materials are laying on the table. He has your letter, a separate sheet of paper which he currently writes on, and a pen in hand. Kaeya seems to be reading the letter and writes down a couple notes. You head for the stairs, careful to not disrupt him.
“What are you working on?” You hover over his shoulder to get a glance. He stops writing,
“I’m coming up with a list of who it could be.” Kaeya answers and taps the end of the pen on the paper. You look at the list Kaeya came up with. In the first bullet, Kaeya wrote Timaeus. He was followed up by Diluc in the second bullet. The list had a huge range of different names. In total, he had six names written down. “Think of me as your partner.”
“I’m sorry. Diluc and Liyue?” You pointed to where Kaeya had written Liyue under Albedo’s name. “Liyue is an entire region if you didn’t know.”
“No no.” Kaeya starts, “I always forget his name. The guy we met in Liyue. He was part of the Fatui and was around the guy with the Geo vision.” You scoff and pull out the chair next to him to sit down.
“Childe? That literally makes no sense.” You said, “It’s obvious he lives in Mondstadt. Especially after today’s letter. Childe’s located in Liyue which wouldn’t make sense if he’s thanking me for all the work I do. He probably doesn’t even know I have a Pyro vision.”
“A carrier pigeon can get a letter here in roughly ten hours give or take.” Kaeya counts on his fingers. “Whereas on foot, it would be a day trip. That’s only if there are no complications along the way.”
“You said it yourself. Day trip without any complications. Which means, the way back is a day trip too.” You counter, “And doesn’t sound like you’re including rest stops either. Keeping up that routine for five months? I think I’d rather confess.” Kaeya lets out a laugh.
“You caught me. I just wanted to have an excuse to go to Liyue with you again.” Kaeya strikes through ‘Liyue’, leaving the list to only five people now. “Never fail to live up to your title, strategist.”
“All you had to do was tell me you wanted to visit Liyue again.” You lean your head into your hand with a smile. Kaeya copies your action in a teasing manner.
“There’s a lot of things I would like to tell you.” Kaeya then slides the list over to your side of the table. “As for Diluc, don’t you agree that the words used in all the letters are part of his normal vocabulary?” He was right on that part. The words did come off as professional and sophisticated. You pick up the list.
“I’ll give you that one.” You said, checking the list for a second time. “I highly doubt it’s Diluc though. We get along well to a certain extent.”
“I put Timaeus first because he said you were his favorite knight.” Kaeya points to the top. “And what has the sender expressed multiple times? You are his favorite knight. It makes Timaeus the top suspect.” You check the rest of the list. Bennett, Venti, and Albedo were the remaining names. All better leads than what you could come up with.
“Get off work yet?” You asked Kaeya, tearing your gaze away from the list. “We can start going down the list today.” Kaeya stands up from his chair, extending his hand out to you.
“I was never on for today.” He says once you take his hand. You and Kaeya say your goodbyes to a group of knights at the door. Kaeya continues to give his reasons for the rest of the people on the list.
He added Albedo since he invited you to dinner once. Although you’d told him nothing romantic happened, Kaeya said, ‘Maybe not for you’. Bennett was on the list because he said your position as the strategist was amazing.
Now in the city, you find Timaeus at Good Hunter, ordering food. He’s the first in line and once he’s done, starts walking back to the crafting stand. He begins fixing up his shelf of books.
“Let’s go up to him now. That way once his food is ready, we won’t be bothering him.” You begin walking over to Timaeus, Kaeya right behind you. “Timaeus, how are you?” He slides a book back in the correct spot.
“I wasn’t expecting to be visited by you two today.” Timaeus greets you and Kaeya. He picks up one of the books near the crafting table. “How can I be of assistance?” Kaeya hands him your daily love letter.
“Mind reading this for us?” Kaeya asks, “We’ll be on our way once you’re done.” Timaeus skims the letter and agrees.
“My dear beloved. I appreciate the work you do in order to keep us safe as much as I appreciate your entire being.” Timaeus is careful to not mess up as he reads. You aren’t feeling much of a reaction as he finishes up reading the letter. His composure is still the same and didn’t chance in the slightest.
You look at Kaeya and shake your head. He mentally marks off Timaeus from the list and takes the letter back.
“Thanks for your time. We’ll be leaving now.” You and Kaeya leave a puzzled Timaeus alone. Not having much to worry about, he goes back to fixing his bookshelf. “I think he’s a normal fan with a normal appreciation of me.” You tell Kaeya once you two are a distance away from Timaeus. Kaeya throws his arm around your shoulder and brings out the list. He opens it with his free hand.
“Then our next trip is to Angel’s Share.” Kaeya says, “Let’s see if Diluc’s still there.”
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“What do you two want?” Diluc doesn’t seem pleased that Kaeya is his guest for the day. Kaeya outstretched his arms,
“Is that any way to greet us? Especially the lengths we came to see you?” Diluc exhales. “We only wanted to ask you to do a simple favor for us.”
Charles told you and Kaeya that Diluc had gone back to the Dawn Winery. Venti was there performing so you thought it was a good idea to stay until he was finished. Not that it helped since Venti ended up refusing to read the letter. He claimed that he would confess his love through a song given the chance.
“Depends on what the so-called, simple, favor is.” Diluc narrows his eyes. “Unlike the other simple favor you asked me for.” Kaeya waves his hand around.
“Nothing like that.” Kaeya walks up to the red haired man with the letter, “(Y/N) and I need you to read this.” Diluc glances at it before snatching the paper from his hand. He runs through it briefly and gives you both a confused look. Kaeya sends him a nod and tells him to start reading. Diluc shakes his head and clears out his throat.
“My dear beloved. I appreciate the work you do in order to keep us safe as much as I appreciate your entire being.” Diluc said, irritation laced in the tone of his voice. Kaeya stops him mid sentence.
“Ah ah ah.” He waves a finger in a no motion. Diluc glares at him. “Pretend she and I aren’t here.” Kaeya returns to his position beside you, placing both of his hands on his hips. Diluc grits his teeth, but goes along with what Kaeya requested.
“My dear beloved. I appreciate the work you do in order to keep us safe as much as I appreciate your entire being.” Diluc’s tone changes, “You are one of the most hard working knights and should be noticed more. If no one has thanked you yet, then I shall be the first to do it. Keep my words close to you, please. As one day, I wish I could tell you this in person. But that will happen once I gain the confidence to step forward. Happy now?” Diluc extends the letter out. Kaeya smirks and begins slow clapping.
“My oh my. So touching. Wouldn’t you agree?” Kaeya nods at you. “If it weren’t for his monotonous voice, I’d’ve said we had our man.”
“What exactly are you talking about?” Diluc asks.
“Someone has been sending me these letters.” You answer Diluc’s question. Diluc skims the handwriting on the sheet of paper one more time. He narrows his eyes at Kaeya who in return raises his brow. “I’m trying to figure out who it is. Kaeya made a list of suspects and we’re just going down the list. By the way you’re acting, it’s most likely not you either.” You reach for the letter. Diluc allows you to take it back and proceeds to head for the stairs.
“Well. I wish you luck in finding your admirer.” He stops on the second step while holding the railing. “Who knows? Perhaps it’ll be someone rather close to you.” His gaze travels to Kaeya for a quick moment. Kaeya has a finger pressed against his lips. Diluc continues to ascend up the stairs and disappears into one of the rooms.
“That went better than expected.” Kaeya breaks the silence. “Your thoughts?”
“Stop bothering him.” You roll your eyes at him and turn on your heel to leave. Kaeya bursts into laughter, “You knew what you were doing. Poor man wants to make his wine in peace.” Kaeya jogs after you, the servants at the front door escorting you out.
“I’m doing my job. Is it my fault he doesn’t want to cooperate?” Kaeya places a hand on his chest. “Besides, you say it’s not him. What if he was hiding his emotions well enough that the strategist couldn’t see through it.”
“Diluc and Timaeus both acted the same they usually do when they read the letter.” You say goodbye to whoever is nearby. “Even if their voice wavered the slightest bit, I would have picked up on it. But no. They had no idea what they were reading and it was obvious.”
“Next on our list is Bennett. Shall we go find him?” Kaeya folds the paper once again and it goes back in his pocket. You see the sky’s beginning to change colors. The trip to Dawn Winery was longer than expected.
“No. It’s fine. I have work to finish.” You say. “And plus, I wasted your time with Timaeus and Diluc. You most likely have better things to do.”
“I don’t. Like I said, I was never on for today.” Kaeya places his hands on the back of his head, “I only came to see you… And what our friend wrote. Want me to go interrogate Bennett for you instead? I’ll be nice.”
“That’s okay.” You pat his back, “I’m grateful you’re trying to help. I’ll pick this up again once I’m not busy. And I’ll feel much better knowing I’m not taking up your time with dead ends.”
You and Kaeya part ways once you’re back in the city.
You completely forget about having to visit Bennett and Albedo for the week. And the letters weren’t leaving any time soon. Kaeya joined in every morning to read the recent ones while coming up with his own theories.
A knock resonates through your office and you raise your head. Lisa stands at the door and waves her hand once you see her.
“I knew you’d still be here.” She smiles and leans on the doorway. “Jean and I are going to get something to eat. Want to join us?”
“Is it lunchtime already?!” You say in a panicked tone. You’re checking the time while Lisa tuts in return. “Time went by so fast. I’ve been working all morning, I completely forgot.”
“I think that’s a sign.” Lisa tilts her head to the side, “Let’s go. It’ll be on me.”
“I’m almost done. You go ahead and I’ll catch up!” You want to finish the sentence you’re on.
“Oh no.” Lisa marches over to your desk and snatches the pen out of your hand. She closes the cap, “Jean said the same thing. I will be getting one of you out of here.” She pulls at your wrist and you willingly let her. No one in all of Teyvat could convince you to argue with Lisa.
“But,” You sigh in defeat and Lisa drags you alongside of her. “You’re lucky I’m scared of you.” She chuckles and taps the end of your pen against your cheek.
“Even if you weren’t, you still wouldn’t be able to say no.” You and Lisa leave the headquarters for Good Hunter. Halfway to your destination, Jean came running after you both. She said she’d put the work aside for now as the lunch break was necessary.
Once arriving, compared to when you and Kaeya came looking for Timaeus, there was no waiting line. In fact, the only person currently at Good Hunter was Bennett. He sat at one of the tables writing something. And your mind instantly thought of the letters. Bennett and Albedo were the remaining you hadn’t talked to yet.
Lisa gets her small purse ready for when she needs to pay. She sparks up a conversation with Sarah on how the day has been. Meanwhile, Jean takes a seat at one of the tables to keep it reserved. You take the initiative and decide to talk to Bennett. Maybe you’d catch him in the act of writing another letter if it truly is him.
“Bennett, how are you?” You approach his table. He returns your greeting with a smile and tells you he was doing great. “What are you writing?” You take a peek. Before Bennett can answer, the tip of his pen pops. In result it leaves a large ink splotch that ruins the entire sheet.
“Aw man.” Bennett groans, “Now I have to start all over again.” He removes the paper to reveal a couple other sheets under the first. He reaches into a small bag on the table and pulls out another pen. You can see Fischl’s name on the messed up paper. Soon an idea comes to you.
You pick the paper up and furrow your eyebrows as you read. The words Bennett wrote were not only the same as Ficshl’s daily vocabulary, but the handwriting was somewhat comparable to the ones of your confession letters. Not all the way, just partially. Some of the strokes of Bennett’s letters were very similar. Could they have been modified?
“I was writing a letter to Fischl.” Bennett breaks your train of thought. “I’m leaving on an expedition. I wanted to give this to Katheryne by the end of the day. But you know me and bad luck. That’s the sixth one I mess up.” His words go in one ear and go out the other.
“Handwriting. Why didn’t I think of this before?” You said which leaves Bennett confused. Suddenly, you take off running but come to a quick halt. “Do you mind if I keep this?” You wave the ruined letter in the air at Bennett. The action caught Lisa’s attention.
“Sure?” Bennett shrugs.
“And where do you think you’re going?” Lisa cuts her conversation with Sarah. She sounds and looks angry. You point at her.
“Jade parcels. I will be right back! If I’m not, you can hang me upside down from the Statue at Windrise.” And you’re gone in the direction of Angel’s Share. First to see Diluc. Right after, you’d rush back to the headquarters to see if Sucrose is still around.
Sucrose passed on the word to Albedo that you needed his handwriting. Specifically all the letters of the alphabet written in uppercase and lowercase. When Sucrose came back, she said he told her he’d have it ready and you were free to come pick it up whenever.
“I swear, now I remember how much I hate this place.” Albedo’s head whips over to you. You’re shivering under the layers of jackets you wore for the short trip. “My vision didn’t help keep me warm.”
“I’m sorry. Maybe I should have gone to you instead.” Albedo brings you close to the small fire. You rub your hands together over the fire. “You know, this is the second time someone asks for my handwriting.” Albedo finds the scrap sheet of paper where he wrote all the letters of the alphabet under the book he was reading.
“There’s no way someone else asked you for the same thing.” You accept the paper from him. His handwriting is just as neat as Diluc’s. You flip the sheet of paper where he wrote the lowercase letters on the back.
“Yes. Kaeya beat you to it.” You scrunch up your nose. Kaeya asked Albedo for his handwriting before?
“What do you mean?” Albedo tilts his head to the side.
“Kaeya. He asked me for the same thing. I’d say, about five months ago?” Your eyes widen for a split second. “Is everything okay?” Albedo asks, placing a hand on your shoulder.
“Did he say what for?” And Albedo shakes his head.
“It looked like he didn’t want to tell me.” Albedo drops his hand. “I’m assuming this is for him too. Did he misplace the first sheet I gave him?”
A new piece of information that changes a lot of things. To anyone it might seem useless, and it might have been useless to you also had Albedo not mentioned the time span. You sigh and place your hand on your forehead. The touch is still cold, reminding you of your surroundings.
“I’ll be honest with you Albedo.” He puts a bookmark between the pages he was reading before you got here. Albedo shuts the book, paying close attention to every detail that comes from your mouth. “I have been getting these love letters for the past few months. No clue on who it is whatsoever. Kaeya has read them since the beginning and told me to figure out who it is.”
Albedo nods, allowing you to continue speaking.
“I agreed because he would be helping me. He came up with a list of people.” You point at Albedo, “You’re one of them. Hence, why I asked you for this. Originally we were asking them to read it. But anyone can hide their emotions if they're good enough. Handwriting on the other hand. Not something you can fake easily.”
You finish telling him your dilema and he takes in a while to process what you’ve told him.
“Does Kaeya know about you asking me for that?” He asks and you say no.
“I told him it was fine and he could stop helping me. I would try to figure it out on my own.” You add. Albedo crosses his arms.
“Let me take Kaeya’s place for now and add someone to that list.” Albedo says, “Have you thought that perhaps, Kaeya is the one sending the letters?”
“No. It can’t be. I mean, why would he drag me around Mondstadt asking a bunch of other people if they’re my secret admirer?” You respond, thinking back to Kaeya’s actions from this past week. A smile forms on Albedo’s face.
“In my opinion, that sounds like something he would do. Besides strategist, the dates do add up. Kaeya asked me five months ago my handwriting,” Albedo raises his left hand and then raises his right, “You got your first letter five months ago. Don’t you at least think that something worth looking into?”
He does have a point. Though, why pretend what you’re trying to confess is made by another? Is admitting he likes you too much for Kaeya?
“Like you said, handwriting is not something you can fake easily.” Albedo turns his back and reopens the book, “It will always reveal the truth.” Albedo wished you a safe trip back to Mondstadt. The Sun had already settled by the time you got back and the Moon was high in the sky.
The idea of Kaeya being your admirer wasn’t leaving your mind anytime soon. It’s just going to have to be another restless night until you get to the bottom of this. Two knights sound outside the doors of the headquarters and allow you entry once they see you. You go up the stairs and to your office where all your notes from last night were at.
Last night you stayed behind comparing Diluc and Bennett’s handwriting to the ones of the letters. Only to come and find out there were several. You easily recognized Jean’s in the mix. Diluc, Bennett, and even Barbara’s handwriting, were all crafted perfectly into your love notes. You’ll give your admirer the credit of being one step ahead of you.
You open the first drawer, revealing the stack of notes you kept safe. Along with the notes, you chose one letter from each of the five months. With Albedo now giving you his handwriting, you had almost everyone on the list and a few who weren’t.
You came back down the stairs and opened the door to the library. The lights and candles were still on. You sat at one of the library tables on the second floor. Separating the notes in an orderly manner, you began examining Albedo’s handwriting.
Albedo’s writing had been in the letters since the first one. His seemed to be the base writing. Of course, modified just like the rest of the handwritings used. Whereas Diluc’s handwriting hadn’t been added until the third month. The same went for Bennett. Each letter from the alphabet had a different stroke, different style, and matching one of the many people Kaeya added as a suspect.
On the list of your notes you wrote down who your admirer used for each letter. Albedo was primarily used for the letters A and H. Diluc was used for the letters D and I. You continued until all the letters of the alphabet had one corresponding person.
All but one letter.
The letter K didn’t match anyone. Out of ten people on the list, not a single person. You grabbed the letter and walked over to the checkout list for books Lisa had. You began flipping through past dates until landing on one page. Right under your name where you checked out a book series was your accompanying friend. He agreed that day to check out the same book series as you.
In black ink and perfectly matching the K on every letter for the past five months.
Kaeya Alberich.
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“And if it’s not him, that means he knows who it is.” You rest your elbows on the countertop. You’d just finished telling Diluc the trap you’d set up. Diluc is surprised how you’d managed to create such a smart trap. “So? Think it’ll work?”
After concluding Kaeya had to be the one writing the letters, you set up a trap for him to confess. The trap was writing back to the admirer. Last night in the library, you wrote in said letter that you wanted to meet him in person the next day. You’d chosen the time and the location of Angel’s Share. Once you were done. You hid the letter in the same spot your letters were delivered. In the morning, it was replaced with your daily letter.
Though the catch was that you didn’t tell Kaeya you wrote to the admirer nor told him about Angel’s Share. So if he came into Angel’s Share at the exact time, then there was no doubt Kaeya was the sender.
“You never fail to amaze me.” Diluc continues making a customer’s order. “Still, I can’t believe it took you this long to figure out.” You roll your eyes.
“And you knew?” He gives you a small smile.
“From the moment he made me read it. The K was a dead giveaway.” Now the look he gave Kaeya was starting to make sense. “Either way, you should head upstairs. It’s almost time.” You check the clock hanging on the wall. Sure enough the time you wrote on the letter was approaching fast. You slid off the stool, taking your drink with you and went up the stairs of Angel’s Share to the second floor.
It was empty with a few jugs sitting on some tables. You sat down and sigh. You had to be right on this. Diluc himself said it was Kaeya and Albedo was dead set on it being him too. The tavern door could be heard opening and shutting from the second floor.
“We meet again.” Kaeya’s voice resonates from the bottom. “Be a dear and make me a drink, will you?” Diluc scoffs, watching as Kaeya makes his way for what he was expecting. The stairs leading to the second floor.
Kaeya reaches the top step, clenching and releasing his hands once he sees you. He takes a deep breath and shows off the best confidence he can fake.
“The lady of the hour.” Kaeya says, catching your attention. Your heart pounds in your chest and you feel your stomach twist at the sight of Kaeya. He’s right on time, second floor, at Angel’s Share. Kaeya sits across from you at the table of your choice. He starts looking around to see the second floor empty. “Where is he?”
“Where is who?” You play along, feigning to be confused. You have to lure him in a little more.
“Our friend. Your secret admirer. Don’t tell me he doesn’t want to show up.” Kaeya says, “I specifically asked permission to leave early to meet him. You finally write back and he’s not here? All your hard work can’t go down the drain just like that.”
“Kaeya.” He hums in response. “How do you know I wrote a letter back to him?”
“Well, you told me about it of—” Kaeya trails off once realization hits him. You never told him you’d be meeting your admirer. You never told him it would be on the second floor of Angel’s Share. And the smile on your lips is the same one he loves to see once your plans are successful. “Course…”
“Checkmate.” You lace your hands together, placing them on the table. He drops his head, letting out a soft laugh. So you finally figured out it was him. No use in hiding it anymore.
“In what world could I outplay the strategist?” Kaeya grins, looking you in the eye again. “What gave it away?”
“Handwriting.” You begin to explain, “You were smart enough to add over ten different handwritings each time you wrote a letter. Your mistake was not taking away one. Your own. But Kaeya, you have a lot of nerve dragging me to Dawn Winery knowing it was you the entire time!” You lean over the table and pinch his cheek. He rubs his now sore cheek with a pout.
“How rude. I had to help you figure it out somehow.” Kaeya soothes his red cheek. “For your information, it has been five months and you weren’t making any sort of progress.” You collect your composure and sit back down.
“Why didn’t you just tell me?” You ask. “In five months you never got the courage?” Kaeya casted his gaze to the side. He was a little embarrassed. Putting up a front of a confident man when he was with you. In actuality, it disappeared the second you would say a word to him.
“All that confidence went flying in the Anemo archon’s wind—” A loud sneeze cut into the conversation. From below, Diluc says ‘bless you’ and Venti replies ‘thank you’. “When I tried to tell you. And then I did think you’d fallen in love with that scribe from the famous Sumeru Akademiya we met at headquarters.”
“We met Alhaitham once and haven’t heard from him since.” You press your lips in a thin line.
Kaeya still hasn’t looked at you. A silence falls and he begins tapping his fingers on the table, wondering what else he should say. The tapping grows consistently and you reach to hold onto his hand in order to make him stop. At the touch, Kaeya relaxes a little but his nerves are still there.
“Perhaps, I thought you wouldn’t accept the letters if you knew they were from me.” Kaeya mutters. “At least seeing you read and keep them was enough for me.”
“If you’d dropped a hint earlier, I would have accepted your feelings.” You day and that grabs his attention once again. Kaeya’s eye widens when the words you said registered, “I’m not going around accepting everyone’s invitations for a one week getaway to Liyue.”
Kaeya chuckles. The one week getaway where he admitted to himself he did have feelings for you. And prior to that, where you’d grown to see the Cavalry Captain in a romantic way.
“So it seems we had a bit of a miscommunication.” Kaeya now grasps your hand, “But I am glad we have it figured out.” He raises your hand to bring it up to his lips.
“Uh uh!” You snatch your hand away before he can kiss it. “That does not mean you’re out of trouble!”
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You arrive at your office ready to fulfill another day’s work. As a daily routine, you checked all of the mail sitting on top of your desk. Carefully going through them one by one and discarding those that aren’t important, you come across the red wax sealed envelope.
That’s the one Kaeya used as his trademark for the letters he sent. You undo the seal and take the contents from the envelope out. Unfolding it slowly, it’s another letter like the others. It’s finally in his handwriting and Kaeya signed his name at the bottom.
“Our friend is still sending letters?” A gasp comes from the door. Kaeya stands there with a hand over his mouth, acting surprised. “When will he give up? Do tell me what he said to you this time.”
“You’ve been sending me these every day for five months.” You watch as Kaeya approaches you. “And you haven’t run out of things to say?” He lifts your head by your chin.
“Only a fool would run out of things to say to you.” Kaeya presses a soft kiss to your forehead.
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primojade · 1 year
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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐊𝐄𝐄𝐏𝐒𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐒.
𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘 | in which tighnari makes up for the few weeks of loneliness away from your side as he let you teach him how to ice skate during the winter holiday because 'tis is the season to remember.
𝐂𝐖 / 𝐓𝐖 | gn!reader x tighnari; fluff; a bit hurt then comfort; kissing; let me know if I missed anything!
𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒 | this is my exchange gift for @mako-yaki in the Secret Santa Event hosted by @2022gisecretsanta ! I was supposed to add Ayato and Kazuha (and Wanderer cause I thought of a good scenario for him oof) but I sadly have no time to write more for them so maybe I'll just do a part 2 soon if possible! Still, I hope you like this as much as I love writing them! Happy holidays to you, comrade <3
PS. I'm most certain that teyvat do not have christmas because of its origin but for the sake of this fic, I just renamed it as a winter holidays with unknown origin lol. And I'm not certain too if my dear secret santa celebrates christmas so to be safe, christmas is referred to as 'winter holiday' instead!
masterlist
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You glide for a few meters after stepping onto the ice to reacquaint yourself with the sensation beneath your skates. You awkwardly spin around, stumbling a little when the blades hit an uneven chunk of ice, but you quickly get back on your feet before you completely lose balance. You smile to yourself, at least you remember how to do that.
It's been a while since you have been in an outdoor rink, knowing that you were staying in Sumeru and its rainforest for a few years now. But the sight of multiple pairs of lovers skating together hand in hand as if they own the world, little children waddling about unsteadily on the ice, parents flailing around as they frantically attempt to chase after their cheeky children who have yet to wear their mufflers...
It all brings a fond grin to your face, memories of childhood and holiday outings coming to mind.
You gaze up at the place surrounding the rink, the bright blue sky filled with clouds and the towering pine trees located at the other end of the rink, and you feel excitement begin to well up in your chest. An excited hum escapes your lips, and you’re about to skate off when it hits you that you’ve forgotten something—or rather, someone.
You turn around at the sound of your name, and you see Tighnari standing a distance behind you, though even standing seems to pose a huge challenge to him. He’s trembling while flailing his arms as he attempts to keep his balance, even though it’s clear that he’s just barely taken a step off the ground.
His gaze darted between the ice then to you, slight panic glazing in his eyes. Though some relief sets in when you skate over to him, he gives you an irritated glare and an embarrassed flush of his cheeks when he sees you stifling your laughter at his pathetic state. 
You hold out your hand to him once you’re close enough and immediately he clutches tightly to your arm like a lifeline.
"The audacity of you to leave me behind, you heartless dunce." He huffed angrily, leaning against you as he tried to release the tension in his muscles, clearly tired from the effort of standing on ice even for a short period of time. "I can’t believe you almost left me alone to rot here!"
The way that extreme embarrassment tends to turn the fennec hybrid into a petty drama queen is so amusing. Especially when he still seeks you out despite how irritated he is.
"But you were doing okay," you said, though both of you know that he was the exact opposite of being okay. "It's your first time so don't be so stressed about it," you continue when his disgruntled scowl deepens at your unconvincing tone. "At the very least, you didn’t cry, 'Nari, I’m so proud of you."
He groaned in irritation when you patted his ears teasingly, brushing off your hand almost immediately. "I did not fall, thank you very much. And I don’t cry over such petty things."
"Oh? I'm confident your eyes were misty when I skated over to support you earlier."
“I did no such thing,” he scowled, though his long ears started dropping in defence. “Skating is rather hard, okay? I believe you were forgetting I have lived in the rainforest all my life. This is my first time.”
“Don't worry, I got you.” You said with a reassuring smile, nudging his waist lightly with your elbow. The action made him stumble and cling tighter to your arm in response. The absolute shock that crossed on his usually stern face makes you giggle, and it takes you a while to calm yourself so that he’ll stop glaring at you. 
You pried his hand away from your sore arm, and instead, intertwining his fingers with yours. "Don’t worry, 'Nari. We’ll hold hands, so don't let go."
Tighnari's brows shot up in the hairline, not comforted in the least by your reassuring smile. “I swear to all Archons in Teyvat, [Name], I’ll make you regret this if you let me go or pull weird tricks to make me fa—”
"I won’t! What kind of lover do you take me for?” You pouted.
Before he can come up with a snarky reply, you start pulling him across the ice rink. You have to bite the inside of your cheeks to keep your laughter to yourself when you hear him release an undignified yelp before tightly latching both his hands onto yours.
Come to think of it, despite his ungodly snarks and overall clumsiness at skating, your favourite scholar really isn’t too bad for a first-timer. He merely fell once so far. 
That first time was because you let his hand go for staring too long at that person who was executing a beautiful spin and statingstating bluntly that you skated like a "circus snake" compared to them. So rude. 
Though it wasn't that unusual when Tighnari insists on taking a break.
“What are you looking at?” His lips were curled downward in displeasure while seated on the bench.
“Nothing~"
"Sometimes, I really hate you.”
“Hehe. Love you too, 'Nari.” You respond in a sickeningly sweet, but mischievous voice. You bark a laugh loudly when he makes a move to get away from you but slips on the icy surface of the ground and lands squarely on his bum instead. That's twice now, you thought with a snicker.
After attempting for several minutes to convince Tighnari that you would stop harassing him for another hour and then failing spectacularly, you are left with little alternative but to drag him there. Back on the ice rink, you make the decision that you should definitely try to make your grumpy partner smile once more.
When he asks suspiciously what you're "plotting" this time, you refuse to say anything and gingerly take his hand before skating slowly toward the center of the rink. His misgivings and distrust towards you make you want to pout, but they aren't entirely unfounded given how you almost made him lose his sanity and completely drove him insane in the past hour.
“What are you doing?” He questioned in confusion.
"Dancing with the music while on ice!" You answer with a grin. "Since you're still new to this skating thing, just thought we could use a change of pace. And so that you would stop glaring at me already."
His brows furrowed. “And you didn’t think that I could use something like this earlier instead?"
You shush him, pressing a finger to his lips. "Shush. Just enjoy the moment, 'Nari."
He grumbles something incoherent under his breath, probably more complaints but nonetheless, his grip on your waist tightens to pull you closer to him, and he allows you to pull him along in slow circles. The both of you sway in time to the mellow beat, and after a while you hear Tighnari humming along softly to the carol while the ghost of a smile plays on his lips. His shoulders begin to loosen as he eases into the dance, the creases on his forehead fading away the more he loses himself in your eyes and in the faintly playing music.
Wordlessly, you felt your heart swell with affection. Tighnari has been so busy these past few weeks, and you both barely saw each other, if not at all. It makes you feel a little lonely, but you understand that his job requires his full attention and that many people rely on him as their leader.
You understand that, yes, still…it doesn't mean that you have to like it.
Perhaps Tighnari felt guilty about leaving you behind for so long either, and he felt it was his fault that he wasn't by your side at your lowest time when you needed him the most, so when the news of a new skating rink reaches his ears in the nearby country of Fontaine, he latches on the chance to take you along, knowing how you loved such excursions but have no time nor place to enjoy doing so. 
And even though it was his first time ice skating, and he wasn't even that used to the cold climate, Tighnari still took the effort to bring you here and you were grateful for his thoughtfulness for that. Whether he regrets it now or not because of your mischievous 'plotting' that almost made him senile remains to be seen.
When he appears to be less wary of the ice, you slowly skate backwards to pull away from him so you can lift his arm over and do a twirl along with him. The childish action pulls a chuckle from his lips, which causes your own to curve upwards as well.
"I supposed this isn’t half bad anymore," he remarked lightly.
"Right? I told you you would love this.”
He clarifies his sentence. "Correction: I like it when you don’t push me or make me skate like a Rishboland Tiger on incense."
Chuckling, you start skating and pulling him along with you. "It was your fault that you fell twice."
"You pushed me the first time," he argued.
"That was your fault, too."
"It wasn't, you lummox. I was doing fine until you—hey, look out!”
Before you can even process what he is saying, your left leg smacks against something hard, throwing you off balance. As you recoil and drag Tighnari down with you, all you can see is his gaping mouth and frozen expression of dread.
Your bottom takes the majority of the impact as your body crashes to the hard ice, and something sharp and unpleasant is jabbing at your side. Tighnari slammed directly on top of you, his immense weight knocking the wind out of you. He tries to get off of you as quickly as possible, but accidentally slips and falls on you again, this time, crushing your ribs.
“Ugh. I'm so sorry,” he muttered hurriedly, moving to get up so his weight is on his forearms that are resting on either side of your face. "Are you okay!?"
"I'll live." You replied with a grimace. "What was that?"
"A snowboard," he replies, looking over his shoulder where a blue overturned snowboard is lying. "Who in the world left that lying in the middle of a skating rink? That's highly dangerous! I would love to get some words with—"
"Probably a child," you stopped his tirade before it escalated to something close to a full-blown lecture. "Oww…"
Tighnari carefully crawls away from you so he has sufficient space to get back on his feet and once he’s up, he holds out a hand to you. "I'll help you up,"
You clasped his hand and allowed him to pull you up. But about halfway through, he manages to tip over—possibly because you put too much weight on him—and falls backward, dragging you with him.
You both crash land in a jumbled heap of limbs for the second time today. Perhaps the pain has finally reached your mind, but when you shift so that your weight is off of him and gaze down at his dumbfounded face, you can't help but laugh out loud. You know the people around you are giving you strange looks, but you can't help it.
You manage, struggling to recover your breath between laughs, "Today has been such a mess."
Tighnari is just staring at you like you've finally lost it, but before long the corners of his chapped, dry lips are also curling upwards and soon enough, he's laughing along with you at the ridiculous situation the two of you are in.
He sighed, blowing out a puff of breath and lightly flicking your forehead good naturedly. "You better make up for this later to me, you big lummox."
"Heh. Of course. Anything else you want as compensation?" You asked, brushing the viridescent strand of his hair from concealing his lovely face. He deserves this after all the terrorising from you today.
As he mulls over the query, his features settle into a thoughtful expression, and his lips pursed. Very cute, the way he’s almost pouting with his lips pushed out like that. Looking at him from this angle, with his dark hair splayed out around his head like a halo, lying on the shimmering ice beneath the bright rays of the sun in winter, you can’t help but feel your chest swell with affection. The loneliness you felt over the weeks apart from each other slowly, but surely unveiling itself little by little until it becomes nothing but a bittersweet memory.
He takes so much time to decide, and you feel impatient. So, with a mischievous smile, you lean in, catching him completely off guard when you press your lips to his. You pull away quickly after leaving a gentle peck, but his hand is quick to press on your back to keep you from moving away too far.
“One more time.” His tone is serious, but his face is well on its way to matching the colour of Nilou's hair as his gaze remains on your face, attentive olive eyes tracing the lines of your features and lingering on the changing colour of your heated cheeks. “As...compensation, that is.” he added, by way of explanation.
You smile brightly, ignoring the sting of your cracking lips when they spread too wide, and you lean in, more than happy to comply and compensate, while you’re at it.
This sweet moment is more than anything you could take home as a holiday keepsake.
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TAGLIST (let me know if you want to be added in my future works!): @samarill , @maehemthemisfit , @chocogi , @rvoulte , @luvwukong ...
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riabef · 1 year
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✎. The snow guides me to you
SUMMARY: It’s not the easiest task for those to confess their love so easily; yet even in your absence all he can think about is you, so why not try anyways?
FEATURING CAST: Alhaitham!!! hehe secret Santa gift for @prawndip! hi hi this is for you <3
PRONOUNS: gender neutral reader!, second person perspective “You”
WORD COUNT: 1444 words
WARNINGS: i think this is pretty fluffy, just about him going from “I tolerate you I guess” to “oh I think I like you” less in than 2k words
AUTHOR NOTES: writing this never made me feel so single before not going to lie - Wasn’t sure if you celebrated Christmas so I just went with a general winter theme, but changes can be made ^^ just send me an ask and I’ll prepare something else! I know it probably doesn’t snow in Sumeru or like,,,, the rest of Teyvat except for Dragonspine and Snezhnaya but …. Listen it’s for the plot 😔
✉︎ Alhaitham
The first time he met you was under a glittering sheen of snow, the frosty flakes and the cold nipping at his skin. At the time both you and him were only children, exploring the world under your feet, too caught up in the enveloping curiosity you felt; from wandering the Grand Bazaar to the ends of the city where the forest began, it was all so enticing for children to explore.
Despite your curiosities, there would always be a slight difference between you two, and that was that Alhaitham, your childhood friend, was always prepared. On the other hand, you, unfortunately, were not. So when the snow fell from the sky, almost by instinct your head turned towards him as though he was your answer.
Amidst the gray clody skies, coloured in shades of fossil and silver, there stood two children. Just far enough from the city to tune out any merchant chatter, or the noise of the city slowly getting ready for the end of the day; endless footsteps echoed across the pavement. The two children stood, bantering, almost, most likely because of the falling snowflakes.
Capturing one with your hands, you admire it’s beauty, the shaped perfection that these crystals had were utterly breath-taking, of course, if it were not for the cold you wouldn’t have an issue. Unfortunately for you, your archon decided to spare no mercy for the unprepared as the temperatures dropped even lower.
“Does it look like I’m your saviour?” Adorable as he seemed, he looked almost fed up with your antics. In hindsight, he really was adorable, if you ignored the irritation in his voice, or the passive scoldings that he’d give you; with all things considered, he was a good friend. Despite bantering with you from time to time, you truly care for him. And fortunately, that was reciprocated.
“Yes it does actually,” placing a mocking hand on your forehead as you clutched your heart, ready to give a performance that would just shy of opera standards, “my one and only friend. We’ve been through so much in our brief lives, and you’ve always been the one guiding me, the light in the dark-”
“So you’ve forgotten your gloves again?”
“Once again, you are right my dear Watson! Your deduction skills are simply extraordinary!” nodding your head solemnly as though you weren’t talking about your forgotten gloves. You continued, “However, it isn’t as it seems, although it appears as though I’ve misplaced them, or dare I say, forget them. They are here, in my pocket!”
All that fell out of your pockets were marbles.
“While you were having your little soliloquy, I thought it’d be better that at least one of us brings an extra pair,” he sighed, and for a moment you let yourself misleadingly think that maybe he isn’t so bad, perhaps he did have a soft spot for you all along, “of course, to compensate for the other’s forgetfulness.” 
“Sometimes I forget how much of a jerk you are.”
“The feeling’s mutual.” He promptly throws a pair of gloves without any warning, and you let your hands tread across the material very carefully as though it were a prized heirloom. Surprisingly, the glove fit almost as if tailored, and the material was incredibly soft against your skin.
Maybe you wouldn’t be wrong in assuming he cared about you a little more than he let on.
The next time you meet, the both of you are fervent researchers of the Akademiya, eagerly searching for all the answers that didn’t exist, and trying to gain an understanding of the environment around you. Although, Alhaitham supposes that you’ve taken the latter part of that statement a little too seriously as you tried gathering samples of even the flowers around Sumeru City, much less the snow.
Perhaps in a last-ditch effort of finding a perfect thesis, your mind could only find one solution.
As typical years of Akademiya alumni would describe, the arduous process of creating your thesis begins, however it began with searching for the perfect topic. Ideally one that no one had previous research on 
Crouching while trying to stuff some random moss from the pavement, you carefully select your words before voicing them aloud, “Hey Alhaitham-”
“It’s a bad idea.” Flabbergasted, you whipped your head to look at him in disbelief.
“But I didn’t even speak?!”
He sighed, as if expecting the answer, “I’m not wrong though.” 
“Anyways, what if I made my thesis about how good snow tasted?”
“That’d be wonderful, you could even make up another culinary darshan.”
You scoffed, resisting the urge to curse him out further in favour of gathering snow to make into a snowball, juggling it between your two hands as if contemplating your further decision.
Taking notice of this, “If you eat that, I won’t be liable for any physical illnesses you go through.”
“You say that as if you were planning to take care of me in the first place?”
He remains silent.
Although he cherished your smile, and especially your laughter (fuzzy feelings swirl around in his mind, for reasons unknown) he do has to admit that your especially low view of him does hurt him quite a bit. Regardless, he’s content remaining as is. The silent friend who shows up once a blue moon to show they actually care for you, the one who’s been waiting for you to take notice of his feelings, and waiting even longer to accept that maybe he didn’t just tolerate you.
Although unlikely, it’s possible that he’s taken a liking towards you.
The next time he sees you, he’s more than conclusive about his own matters, unable to deny it any longer, all that’s left is to accept his growing feelings for you. Especially with the way that you always seemed to meet him with the change of seasons. Like anyone else, he has his own secret to keep; and his seemed to be that he looked forward to winter for the chance to see you.
As busy students in the Akademiya, it’s not odd that you two find it difficult to share time together outside of the occasional glances shared in the halls with the occasional nods of acknowledgement. Despite this, the saying does go, “the heart grows fonder with absence” and that proved true with Alhaitham.
How ironic was it that someone who vehemently rejected human emotions felt one of the most strongest known feelings?
There was a moment in time where all he could do was spare a glance at you in the library, or the halls. Even if all he could do was spare a few of his thoughts for you, it didn’t help him get over this crush; almost akin to a poet’s longing glances towards their muse, drawn to the inspiration the other offers. It was almost laughable how his thoughts were easily drawn to you the moment the moon rose, when all was quiet in the city, when the lanterns were lit and the citizens drawn into a slumber.
Or perhaps the way his mind would drift to you even while the sun was high up in the sky, when the breeze felt a little too quiet, and the space beside him was unoccupied.
Time passed as endless and unchanging as ever, no compromises to be made, or any hesitation. Just like the grains of sand trickling down the glass, counting down to when he could see you again. Not like it could tell an exact date, but it helped pass the lonesome hours by. The endless feeling of work was a routine he took a liking to; although he found that including you in that routine was something he yearned to do.
It was then that he understood what he needed to do.
Only a letter was left on your desk with elegant writing, the name of the sender and everything was all left out as though it was of no importance; only requesting your presence at midnight at the “place where memories were”.
While you waited in the dark, the snow began to fall from the sky like it had all those years ago, except this time he was not the boy he once was, and you were not the child you once were either. With a smile you only knew that there could only be one person who called your attention like this, and it was him.
If it were anyone else you would’ve been displeased at the simple conversation, but because it was him, Alhaitham, your heart soared above the clouds, yet to reach the ground. 
“I think I love you.”
“Think?”
“I apologize, I know.”
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lusc1nia · 1 year
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gift for @dustofthedailylife, event hosted by @2022gisecretsanta
okay so like have you ever felt so angry because i lost like ~10k worth of words because MY GOOGLE DOCUMENT GOT CORRUPTED? I HAD EVERYONE IN THEIR LIST WRITTEN ANd I AM SO ANGRY BECAUSE NOW ITS ONLY 1 CHARACTER *AND* LACKLUSTER and then you keep rewriting aND REWRITING BECAUSE YOU AREN't SATISFieD AND YOU're STILL NOT SATISFIED BUT IT's THE 29TH AND YOU FEEL BAD BECAUSE THE PERSON RECIEBVING THIS IS WoNDERING WHERE THEIR PRESENT IS AND AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHJHHH
if the person whose receiving the gift wants me to i'll rewrite ayato's and zhongli's parts in separate posts later on because boy they weren't as angsty as al-haitham's and i was trying to do a mix of fluff, angst w/ comfort, and angst no comfort
sorry if i'm rambling too much i'm just genuinely so mad at my pc and google docs
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wc: ~1.1k
Al-Haitham x Reader: Coward
only in Al-Haitham's perspective, reader makes a short appearance and is implied to be missing in action
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Al-Haitham is a coward.
The Scribe of the Akademiya is a coward.
The savior of Sumeru’s deity is a coward.
No matter where Al-Haitham is, or what he thinks, he’s a coward true and through. And as he stands in the Grand Bazaar’s stage, with his newfound ‘friends’ celebrating the reinstatement and the saving of Lesser Lord Kusanali as the archon of Sumeru, Haitham could only remember the expression on your face when you last saw him.
The traveler smiles, speaking in a feminine, child-like voice.
“Everyone, it’s me.”
A soft, adoring smile adorned the traveler’s facial features as she placed her hand over her heart.
Paimon shrieks, and immediately the Scribe begins to tune out the conversation.
“My, I didn’t expect to be having a conversation with the consciousness of Lesser Lord Kusnali in the Grand Bazaar,” He glances at Nilou expectantly, “How interesting. Was this also planned for the feast?”
Nilou shakes her hands in front of her face, replying to Al-Haitham, (who bitterly shakes his head) “No, no.. of course not!” She turns towards the traveler with hesitancy, “are you.. are you Lesser Lord Kusanali, then?”
Lumineー or Nahida, who's occupying the traveler’s body, giggles, “Hello, Nilou,” Nahida gives a short wave.
Taking a step back, Nilou gasps, “You.. you know me?!”
Al-Haitham turns away, tuning out the conversation slowly, but Cyno nudges his shoulder, “The least you could do is pay attention. It’s our archon for Celestia’s sake, show her some respect, Al-Haitham.”
Opting to not respond, Al-Haitham silently glances at Cyno, and Cyno returns the glare.
Dehya stares at them with a pensive look on her face, mouthing, “Not the time for this.”
Cyno relents, breaking the eye-contact between them, “No need to be so ceremonious, Lesser Lord Kusanali, it has always been my duty to protect you.”
Al-Haitham scoffs, “That’s how the relationship between the Akademiya and our Dendro Archon should be like,” Remaining with a cold poker face, Haitham takes a jab at Cyno, “but we just did what was necessary to set things up on the right path.”
Dehya ignores Al-Haitham’s jab at Cyno, and adds on to Cyno’s sentence, “You’re an Archon, but you act so humble. You really don’t need to be..”
Dehya’s words mash together in a distorted way as Al-Haitham drives his focus away from the conversation at hand. Even when faced by a deity, he's still focused on you, and you alone.
No matter what he’s done or what he’ll do, he won’t ever escape your grasp, the hand that’s holding him by the neck and cornering him into a loss. Something the Scribe doesn’t experience daily.
He remembers a time late after everyone had finished with the graduation ceremonies, where everyone went home, rushing to find a position in the Akademiya, or maybe still studying late at night in the archives of the House of Daena.
Al-Haitham remembers finding you sleeping with obvious eyebags under your eyes, and he felt sympathy for you.
How many nights have you spent like this? He wondered. How many times have you fallen asleep, your brain calling to the comforts of sleep? The freshly graduated Al-Haitham looks down at you with (once again) sympathy.
Sure, he was your past so-called academic rival, just in different fields, but he realised at that moment when you both argued about the morals of the Akademiya, that you both were kindred spirits.
You both took different paths, but arrived at the same solutions. While he believes that humans are naturally bad, and choose to do good things to better mankind, you believe that all humans were born kind, but choose to do the wrong things.
“Scribe, and what makes you say that? Why are you commenting on moral philosophy when you’re a Haravatat graduate?”
Al-Haitham rubs his temples furiously, “Suddenly, I’m not allowed to have opinions anymore, as dictated by you, my supposed ‘equal’.”
You shook your head in discontentment, “Maybe, just maybe, Scribe, you should try to stay in your own lane, and not question the ethics and morals of the Akademiya,” you say, tucking your hair into your ear, “I represent the Akademiya, I reinforce the ethics and morals of the Akademiya. You just have to sit pretty and write down the important things for archon’s sake, I swear, you truly are impossible..”
Al-Haitham shakes his head, mocking you in that subtle way that he always did, “You expect me to back down, and bend over for the Akademiya,” His lips previously in a thin line were now turned downwards. Al-Haitham stares at you with amusement pooling in his eyes, and he folds his arms in that weird way he had always done.
“You’re.. you're kidding me. Right?” You stare at him, a bewildered look in your eyes, “you certainly can’t be serious.. A high ranking position at the Akademiya, who doesn’t share the same morals as the Akademiya for Greater Lord ... sake! Next thing you’re going to tell me is that you have the utmost respect for Lesser Lord Kusanali!”
Closing his eyes, Al-Haitham curtly replies, “You’re not wrong.”
At this point, Al-Haitham can imagine that you were pulling your hair out with a furious look in your eyes. That’s how it’s always been, hasn’t it?
But he opens his eyes, just to see you staring blankly, without reason and without a shine in your eyes.
His eyes narrow in on yours, and you simply shake your head, “I should’ve expected someone like you to defy the Akademiya,” you said, a deflated tone in your voice, “maybe you are just better off as a scribe, huh..”
Al-Haitham watches you walk away, he was ultimately the victor of this, ‘pleasant’, conversation, but he certainly didn’t feel like one.
Intrusive thoughts echoed throughout his head as he walks away from the House of Daena:
Coward. Why was it that you always needed to fight [Name]? They were like you, stubborn, but more emotional. You should have just backed down for once. You’re such a cowardー remember those roommate posters you put up after graduation? It had to have been for [Name], but you got cold feet, didn’t you. You had to have picked Kaveh, just because you didn’t want to see [Name] walking around your house, you would’ve caught feelings, huh? You already caught them. So what was the point, Scribe?
Al-Haitham is snapped out of his thoughts of you when the traveler approaches him after the feast.
“Oh? What do you need me for, Traveler?”
But in the end, Al-Haitham is still a coward. He is many things, but he is a coward, true and through.
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shayewrites · 1 year
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underneath the mistletoe
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synopsis: it seems someone has decided the best way to help you find love for the holidays is to tease your two roommates by placing mistletoe over your door
kaveh x gn!reader x alhaitham, platonic!childe
merry christmas! sorry it’s a tad bit late, but this is for the secret santa event hosted by @2022gisecretsanta
@simplyxsinned this is for you! hope you enjoy!
masterlist. navigation. event masterlist.
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while the akademiya might have been out for the holiday season, there was still much for you to do. as one of the forest watcher’s representatives, you handled the reports that provided the necessary details to the akademiya as well as applied for the necessary funding and supplies the watchers needed in order to continue protecting the avidya forest.
recently, there had been various reports of disappearing withering zones and the remission of all elezar patients under ghandarvaville’s careful supervision. your job was to put all the necessary information together to present to the akademiya once the holiday season was over, but so far, you only had a blank piece of paper titled “presentation”. you were hopeless.
as you laid your head down on your desk, you heard the footsteps of one of your roommates on their way down the hallway.
“y/n! have you seen my-“ your roommate stopped as his eyes glanced upwards. he tried to speak, but his mouth simply hung open, unable to finish his thought.
after a moment, you raised your head to look at him. you looked up to the ceiling as well, not noticing anything out of the ordinary, so you prompted, “your what?”
“i-uh…my umm” the blonde-haired man stumbled over his words, his gaze not once moving from where it was fixed above the doorframe.
slowly, you stood up from your desk and started to cross the room. “kaveh? are you alright?” to say you were concerned was a bit of an understatement. kaveh was always so smooth with his words, well that is unless he was in an argument with your other roommate, alhaitham.
speaking of the devil, alhaitham’s voice could be heard as he walked down the narrow hallway, “i’m heading out. anything you all need while i’m…out?” he too paused mid-sentence, joining kaveh as they both stared transfixedly up at the doorframe. 
“not you too, alhaitham.” you groaned, finally reaching the doorframe, “for archon’s sake, what are you both staring at?” just then, you saw the familiar pointed, green leaves of mistletoe that had been pinned above your door. “oh.”
alhaitham was the first to speak, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “why would you put that above your door?”
kaveh joined in, shaking his head in disappointment, “of all the places in the house, y/n.”
your mouth opened in shock of their accusations. you certainly didn’t do this! however, their pointed stares said otherwise. you folded your arms over your chest and huffed, “you think i did this?”
kaveh shifted his weight and started to point out, “it is above your door-“
you cut him off, “yeah, but i didn’t do it.” in reality, you had no idea who might have pinned the plant above your doorframe. if he weren’t standing there accusing you of such a preposterous act, you would have been inclined to blame him instead.
as if sensing you were silently blaming him for this ‘mistletoe incident’ he turned up his nose slightly while folding his arms to mirror yours, “well, i didn’t do it either.”
alhaitham finally interjected, interrupting you and kaveh’s petty argument, “i think we’re asking the wrong question here.”
kaveh huffed, his hands finding his hips as he exasperatedly replied, “oh really now? do tell, grand scribe. what question should i be asking?”
the grey-haired genius chuckled to himself as if the answer were obvious, “the real question is: who gets to kiss them?”
you took a step back, already feeling the heat rising to your cheeks and ears at alhaitham’s suggestion, “i’m sorry, what?” across from you, kaveh cleared his throat, having to cover his own face that was starting to sport a thin band of blush as well.
alhaitham shrugged as if he hadn’t just suggested that one of them should kiss you right then, “well, it is tradition to kiss underneath the mistletoe, is it not?”
now it was your turn to be a flustered mess, unable to find the right words to say at first, “i uh, it is, but you don’t have to. it’s just an old legend anyway.”
alhaitham took an experimental step forward, eyes not leaving yours as they gleamed with amusement, “oh no, y/n. tradition is tradition. you have to choose one of us.”
kaveh shook his head at his companion, disgust clearly written across his features, “you truly lack any sense of romance in that ice-cold heart of yours, don’t you? that’s not the way to ask to kiss someone! have you no shame?”
the scribe rolled his eyes at kaveh, “i’ve about had enough of this.” alhaitham then tugged on your hand, pulling you flush against him as he enveloped your lips with his own.
you didn’t have the chance to steady yourself as he pulled you into him, but as his lips landed in yours, you melted into the kiss. your hand reached up to cup his cheek, deepening the kiss for just a little longer.
from behind alhaitham, you heard a scoff, “hey! that was supposed to be my kiss!”
the scribe flashed the architect a taunting smirk before pressing one last kiss to your lips, “then come and get it.”
*bonus*
after your presentation to the akademiya was finished and you were heading back home for the day, you were met by the familiar smile of your oldest friend.
you grinned, wrapping the ginger-haired man in a tight hug, “childe? i didn’t expect to see you here so soon. how’d you get away from liyue?”
he chuckled, “let’s say that i received a letter from a coworker of mine that needed a little bit of help, but that’s boring news. so, how did those two babbling baffoons do up against the mistletoe i placed above your door?”
you pulled back from the hug, hitting childe square in the chest with a closed fist, “i knew it was you!”
childe only laughed, bending over in hysterics at your incredulous reaction, “what can i say? they just needed a little push to fully confront their feelings, just like you did.”
you folded your arms over your chest, “maybe we did, but that stunt about sent kaveh into a near heart attack.”
“a small price to pay for a kiss, at i right?” he grinned, ruffling your hair like he often did when you two were just kids.
you could only shake your head slightly as you let out a defeated sigh, “next time, tell me before doing something so bold.”
the harbinger pretended to stroke the stubble forming on his chin after some time away from his station in liyue, “no promises, my dearest friend.”
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@shayewrites tumblr 2022
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manikasu-nyx · 1 year
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winters in sumeru (part 1)
OH MY GOD THIS ENTRY IS SO LATE I’M SO SORRY @kunikushi I hope you enjoy this despite me being to late to finish it I’m so sorry again 😭 also the formatting might be weird cause tumblr just??? Broke on me!???
right before posting edit: hey so I think I hit the word limit so I have to split this into two posts so the second one is here
charas/content: al-haitham, scaramouche, gender neutral reader, modern/college au, inaccurate weather scenario, author writes Cheese, kinda ooc i'm sorry i tried my best
Al-Haitham:
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You placed the tip of your pencil against your lip as you chewed on it thoughtfully, staring down at the problem in your textbook. You understood the material fairly well, but this problem was made to be difficult, and you knew it’d be on your exams. You sighed and placed your pencil down, opting to run a hand through your hair in frustration instead. You’d been staring at that problem for almost fifteen minutes now, and it’d take a miracle for you to understand it. “You’ve been staring at that problem for a while. Are you sure you don’t want my help?” A voice asks from over your shoulder, causing you to turn your head to look at the source. Al-Haitham was sitting on a stool at the kitchen island, a book in his hand and a cup next to him. His face was blank as usual, but also had a fair bit of concern on it. You shook your head at him, turning back to the books in front of you, deciding to move on to a different subject. “No, I’ll be fine. You can’t help me on the exams, so I have to do this by myself,” you said, going back to scribbling down more notes, cutting the conversation abruptly. After a couple more minutes of writing, your coat was placed next to you, and tapping was felt on the crown of your head. “Well, at least take a break,” Al-Haitham said, pulling on his own coat, slipping on his shoes. “C’mon, we’re going for a walk.” His tone of voice told you that it was less of a suggestion and more of a command. You stood up and put on your coat, deciding that it’d be good for you to stop staring at the same tiny font for now. The words were jumbling together anyway. “Hey, wait, does Kaveh have his key?” You ask, looking up at him as he gives himself a small smirk, locking the door and placing his key in his pocket. “No,” he simply replies, starting to walk off, you giving a little gasp as you caught up with him, smacking him on the arm lightly with a pout. "You're so mean to him!" You exclaim, him only giving a shrug as he kept walking, slipping his hands in his coat pockets. "Oh well. He should've taken his key. But don't worry about him. Just walk with me for now," he said, slipping a hand out of his pocket and grabbing yours, squeezing it gently. "Just focus on me for now, okay? I'm not particularly fond of you thinking of him while you're with me," he said, mumbling the last part, locking his neck and eyes forward to avoid your gaze as you looked up at him. "What do you mean by that?" "Whatever you think I mean." "You know I can't think, my brain is fried!" "That's a shame." "Al-Haitham!" He laughed at your pout, looking up at the starry sky above the two of you, watching your breaths of air create small puffs of steam. Maybe after exams he'd elaborate. But your brain was already fried, so there was no need for him to fry it more with the knowledge he liked you, right? 'Soon,' he told himself. 'Soon.'
Scaramouche:
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You let out an internal sigh as you watched your lover walk into your shared home, already ranting about different people he had seen today. You had just wanted one night of peace, but no. Not tonight. Not with him. But you loved him regardless, so you took a sip of your tea, closing your laptop and placing it to the side, glancing over at him. He had taken off his jacket and placed it on the coat rack, still grumbling as he took his spot next to you on the couch. "And seriously, if Childe says something else about our professor being hot I'm gonna kill him. Like that's not just our professor, jackass, that's my fucking mom!" You had to hold back a snort, knowing that any sign of amusement from you would only make him angrier. You listened to him go on a bit more before placing your cup down and grabbing his face, making him pause mid-sentence. "And I swear if I could I'd have Dottore blown away in a-! …What. What are you doing?" He asked, still confused by the sudden warmth on his cheeks. You nodded a bit, as if in thought, before standing up and handing him your blanket, pointing to your balcony. "Go sit out there. I'll be out in a minute," you said, walking off before he could question you, let alone protest. He eventually decided what you had planned couldn't possibly make his day any worse (he was being dramatic, it was only slightly annoying at best), and wrapped the blanket around his shoulders, going to sit on the couch, shivering at the cold on it.
You walked out soon after, holding two steaming cups, handing one to him as you took your seat next to him, wrapping your half of the blanket around you in a shared cocoon. Scaramouche shivered, and you scooted closer to him, knowing he was both too cold and too smart to make a remark to push you away. "What's in the cup?" He asked, you taking a sip of your own. "Hot chocolate." "With milk or water?" "The way you like it." He let out a small hum, taking a sip of his drink, letting the liquid warm his insides and simultaneously calm him. "Feel better?" You ask, glancing over at him. He took another sip, giving a small nod as he answered under his breath. "S' fine. But why are we out here when it's so cold?" He asked, you simply raising a hand and pointing up. "Look up," you said, his indigo eyes looking up with an eyebrow raised. The sky was clear, and the stars were shimmering. And some of them were... Moving? "It's snowing...? But it's completely clear out!" He exclaimed, his understanding of earth science failing him. "Diamond dust." "Huh?" "Diamond dust," you corrected. "It happens when the surface is a lot colder than the air above it. It takes the moisture from the warmer air above and freezes it. It's like snow, except it doesn't accumulate. That's the short version, anyway," you explained, not noticing how his eyes gazed at you with wonder, like a child seeing a firework for the first time.
"Is that why you brought me out here?" He asked, you giving a nod as you leaned over to him, resting your head on his shoulder. "Yep. It's pretty, and it's hard to be mad while you're looking at something pretty," you commented, looking out at the dust, the stars, and the city. "...Yeah. You're right," he said, nodding with your words. The sight calmed his mind and his heart, but made it race all the same. A small smile graced his face, placing an arm around your shoulder. But he wasn't looking at the city. He was looking at you.
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