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snowfinches · 1 year

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playing you for a fool | childe x gn!reader - angst

confusion.

that was what your relationship with childe was like. it was confusing. everytime, he would blur the lines between being work partners and being more. being more than just a coworker, a person that he'd just "know". and it just felt wrong. sometimes, you felt as though he was more interested in his work as a harbinger than he would ever be in you. you would almost decide that it would be better to stop whatever the hell was going on with you and him, but he would always whisk you away with his charming words - just before you could break off the strange relationship. was it bad that you craved more than just the occasional makeout, the odd hangout, the intimate touches? was it really that bad, to be in love with the harbinger?

but your mind had always prevailed over your heart, and you had always decided to stay put. childe was your superior. a work relationship was unprofessional. you had always feared that your relationship would change drastically and there was always that fear that you’d lose your job if you asked him about it. perhaps a part of you was worried that the moments you had with childe didn't mean anything at all – maybe he was just naturally touchy, maybe those kisses weren't meant to mean more, maybe his nice words didn't mean a thing, maybe you were overthinking things.

but today you had enough.

you were feeling more fed up than ever. the touches became more frequent, the words sounded sweeter, and your heart couldn't take it anymore. over the past few days, you had thought about everything, worked up the courage to bring up your concerns to soothe the anxieties and clear up all the uncertainty that surrounded your relationship.

and then, before you knew it, you were eating out with said man, clutching chopsticks so tightly that you thought you’d break them. you couldn’t help it, it was hard not to be tense in front of the man causing your inner turmoil.

"comrade, you seem to be pretty tense. chopsticks causing you trouble?" you huffed at his comment, taking a bite out of your food.

“no, not really. it’s you - you’re troubling me.” you replied bluntly, shoving more food into your mouth casually to try to distract you from the mix of emotions within you. you had noticed the brief surprise in his eyes before it had disappeared, fading back into friendly emptiness.

"me? wow, to think i’d be causing you so much trouble. i’m flattered." he smirked. you frowned.

you chose to ignore his smirk, "i've been thinking… about our relationship."

this time the surprise was clear on his face. he was silent, and you watched his face slowly shift back to his previously smug look, though the smile had faltered.

it seemed as though he wasn't going to say anything, so you decided to continue speaking, "i can't keep doing whatever 'this' is, childe. i'm confused, and i hate it. i don't understand, why would i mean anything to you?"

"what? where is this coming from?" how could he be so oblivious? or was he being oblivious on purpose? “you don’t have to ruin our perfect night out now, do you comrade?”

were you really ruining your night out with him? was he really blaming you for feeling such emotions?

“i don’t know what we are,” you responded, voice clipped and sharp. his words stung. “and i don’t think we can keep mixing between coworker and lover.”

“oh?” childe looked at you, fairly amused. “really now?"

was that all he had to say? you were beginning to believe that he was just doing this to annoy you. with childe, you found that he was never serious with you, playful smiles and ingenuine laughter… it was all too… fake. but before you could say anything about it, he hushed you, smiling ingeniously.

“why are you even bringing this up?” he asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice despite his seemingly cheerful demeanour, “i thought you enjoyed my company.”

“that’s not the problem.” you instantly replied, almost offended that he might have thought otherwise. did he really think nothing of those times you spent together? “it’s just that one time you’re touchy-feely, and the next i’m just a nobody to you.”

childe finally frowned, eyes as cold as ever, staring right at you. unnerved, you pushed food around your plate, suddenly losing appetite under his heavy gaze.

“i see.” he simply said, folding his arms, “well, would you like the truth?”

"yes? of course i do? why wouldn't i?" you could only sigh. he was being ambigious, and probably on purpose. it wasn't a surprise to you. nothing about childe seemed to surprise you - he was your superior. that was it.

“honestly, i thought you had figured it out already.” his grin had told you everything - he held a sardonic smile that created a sick feeling in your stomach as you anticipated his next words. “ah well. i was beginning to get bored of you anyway.”

your face fell. his face was still perfect and pretty, smile still there.

“oh, i guess i really overestimated your smarts!” he laughed boisterously, ignoring the way your face twisted with raw emotion. perhaps everything felt a little bit clearer. he was just using you, for his own amusement. your feelings had meant nothing to him. you had only wished you noticed sooner.

“i see.” you simply responded to him, ignoring how fragile your voice sounded. even if childe picked up on how distraught you were, you doubted he cared at this point.

“don’t act so hurt! i thought you had known all along!”

“if i had known...” you paused to take a breath. there was no need to cause a scene, there was no need to be angry at him. “if i had known you were playing me for a fool, i would’ve stopped whatever we had.”

you took a few breaths. in, out, in out. it was tough. you had no idea what you were feeling. rage, for being led on for so long? annoyance, for the time that you had wasted with him? grief, for the loss of a relationship that was never genuine? exasperated, for being so blind to the truth?

there was no time to dwell on the past - you had to get out before you said something unsavoury. before you acted irrationally.

“i suppose this is goodbye.” you managed to get out, not bothering to hide how bitter your voice sounded, “a shame we couldn’t finish the pleasant meal before us.”

“a shame really, as the food here is excellent!”

you didn’t bother responding. his carefree attitude had always dominated, even in troubling situations. there was no point in responding. he had already shown his lack of care for you (through his decievingly sweet words), and all you wanted to do was turn away from him and your past relationship.

all he did was play you for a fool. and you believed him, taking every honeyed word to heart, hesitantly anticipating something more.

#✧ cat’s works!#childe x reader #childe angst #tartaglia x reader #tartaglia angst #genshin impact x reader #tartaglia imagines #childe imagines #genshin imagines #genshin impact angst #actually i knid hate how this ends but ehhh this has been sitting in my drafts for too long #friggin childe.... silly gooby goofer

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stitchthesewords · 1 year

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Touching 48 for mumscarian? :D

Okay hi I am NOT gonna lie this got way away from me whoops. This is 1592 words of dancing, beloved mutual. Fun fact, one of the first fanfics I ever wrote was a ballet au for [REDACTED] fandom. I uh. I might. Maybe. Like dancing.

Prompt List Here, if anyone wants to request some more!

Prompt – Touching 48: Dancing with each other

“It’s supposed to be an excess storage room, but I suppose it will work for this too,” Mumbo said, setting down the jukebox. This was the same place Grian found a few days prior when he’d gotten lost in Mumbo’s vault. Grian chirped lightly, the question having been answered without being asked. He moved to make room for Scar to come all the way up the stairs.

He and Scar promised to teach Grian to dance a few months ago. The two of them were still old school in some regards, and hosting balls occasionally was apparently something they just did. Mumbo went digging around in the shulker box he’d brought with him, too, and pulled out a simple chair he’d brought for Scar to use. The elf smiled fondly at him and took it, leaning forward onto his staff.

Mumbo held his hand out to Grian and, when Grian hesitated, reached the few inches further and pulled him to his chest. With a laugh, he spun both of them around, so he was facing Scar. Grian stumbled over both his feet and grimaced.

“This is probably not a good sign for how the rest of this lesson is gonna go, huh?” he asked.

“Nonsense. You’ll do fine. You’re usually more coordinated than I am,” Mumbo said, calling for Scar to turn the jukebox on. Something classical started to reverberate off the walls of the room, and it wasn’t the cleanest sound, but Grian could follow it.

Mumbo moved his body back and Grian followed a little slow. He laughed and readjusted how he was holding Grian’s hands, pulling him close and wrapping an arm around his back. “Okay, maybe I should explain what we’re doing. Just – follow my lead. Step forward when I step back,” he said.

“How am I supposed to know when you step back?” Grian asked.

“Listen to the music!” That was Scar, shouting over the jukebox. Grian laughed and he readjusted his talons, wiggling them a bit as he got a light dusting of blush on his cheeks.

Mumbo smiled down at him and he led the dance again, and this time Grian felt less like he was stumbling forward. That was, in part, because he was staring at his feet. They went a few steps back, and then Mumbo said softly, “We’re going to turn now.”

Grian didn’t know how they were going to go about turning but he soon found out and once again was stumbling after Mumbo, who laughed and held him up with ease. Out of indignancy, his wings puffed up. “You did that on purpose!” he said.

Mumbo was still laughing but managed to reply, “In regular dancing you wouldn’t even get a warning that your partner was about to turn!”

Grian huffed. He shook his head as he righted himself and he and Mumbo started to move in a straight line again. “And how am I supposed to know if my partner is about to turn me?” he asked.

There was a fondness sparkling in Mumbo’s eyes. “You feel it. It…becomes intuitive, when you’ve danced with a partner for long enough.”

Grian huffed, still following Mumbo’s lead. It almost surprised him when they turned again, but Mumbo was right; Grian felt it beforehand and was better able to follow it. He huffed and Mumbo laughed softly, slowly bringing them back closer to the jukebox and Scar. He felt Mumbo start to turn again and was able to follow, surprised when they kept turning. That was almost a stumble, but he was able to save it to Mumbo’s sheer delight.

He felt Mumbo moving his arms and was surprised to find Mumbo separating them slightly. He led Grian’s hand up over his head and instinctively Grian twirled. His eyes caught Scar’s for a split second and he heard Scar cackle from the shock on his face. The music changed. Mumbo pulled him back to his chest.

Grian was aware what they were doing could barely be called dancing, but his cheeks were still pink, nonetheless. “Does this make everyone feel as on display as I do right now?” he asked, muttering mostly under his breath.

“Dance is a form of expression, so yes – but this kind of dance especially. The sort of dance that was saved for fancy parties at castles and manors for rich people? Every single person was judging your every move – every partner you picked was something social,” Mumbo said, still leading the way. Grian was definitely starting to get the hang of it and felt less like he was just stumbling after. Their tempo was slightly different now, but Grian could still follow it.

“Why do it then?” Grian asked.

Mumbo hummed with the music that Scar picked, spinning them both in a circle as he guided Grian to an as of yet unused portion of the floor. “It’s fun. Some of the only fun you could have back then was snubbing noblewomen and men of their dances. Well – okay that’s not exactly true, but still. It was a part of it. And people look nice when they do it.”

Grian laughed and let Mumbo twirl him, yelping when he felt Mumbo let go of his hands. Before he could really panic and flail, Scar caught him. They were in much the same position that Grian had been with Mumbo, and his face burned as he realized they were probably very used to passing partners off to one another at balls. Hopefully he was the only one they ever passed off who got to see them later.

“May I have this dance?” Scar asked. Grian’s face fell at the smug look on Scar’s but then they both laughed as they went back to the simple routine Mumbo worked on. Scar was just as good at leading a dance, Grian noted. He felt slightly different to follow, slightly different cues on turning or moving, but Grian followed anyway. Back, left, right, forwards, it was all starting to feel like second nature. Something Grian could come back to and do.

As the music ended, Grian was twirled yet again, and a part of his brain was pretty sure that was too much twirling, but then Scar did something he was not anticipating and dipped him. With the hand that was twirling him and the hand on his back, Scar led him into a quick dip that caused Grian to yell out of shock. Scar laughed, though it was one of his smaller ones. He helped Grian to stand back on his two feet and kissed him gently before letting him go.

“You’re a great dancing partner, honestly,” Scar said, glancing around the room. “I mean, I would much prefer if our setting was a little more….oomph, but I suppose I can fix that later.”

Mumbo called out a ‘HEY’ where he stood near the jukebox and Grian glanced over, laughing at how red his face was. With all the spinning they’d done, Grian felt dizzy, and he went to sit in front of the jukebox, wanting to save the chair for Scar. Scar, on the other hand, went for Mumbo, and tugged him back out to the floor.

The vampire stumbled after Scar, but they glided into their position like men on a mission. Grian didn’t know what he looked like dancing, but he was sure it wasn’t nearly as smooth and well-rehearsed as what these two were doing. He watched them with rapt attention, sitting up a bit straighter as the new song began to pick up.

They danced after one another almost as if they were competing. Or showing off. ‘Every person judged you’ echoed in Grian’s head and he wondered how many years, how many dances, it had been the two of them competing for each other’s attention while trying to pretend they weren’t. Passing partners back and forth like they passed him, a way of saying ‘prove you’re better’. A silent flirt.

They twirled each other with ease, the only difficulty being Mumbo’s slight height advantage. For the two of them it was back and forth and Grian wondered if they remembered he was even there. If they were so melded in that moment, they could hear each other’s thoughts. Grian watched as they glided across the room and could almost picture them in froufrou outfits, surrounded by aristocrats and stained-glass windows with moonlight shining through.

The music was coming to a close and Grian watched as Scar’s eyes went wide and Mumbo dipped him instead. Scar laughed and said, “I wanted to do that to you!” Mumbo kissed him and then pulled him up.

They came over to the jukebox and the room fell silent, the machine set up to automatically turn off at the end of the record. Grian had to shake himself out of the minor trance he’d gotten himself into and pulled himself up. He almost fell as Mumbo picked up the jukebox, not realizing Grian was leaning his weight on it. Mumbo shouted and caught him and the two of them looked into each other’s eyes for a moment. There was a soft laugh as Mumbo quickly kissed Grian to make up for almost knocking him over and then put away the jukebox and the chair.

“Well, I think that about wraps up the lesson for today, hm?” he said, guiding Grian and Scar back to the stairs. “Why don’t we go get something to eat?” Grian didn’t have it in him to disagree.

#Mumscarian #Redscape #Grumbo #Scarian #Hermitshipping #in my defense not only is their mumscarian but they all knid of get their own moments together listen #Asks #Braxiatel #Mutuals #Rift AU #Mumscarian Rift AU #fun fact i had to watch the most uncomfortable video to learn how to twirl and dip your partner #it was like the dude had never touched a woman in his life #Anyway once rift au gets to the point where the three of them are kissing I think im gonna lose my mind #Stitch's Writing

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