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nemeseos-noctua · 3 years

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unlikely ; xiao x gn!reader

𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: xiao x gn!reader

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: probs a lil rushed im sorry!!, modern college au

𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒: oneshot for @dourpeep !! congrats! i havent been feeling the best lately so if u want me to rewrite this i 100% can!

They say slow and steady wins the race.

Actually, no. Xiao was not a literature major, in fact, he had no major. With those beautiful letters that spelled out ‘Undecided’, it was safe to say that the male was not adverse in the art of writing.

In fact, it was quite amazing how he even got into a college without a major. Xiao had to partially thank Mr. Zhongli for that, for the counselor’s recommendation was what catapulted him here.

Here, to be standing in front of you— [Surname] [Name].

He didn’t know you that well, only just meeting you once the professor had assigned for the two of you to work together. Apparently, you were a STEM major, something that Xiao actually had interest in even before meeting you.

Of course, he was not expecting you to like working with him. In fact, most people that knew the golden-eyed male were scared of him— which was partly thanks to his intimidating aura that he unconsciously spewed.

Yet that all went out the window once you said hi to him with the biggest smile ever, unfazed by the cold gaze from his eyes and the way he dismissed your presence.

‘Weird’, was all Xiao could think, oblivious to how that’d change in the near future.

—

The majorless-student never expected to grow fond of you.

No— he never expected to grow fond of anyone. Too used to people coming and leaving like a tsunami’s last breath, Xiao had gotten used to losing far more than loving.

Love. It was such a broad term for the most detailed thing. Love was a force that’d bring the strongest to their knees all because of the way their heart would beat irregularly.

In conclusion: love was someone’s downfall. Xiao could never wrap his head around the urge of dedicating your entire life to a single person all because you loved them.

What happens if you fall out of love? What if your partner is unfaithful? There were so many ways things could go absolutely wrong, and only one way for things to go right.

Maybe it was because of this hesitation that prompted him to contradict his opinions, falling headfirst into this sea of new emotions all because of you— his groupmate.

In this case, Xiao was the hurricane. The barrage of opinions and scarred hearts all because of who he was in the past; finding paradise in you, the eye of the storm. The calm before the wreckage he knew by the name ‘heartbreak’.

Love is a mistake, loving you is a mistake.

Yet he found peace in the eye, ready to take on whatever debris would dare to hit him.

—

It started with subtle glances and late night talks.

That was how Xiao would describe these moments with you. Suddenly, he found himself ruining his sleep schedule just because you were pulling an all-nighter. Even long after your assigned project was due and turned in, he still had your number at the top of his contact list.

‘A curse,’ The male would think, eating his cereal angrily. His eye circles had darkened tremendously ever since you began to stay up late. Damn you for ruining his sleep schedu—

He buried his head in his hands, bits of cereal still in his mouth.

“I didn’t even have to stay awake with them.”

—

Xiao was not in love.

No, he would never be.

“Oh, Xiao! You came early!” Settling down beside him, the male spared a side-eye to the person who decided sitting in the very corner of the lecture room was a good idea.

It was you.

“Yeah,” He responded. Suddenly, he did not know what to do. Where does he place his hands? How do you sit, again? Why is this seat so uncomfortable? It was fine just moments ago!

Xiao was not in love, absolutely not.

He gazed at you with his peripherals, and abruptly, his heart pierced his ribs.

Weird.

—

When did these feelings arise?

These feelings of wanting to wait for you outside your classes even though he knew he had no time. These feelings of cramming studies with you about subjects he didn’t even take…

Strange. Everything was strange. The world was more vibrant, tinted pink even though he knew the sky was supposed to be an azure blue.

Maybe it was because of the way you tapped his shoulder when passing an exam down the lecture hall, or the way you trusted him enough to watch over your belongings while you went to the bathroom.

Weird. This feeling was weird, it was like his stomach bubbled and exploded yet it didn’t hurt a single bit.

Xiao couldn’t tell if he liked this feeling or not.

Maybe he should apply to that same club that you go to—… wait, that’s weird.

—

“Xiao?” Venti popped out of the doorway, glancing at the male who was already eating and getting dressed at six o’clock in the morning.

“What?”

“Doesn’t your first class start at eleven?”

“Yeah.”

“Why are you going out now?” The music major rubbed his eyes, still in a half-awake half-sleep state.

“I’m going to go pick someone up.”

Venti grinned, yawning dramatically as he swooned for Xiao’s nonexistent love life.

“And who may this person be?” Now fully awake, Venti seemed to already know the answer based on the look he had.

“. . .” Xiao walked out the doorway, shutting the door with a click!

“Ah, youth,” Venti closed his eyes in deep thought, contemplating over whether to tell Zhongli about Xiao’s character growth.

—

His heart hurts.

No— was hurt the right word? It tensed, that’s for sure. It went quicker and slower, louder and quieter.

Strange, you were strange. The way you made him feel was strange. What was this? Maybe you truly had cursed him after all.

“Oh, Xiao! You came!” Flinching, the male glanced at you. The only thing separating your faces was the window of his car and the ricochet of his heart. ‘Of course— of course I came,'' he thought.

Letting you into the passenger seat, Xiao immediately turned up the heater, ignoring the fact that he already had a jacket on.

His heart hurt.

Glancing over at you briefly, his piercing gaze softened for the briefest of moments, the smallest of seconds.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Xiao was not a literature major, but he could agree that that saying was right.

#genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #xiao x reader #genshin xiao #xiao #genshin scenarios #genshin headcanons #genshin imagines #genshin impact scenarios #genshin impact headcanons #genshin impact imagines #genshin xiao x reader #xiao x you #constellarations

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zuluc · 3 years

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anonymous requested: i've been thinking about what to request for the past 3 days and i think i've finally got it. can i ask for kaeya or diluc with a crush that's a depressed bard that always composes sad songs and lyrics? here's the twist, though. their songs and lyrics start to cheer up as the two of them become closer friends!

pairing: diluc x gn! reader

style & genre: written; fluff

warnings: none

notes: i decided to do diluc for this one because I think it’d have a great impact on him as a person as well, and i’m here for more fluff with him 🥰 i made the lyrics myself for the sake of this fic please go easy on me all i know about music is playing the violin/viola also this is long

i changed the prompt a bit if that’s alright!

“Who are you exactly?” Diluc eyes you strangely when you look at him with a blank stare. In one hand you have a notebook and in the other is a lyre. You walked in only moments ago, actively avoiding anyone’s eyes as they knew you weren’t from town. You just wanted to go straight to the owner of the tavern and hope to share what you had in that book of yours.

“A bard,” you say. You look around to see a few of the townspeople staring back while the others cheer happily with each other as if an exciting thing had happened. “Do you have room for a performance?”

Diluc raises an eyebrow and crosses his arms. You didn’t appear to have any double meaning or ill intention in your words, rather, your eyes were just void of any glint of mischief he usually saw in a certain person. But to waltz in one day and ask for something like this so casually, you really weren’t from there.

“Sure, just don’t steal anything.” He is skeptical of you as he is of any one else but you didn’t need to know that. You were used to it after all. He directs you to the side of the bar that was supposedly the “performance stage” but it didn’t matter. Anywhere was fine with you.

The townspeople gradually stop their chatter as you quickly tune your lyre, playing a chord once the strings were ready. The tune that escapes into the air effectively silences any remaining voices. The song you were going to start wasn’t one they would usually hear in this city of freedom and apparently cheerfulness.

Your fingers hook at the strings, releasing them with ease as a soulful melody fills the entire tavern. The chord was of the lower register and hummed deeply. Diluc flicks his eyes over to you as he cleans a glass and sees your own eyes are closed.

When the night has passed

For then will I be free

Will they see me trample dust

Or let me keep my feet

Your book is open and he can see the words you were singing on the pages. It looks like you just started this line of work given how many pages were left in that book, assuming it was your only one as all you came in with were those two items and a small bag of mora.

He doesn’t notice how much of an effect your song had until he scans over the tavern patreons. Your voice carries through, swaying through the people to where it grazes a piece of their hearts to reminisce forlorn memories. But your words felt soulful as if they had come from your own experiences. A thought passes over his head which causes his heart to pang before quickly shaking it off when he realizes the feeling.

Ah, so you were this type of bard.

Diluc just thinks he’ll only see you one time so he lets the thought pass through.

Once your song ends the drunk townspeople cheer loudly among themselves. You are taken aback by all the noise but bow politely to them for their reaction. You take your things as they call out for you to do another song and you shake your head.

“Maybe another time,” you say with slight sorrow to your face or words. They accept the answer and continue on their night and when you turn to leave, Diluc can’t stop the words that come out of his mouth.

“Why not stay for a drink?” You look at him incredulously and he crosses his arms, “Call it payment for your services. They seemed to enjoy it.” You make cautious movement as you make your way to a stool. Diluc sets out an apple cider vinegar drink and you sniff at it. Once you take a sip you notice his face at the corner of your sight. The edge of his lip is slightly quirked up as he sighs while cleaning a glass.

It seems they weren’t the only ones who enjoyed the song.

Mondstadt was a city that was very welcoming in comparison to all the other places you spent time at. The people were either unwilling to hear your music or had particular reactions to the pieces you shared. To them, it seemed you didn’t understand that bar music was supposed to be lively and something to dance to. Not something to feel sad about.

But you wanted to share it anyways for your songs are one of the few things in life that you are proud of. One of the few things that have filled the emptiness of yourself that you lost those years ago and maybe, just maybe, sharing them will help you feel in some way. To you, these songs are sorrowful, but they shouldn’t just make people sad. That’s why you were quite surprised at the reactions at Angel’s Share as opposed to those from other places.

They should elicit emotions of nostalgia. Or maybe, you just hadn’t found the right experience to make them happier.

You come back a few nights later and Diluc is working the bar yet again. When he lifts his head, his shoulders sag in relief seeing that it is you. Venti had come by a few times after hearing about you and kept pressing the owner about letting him on the stage as well.

He was rejected numerous times in tandem with being asked to pay up for his drink tab.

The same book and lyre are still in hand when you head towards Diluc like you did that first night. He places the glass in his hands down and gives you a nod of his head, “Welcome back.”

“Thanks,” You look around and see that the tavern is even fuller than the last night you performed. It seems word had got around of your songs and they had all been waiting patiently for nights now. That was what an attendee had said to you outside the door anyways. “Do you mind?” You gesture to the stage.

“Go for it,” Any sense of caution that seeped through his words when you met him was near to nonexistent now. Maybe it was the impressions you left on the townspeople and their word of mouth the past few days. A depressing bard in the city of freedom in comparison to the other bards was news, especially when this bar had a wonderful voice to listen to.

The bar quiets again with the numerous greetings and cheers in seeing you up there. You flip open your book and thumb through the pages before settling on one song near the middle. It was a two-parter.

Your fingers pick at the strings lightly, slowly adding pressure thus causing the volume to increase subtly. Diluc shifts in his spot as he tries to focus on the tasks at hand but there really isn’t anything he is going to lose if he wants to listen.

I ran far in the depths of that same night

They chased me off as they truly had hoped

But I lost my way and wandered far

Met and saw numerous things was how I coped

The townspeople are yet again taken by your voice and melody that they had started to move with the music. Diluc decides to abandon his tasks for a little while, now aware how your music allows him to reflect as you intended.

He sees these events before him. The death of one close to him and the loss of someone beside him whom he thought he could trust wholeheartedly. You stop singing but continue with plucking at the strings that calms the atmosphere. It is solemn and relaxing, almost putting the drunkest of the bunch to sleep but through sheer willpower they stay awake to listen on.

Happy and cheerful those that I have seen

But they were not accepting of me

Sharing the harsh reality of these mysteries

How will one otherwise feel so free?

The song ends and a round of cheers erupts, louder than the first night as there were more people. Diluc snaps out of his thoughts and wordlessly fixes you another drink that you take again, albiet still a bit shyly.

“Your lyrics,” Diluc begins and you tense at the sound of his voice, “From experience I assume?” He is straightforward, you should know this from the gossip around town. There was nothing in it for you to hide anything from him or anyone else so you tell him.

“Yes. That’s what makes good music, does it not?” You take a sip of the beverage. It must be a different one as it is much sweeter than the apple cider vinegar. “When you can relate to the words yourself. I simply want to share that with the people for reasons even I am unsure of.”

Diluc hums and doesn’t look you in the eye for his next words.

“I see. Your voice is quite nice.”

You both managed to continue with light chatter that night and he learns that you are staying in Mondstadt for quite a bit. You had no set plans to be in a specific place at any specific time so what was the rush to leave? Among this he is aware of how you speak. There is an ambiguous sorrow in your words from the effect of your past, he believes, that share no optimism but realistic choices that would completely stop the conversation.

But he was the same so it continues.

His past is the reason for his own apprehension when speaking with strangers but you were a little different. You outright told him your objective and you were just a bard who wanted to share their experience.

You learn this of him and it was the first time that you felt light when speaking with someone.

“Y/n!” They learn of your name after the third night you show up which is another few nights after the second. Some take your music as a lighthearted joke in contrast to their free lives while others pay close attention to the words and sway with the tune.

You give a small grin in acknowledgement before sitting in the stool in front of Diluc. Throughout the weeks you had gotten to know each other a little better besides the titles of The Sorrowful Bard and Diluc of Mondstadt. You were just y/n and he was Diluc.

You always make a point to talk to him before performing, giving a small insight into the meaning behind your words. Last time replayed the sleepless night and doubts as you wandered Teyvat and the time before that was a retelling of an animal that accompanied you for the last months of its life.

“It knew it had to go yet it decided to follow me, spreading that sadness of loss to me as I was attached.” You said to him that night with dry eyes.

All you tell him is that this song is a little different from your other ones.

He shows more of himself to you, actions he wouldn’t typically show to others if it weren’t for a certain motive or purpose. But you were not threatening nor wanted something from him. Diluc put a bit of trust in you for that.

You never sing more than one song each night because you want them to take in the words of each song carefully. Like that animal, you wanted to share the sadness but allow them to see the great memories.

This night contains your fourteenth or fifteenth song and it is fairly new. You wrote this in the early hours of the morning with a newfound emotion bustling inside your chest. You were scared when waking up, but felt reassured when there was a hint of melancholy there among an unfamiliar emotion.

The tavern goers look at you with hopeful and excited eyes. You feel warmth in your heart as you remember the times a few of them have come up to you telling you that your music has made it easier to sleep. That your music is inspiring; sad, but inspiring.

You play a chord and Diluc raises a brow in hearing a lighter tone. Underlying is that first low tone in your first night, indicating that you plan to keep a sense of your usual.

Then I stumbled in, seeing the light there

Unexpected welcoming I was greeted by

At first there was nothing then passed a while

Uprising something foreign for me to finally cry

Even if your eyes are trained to the floor, they are in his general direction. You didn’t know what you were feeling and you sure didn’t want to push it.

He has his entire attention directed at you.

You pluck higher notes much different from the chords you were accustomed to, messing up in a few that no one seemed to notice. You straighten yourself and look over the entire bar, settling your eyes on him for a bit too long for him to notice.

And so thankful am I

To be able to do such as that

And never is it unwelcomed

The beats in my soul are no longer flat

Your eyes stay staring at him and the cheers drown out. Diluc’s hand raises a few centimeters from the counter but you have already picked up your book and instrument and left.

The drink is untouched as he follows after you, thanks to Charles.

You feel like you can’t breathe but there is physically nothing blocking your airway. You assumed it was due to the collection of body heat in the tavern but even the cool night air did nothing to soothe the burning in your face.

Why did I look at him? Why was he looking back? What does this mean?

“Y/n!” You gasp at the sound of his voice and as you turn around you hope that it was just in your head. Your mouth opens and closes but you can’t speak. you don’t know what to say.

Truthfully, he doesn’t either.

Diluc didn’t know what to expect when you told him it would be different. He definitely didn’t expect for the song to be about him. He had deducted this reasoning and confirmed it when your eyes met and to you leaving.

In that room he felt the same: his face was warm and his heartbeat picked up when you lingered your gaze on him. He didn’t know what this feeling was either.

Neither of you are speaking, the breeze brushing through.

“I’m sorry!” You say, bowing your head so he cannot see the tears of confusion, frustration, and something else running down your face.

“Why are you apologizing?” He is near you now and he can feel you jump at his touch on your shoulder. When you don’t push him off he moves his gloved hand to cup your face to lift it up. This is the first time he’s seen you cry.

Ironic, given your songs.

Diluc lightly presses his thumb to your cheek to brush off a tear. “Apologizing is for if you’ve done something wrong. You have done nothing of the sort.”

“Are you sure?” You say without hesitation. It is an automatic response, built upon the hardening of your heart and soul through your travels. Diluc chuckles, a small smile on his face.

“I am sure.”

You strum lightly, a newfound lightness to you that almost everyone has noticed. Your songs still have that sorrowful reality to them but at the end they have changed. Seeing more of the graceful and fulfilling beauty of life.

Diluc still fixes you drinks after every performance and indulges you in conversation. This time around, however, he leans in closer and places his hand closer to yours.

And you are thankful to feel that emotion.

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact headcannons #genshin impact scenarios #genshin impact fluff #genshin impact angst #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact diluc x reader #genshin impact diluc #diluc ragnvindr x reader #diluc ragnvindr #diluc x reader #diluc

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