#axia.writing

[favoniuscodex]

guardian angel [ genshin scenarios ]

summary: overprotectiveness isn't the cutest, but it's endearing to know that your boyfriend has your best interests in mind (aka instances where the boys are (healthily) protective of you).

characters: alhaitham, childe, cyno, diluc, xiao w/ a gn!reader

warnings: implied catcalling/harassment (alhaitham), intimidation (childe), exhaustion (cyno), minor injuries (diluc), threat of hilichurl attack (xiao). no angst endings.

word count: 3.4k

a/n: this one won the poll, so it's first up! hope u enjoy! thanks to @/spiriteddreams reading over alhaitham's part for me beforehand!!!

-- alhaitham --

Alhaitham enjoys sticking to routines. Thus, when you disrupt his routine of meeting him after work in order to walk home together, he is annoyed, but his brain is quick to rationalize it. They are probably just busy with work or they left work early, Alhaitham justifies. However, there is a less rational part of him that gnaws at his sanity, telling him that something is wrong.

He takes his usual path home, making it only a short distance before he feels arms wrap around his waist. Alhaitham stiffens in response to the sudden touch. But, as he looks down and realizes its just you, mouthing words that he can't hear due to the music playing through his headphones, Alhaitham pauses his music. He pushes one of his earpieces off his ear in order to hear you properly and parts his lips to speak, but an unfamiliar voice cuts through your reunion with Alhaitham.

"Look, he didn't even respond to your greeting," a man proclaims far too haughtily and assuming for Alhaitham's liking. "That's not your boyfriend. But it's okay, sweetheart, I can make sure you're not singl-"

Alhaitham doesn't have time for this nonsense. Don't get him wrong -- he has all the time in the world for you and anything you're excited about, but your distressed expression at the man's words has Alhaitham protectively wrapping an arm around you before turning around to face the mystery man obviously provoking you.

"Are you calling my partner a liar?" Alhaitham immediately challenges, narrowed eyes sharpening the intensity of his multicolored glare. Your harasser blinks a few times, slowly coming to a fearful recognition of who Alhaitham is.

"My apologies, Acting Grand Sag-" the man begins.

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to them."

"I am sorry!" the man cries, but Alhaitham can't quite be bothered to hear the man grovel for forgiveness. Alhaitham looks down at you, deciding to let you make the call.

"Would you prefer for me to handle this or would you rather just go home?" Alhaitham asks you softly, looking at you over his shoulder. "I am content with either option."

"Um," you begin, peering around Alhaitham to glance at the man once more, who seems to be trying not to collapse in fear. "Just... Let's just go home. He won't mess with me again, and I'm hungry."

An affectionate, soft smile appears on Alhaitham's face at your words as he realizes you're just as attached to your little routines with him as he is. Thus, with all the venom he can muster in his expression, he turns back to the nervous man.

"If I see you anywhere around here again, I will ensure that you will be dealt with swiftly," Alhaitham promises, and the man nods before scampering off like a coward. As soon as the man is out of sight, Alhaitham sighs and grabs your hand. The action sends your heart aflutter, due to Alhaitham not frequently initiating public displays of affection.

"Are you alright?" He asks, using a gentle voice you don't hear all too often from him. You nod, and he smiles softly once more before giving your hand a gentle squeeze. "Very well then. If anyone else tries to make trouble for you, let me know and I'll handle it."

"Wow," you breathe teasingly. "Alhaitham willingly taking on extra work?"

Alhaitham sighs, but you notice the way a smirk threatens to flash across his features at your playful words.

"I'd work forever if it meant you'd be happy," Alhaitham says, and you playfully place your free hand over your heart, pretending to swoon.

"I think that's the most romantic thing you've ever said," you say with a giggle, relishing in the way Alhaitham rolls his eyes at your words.

"Let's go home. I have biryani planned for dinner."

"Biryani? I changed my mind -- that's the most romantic thing you've ever said."

You get a rare chuckle out of Alhaitham as he guides you home, walking close to you and protectively holding onto your hand tightly in case any more trouble comes along for the two of you.

-- childe --

"Pardon me for interrupting," a silky voice croons from behind where you and Childe stand. "I was hoping to have a word with our dearest Tartaglia."

Childe's grip on your hand tightens as his playful expression turns steely at the sound of the voice. He gives you a cautious glare, before plastering the fakest smile you've ever seen on his face.

"Give me a moment, babe," he murmurs lowly to you, practically speaking through gritted teeth, before turning to face a man you've never seen before. Of course, arriving at Zapolyarny Palace on the Tsaritsa's request practically demanded that you would meet new people, but few were able to evoke such a strong reaction from Childe like this man was.

The stranger adjusts his silver-framed glasses and smiles sweetly at you.

"Apologies for my rudeness, I do not believe we have met," he says, eerily reminding you of a viper waiting to strike. "I am Pantalone, ninth of the Fatui Harbingers. And you are..?"

You look over at Childe, who glances at you out of the side of his eye. You respond curtly, giving the man just your first name, and he laughs.

"I understand your hesitation to divulge answers, but your relationship with Tartaglia is quite evident already. Any other information I wish to find out about you I can do so with ea-"

"Spit it out, Pantalone. What do you want?" Childe asks, and you wonder if your boyfriend has lost his mind at how rudely he is speaking to his superior. However, Pantalone seems to pay it no mind, finding the conversation all the more amusing.

"My my, you're much more friendly Pulcinella and Capitano than you are with me. How tragic. I simply wished to discuss finances with you. Is that such a crime?"

Tartaglia blinks at him, taking a slight step forward and sheltering part of your frame behind him.

"We can discuss it at the Fatui meeting tomorrow. Considering you're a higher rank than me, you shouldn't require my input," Childe says, and Pantalone laughs once more. It is a dry type of laugh, as if he's never really found anything funny in his life. A conniving smile spreads across Pantalone's face once more.

"I see that you are on the defensive because of the company you currently keep. No worries. We can discuss our matters tomorrow," Pantalone says. He turns around and takes a few steps, before looking over his shoulder at the two of you. Tartaglia's hand moves from holding your own to wrapping protectively around your waist. Your lover straightens his posture, ready for a challenge, but Pantalone simply smiles eerily once more.

"I would be careful about who you show affection with in the Palace," Pantalone warns.

This time, it is your lover's turn to grin widely at his opponent across the hall.

"That's alright. I can fight," Tartaglia promises with an edge to his voice that you rarely hear. Pantalone's expression warps indecipherably at Childe's words. The ninth Harbinger shakes his head before turning and walking away, leaving you and Childe alone in the hall once more.

With his arm still on your waist, Childe leans over and presses a quick kiss to your forehead and smiles down at you.

"If any other Harbingers try to intimidate you, let me know and I'll handle it."

You stare at your lover, narrowing your eyes. "How would you handle it?"

Childe laughs softly. "I wouldn't want to ruin your stellar image of me, would I? Now, c'mon, let's go. This place is eerie."

-- cyno --

"You need to rest."

Your boyfriend's figure looms over your own tired one, multiplying the amount of relieving shade that covers your body. Despite Cyno's order for rest, your pride gets the best of you as you dismissively swat a hand through the air.

"I'm fine," you insist.

"You can barely walk. When was the last time you were even in the desert?"

"Is this a setup for a punchline?" You ask. Your voice almost sounds like a croak, straining from a lack of water. Cyno is quick to respond, pulling his own canteen off his belt and handing it over to you.

"No. It's me caring about you, that's what it is," Cyno crouches down to meet you at eye level. "Drink."

"This is your water. You need it. I'm not drinking it," you say stubbornly and Cyno sighs before pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

"I know the desert well enough to know how to ration my water. I also know it well enough to tell you when to rest and when to drink. Go ahead. I'll be fine."

You narrow your eyes at him, not moving the canteen to your lips. Cyno sighs before plopping down in the shade-cooled sand next to you. In the distance, you watch waves of heat warp the sand dunes on the horizon, and you wonder if you're in over your head. You'll never admit that though. The last thing you wanted was to slow down Cyno on your trip to the desert, but here you are, struggling to bear the heat.

Cyno sits with you in silence for a moment, before splitting the quiet with another question.

"People often say my humor is dry," Cyno says plainly. "But I think it's only dry when it's in the desert."

A small giggle escapes your lips at the awful pun, and Cyno smiles slightly. Cyno looks over at you. He pointedly looks at the canteen in your hands before flickering his piercing gaze up to you. Despite his best attempt, Cyno can't bring himself to stare at you with the same intimidating gaze he uses for criminals. When he clears his throat to speak once more, you interrupt him by lifting the water to your lips, taking a few sips before handing it back to him.

"I can carry you until we reach an oasis. There should be one not too far away, if we're lucky," Cyno offers, and you giggle at his offer. At your laughter, Cyno raises an eyebrow questioningly. You lean forward, hugging your knees close to your chest and smiling at him.

"What's so funny?" Cyno says, and you beam at him.

"Nothing. You're just cute when you're worried about me."

Cyno's eyes widen, before he decides to study the sand instead of your eyes. You watch as his fingers twitch slightly in the sand as he thinks of the words to say.

"'Cute' isn't exactly how most people describe me," Cyno mutters. In your heat-addled haze, you only grin wider at him before closing his canteen and handing it back to him, drawing his attention once more.

"Well, you're cute to me, even if others can't see it," you say. Despite the warmth of your body, you still reach out to grab his hand, lacing your fingers through his.

"Can we rest for a bit here?" You ask sheepishly. "I'm a bit worried I won't be able to walk far if we get up now."

Cyno nods at your words. "Of course. The last thing I want is to overwork yourself. It's okay if we work at different paces - I'll wait for you as long as you need."

Your heart melts at his honest words, so you scoot over to him before laying down in the sand, holding out your arm for him to rest with you. However, he shakes his head, electing to hold your hand instead.

"I'll watch over you while you sleep. Right now, it's my duty to keep you safe."

-- diluc --

"It's just a scratch, 'Luc," you say to the broad-shouldered man currently fretting over your injuries. "I'll be fine, I just need a bandage."

Diluc glares at you with as much vitriol as he can muster towards you -- which isn't much. You're unsure if this type of glare from him would even scare one of the bunnies on the Dawn Winery grasses outside. It certainly isn't the same glare he uses for handling criminals and members of the Abyss. Despite Diluc's efforts to seem intimidating, he's never been able to be mean or intimidating towards you. Thus, you giggle at his expression and his brows furrow.

"This is serious, love. You can't keep going out there and getting injured," Diluc grumbles. "Come on, sit on the bathroom counter."

"One of the maids could've helped me, y'know," you say teasingly before hopping up and resting on the cool marble basin, watching as Diluc's cheeks flush with a faint shade of red. "But you're way cuter."

"Stop trying to distract me," Diluc mutters, voice plagued by his easily flustered state.

"Is it working?" You ask, and your lover falls silent. The color of his cheeks synchronizes with his hair as he furrows his brow, focusing on cleaning up the scraped skin on your arm with a clean cloth. You smile softly at him as he works, unaware of your affectionate gaze towards him.

"How did this happen?" Diluc asks after a few moments of silence. His voice warbles slightly, and it takes everything in you not to pull him in for a hug -- it would only upset your injury, which would upset Diluc further in turn. Guilt washes over you at the sadness in his voice, and you use your uninjured arm to lean forward and ruffle his hair affectionately.

"I just tripped on a branch while out trying to collect some berries. Don't worry, it wasn't anything bad, sweetheart. I promise."

Diluc swallows heavily before nodding. Both of you know why seeing you injured affects him so much, but neither of you dare speak of the causation. Instead, you move your free hand from his hair to his cheek, heart melting at the way his face instinctively leans into it. Diluc reaches behind you to pick up the roll of bandages that one of the maids provided.

"Tell me if this hurts, alright? It should be taut, but it should not hurt," Diluc murmurs, voice deep as he begins to wrap the bandages starting at your wrist. You hum in acknowledgement, but Diluc is far too gentle to cause you any pain. He wraps the bandage up perfectly, staring at his handiwork with narrowed eyes before looking up at you.

"It's perfect," you applaud him and, for the first time since you've shown up injured, Diluc smiles softly at you. "You did wonderful. I feel better already."

"If it causes you any issues, please let me know." He says hurriedly, and you sigh, causing him to look at confusion. You smile wearily at him.

"C'mere," you urge, moving your hand from his cheek towards his tie. Loosely, you grip the knot of the fabric, urging his face towards yours. Your lips meet Diluc's in a loving kiss. You can tell he's caught off guard by it as you hear the hasty slap of his hand against the marble counter behind you as he regains his balance, leaning further into the kiss. Diluc's other hand reaches forward to curl around your cheek and jaw, calloused fingertips delicately gliding against your skin like a restorationist carefully brushing a piece of fine art.

Diluc is a man of quiet intensity, preferring to show his devotion to you through actions rather than words. As he kisses you in this moment, the reverent movement of his lips tells you over and over how much he adores you. The worried tension eases out of his shoulders as he melts into you, parting only when the two of you need to catch your breath. You use this opportunity to press your forehead to Diluc's, staring at him in the eyes.

"'Luc, I'm not going anywhere." You reach up and cradle his hand closer to your face. "I promise."

Diluc's thumb brushes gently back and forth on your cheekbone as he mulls over words to say.

"I know," he sighs, before sounding more firm in his words. "I know. I trust you. I love you."

-- xiao --

You've never been happier to have your boyfriend accompany you on an expedition. Adventurer's Guild commissions were at an all-time high, but danger was also at an unprecedented level. For reasons still unknown to the Guild, Treasurer Hoarder activity was at an unusual high, which made transporting goods and completing commissions that much more difficult.

Plus, it wasn't that often that you got to see Xiao. Warmer months are approaching, which means monster activity will increase, along with the need for commissions. Sure, the two of you would still meet at Wangshu Inn, but your relationship with the adeptus is still rather unconventional. After all, you knew from the start that Xiao wasn't the type of guy who would take you to fancy dinners at Xinyue Kiosk.

Rather, the two of you were perfectly content with eating dinner together on the Wangshu Inn balcony whenever the weather was nice and your schedules coincided. 'Dates' were a foreign concept to Xiao, and you didn't want to urge him out of his comfort zone by surrounding him with other humans. Thus, you found enjoyment in the fact that Xiao was willing to help you with this commission -- it was a more unique date for the two of you.

Yet, as the two of you head north to Qingce Village on a trodden dirt path, Xiao is quick to wrap his arms around you, pinning your hands to your sides and clutching you close.

"Xi-" you begin, but you're cut off by the stomach-whirling sensation of teleporting away. The two of you touch the ground almost instantaneously, but you're left reeling and dazed, not used to the feeling of teleportation. The two of you are now stationed in a cave, and you have no clue how far you've gone.

"What? Aren't you not supposed to teleport me like that?" You breathe, mind still spinning with confusion and disorientation, but Xiao silences you with a finger to his lips. With a single swipe of his hand, his mask reappears on his face, and he's quick to summon his spear.

"Wait here."

You watch, dumbfounded, as your lover teleports away, leaving you alone. Xiao wasn't the type to leave you stranded without good reason, so you sigh and make yourself comfortable on the stone ground of the cave, waiting for him to return.

Minutes later, the yaksha returns. The tip of his spear is stained with something, but you figure it's probably better if you don't pay too much attention to that.

"You are bad at watching the surroundings," Xiao says, looking down at you before wiping his mask away. You look up at him, blinking slowly.

"Wow, thanks," you say sardonically, and Xiao tilts his head, not fully used to human sarcasm.

"There were hilichurls following us," Xiao says, sitting down besides you on the cave floor. "They unsheathed an arrow, so I teleported us away."

"Oh," you say as a devious thought pops into your mind. "Thanks, sweetheart."

At the usage of a pet name, Xiao's face turns scarlet and he looks away from you, flustered. Deciding to make it even worse, you wrap your arms around his shoulders, leaning into him and resting your head on his shoulder.

"What would I ever do without my dashing protector to save me? How may I ever repay my loyal knight?" You giggle while Xiao's eyes widen at your playfully romantic words. "You swept me and my heart off my feet with your heroic ac-"

"Enough." Xiao says, but it comes out less as a firm demand and rather as a sheepish choke of words. "Please."

You giggle once more, memorizing the way the red on his face complements the green in his hair, before leaning in to place a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Thanks for looking out for me, Xiao," you say, teasing tone leaving your voice. Xiao raises his hand to rest on one of the arms you have wrapped around his shoulder, and you feel your heart swell at the rare initiation of physical contact.

"I will always be there when you need me," Xiao vows, and you realize just how far your relationship with the adeptus has come. While he still blushes at your words, he no longer admonishes you for playful romantics and flirty remarks. Instead, he embarrassedly embraces them, while holding you close.

"Good thing I always need you then, huh?" you murmur softly, as if whispering a secret amidst a crowd. The two of you sit alone in the cave for a while longer, and you realize you wouldn't mind spending forever like this, as long as Xiao was by your side, with his eyes fluttered closed in contentment.

#genshin impact x reader #diluc x reader #alhaitham x reader #xiao x reader #cyno x reader #childe x reader #tartaglia x reader #genshin fluff #genshin impact fluff #genshin x reader #diluc fluff #alhaitham fluff #xiao fluff #cyno fluff #childe fluff #tartaglia fluff #axia.writing #writing.alhaitham #writing.diluc #writing.childe #writing.cyno #writing.xiao

[favoniuscodex]

pulling them by their collar [ diluc, itto, & childe ]

prompt: how they react when you pull them close by their collar/necklace/tie/etc. !!! characters: diluc, itto, childe (separate) w/ a gn!reader warnings: adult innuendos (diluc & childe)! canon-typical violence (diluc). reader wears glasses (itto). please be 16+ to read (just for my own comfort bc there's a few saucy topics) word count: ~2.0k a/n: this is a collab w/ the lovely rulaine! (@rulaineyu) !!! she wrote the same prompt but for zhongli, thoma, kaeya, & ayato! read them here!!

DILUC:

It's not like you meant to be rendezvousing with a man every night and gallivanting through the streets until dawn. It kind of just... happened. When you're a vigilante in a city that is in dire need of assistance, it's practically inevitable to team up with the other masked strangers on the street. You had paired up with the one woman who was definitely one of the Church of Favonius Sisters, even if she looked repulsed at your suggestion that she was such a figure. But now, you're paired with the most infamous of vigilantes yet: Mondstadt's very own Darknight Hero.

You've always wanted to be the best, but much to your behest, the Darknight Hero is fantastic at helping you clear out hilichurl camps on the edge of Mondstadt. You aren't quite sure why he's helping you when he could easily just complete these tasks on his own, but his presence means less work on your plate. Less tasks on the outside of the city means more helping the people inside the walls, which is always a good thing.

"You did well," The Darknight Hero says, causing you to jump out of your thoughts. "Your weapon is helpful for dealing with the archers."

You're spooked at him speaking for once. Usually, the two of you work in silence, communicating only through brief hand signals. Yet, you're even more spooked at the fact that he seemed to sense your self-doubt. It means you aren't concealing yourself as well as you'd like. You straighten your posture.

"Thank you," You say, looking at the mask that covers his eyes and the hood that covers his hair. The apples of his cheeks are still revealed and you swear they seem so familiar.

"Is there a way I can assist you that would red-" Your partner begins, but you quickly tune him out as you hear a twig snap in the distance. You look past him and he thinks nothing of your sudden loss of attention. In one hand, your polearm weighs heavy, but you reach the other hand out and grab the first thing you can think of: the choker that peeks out from underneath his cloak. Your fingers clasp around the red jewel in the center and you tug him far too harshly, sending him stumbling into you.

"Wha-" He begins before you hastily shove his larger figure off of you and step around him, charging towards the direction of the snapped branch and flinging your polearm like a javelin. The final hilichurl cries as your polearm makes contact, knocking it out of the tree it was hiding in. You let out a sigh of relief before turning back to him, grimacing apologetically in his direction.

Now on the ground, the Darknight Hero stares up at you with a flushed face and pure admiration in his expression. His chest heaves heavily as he recovers from you tugging on his collar, before a soft chuckle escapes his lips.

"I am not necessarily against playing rough with you," The Darknight Hero says, causing you to scoff. "But a warning next time would be appreciated."

Ignoring the way your heart flutters at his flirty remark, you shoot him a warning glare before pointing to the flaming hilichurl arrow that is extinguishing itself in the spot where he was previously standing. With the disguise of his mask, your fellow vigilante seems to find himself to be too comfortable with you. Unfortunately for him, you've realized just who he is.

"C'mon, Diluc," You say condescendingly, watching as his eyes blow wide. "I can tug on your collar more later if you'd like, but we gotta clear out the rest of these hilichurls."

"Wai-" He begins, but you huff and turn away and go to retrieve your polearm, leaving him chasing after you.

ITTO:

“Babe!”

You look up from your newly purchased light novel at the sound of your boyfriend’s voice. He charges towards you with cupped hands and you spot the horns of an onikabuto peeking over his fingers. A victorious grin spreads across his lips as he stops in front of you.

“Guess who just won their latest bug fight?” Itto laughs proudly. “This guy! I’d point to myself but I can’t drop my special champion.”

You smile sweetly up at him, pushing up the bridge of your glasses to better focus on him instead of the pages below. At this angle, Itto blocks out most of your reading sunlight with his towering figure, but you had no intention of continuing the book in your hands. No matter how enthralling the plot was, you would much rather give your undivided attention to the man in front of you, especially when he always does the same for you. Thus, you slide the picture of Itto that you use as a bookmark between the pages and set the novel to the side, causing Itto to gasp with interest.

“That’s the book you were gonna get later, right? I thought it wasn’t released yet!” Itto says excitedly. He fumbles with the bug in his hands as it crawls over the edge of his fingers and onto his knuckles. You laugh gently and gesture to the basket next to you.

“I went for my usual books of the week, but Miss Yae was there and gave me an advanced copy,” you say sheepishly. The victorious onikabuto continues to crawl circles around Itto’s hands and you giggle before lifting up the opening to your book basket. “Put him in here.”

“You sure?” Itto asks before grinning even wider as you nod in response. Gently, he lets the onikabuto crawl out of his hands and into the safety of your basket. “He can read the books and get even smarter!”

“He’s already pretty strong if he won a bug fight…” you say, closing the vented lid to the basket. “What if he gets too strong?”

“Well, he won’t be stronger than me,” Itto says confidently. “I’ll protect you!”

At your boyfriend’s haughty tone, you giggle again. The sound causes a faint blush to rise to his cheeks, but his confident posture fails to change.

"How'd the fight go? Y'know, besides the whole winning part?" You ask and your boyfriend practically jumps in place with excitement at your question.

"There was this new guy at the fighting grounds," Itto says, as if the onikabuto fighting grounds aren't just wherever the closest patch of dirt is. "I think his brother brought him or something. He said he had an onikabuto he wanted to fight with and I immediately challenged him, because who better to be your first challenger than the toughest oni out there? Either way, no matter how big his beetle was, he didn't stand a chance against the Beetle Gladiator's beetles! Arataki beetles can't b-"

As your boyfriend rambles about his victory, you can't help but space off. You want to pay attention, but the cute furrow of his brow as he recounts every detail has you focusing more on his appearance than his words. Deciding to save him the breath, you clear his throat.

"Not to interrupt your well-deserved victory speech," you say slyly. "But there's something on your face?"

"Oh, there is? It's probably some of the dango I had earlier," Itto hastily wipes his hand across his mouth and you stifle a mischievous giggle.

"No, that's not it, lean down a little bit so I can get a better look!" You say and Itto obliges.

"Just let me kn-" Itto begins, but you cut him off by hooking a finger through the loop on his choker, just above his Vision. You tug him close, unable to hold back a victory laugh of your own as a vibrant red flush takes over his cheeks. Speechless, Itto stares at you with wonder. You swoop in before he can recollect his thoughts and place a kiss on his nose.

"Got it!" You say proudly and Itto continues to stare at you blankly. The gears in his head struggle to catch up with your brazen actions and he lets out a soft whine.

"You can't leave me with just that, lovebug," he grumbles. You giggle at his flustered state and, at the sound of your laughter, Itto leans forward and steals a kiss from your lips, determined to get yet another victory. You lean into his kiss, letting him hold you close until you run out of air.

"C'mon," you say breathlessly as you pull away from him. "Let's go get some victory snacks!"

CHILDE:

"So? How do I look?"

Your boyfriend is egotistical. Sure, he's earned most of his ego, especially as the youngest Harbinger, but that doesn't mean you like to encourage narcissistic behavior. It is important to retain a level head, especially in a position of power like his. You like to think you're pretty good at keeping him balanced, but as he exits the bathroom to present himself to you, you feed directly into his narcissism, staring at him with wide eyes.

Childe splays his arms out wide, showing off his perfectly tailored black tie suit to you. He often avoids such formal clothing, but the Fatui have shed their typical formal coats to opt for a more modern style of dress for the evening. Typically, you're more than happy to not be by his side at boring political parties, but you're mentally punching the air with jealousy at the knowledge that everyone else gets to see him in this outfit all evening. The suit clings to his waist and shoulders perfectly, sculpting out his figure with flattering precision.

You press your lips together, swallowing heavily.

"You look... nice," you say politely. Childe bursts out into laughter at your formal response.

"Well, it seems as though I know what to wear when I want you to fling yourself at me so we can-" He begins, but you cut him off by clearing your throat. You can't think of anything like that right now or you won't let him leave the door without tearing at least one piece of his clothing off. You smile politely and Childe looks utterly enthralled by your barely contained desire.

"Where is your tie?" you ask sweetly, as if you aren't swooning and falling in love with him all over again at the sight of him in a suit for the first time.

"Oh! Let me go get it. Gotta complete the look for my most adoring fan, huh?"

He slips back into the bathroom before you can chastise him for his teasing. As quick as he departs, your boyfriend returns. You stare at the cloth knot that now sits on his neck and move from your position on the bed. You walk over to him and Childe grins haughtily at you.

"You look good," you say as you stand in front of him. "But your tie is crooked."

"Is it?"

"Yup," you say, wrapping your hand around his tie, fingers curling atop his collarbone. "Let me fix it."

You tug him forward and Childe stumbles, but quickly regains himself as his lips crash into yours. The kiss is messy, and Childe laughs into your lips as his hands instinctively steady themselves on your waist. Before you can pull away and let him return to getting ready, Childe deepens the kiss, hungrily moving his lips against your own. When the two of you part, Childe's cheeks are flushed with exertion and your own lips are slightly swollen.

"I could be late," he offers, and this time, its your turn to laugh at his want for you. His hands loosely rest on your waist and you move your hands to his chest, splaying them out on the black fabric of his tuxedo.

"Oh? Really?" You feign interest. Childe looks hopeful, but you watch as his dreams shatter as you push yourself back from his chest with a giggle. "I don't think you're allowed to be. You're a Harbinger and all."

"You don't have to remind me," Childe whines as you lazily make your way back to the bed. "At least help me fix my tie, babe."

You giggle. "I know I messed it up, but if I help you fix it, you really aren't leaving the house."

#genshin impact x reader #genshin impact fluff #diluc x reader #childe x reader #childe fluff #diluc fluff #itto x reader #itto fluff #axia.writing #writing.itto #writing.childe #writing.diluc

[favoniuscodex]

-> prompt: after an incident in qingce village, xiao has questions for you. (aka you hold xiao's hand and he combusts into flustered flames upon asking you about it.)

-> pairing: xiao x gn!reader

-> warnings: none

"earlier," the yaksha begins slowly. "what you did earlier, what was that?"

you look up from your book owlishly, staring up at him with wide eyes. whenever you read, your longtime companion chooses not to interrupt you. instead, he usually opts to survey the scenery beyond the wangshu inn balcony that the two of you are nestled in, constantly looking for further action. but now, his amber gaze pierces past the cover of your book and directly into you, complimented by a faint dusting of pink on his cheeks.

"huh? what do you mean?" you ask, watching as the ruddy hues blossom even further across his face. xiao's gaze averts from yours.

"when..." he trails off, before turning his head to the side, gaze briefly flitting towards the familiar scenery of dihua marsh. there is an unfamiliar shyness to his voice, and it piques your interest more than any mystery novel plotline ever could, so you set your book down.

"when?" you ask patiently. the yaksha is gruff, sure, but you cannot remember a time that he has ever been lost for words in the way he is now. his lips part, and you watch the slight heave of his chest as he inhales deeply before continuing.

"it was when we were in qingce village earlier, when the market started getting busy," xiao says quietly. you do your best to pay no mind to the furious blush that adorns his cheeks, but it softens the sharpness of his cheekbones into plump, red apples you wish you could take an affectionate bite out of, if only to see his reaction.

"yeah?" you ask gently, voice no more than a soft breath on the wind. "what about it?"

"you..." he pauses, running a hand through his hair. it is a nervous tic he's most likely picked up from you, and your heart swells with affection at how xiao pays attention to the little things, even when you think he isn't looking. "you took my hand in yours."

you blink up at him, watching as cor lapis irises meet yours for the briefest of moments before snapping back to the mundane horizon sprawling out beyond the two of you. is that why he's been so quiet today...?

"oh. i'm sorry if that made you uncomfortabl-" you begin, but xiao is quick to cut you off with hurried words.

"it did not make me uncomfortable." his words are hurried, albeit a bit flustered, and the realization of the impact you've had on him slowly begins to dawn over you.

"oh." the single syllable falls heavy from your lips. you're unsure of where else to put it, so you let it hang heavy in the air between the two of you, before testing it out once more, albeit in a more lilted tone. "oh."

the silence stretching out between the two of you now seems more endless than the horizon.

"why?" xiao, ever the fighter, pierces through the veil of silence with a battering ram of a question. his shy gaze now hardens in the midst of inquiry, despite not being hidden behind his usual battle mask. yet, at this stage in your partnership with him, you no longer find fear in his fierceness. instead, the steely nature of his gaze provides comfort that he will always be there for you, no matter what the answer to your question might be. "why did you do it?"

so, you choose to answer xiao's question honestly.

"i was fearful of us getting separated in the crowd, so i took your hand in mine," you say evenly, despite the way your heart hammers against your chest under the intensity of his gaze. it is though xiao is picking apart your thoughts with just a simple glance, and yet, his eyes still drink in your expression as if the answers to his unspoken questions will be found in the curve of your lips or the furrow of your brow.

"you know that if you call out my name, i will always appear to protect you." xiao's reminder is muddled with emotions you cannot place, but you decide it is in your best interests to not read to much into them. instead, you smile sweetly at him.

"i know. but if i can keep you close without having to call your name and startle a crowd full of people, then i should hold your hand, right?"

xiao falls quiet as you inspect his features, watching and waiting for something within the stoic yaksha to crack and give you the reaction you've been silently craving since you first met. instead, you watch as his hand wraps around the balcony railing for a brief moment before letting go, as if seizing the base of his polearm in a familiar gesture. perhaps, just perhaps, the fearsome yaksha is nervous in your presence. the thought causes adoration to rise within you, threatening to spill forth from your lips in platitudes and reassurances.

but, you know xiao better than to startle him by bursting forth with emotion. so, you press your lips together, and you wait.

"could you-?" he asks, cutting himself off before taking a step towards you, fingers unfurling in your direction. he hesitates, before finally deciding to dive in, splaying his hand out and holding it just above where your book sits on your lap.

xiao's question goes unfinished, but you understand it nonetheless. a soft, breathy laugh, one that xiao finds more enticing than any of barbatos's melodies, escapes from the confines of your lips.

"of course," you say, lifting your hand up to meet his own as you lace your fingers through his. his gloves are roughened from battle, and you wonder if the skin is underneath as well, but you feel divinity from his touch nonetheless.

you stare at your conjoined hands before looking up at xiao, whose gaze still lingers on your interlocked hands. a soft smile graces his features as he looks down fondly.

you realize that the yaksha returns your affections in this moment, but perhaps it is best to leave confessions unspoken for this moment, if only to savor it for just a bit longer.

#genshin impact x reader #xiao x reader #genshin fluff #genshin impact fluff #xiao fluff #axia.writing #writing.xiao

[favoniuscodex]

pairing: diluc x gn!reader tw: alcohol consumption, post-break up fic, vague ending. a/n: surprise surprise :)

"It's been a while."

The voice disturbs your drunken ruminations, snapping your attention away from the painted faces on the trading cards that scatter the bar top. Liquor buzzes through your system, but you would recognize that voice anywhere. It is deep but gentle, like an expensive cologne that passes by before you can speculate on its undertones.

You slump over the table, arm passing over soggy drink napkins and sticky surfaces without a care. Resting your head on your arm, the crown of your head brushes against the inside of your elbow before you turn your head to the familiar man who sits down beside you.

"I thought you would be out saving other worlds, but here you are, getting drunk in my competitor's bar."

For all intents and purposes, the words that the redhead next to you says should be scathing, but they're not. They're amused, and your inebriated mind can't wrap your head around what exactly that mirthful glint in his fire-stained eyes means. You stare at him lazily, as the warmth of whiskey spreads throughout your body.

"Why're you here, Diluc?" You grumble, trying your best to not pathetically slur your words.

"Well, let's see." Diluc pretends to think over his words, but you know him well. He was likely rehearsing exactly what to say on his way over. The Uncrowned King of Mondstadt has never been one to half-ass anything, especially not his... convoluted relationship with you.

"You, a former nominee for the position of Acting Grand Master, suddenly returns to Mondstadt and hightails it to the most notable bar dissociated from Dawn Winery... My patrons may think they're being quiet with their gossip, but drunkards have never been able to whisper," Diluc says, staring down at you with a softness you don't deserve.

You despise the fact that you can still read behind the stoic mask he adorns for almost every conversation. You despise that he came all the way here to save you from your own inebriation. Most of all, you despise the fact that you can still see the affection in his eyes that you don't deserve, especially not after holding his glass heart in your hands and shattering it so long ago. He looks at you with restrained desire, the emotion smoldering and festering in his eyes like campfire embers waiting to reignite if stoked properly.

"I've never seen you drunk," he adds, filling up the silence that seems to stretch between the two of you endlessly. Diluc is always one to avoid idle chatter and small conversations, but not with you. Never with you. Back when the two of you were on better terms, you had asked him why you were the exception. I'm not a fan of idle talk, but our conversations are never just mindless chatter. Not to me. He had said, and you loathe him even more as that sweet memory bubbles in your mind and sends your heartbeat skipping with longing once more.

"Thought they were mocktails," You say quietly, words a soft, discontent murmur that are barely audible over the loud caterwauling of the drunken bard in the corner that should have been kicked out long ago. Diluc looks at you with amusement in his eyes.

"You think you can make it home alright?" He asks softly. As much as you hate to admit your weakness, you know that it'll be another few hours of chugging countless glasses of water that Diona brings you until you can even think about making it back to your apartment.

"I can just..." You begin, but your words falter. You don't recognize anyone here, besides the underage feline-esque bartender that is somehow permitted to serve alcohol... and the drunk bard in the corner that's definitely not the Anemo god, but he's farther gone than you are.

"I'll live." You finally say, and Diluc lets out an amused chuckle.

"Alright, Y/N, I'll take you home," Diluc says firmly, but his voice laced with amusement at your completely helpless state.

As much as you hate the way he makes you long for him after all of these years apart, you can't bring yourself to fight him off. If it was any other man, you'd likely be terrified, drawing your weapon and drunkenly swinging at their attempt to abscond from Cat's Tail with you as their drunken trophy. Yet, the acceleration of your heart in Diluc's presence is not a frightened one. Despite the rift between the two of you, you trust him, so you let him put your arm around his shoulders and his arm around your waist.

You stumble two blocks with him in a blur, shivering closer to him as the midnight air chills your skin. Yet, he does not force you to make the arduous trek back to your apartment. Instead, he guides you along the once-familiar path to Dawn Winery, escorting you in the back entrance and guiding you up the steps to the spare bedroom above the tavern.

It's different than you remember. You notice that even in your drunken state. He's exchanged out the colorful quilts for a sterile white comforter. The pictures of you that once sat on the nightstand are gone. Everything is in pristine condition, as if the room is scarcely used anymore.

"Lay down," he urges gently, gently sliding your arm off his shoulders and letting you fall onto the bed. Diluc looks over your outfit, and you can see him think over his options in his head as what to do with your dirty outside clothing, but he shakes his head. "There are spare clothes in the dresser should you need them."

Diluc turns to leave, but looks back over his shoulder at your drunken form, eyes meeting yours.

"I know you probably aren't the most interested in doing so, but please rest here tonight. No one will bother you. I can't keep you here, but as a reminder, the door locks from the outside, but you can unlock it from the inside if you do decide to leave." Diluc says softly. His words are more guarded than they were back at the bar. You nod at him with bleary eyes, struggling to pay attention as the drunken warmth consumes your body, threatening to pull you into slumber atop the comfortable mattress.

"I'll stay," You mumble, tongue heavy. "Thank you, sweetheart."

Your eyes shut before you can realize the old nickname you call him. You don't see the wistful expression that covers his face as you do so, nor the way he gives you one last longing glance before leaving the room. Sleep holds you tight in its embrace, unwilling to let you realize how Diluc longs for you to be in his.

When you wake the next morning, there's a glass of water on the nightstand, a breakfast protein bar, and a note written in the same familiar, elegant script that you used to read countless love letters in. Fighting off the dehydrated headache that eats at you, you look at the note.

Welcome back. Try visiting Angel's Share instead. I work the bar tonight. - D

You stare up at the ceiling, letting out a heavy sigh. You hate the way Diluc makes you long for him after all these years, but... it's just one more visit. What do you have to lose? You think about the offer subtly imbued in the black ink of the note, and you make your decision.

You only hope that you don't regret it.

#diluc x reader #axia.writing #writing.diluc

[favoniuscodex]

a dance for two [ prince!childe x gn!reader ]

prompt: you are a servant of zapolyarny palace, but the youngest harbinger has his eye on you nonetheless. pairing: prince!childe x servant!gn!reader wc: ~3.1k warnings: lots of self-doubt/romantic doubt but it's the congested royalty au kind LOL. reader has no distinct appearance. a/n: for my favorite childe hater, @monocaelia <3 i hope this lives up to your wildest dreams. childe isn't as much of a dummyhead as usual. he's still stupid, he's just a... princely type of stupid. part of my two year anniversary event! - comments are always cherished!

"come on, darling," the youngest prince begs of you. "just one dance, please?"

prince tartaglia, otherwise known as ajax (the name he insists you call him), is relentless in his pursuits. despite the social and political barriers that separate the two of you, you would believe that wooing you was his primary desire if you hadn't seen his penchant for fighting. rather than setting his sights on a lovely prince or princess of high status from another nation, the prince has decided that the one his heart calls for is none other than you.

the eleventh of the harbingers, prince tartaglia was not necessarily born of royalty, but deemed strong enough to join the royal throne anyways. he will not see the throne in his lifetime, but he will live a life of luxury, riches, and political prestige. you, on the other hand, are his servant -- a maid-slash-butler of sorts, tossed into the halls of zapolyarny palace after an injury left you too weak to continue in the fatui's military ranks.

sure, the prince had flirted with you before he held sincere affections, but everything had changed once he, in a fit of boredom, challenged you to an arm wrestle. falling silent after you defeated him, you had wondered if you would get your head chopped off for besting one of the tsaritsa's holy harbingers in a battle of physical prowess. but, childe assuaged your fears with a deep laugh.

then, in what you would soon learn is typical fashion from him, the prince asked for your hand in marriage.

startled, flustered, and knowing far better than to accept, you had politely declined. two years later, the prince still dropped the question from time to time, if only to see the way you flustered and looked away each and every time before clearing your throat and apologetically declining. now, his request is much easier to fulfill, but you hesitate.

"my prince," your words drip with all the formality that prince tartaglia has begged you to abandon, but to no avail. "what if someone catches us? i am supposed to be cleaning and you are... likely supposed to be somewhere else at the moment."

he looks at you with a sly smirk, before stepping forward, hand extended out to you, ready for you to take. "if all you're worried about is someone catching us, then i wouldn't worry your pretty little mind over it. i can easily cover for the both of us. after all, wouldn't it be more disgraceful if a prince danced alone?"

the prince watches as you hesitate, before hastily adding to his words.

"of course, if you don't wish to dance, then i respect your wishes and i can find something else to do."

you lean on the stick of the broom in your hands, thinking carefully over the prince's request. certainly, you've received scorn from your fellow servants about the prince's fondness for you, but every harbinger has their favorite members of the tsaritsa's esteemed staff of the palace. you've never cared much about the prince's favoritism, until you realized he acted towards you not how his fellow harbingers acted towards the staff. tartaglia viewed you similar to an equal, careful not to tread over any barriers, hesitant to order you around, and always leaving an opening to decline his advances.

you aren't sure why you never do decline his pestering. it simply fuels him on further, but if the dew of the eleventh prince's presence was to suddenly evaporate in the heat of your rejection, you would find your days in the palace far lonelier. perhaps, in a strange way, you would miss him. but you do not dwell on such thoughts, not enough to notice the way your heart would twinge with jealousy at the thought of prince tartaglia looking at another in the way he looks at you.

"i am afraid i do not know how to dance," you confess. "i would be unable to keep pace with you."

the prince grins at you. it's a beam filled with impish carelessness. it washes away the intimidation of his uniform, leaving you basking in the presence of the boy once primarily known as ajax. now, his name falls out of the mouths of most with a royal honorific and far more syllables, leaving the sharp, two-note name only to be uttered by his family and, for reasons you do not wholly understand, you.

"you know how i love a challenge, right, sweetheart?" ajax asks, sweetened pet names rolling off his tongue with an ease that you envy. perhaps it is an arrogance reserved only for a man who is unable to be told no unless he wants to be. (or, perhaps, just maybe, the prince truly longs for you in the way you have yet to realize that you long for him.)

"yes, i am aware, your grace."

it is arrogance. it must be.

"then consider this another challenge. i was not born knowing how to dance. once i arrived at the palace, i was taught. which means if my two left feet can find success outside of the battlefield, then surely someone of your nimbleness can find success in a dance as well."

it must be arrogance because you cannot handle the thought of sincerity being found in all of the prince's sweet nothings towards you. arrogance is the only option, for the other option is to face the fears of admiration that you struggle to acknowledge. you'd much prefer to leave them hidden underneath the blanket of denial that shelters the monsters underneath the bed of your mind. it would be far neater to fold it back into place, but you ignore your duties as a loyal servant of the tsaritsa and leave it in disarray.

you can clean up your mind once prince tartaglia inevitably finds love and engagement into one worthy of his affections, because you swear that all he holds towards you is triumphant arrogance. (you know there is more, but the heart is often betrayed by dishonorable oaths whispered by the tongue in naivety.)

"i suppose i cannot decline an offer to dance from the prince," you say, leaning your broom against the nearest table so that it does not fall over.

"when it is an offer from me, i shall take every declination in stride and respect your wishes," he promises, yet your lips remain sealed after his words. no denial of his offer spouts from your lips. instead, you make your way over to him, typical staffing attire a sharp contrast from prince tartaglia's own regal outfit. the prince extends a hand to you, and you take it, letting out a soft noise of surprise as he pulls you in by your waist.

"mind if i take the lead?" the prince asks with a wink that sends your heart fluttering like a startled butterfly.

"i do not believe we'd be able to accomplish any form of dance if i take it instead," you murmur. you never would have thought that the lifeless blues of his eyes would pull you in, like a bottomless lake filled with mythical creatures that both alarm and allure. you know better than to do so, but you find yourself being pulled into their depths anyways. the prince's unsung siren calls are too alluring to resist.

"it's a simple dance," prince tartaglia says, voice far softer in close proximity. he sounds far more like a boy you could love in this intimacy, yet love is a game that only commoners like you can dare to indulge in. the royalty must look on from above, burying their whims of love under the burdens of duty. you remind yourself that prince tartaglia does not love you, no matter what his words say, what his eyes say, or what his body says as he leads you on in a waltz of sorts.

you've never been musically inclined enough to distinguish the beat of the melody that childe hums. perhaps it is a waltz. perhaps it is a minuet. or perhaps, it is a dance of his own creation, having no coherent movement besides the desire to hold you close. prince tartaglia smiles at you as you glide around the emptied room with him. only the four walls are privy to this moment, yet you find yourself only caring about the man before you.

logic prevailing, you should be nervous. this man could fire you at whim, casting you away from the palace and into a life of disgrace after one wrong step. worse, he likely holds the powers to send you to be imprisoned. but instead of feeling alarmed, you feel comforted in his presence. it is an odd thought.

"see?" the single word is a soft spoke gasp of delight, and you wonder how every royal who dances with ajax does not swoon at his honest earnestness, unaware of the fact that you are the only one to see him smile in such a way. "you're doing wonderful. i knew you'd be a natural."

"why?" the lone syllabic question falls from your lips before you can stop it, but rather than evoking anger, it causes the prince's gaze to flicker down to your lips before returning to your gaze.

"why what?" ajax asks, voice light. you are worried about overstepping the good graces that he holds you in.

"why are you so kind to me?" you ask.

you fool. you immediately reprimand yourself. the question is offensive, borderline treasonous. it is an implication that the prince cannot be kind, and it lacks all the carefully crafted honorifics and formalities that have been ingrained on you constantly since you first stepped in the palace.

"pardon me, your majesty," you begin in the short beats of silence that follow. "i did not intend for my words to sound so uncouth or to imply-"

"hold on," ajax cuts you off, expression unreadable. suddenly you worry that everything is falling apart. you've brutally offended the only royal who is kind to you and you-

"do you trust me?" his question lacks any malice. the man before you has never led you astray. despite all of his flirting with you, he has never been one to lead you astray. you would consider him your only friend at the palace, but such a title feels so little for such a royal figure. labeling him as no more than a platonic companion would eliminate the social boundaries between the two of you, which nearly any other royal would find disrespectful within the palace.

"yes." your words are not a lie. "i trust you, my liege."

"yet, you still do not believe me after all this time?" ajax asks. his voice is cautious. his gaze flits over your face, scanning for any signs of discomfort, and you wonder why he is so hellbent on making sure that he is not overstepping any boundaries with you.

"my prince," you begin, noticing the way ajax's eyes furrow slightly at the honorific. "i am unsure as to what you mean."

"do... do you view me as some salacious fiend?" his voice has dropped to a barely audible murmur of disbelief. "is that it? what must i do to get you to view my fondness towards you as authentic?"

"fondness?" you echo blankly.

have you been wrong this entire time? is it truly possible for a prince to love? this isn't just a prince you're talking about, the small voice within you reminds you as your face rapidly flushes with heat at the dawning realization. it's ajax.

you wonder when he shifted from prince tartaglia to ajax in your mind. you wonder when you started finding comfort in both of his titles, the one he proudly displays to the world and the one he leaves close to you.

"yes, darling," ajax says. "fondness. admiration. enthrallment. i am beginning to exhaust my vocabulary, so please tell me you understand that the only thought in this palace that keeps me sane is the fact that i am in love with you."

the prince's hand leaves your waist, instead finding your own hand. through the thin fabric of his gloves, you can feel his calluses from all of the weapons he wields on a daily basis. in this moment, you have four sudden realizations. one: ajax is in love with you. two: you are in love with ajax. three: you are an utter idiot for trying to deny these two facts for so long. four: the prince is an utter idiot as well, for thinking that you understood him for so long when all that echoed through your mind was the misinterpretation of his advances.

"please," ajax says in the silence that follows. "i would never dream of forcing you into a relationship that you do not want to be in, but if i don't tell you now, i fear that i might explode."

you squeeze his hand lightly, and he rewards the gesture with a sparkle of hope in his eyes at the action, causing your own heart to squeeze with admiration in return. despite his battle scars, despite the past that haunts him constantly, despite the reputation that precedes him, the prince is undeniably beautiful, but you've never seen him look more lovely in this moment.

"ajax," you murmur, trying to memorize the way his auburn hair shines in the light of the sun that begins to set outside. an instinctive, worried grin flashes across the face at you finally using the name that he's practically begged for you to use since the day he fell in love with you.

"you're of royal status, and i am just a servant, there's... there's no way this would work... right?"

childe's grip on your hand tightens, but the pressure of his fingertips pressing into the back of your palm is a welcome one, grounding your thoughts from spiraling away amidst the intensity of his gaze.

"i would go to war against all seven nations if it meant having you by my side," ajax says, before laughing softly at your wide-eyed expression at his words. "but i wouldn't worry about that too much, sweetheart. i wasn't born of royalty either."

"but you earned your position. what have i done? i am not nearly admirable enough to earn a position of royalty like one of you harbingers."

"what haven't you done?" he asks, practically breathless. "you treat me with authenticity no matter the time of day, you are unafraid of speaking your mind, you hold an unforeseen strength in your daily actions. besides, don't you think capturing a harbinger's heart deserves some type of reward?"

"i... don't necessarily need a reward," you say quietly, and the prince laughs softly, utterly infatuated with your honest response to his playful words. "i just want to be by your side."

"and you will always be by my side, as long as you wish to stay here," ajax promises, bringing your conjoined hands to his lips and pressing a soft kiss to your knuckles.

"besides, don't you think it's a bit too quick to jump the gun on the whole royalty thing?" the prince teases, and you feel your face flush with embarrassed warmth once more. "i should probably court you before we can even think of marriage."

"i didn't mean we'd get married!" you immediately object, voice raising slightly, and you watch as ajax's face lights up in an utterly delighted grin.

"it's okay if you did," he teases. "it lets me know that if i do propose, i won't be rejected."

"that's presumptuous," you say before you can stop yourself, and ajax lets out a noise akin to a giggle at your teasing.

"and here i was, thinking you were worried about being formal," he teases, but before you can apologize, ajax spouts off another question that causes you to freeze up. "would it be presumptuous if i kissed you, then?"

you stare at him with wide eyes, mind going fuzzy at his question. the realization that the prince was not arrogant in the ways that you thought he was finally settles in. ajax is honest in his affections, and, deep down, you knew he always was. but now, you view yourself was a worthy fighter in the battle for his affection, unaware that the only contender he'd ever truly love is you.

"go ahead," you manage to say after your thoughts finally catch up to reality. ajax's hands leave yours, reaching up to cup your face in both hands as he pulls you in for an overdramatic, searing kiss. yet, after a few seconds of adjusting to his brazen, dramatic actions, you meet his kiss with equal fervor, taking him by surprise. you feel him stumble back slightly as you lean further into the kiss. ajax smiles into the kiss at the prospect of the challenge, lips melting against yours as he takes over, determined to leave you as the breathless one.

but, by the time the two of you part, both of you are left gasping for air. there's a darkness in ajax's gaze, like he's ready to swoop in again and kiss you all over, until there is no place left unexplored, but he refuses to indulge it. (you are left pondering the idea of him indulging such a side of him, but perhaps it is best not to explore such actions in the middle of the royal ballroom.) he clears his throat, and suddenly there is nothing left in his eyes but the gentle love and affection he holds towards you.

"you're full of surprises," he breathes, and you realize he is not a holy prince. he is just a man with a fancy title. he is just ajax. perhaps who ajax is, hidden underneath the ferocious guise of prince tartaglia, is why you find yourself falling headfirst in love with him, growing further enamored with him each and every second.

"so are you," you say, unaware of the way your passioned gaze incenses the fires within him.

"keep looking at me like that and i'll be unable to leave you alone, sweetheart," ajax warns, but the threats of the prince no longer scare you. instead, you smirk, causing his expression to twitch with amused disbelief.

"who says i wanted you to?" you say, unaware that your next words will seal yourself inside the prince's heart forever. "i could have quit long ago."

#genshin impact x reader #childe x reader #tartaglia x reader #childe fluff #genshin fluff #tartaglia fluff #axia.writing #writing.childe #writing.tartaglia #axia.2yrevent

[favoniuscodex]

prompt: "i'm cold, come back to bed" w/ kaeya. part of my 2 year blog anniversary event! pairing: kaeya x gn!reader warnings: saucy comments/jokes. u guys k*ss (ew cooties) a/n: replies & reblog comments always appreciated :) they make me feel like my writing is actually getting noticed hehe

---

"kae," you grumble, elongating the single syllable nickname into a long, tired whine. "i'm cold. come back to bed."

winters in mondstadt were often mild, but record low temperatures left the poorly-insulated dorms of the knights of favonius filled with an incessant frosty chill. to your beloved, this drop in temperature had little effect on him. you, on the other hand, lacked a cryo vision, which meant you were constantly poking at the logs of the fireplace in an attempt to garner more heat and shivering under blankets.

most of your shivers were theatrics in attempt to lure your boyfriend away from work. despite his penchant for lazing around bars, once kaeya set his mind to finishing paperwork for the knights of favonius, there was little to stop him -- including you whining about the weather. sure, the temperature inside kaeya's captains quarters was warm due to the presence of a personal hearth, but you would use any feeble excuse to lure kaeya away from his work and back into bed, especially with it being this late at night. his desk, situated against the wall opposite of his bed, feels so far, and you watch as he sits with perfect posture and his back faced to you as he works.

"hmm," kaeya says distractedly, flipping to the next sheet in front of him, pen still in hand. "while the offer does sound quite inviting, i don't think someone of my stature will warm you up, sweetheart."

stupid cryo vision. stupid logic. stupid kaeya. you resist the urge to toss the pillow next to you at him, if only to watch the feather-filled object lightly bonk off his thick skull.

"i know a few ways we could warm up," you try, but fatigue plagues your voice and you sound the farthest thing from sultry. worse yet, kaeya has the audacity to softly chuckle at your utterly exhausted tone. it is a beautiful sound from the man you love most, but it is immensely aggravating, so you huff annoyedly and roll over in bed, facing the opposite direction of your lover's desk.

at the sound of your annoyed grumbling and the creaking of the mattress, kaeya turns to face you, but you've occupied yourself with dramatics once more, staring tiredly at the corner of the room. you can no longer see your lover, but you hear the shifting of his desk chair as he looks your way.

"ah," kaeya feigns indignation, and you can already see the self-pitying hand that he's placed over his heart in mock hurt. "how am i supposed to complete my work if my most adoring fan isn't watching me?"

"not your fan anymore," you grumble, half asleep. "gonna pick another captain to follow around."

"oh?" kaeya says, leaning forward to stare at the outline of you, laying on your side underneath a plethora of warm, cozy blankets. "who might my competition be?"

"jean. albedo. eula," you tiredly list off. "might even track down varka n' get him to cuddle with me instead."

kaeya laughs in the way he only laughs for you. it's one of your favorite sounds. it's your second-favorite indicator that you have him wrapped around your finger (the first being the way he looks at you when he thinks you aren't looking, which is what you're certain he's doing now). you hear the shuffle of fabric behind you before it hits the floor. the faint clink of metal against the wooden floor indicates that kaeya has shed his jacket off his shoulders, but you don't dare to turn around and sneak a glance. instead, you huff annoyedly.

"my, my, losing my beloved starlight to the old man grand master? here i was, thinking i'd seen it all," kaeya croons as he stands up. socked feet pad softly against the wooden floors, closing the distance between the bed and kaeya. now, as he stands over the opposite side of the bed, you roll from your side and onto your stomach, burying your face into the pillow so kaeya can't see you.

"oh, so now you're here," you grumble, but the flutter of your heart quietly denies the indignation in your words.

"hmm," kaeya hums as you feel the opposite side of the mattress dip down. he kneels one leg on the mattress before navigating his way over to you, slipping under the covers beside you. "saying you're going to let everyone else steal you away, but here you are in my bed. rather contradictory, wouldn't you say?"

"don't you have work to do?" you mutter, and kaeya bursts out into laughter once more.

"i can leave and get back to work if you'd lik-" he begins, but you quickly cut him off.

"no. don't you dare." you hiss. face still buried in the pillow, you flop an arm outwards in search of his body, hastily making contact with his arm. kaeya snickers as he wraps an arm around your figure, answering your non-verbal plea, and pulls you closer to him. you feel his hand brush over your hair affectionately before setting near the small of your back, his fingers absentmindedly tracing patterns into the fabric of your sleep shirt.

"don't i get a reward for all my hard work?" kaeya teases, and you finally give in, looking over at him, half your face still smushed into the pillow. his head is perched up on the hand not currently touching you, both revealed eyes looking lovingly at your sleepy figure.

"hmm, maybe," you muse. despite all the times you've unabashedly stared at your lover like you are now, you have never quite gotten enough of his appearance, constantly desiring to drink in his beauty with your gaze.

"normally, you're hot when you're mad," kaeya says as he leans in, placing a kiss on your forehead. "but this time, you're just cute."

"just cute?" you ask, and kaeya grins widely.

"well, i could describe you in an infinite list of metaphors of beauty, but i'm afraid that'd disrupt your sleepiness," kaeya says. his teasing words lack a teasing tone, instead filled with such honesty that warmth floods your face at his confession of affection.

"how 'bout you just kiss me for now?" you whisper, quiet due to your tired state and the intimate environment kaeya has formed between the two of you. "that a good reward, kae?"

kaeya's gaze flickers to your lips as adoration consumes his expression.

"it's perfect," kaeya says. you roll onto your back and kaeya leans over you slightly, his indigo hair draping around the two of you. it forms a curtain that shelters the two of your faces from the rest of the world, leaving you with nothing to look at besides kaeya, the man who threatens to burst your heart with an overload of love each time he looks at you. you feel your heartbeat quicken as he supports his weight with one hand, bringing the other to gently cup your face.

kaeya's thumb glides softly over your cheek as he stares into your eyes for a few moments more, desperate to commit this moment to memory. despite his cold physical form due to his vision, you feel an overwhelming affectionate warmth rush through you as kaeya slots his lips against yours. you melt under his touch as you bring a hand up to his hair, fingers entangling themselves in blue strands as you kiss him back with equal, gentle passion as you wordlessly let the man above you know just how much he means to you.

when the two of you reluctantly part, kaeya stares down at you affectionately, before a mischievous smirk forms on his face.

"i should get back to work," he says, enamored with the scowl that forms on your face at his words.

"i'm going to kiss you until you forget about the stupid knights of favonius." you gently nudge him back down to you, until each of your mouths are only a breath away from each other.

"oh? then go ahead, darling. be my guest."

#genshin impact x reader #kaeya x reader #genshin impact fluff #kaeya fluff #axia.writing #writing.kaeya

[favoniuscodex]

he looks beautiful like this, you think.

if the two of you had any onlookers, they would agree. they would say his beauty is found in the wisps of crimson locks that are too short to accompany the others in the high ponytail he adorns. or perhaps they are enamored with the billowy black shirt he wears, having traded out his typical attire for something more romantic. after all, the two of you have ventured out to starsnatch cliff, where lovers dream of forever together in the throes of temporary winds.

but to you, beauty is found in the way diluc ragnvindr finally relaxes. you know by now that his expression will never again be painted with the blissfully ignorant frivolities of youth. you also know better than to mourn what you did not bury. you are not the one who haplessly tossed fistfuls of dirt onto his adolescence until the grave was indistinguishable from the wreckage.

you are no exhumer either. unlike the rest of mondstadt, you do not long for the person diluc ragnvindr once was -- when he still touted his name with pride, when he still smiled wide enough that you could see the slight crookedness of his right incisor, when he held mondstadt's heart in his hands rather than its safety. rather, you long for moments like these. the usual rigidity of his posture has fallen to the wayside, and his eyelashes are flush against the undereye shadows he sports as a result of his nightly heroics.

diluc ragnvindr is the most beautiful when he is at peace, eyes gently shut as he lets the sunset wash over him in pink and orange hues. he has settled down beside you, hand finding yours as his shoulder meets your own.

"you are lovely," you say to him as he slowly opens his eyes to peer at you, gaze mystified and dreamy. his movements are sluggish in the serenity that consumes him whole, yet he brings your hand to his lips, his calloused fingers interwoven with your own. the kiss he places upon the back of your hand is chaste, yet it is a familiar touch that sends your heart aflutter once more.

"and i am loved," diluc murmurs, low voice nearly inaudible over the wind. "i finally realize this after being by your side."

#i have thoughts. this is not a coherent story #axia.writing #writing.diluc #diluc x reader #genshin x reader

[favoniuscodex]

MYTHOS : LETHE, PART TWO . [ tartaglia, alhaitham, cyno ]

series : mythos, a mythology au - [ info & series masterlist ] series description : you are fated to save the world by assembling a team of the supposedly dead gods of ancient teyvat to stop the apocalypse. great. sounds easy enough, right? [ previous chapter ] - current: prologue pt. 2 - [ next chapter ] pairings: tartaglia x gn!reader, alhaitham x gn!reader, cyno x gn!reader word count: ~5.1k [ ~1.4k / ~1.9k / ~1.7k ] warnings : dream sequences / surrealism . drowning/thalassophobia . brief instances of claustrophobia . minor violence . mentions of death . author note : it's been a while, hasn't it? please read the first part if you haven't! the three parts within this section are all dream sequences, so they're a bit weird, but don't worry, no real trouble happens. if you need anything else tagged in warnings, please lmk! thanks for reading, this series is my baby <3 parts of the prologue won't make sense but it's intended to be that way because it's dream sequences filled with foreshadowing

SECTION INTRO ::

the transition to life in liyue harbor is one of ease. it seems as though everything is falling into place, slowly but surely. the city is still daunting, yes, but you know that it is yours for the taking. nights are spent alone, scheming on when you'll find your next piece of furniture and eating takeout out of flimsy cartons.

work is secure. stability is not necessarily guaranteed, but you believe your boss is fond of you enough to keep you on payroll for another few months. your boss has been a tough read since your first day, but you've managed not to step on any toes and, despite your increasingly strange sleeping patterns, you have arrived on time each day.

thus, each evening, when your eyes groan with fatigue from the screens you use to occupy your free time, you finally succumb to the inevitable. the thought of sleep is rather daunting, but you aren't quite sure why. the sense of danger is quickly buried by the flutter of butterflies in your stomach, as if your next adventure awaits you once you finally retire from this own world for the evening.

you cannot remember your dreams, but perhaps that's what makes them all the more alluring.

IV. GOD OF THE OCEANS - tartaglia

the crashing roar of an ocean wave serves as your alarm. it startles you into consciousness. with little time to react, your body is submerged in water. you instinctively gasp for air just before going under, but it isn't enough, especially as the vicious currents toss you around and pull you further into the murky depths.

you do not know where the shoreline went. after what feels like eons of tumbling through the water, you are unsure if there was ever earth to stand upon. you hold your breath until your lungs scream for air, but there is water up your nose already and very little reason to believe you could ever reach the surface.

when the currents finally release you, you can see nothing but endless blue. knowing that you will die is not the worst part. it is the knowledge that this is your burden to carry alone, for there are no witnesses to your plight. hysterically, you laugh, watching hopelessly as the bubbles of air escape your lips and float upwards, all while you sink in the opposite direction.

before you can close your eyes and embrace the wretched end that awaits you, you feel a tentacle enclose itself around your waist, and suddenly you're being pulled down, down, down into the depths below. your eyes provide you no understanding of the situation, for the monster holding you is too fast, plunging the two of you into the parts of the ocean where no light can reach.

you will not die alone. you'll die as the last meal of this unknown creature. perhaps it is a kind one, who may offer you a swift and merciless death. what does it matter anyways? you think, unable to find it in yourself to struggle as the creature hoists you towards the bottom of the ocean. i was always going to die.

"giving up already? that's not like you."

you are unsure where the words have come from, words familiarly unfamiliar like a distant childhood melody. you are unsure how you have not run out of air. you are unsure where you are going as you torpedo towards the bottom of the ocean. the only certainty in your mind is that death is no longer an option, but even you are unsure of the origin of such an assumption.

the creature holding you reaches the bottom of the ocean. the ground is not earth; it is glass. you realize this as you are unceremoniously slammed against the barrier between ocean and below, feeling it crack under your impact. despite this, no pain shoots throughout your body. an eerie wave of familiarity washes over you, far more soothing than the wave that swept you out into this sea earlier. now calm, you stop writhing in your captor's grasp as you thump into the glass once again.

this time, it shatters.

you and all of the ocean are sent surging into the void of air below. you fall facing upwards, and in the light that shines up from beneath you, you watch as the water suddenly retreats, leaving you to be the only object falling through the air. you greedily gulp in air despite knowing that you will likely face your demise once you hit the ground.

"hold still."

the voice is clearer once again, no longer warped by the waters above. your vision turns the color of seafoam before two arms catch you, breaking your fall with an inhuman ease. you stare up at your savior with wide eyes and parted lips. you focus on his eyes, which match the endless blue that spoke of death for you just moments ago.

"don't look at me like that, i've told you not to arrive up there, but you do anyways," he gently chides. "do you know who i am, princess?"

the corners of his lips peel back in a sharpened grin. you lift a hand up anyways, unafraid of the knife of his inhuman smile as your palm cups around his cheek. the edges of his teeth soften at your actions, snake-like pupils rounding into the familiar circle shape of humanity.

"you're..." you begin, tearing your eyes from his face to inspect the rest of him. you watch his adam's apple bob as he gulps in anticipation, bated breath held. "you are the creature from ocean. the one that saved me."

at your words, your savior's grin drops, and a nearly inaudible sigh of defeat escaping his lips. his teeth sharpen once more, yet you feel no fear. rather, you worry that he'll bite his tongue when he speaks. surely, such an action would hurt with such piercing teeth.

"that's not quite the answer i was looking for," he says, and uncharacteristically strong indignation rises within you, as if you've had this conversation with him thousands of times before. you let muscle memory take over, controlling your tongue to speak with fierce words.

"oh? would you prefer if i call you ■■■■?" you ask, allowing his name to roll off your tongue. your words are a pebble tossed into a still lake, causing emotions ripple across the face of your savior. his intimidating expression gives way to trepidation, and he looks up at the water barrier above the two of you, as if expecting it to suddenly break and ruin your refuge of air.

"you cannot say such things."

all mirth has left his voice as he speaks lowly. light has left his oceanic eyes, reminding you just how far below the depths you are with this strange man holding your life in his hands.

"you are not supposed to know that," he reprimands you. you cannot remember the name that you called him, no matter how hard you try as his gaze pierces you. "and if you do know it, pretend that you don't. if the heavens hear you say that, they'll undo your existence, and even if i drain the oceans, i will be unable to stop them."

"tartaglia." you say. the barrier above you seems to be approaching, walls closing in on the two of you. it is not the name you said earlier, but it is the only name you can bring forth in your mind. he stares at you, expression unreadable.

"tartaglia, where are we?" panicked, you grasp at the flowing gray fabric of his robes. they look as though they are carefreely floating in water, gently sinking down and down despite the two of you being suspended in air. you have not yet reached the bottom of the other side. its as if the two of you are still in the water above, and yet-

"almost home," he says. the statement would normally bring you comfort, but this time, it only leads to your hands frantically scrabbling around his chest, before you hastily fling your arms around his neck, pulling yourself closer to him.

"i- i can feel them," you begin to babble mindlessly, eyes blown wide as you look up at his expression. tartaglia's face begins to contort, smeared in your vision like watercolor pigments haphazardly tossed in a cup of water. despite it all, you can see the worry in his eyes, no matter how unclear they might be. it is a horrid feeling, knowing that he can see your mind slipping out from underneath you.

"wake up," he says, calmly, but there's a faint waver in his voice. "it's okay to wake up. we can see each other some other time."

"i can't," you sob, voice finally cracking as the ceiling of glass above the two of you begins to split. "i'm sorry, i shouldn't have said what i did, i'm sorry."

you feel a hand smooth over your hair, but the soothing attempt proves futile as you feel a drop of water on your forehead.

"it's okay, sweetheart." tartaglia promises, but you can no longer see his lips move. you wonder what expression he wears now.

"everything will be alright," tartaglia has never been one to break a promise, but, for the first time, you doubt the truth of his words. "i promise."

you part your lips to speak, but the glass ceiling above the two of you gives out, thrusting you into darkened waters once more, away from the mysterious savior whose touch felt as familiar as a lover's.

V. GOD OF KNOWLEDGE - alhaitham

you tumble through water until you are washed ashore, tired body sliding gently onto warm white sands. sand grains refuse to cling to your body, even as you push yourself upright and look around. there's a fading sense of loss in your heart, as if you were torn apart from someone you love dearly, but you can't remember their face or their name. perhaps none of it was true and the only truth is found in the overwhelming sense of fear that still clutches at your heart.

perhaps the only truth is this empty beach you now sit on. the land of dreams that you are stuck in fails to generate any seashells or other signs of life. there's an expanse of green that begins where the sands end, but even it lacks detail, as if purposefully designed for you to remain uninterested in it. rather, the waters that you were once so fearful of allure you, since you know there will be no crabs within it to pinch at your toes, and no floating seaweed to imitate a fish slithering by. perhaps it would appear once you thought of it, and the sea creatures are now greedily pinching their claws at the thought of being able to pull you into the depths once more.

the thought of such creatures sends you stumbling away from the tide, feet struggling to navigate the overly soft sands. when you finally reach the grass, you no longer feel tired, and when you turn around, the beach is gone, replaced by a sprawling expanse of even more grass. but this new area is different from the dull one you currently stand in. perhaps, if your eyes do not deceive you, there is a building of glass that is visible only if you squint, prismatic rainbows faintly shimmering while promising a palace of erudition to those who know enough to pass its entrance exam of invisibility.

to others, the entrance may prove to be a difficult find, but you simply know. its a phenomenon you would not be able to explain if prompted, but you know the way to enter the invisible residence. it beckons you as you walk towards it. the overwhelming dread is not enough to hold you back as your hand wraps around the crystalline door handle, a vast pillar of nothingness, and you tug.

the door opens with a heavy groan, as if unused in millennia, and you hurry in. the door slams closed behind you, sealing shut and preventing your unauthorized departure. now inside the invisible structure, you can see the ornate halls that sprawl out endlessly in front of you in woodsy tones. faint accents of green adorn tan, beige, and wooden structures, while wooden flooring is gently coated with the finest of rugs.

instinctively, you take off your shoes. you'd feel awful if you tracked sand into such a beautiful residence. at least your clothes are no longer wet. the crystalline blue outside has long since left your mind, thus leaving your clothes as well. your socked feet pad against the luxurious floors. despite the intricately carved nature of the building you stand in, there is little physical decoration outside of the base appearance of the walls, floors, and windows, but it takes your breath away nonetheless. you know each and every brick and every stone pillar within the vicinity was crafted by hand, even if the hands that created the domain are ones that only reside in your own mind.

you turn to the left. it is where the scent of incense is strongest, and you follow it down the hall, twisting and turning until you reach a set of doors once more. unlike before, however, these doors are wholly visible, crafted of darkened karmaphala wood, with gilded handles that extend the entire length of the door. your hand reaches out to push open the doors, but they begin to open before your hand can make contact with the door.

"this is not a library, so be sure to put everything back exactly where you found it," a voice commands as you enter. you are unsure where it came from, but you care little for finding it as your breath is taken away by the room in front of you.

shaped like a sphere, the room of knowledge before you has bookshelves that cascade up the walls, defying gravity as they curve up and over, still able to hold their books securely despite facing the ground above. golden light filters in through arched windows, impossibly glowing throughout the entire circumference of the room. you wonder if this room has been miraculously thrust into the heavens, but such a thought only reminds you of words you should not have spoken and the dread returns once more.

"you look nervous," the voice asks from just over your shoulder and you jump in place. "normally i don't concern myself with such things, but it is not often that you visit."

your lips part instinctively to apologize, but all words die on your lips as you turn to look at the god beside you. multicolor irises stare at you, piercing right through you as if he can read your thoughts and panic rises within you. his eyes are all-seeing, all-knowing, but his brow furrows in confusion at your shellshocked expression.

"you do not remember me." his words are matter-of-fact. you know that the man before you only ever speaks the truth, but he is wrong. you remember him. you remember him as a puppet of the heavens, as a stone carving of that with which is burdened with divine knowledge. you remember him dying as his mind fractured in two, for even the inorganic cannot comprehend that which was not meant to be witnessed. you remember him as a king driven to madness, whose kingdom and rule have been forgotten by generations. you remember him as...

"alhaitham. scribe of the heavens," he greets you. "you know enough to find my residence, but not enough to acknowledge my place in your memories. how intriguing. perhaps there are things that i have yet to fully understand, but the likely answer for such a phenomenon could simply just be the natural decay of the human lifeform."

you stare at him, blinking once, then twice. your lips part before closing once more, and the scribe looks rather dismayed by your actions. you aren't sure why he almost seems to have anticipated your arrival. it causes dread to rise within you. forbidden words rest within your mouth, turning your tongue into heavy lead, and you find yourself unable to form the words of which you desire. any interest alhaitham might have had in you dies in the presence of your silence as he only sighs.

"all knowledge that humanity could dream of is found on these shelves, so please hesitate before looking for me if you need help. i can assure you that finding the answer yourself is much more rewarding."

there's a dryness to his words that makes you doubt what he's saying, as if he is moments away from a checkmate despite you never having agreed to this game of chess.

"you know what i know," you say, despite the way your mind screams at you to stop speaking.

"i know all that you have said and all that you will say," the god confirms. "i know you like the back of my hand. at this point, it is all simple calculations to know which words will and won't fall from your lips."

"so you know what i should not know," you say slowly. "are you here to reprimand me for it? is that why you summoned me here?"

you memorize the faint sliver of a knowing smirk that appears on his face as he turns away from you.

"i do not enjoy the presence of others. i typically prefer the company of a book. that should be a great enough indicator that i was not the one who summoned you here."

perplexation surges up within you. perhaps at one point you would have understood his words, but in the muddled fogginess of your dreams, you lack the full context to understand what he truly means with his words. your scholarly nature is failing you. this is an exam that you were never told you had to study for, but you manage to muster a haphazard conclusion anyways.

"you're saying i brought myself here?"

"each time you come here, you forget the time we have spent together. you forget your pursuit of understanding why you show up here, but you seek out the answer to your forgotten questions nonetheless," alhaitham says. he walks over to the infinite bookshelves and plucks a book unceremoniously off the shelf. it is purple, with blinding golden binding and trim. the decals on the cover shift in front of you, cycling through a series of glyphs and letters of languages you have never before witnessed.

"you seek your answers in these books that i have written," alhaitham says, and there is a fond wistfulness in his voice, faint enough that you wonder if you imagined it. "but the answer will always be found within yourself."

you open the book, embracing the smell of aged paper that wafts out as it faintly crackles from the slight bend of its spine. the pages are illegible, but as your fingers trace the text, you understand them anyways.

"you finding the answer is inevitable," alhaitham says. a grandfather clock chimes in the center of the room four times as alhaitham pauses, as if expecting its interruption. "the only question is when."

you stare at him in bafflement, confusion warping your expression briefly, before you return to the pages in front of you. they tell a story of a person whom you do not know, but they feel familiar nonetheless.

"knowledge means nothing if there is no action to follow it," alhaitham says. "but by all means, continue fruitlessly seeking your answers."

"you're not going to help?" you ask. "you taunt me with your words, yet you do not extend any form of guidance?"

"i am the god of knowledge, but i never once claimed to be the god of shared knowledge."

the book in your hand weighs heavy as indignation takes over you. the idiot before you wants action? he wants to speak in mocking, faux platitudes as he weaves riddles around you in unclear words? doesn't he prefer to keep to himself? shouldn't he know to keep to himself?

uncharacteristic anger boils within you, rising up your throat as you snap the book close. the god turns to look at you once more, thoroughly unimpressed with your existence.

"you... you..." you sputter, and the god of knowledge looks at you unimpressed.

"irrational as always," he says. "letting a feeble scholar like me twist your mind into anger because you are unable to reach a conclusion on your ow-"

the scribe's words fall silent as you rear your arm back, hurling the book in your hand as hard as you can at him. but, just as the corner of the spine makes impact with his cheek, the dream shatters, and with it, all of your knowledge does as well, sending you spiraling into nothingness.

VI. GOD OF JUDGEMENT - cyno

"stand up. anger does not suit you," a voice above you says as you blearily open your eyes. confusion washes over you as you find yourself not in your room, but instead on desert sands, baking slowly to a crisp in the harsh sunlight. you squint as you look up, putting a hand over your eyes to filter out the light. carefully, the man standing over you adjusts his position so that his shadow casts itself over your eyes.

"oh gods," you groan at the sight of another godly figure. "not another."

despite your wretched complaint, the god's intimidating features soften as an amused chuckle escapes his lips.

"i think i know exactly who you were with before me," he extends a hand towards you, helping you up as the other adjusts his hat. "but shed your contempt for the gods, at least for this moment. it weighs down your soul."

as you stand up, you finally meet the god's rubied eyes, which threaten to disappear from view as desert winds ruffle his white hair. his features are sharp, as if perfectly crafted to be ever watchful. there is something threatening about his appearance, but you find comfort in his inherent vigilance. despite the polearm that is sheathed against his back, the god before you does not strike fear into your heart.

"interesting," the god notes. "normally, i have to crack a few jokes before you are this at ease. has my appearance gone soft?"

"perhaps my heart has just gone light," you say. "i am certain the scales of judgement will tip in my favor."

a dry laugh escapes the mahamatra's lips. "it is not yet time for your judgement."

"ah?" you say, tongue far lighter than it should be in the presence of the god who strikes fear into the hearts of those who stand before him. "slacking on your duties to be here in this moment, then?"

"judgement is not something that can be rushed, and one who dedicates themselves solely to their duties will lose sight of proper judgement where it matters most. rather, i-"

"take it easy, cyno," you say softly. "i was just joking."

the god of judgement's gaze widens as you speak his name, and a gentle smile splits across his fierce features. you've never met the man before this moment, but you know him far too well, enough to spout off what his favorite jokes are and exactly when he'll make them.

"you remember my name," cyno whispers, and the bated breath of anticipation that escapes his lungs twists your heart into fluttering somersaults. "maybe this is my dream after all."

you feel your cheeks warm at his words, and you are thankful for the way the summer sun hides your flustered state under the guise of sweat. nervously, you glance away. you do not know this man, but your soul does, and it does not remember him being so forward with his words.

"i must apologize," you say, earlier conversations with the other, less agreeable gods forgotten in the presence of the man who will one day decide your heavenly fate. "that is all i can say i remember."

your gaze shifts from his as you look downwards, but cyno pays your dismay no mind as he shrugs his shoulders.

"you remember me well enough to place us both within the desert. you've never been fond of the heat, but you know i am," the god says, seriousness lacing his words. "perhaps we can go somewhere more agreeable for the both of us."

"would you not like to stay in the desert?" you ask. "the sun is uncomfortable, but it is not scorching."

a rumble in the distance interrupts the both of you, and you turn to look at the sound. a wry smile crosses cyno's expression at the sight of the sandstorm in the distance. within the cloud of sand that quickly approaches, lightning races between individual grains of sand, promising danger. as you watch, enchanted by the dangerous sight, cyno's hand wraps itself around your wrist. the soft scrape of the edge of his gloves draws your attention back to him, but the mirth stored within his expression has long since left.

"close your eyes," cyno gently orders and you oblige. "concentrate on somewhere else. anywhere you want, otherwise the dream will shatter."

you heed his words as a gust of wind breezes past the two of you, ruffling the fabric of your clothes. but, the wind fades as quickly as it came, and you open your eyes to a familiar sight. you have never been here before, at least not in your current sense. it does not exist in the waking world, but a sense of deja vu washes over you. you've been here before, but you also haven't.

"puspa cafe," cyno murmurs. "quite fascinating that you choose to revisit this time and world of all places."

"is there something wrong with it?" you ask, suddenly worried about how he may judge you for such a choice. "i... don't recognize it. i do, but i don't."

"when you pick places like this," cyno says. "it means our time is limited together. it must nearly be sunrise for you."

confusion coats your mind like a sticky syrup. sunrise? end of your time together? what does he mean? your awareness of your situation muddles even further as the two of you sit down at one of the cafe tables. this is how it's always been for the two of you. this is puspa cafe, in the middle of sumeru city. cyno has just returned from one of his missions as the general mahamatra, just after being reinstated, and you invited him to meet you here.

typically, there are others that show up with the two of you, but you can't remember their faces. instead, your mind fixates on cyno. it is as if your mind is occupied by other things, only able to consciously focus on one person at a time. this is how it's always been. what is he talking about?

"sunrise?" you ask. "but, look out the window, it's daytime, cyno. we agreed to meet here yesterday. don't tell me you're bailing now."

the corners of cyno's lips twitch. "of course not. what did we agree to speak of here, again?"

you look up at him, baffled by his sudden lack of memory. his piercing gaze flits over your face, as if grappling to understand the situation. it fills you with an odd sense of sadness. has the time away from sumeru city really scattered his thoughts this badly?

"you wanted to show me your new tcg deck. you picked up some new cards in mondstadt, right?" you ask and cyno nods slowly, as if finally catching up to speed.

"mondstadt. i see."

"yeah?" you ask, smiling wide at him. your ignorance has consumed you, now blissfully unaware of the past moments in your dream with him. moments of lucidity are all too rare for you, and cyno knows this well. one day, your paths will cross outside of the limitations of your dreams, but for now, cyno must abide by their rules, no matter how much he wishes to follow his own code of internal judgement and belief.

not wanting you to awake by insisting on your awareness of the dream, cyno pulls out his familiar deck of cards, with several new and shiny cards. each character card has a warped face, as you cannot remember this moment you once lived. but cyno remembers it precisely, despite not yet having achieved godliness. he feels utterly human, but even so, you are still out of reach.

"you don't just see, cyno," you say, a mischevious giggle escaping your lips. "you t-see-g. get it? tcg?"

the pun is almost as bad as the jokes he makes, and cyno groans at your joke. carefully, you take some of his newest tcg cards in your hand, gently inspecting the intricate art on each card.

"um, i know you just got back to sumeru and all that," you say, unable to make eye contact with him as you look at the drawing of blonde hair of the acting grand master of mondstadt before you. "but would you want to meet up again tomorrow? i can shift some stuff around and make it work, but if you want to see your other friends first, that's ok! i can wait."

cyno remembers this conversation. he remembers how he brushed you off at first, unaware of the dividing fates that would consume the both of you whole the next day. cyno would fall victim to the mausoleum of king deshret, in which he was sent there on a rushed expedition by the akademiya grand sages, and you would fall victim to the greed of misguided eremites. he remembers the human bitterness of regret, something he hasn't felt in a long time.

so, he indulges your dreams and you feel your heart flutter as he does so.

"bring your deck and we can play a tcg matchup," cyno says. "you always were my best rival."

the smile that spreads across your face is more radiant than the desert sun, and the edges of your vision wobble as you look at cyno. a faint blush rises to his cheeks, and just as you notice his slightly flustered state, your dream melts into the sand.

your eyes flutter open. the dull gray ceiling of your apartment is a stark contrast to the bright colors of what you were dreaming of. the air still smells of freshly roasted coffee, but as you try to pinpoint why the aroma is so familiar, it fades. instead, you smell the familiar scent of your bedroom's air freshener as you attempt to hold onto the fleeting scenes of your dream, only to watch as the memories of what never was slip through your fingers like sand.

#genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #cyno x reader #alhaitham x reader #childe x reader #tartaglia x reader #genshin impact fluff #axia.writing #writing.mythos #writing.cyno #writing.alhaitham #writing.childe

[favoniuscodex]

prompt: happy birthday to the most underrated genshin boy! warnings: reader wears a dress/makeup, but is gn. i might mention hair in here (no length specified) -- i don't remember tbh.

Sometimes, you wonder if you’re too mean to your boyfriend, Kaeya Alberich.

Others might say that the Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius is sly, and sometimes even untrustworthy. They’ll tut about how he’s a bit of a charmer, silver tongued and ready to say whatever reaps him the most benefit in the end, even if it isn’t true. And, perhaps, at one point, you might have agreed with them. But now, you know that their words are misguided, fueled by false rumors and misinterpretations of the most wonderful man you’ve ever known. After all, the wicked person in your relationship with Kaeya is none other than yourself.

You don’t intend for it to be that way (okay, well, maybe that’s a lie, but it's too fun to pass up the opportunity to bully him), especially not on his birthday. But here you are, jumping on your boyfriend after loitering in his office and waiting for him to arrive.

“Oh?” Kaeya says slyly, a grin slowly forming on his face as you practically pounce at him, wrapping your arms around his shoulders and peppering kisses all over his face. “You’re here early. To what do I owe the occasion?”

“Well,” you hum in between your assault of kisses, leaving shimmering marks of lip gloss across every inch of his face (you hope he likes the scent of cherry and vanilla, but he’s always been eager to kiss the lip gloss off you when you’ve worn it before). “It’s my boyfriend’s birthday, so I thought I’d stop by and see you before going to see him, y’know?”

When laughter escapes Kaeya’s lips, it’s usually in the form of flattering chuckles and amused scoffs. Yet, in recent times, only you’ve been privy to his true laughter. The melodic sound blesses your ears once more, playing your favorite tune for a brief moment as Kaeya bursts out into a fit of uncontrolled laughter at your joke.

“Ah, so I’m just your little side piece now? You wound me, darling,” Kaeya croons after you finally place a quick peck on his lips. His arms have long since enclosed themselves around your waist, holding you close to him. Kaeya’s fingers interweave themselves together, sitting at the small of your back, while his pinkies toy with the ends of a ribbon that cascade down your spine. Before Kaeya, touch from others made you bristle, warning anyone off with a stern look. Now, you find comfort in the cool touch of his hands, including all of his newfound habits of playing with your outfit and your hair (in fact, any part of you) that arise whenever you are within reach.

“Don’t give me that attitude,” you tease, unable to keep the smile out of your face and voice. “I see you wooing all of those little old ladies every day. I’ve been a side piece to everyone in Mondstadt’s grandmas for ages.”

"Ah," he says, lips curving upwards to display bright white teeth. "Looks like you caught me. There's no adrenaline rush quite like bingo night."

You giggle, utterly enamored with the way he plays along with your teasing. Years ago, both you and Kaeya would have scoffed at the idea of being so comfortable in the presence of another, but today, you can't help but lean into him, hands splaying across the vest partially hidden beneath his coat. The stiff fabric brings a familiar comfort. Despite his Vision, Kaeya's body still remains warm enough for you to find comfort (although he finds much more comfort in your own body warmth, frequently clinging to you like a leech most cold evenings and whining about how it isn't fair that you get to be warm when he isn't). You break your gaze from Kaeya's own for a brief moment, stealing a glance at his lips before returning to the familiar pairing of an eyepatch and indigo galaxies that you adore so much. Understanding your unspoken desire, Kaeya moves a hand from your waist to gently cup your jaw, pulling you in for a kiss.

Kaeya's lips mold themselves against yours in a familiar waltz of passion, guiding you through the steps of all the affection he cannot easily bring himself to say without your partnership. When he pulls away, he leaves you breathless, but his touch does not leave you as his thumb swipes affectionately across your cheek, cradling you gently. His arm around your waist tightens more, hesitant to let you go despite the rising of the sun outside that signals the beginning of his daily duties.

"Happy birthday, honeybun," you say, receiving a sweet giggle from Kaeya in return.

"'Honeybun'?" He echoes. "That's a new one."

"Mhm," you hum in agreement. "And it's just for you."

Kaeya kisses you once more, but the kiss is chaste this time. It's a brief flutter of all the affection he holds towards you, and you miss the feeling of his lips upon yours once he pulls away. This isn't the first birthday of Kaeya's that you've spent with him, nor will it be the last, but you're determined to make it one of his best. The surprise party you have planned later can wait, along with the bottle of expensive wine and the snow globe of Windrise that you'll gift him once the time comes. For now, you can enjoy this early morning moment with him. Kaeya might not ever say it out loud, but he doesn't care much for the material gifts when you've already given him the best present possible by staying by his side each and every day.

#kaeya x reader #genshin impact x reader #axia.writing #writing.kaeya #kaeya fluff

[favoniuscodex]

"it's snowing."

your words pierce through the quiet of angel's share. the rowdy tavern has long since stilled, being replaced with the sounds of clinking glass as diluc places a freshly cleaned cup back in its rightful place. you, on the other hand, have forsaken your duty of wiping down the tables. the window allured you much more, with the sight of the first yearly flurries pulling your attention from your tavern closing duties.

there's a lilt of joy in your voice as you speak, dampened softly by the tiredness that occurs when awake this late. it clings to the edges of syllables, frenzying the slithering sounds of s with sharp enthusiasm. despite the chill of standing near the cold glass, wintry winds whistling through the window panes, your expression is blissful and warm.

diluc cannot understand your fondness for the snow. as a youth, when he had finally received his pyro vision, he found refuge on chilly days, when the bitter cold would ease the constant heat of the flames that now seemed to consume him from the inside outwards. now, he shies away from it, preferring to dampen his warmth with the heavy fabric of his familiar black attire. such actions fail to provide any proper thermoregulation, but diluc can't bring himself to change course. the coat shields his past from the world, with few seeing the scarred arms that take shelter within the sleeves.

"is it now?" diluc muses.

diluc has never been one for small talk. if it had been anyone else to comment on the weather outside, he would have replied with a simple hum of acknowledgment. when with you, however, he always wishes to hear your voice. when with you, he'll indulge. whether he's truly indulging you or himself, he isn't quite sure, but the joy that radiates off you is a reward nonetheless.

"yes! first snow of the season, i think!" you tear your gaze from the darkened window, whose landscape outside glows with faint sunset-stained streetlamp hues. the flurries catch in the light, shining a brilliant white as they dance their way down to their fallen compatriots on the ground. instead of watching the disorganized promenade of the snow's descent, you instead observe your lover.

upon noticing the redirection of your glance, he quickly diverts his gaze from you. diluc's cheeks tint with pink as he avoids your glance like a schoolboy not wanting to be caught staring by his crush. the blush on his cheeks deepens as you let out a giggle at his sheepishness, but you use the opportunity to blatantly ogle him. you drink in the sight of your lover, who has now moved on to wiping down the countertop. his hidden muscles ripple as he wipes down the counter, yet your admiration for his appearance tonight is not driven by a lust-filled haze that typically clouds your brain whenever you are reminded of his strength.

instead, you take note that diluc's coat has been cast aside, with short sleeves revealing flame-scarred arms. it is a display of trust, even if he'd never admit it. it simply makes it easier to clean, he'd say if you pointed out. nothing more, nothing less. but he'd put the coat back on and cover his hands with the stiff leather gloves he wears outside. diluc is entirely at ease with you, but not with his appearance, so bringing attention to what he perceives as flaws, even if telling him how beautiful you find the healed traces of novice pyro wielding that paint his arms, would only cause him to close back up once more.

and thus, wanting to see the petals of your glaze lily of a lover, you sing the song that diluc wants to hear. too much sunshine, too much warmth, too much radiance at once will cause him to hide, scrunching up until alone in the moonlight once more. you opt to carry on your simple melodies of idle conversation in hopes that you can one day perform operas dedicated to all of him that you love (his entirety) even if he does not understand why you feel such a way.

thus, you talk of snow.

diluc finishes his cleaning of the counter and looks up at you, eyes widening at the realization that your gaze has never left him. you smile softly, easily, familiarly to him, and he finds refuge, alertness easing into a gaze of fondness.

"you're not going to come look?" you ask. the heavy implication of wanting your lover by your side is softened by your gentle tone, and diluc can only oblige, wordlessly walking over to your side.

diluc doesn't have much interest in the weather outside, but if you told him to leap off starsnatch cliff, he would without a second thought. looking at the snowflakes that quietly flutter outside is of little effort to him, and if it makes you content, he is all the more happy to do it. lost in his thoughts of you as he looks out at the frosty landscape outside, diluc fails to notice the way your gaze has shifted to his calloused fingers. you use the close proximity to him to lace your fingers through his.

startled by the physical contact, diluc jolts, and the loosening of his hand causes you to retract yours. uncertainty quickly mars your once blissful expression as you pull your hand back to your side.

"sorry, i didn't mean t-" you begin. diluc has always been the kind to patiently let you speak, always alert for your next words, but he uncharacteristically interrupts.

"no, please, i did not intend for..." in a rare occurrence, diluc's words are flustered as he loses his train of thought. crimson eyes set their sights on your hand and diluc hastily snatches it back to his side, fingers fumbling their way into the cracks between your own. his heavy palm presses against your own as he firmly clasps his fingertips against the back of your palm, forming an ironclad cage around your hand.

is a cage still a cage if you wish to be within it?

diluc lifts your conjoined hands to his face, lips brushing against the back of your palm. the gesture satiates your nerves as diluc lowers your hands, taking half a step closer to you so that your shoulders are practically touching. he clears his throat.

"my... apologies," he says, words slow as he mulls over them. the two of you have been together enough to share soft-spoken i love yous, but tonight feels more different. tonight feels more intimate, even if the three little words have yet to be uttered by each of you. there is a thick tension that diluc is unwilling to cut through, instead carefully selecting his words to cause it to fester.

"the snow is beautiful," he murmurs.

both of you know he isn't talking about the snow. he pauses, looking back out at the cobblestone streets of mondstadt that are slowly being buried under the intensifying snowfall. his lips part slightly, and the snow outside is forgotten as you await your lovers next words, wondering what thoughts are taking him so long to properly formulate.

"you do not have your coat."

diluc's words nearly make you laugh out of sheer confusion, but you remain silent. you could say the same for him, but conflict continues to ebb into his expression, so you remain quiet, letting him figure out what he wishes to say next.

"do you..." he begins, face erupting into crimson hues, the deepest blush you've ever seen on the winery owner. diluc shakes his head slightly to clear his thoughts. you wonder what he's thinking of. his touches have never roamed beyond your waist and the expanse of your face and neck as he presses kisses to the smooth skin that resides there. yet, his gaze does not divert to the lower parts of your body, instead focusing on your eyes. diluc is ever the gentleman, and you realize that is why he is struggling to formulate his next words. perhaps he will offer you his coat so that you can get home while remaining warm and-

"you cannot possibly walk home without a coat," he blurts, and you wait for his sacrifice of his favorite piece of clothing for the night.

yet, it never comes. you feel diluc's palm warm with pyro energy, threatening to erupt, but the temperature returns back to normal as he clears his throat once more. he diverts his gaze for a brief moment, glancing back at the snow before staring at you once more. crimson irises are filled with love, adoration, vulnerability, and earnestness. you trust the painting of emotion that is stored within them, willing to reveal your entire self to them if requested. diluc isn't offering you his coat, is he? flustered heat overwhelms him and inexperienced words spew forth like magma breaking past the surface, yet they take away your breath nonetheless.

"would you care to stay the night?"

#the favoniuscodex special: 1.5k words of nothingness and unbearable prose #see u guys in another few months probably #axia.diluc #axia.writing #diluc x reader

[favoniuscodex]

MYTHOS : LETHE, PART THREE . [ xiao, kaeya, albedo ]

series : mythos, a mythology au - [ info & series masterlist ] series description : you are fated to save the world by assembling a team of the supposedly dead gods of ancient teyvat to stop the apocalypse. great. sounds easy enough, right? [ previous chapter ] - current: prologue pt. 3 - [ next chapter ] pairings: xiao x gn!reader, kaeya x gn!reader, albedo x gn!reader word count: ~3.5k [ ~0.8k / ~1.1k / ~1.4k ] warnings : dream sequences / surrealism . brief instances of claustrophobia (i think) . canon-typical violence . mentions of death . albedo designed to be unsettling (in this part only) . (let me know if i forgot anything please) author note : great news! the prologue is done, which means this is the last installment with dreamlike prose... this is a bit shorter than the previous two. i hope you all forgive me for that. hoping to have chapter one up within the next 2 weeks. :') thanks for reading! input is always appreciated.

SECTION INTRO ::

liyue harbor celebrates lantern rite with fantastic festivities. fireworks illuminate the sky as you bury your head into a pillow, desperate to tune them out in order to get a few more moments of precious sleep. apart from your chronic fatigue as a direct result from your work, you wonder if your tiredness stems from the fact that you cannot remember your dreams.

there is an old fable that is still exchanged around from time to time. it dates back to millennia prior, from the era when gods ruled without a care and great heroes could still achieve celestia. granted, belief in the tale has faded with time, but perhaps there is something to be learned from the story of ancient sumeru that fills numerous picture books for children.

it goes a bit something along the lines of "when the former god of wisdom disappeared from her constituents, dreams did as well, and it took the courage of humanity to allow everyone to dream once more." you doubt it is real, and if it is, it surely did not happen in such a succinct manner. words of individuals get twisted with time.

but, as the warped tale of sumeru's history bounces around in your mind as you fall asleep once more, you wonder how different your life would be if you were wise enough to remember your dreams.

VII. GOD OF EQUILIBRIUM - alatus (xiao)

the god of equilibrium has not yet reached divine perfection.

by now, he has resigned himself to the idea that balance is a fool's dream. evil will one day consume all, and alatus was never the god destined to hold up the skies of atrocity from collapsing upon the earth. perhaps his negativity betrays the balance of apathy, but the mortals he watches over retain positivity with ease. they believe that the world will get better, and that balance shall always prevail.

there is a darkness coming. xiao can feel it in the callouses formed from centuries of wielding his spear versus evil. he can feel it in the uncontrolled winds from the east, who travel with fervor and lament the death of their lord. however, xiao senses the greatest darkness when you awake.

"oracle," xiao murmurs as he looms over you.

as your eyes flutter open, yellow eyes pierce into your own. a bed of clouds cushions you from plummeting through the air, but the knowledge of such salvation provides you little comfort as you feel the the sharpened tip of xiao's spear hovering just over your heart. it threatens to shred through your existence, yet xiao has not determined whether balance is found within the death of your dreams or their survival.

"i did not bring you here." the words of the yaksha are firm, but melt into the cold vapor of the cloud nonetheless. they are spoken for only you to hear, but such intimacy proves ominous rather than comforting.

"is it time for judgement?" you ask, words spilling forward before you can wrap your mind around them. they are pushed forth by a mind that is not your own, yet it is surely your tongue speaking them. xiao's brow furrows.

"judgement is not my jurisdiction. only-" he begins, but your lips are quick to cut him off.

"only balance," you finish for him. you've heard this before. you've met the god of equilibrium before. yet, there is a void of recollection of such encounters in your mind, soothed over with an uncomfortable sense of deja vu. your tongue feels heavy as it moves on your own. this isn't you. you are not the one speaking, although it is your voice, your mouth, your body that says the words that dare challenge the god above you.

there is silence that falls between the two of you as the yaksha calculates his next move. the blade pushing further into your chest, pressing against skin harshly, but not quite piercing the skin. you cannot control your actions. you cannot control the yaksha above you, the notorious dream eater, who is surely only here to force you to rest in nothingness until the sun rises. you cannot control fate, which awaits you outside of the dreamscape.

the only thing you can control is the dream. thus, the cloud supporting you disappears, and you watch as xiao's eyes widen with alarm. the pressure of the blade leaves your chest as you remain in the air for just a moment. the dreamscape lags behind your whims, but gravity is quick to catch up, as the blue of the sky swallows you whole.

freefalling through the air is a new experience. perhaps experiencing it once is best. your insides twist as your hair ruffles in the harsh winds of gravity. xiao falls after your descent begins, far more graceful than your pitiful attempt at escaping. yet, you find freedom in your ineptitude to fully control your dreams.

xiao shouts something towards you. the wind turns his words into indecipherable melodies. yet, as you look up, the god of equilibrium is nowhere to be found. perhaps that is what is best. you are destined to hit the ground soon. your dream will end and you will wake up.

thus, you tear your eyes from the endless blue above you, letting the sky flip you on your stomach with ease that only partial lucidity could provide. you stare at the earth below you, watching as beautiful green grasses rupture down the middle. the soil churns as the earth parts its jaws.

you feel the hand of equilibrium grab at your shirt, a feeble attempt to stop you from reaching your demise. the fabric tears instantaneously. xiao cries out once more, a syllabic outcry of your name, but you pay it no mind. your fate awaits you below.

the earth swallows you whole, but perhaps it wasn't supposed to.

VIII. GOD OF ROMANCE - kaeya

"easy there," a gentle voice croons as strong arms wrap around your figure. it is not the god you were escaping. his touch is gentler, as if not encumbered by countless eons of violence. "can you stand?"

the stranger helps you stand, and you blink owlishly at him. every feature on the canvas of his face aligns to create the most grand and familiar art piece, except the name of such a painting dies on your lips. his revealed ice-colored eye looks at you with patience as the two of you stand in the warm summer sun. he is beautiful and enticing, charming even the sunbeams that dance along the darker flecks of his iris.

his outfit is a far cry from the traditional fighting gear of the yaksha you encountered before. the god before you wears a deep maroon button-up, sleeves rolled up to the top of his forearms, sleek black pants, and dress shoes. he is certainly dressed for a special occasion, as if awaiting something grand.

"who are you?" you ask softly. there is a wistfulness in his expression as he reaches out for your hand, gently grasping it in his before bringing your knuckles to his lips. he places the gentlest of kisses against your fingers, never breaking eye contact with you the entire time. you inhale softly at the intensity of his gaze, butterflies frenzying through your stomach.

once he pulls away, you are able to answer your own question.

"kaeya," you breathe. there is levity in the two syllables spoken, before a joyous giggle escapes you. of course you know who the man in front of you is. it is kaeya, your loving and kind boyfriend of many years. kaeya's grip on your hand loosens slightly, but you catch his hand before it can fully escape, threading your fingers through his own.

you briefly glance down at your outfit. it is no longer torn. rather, it is instead accented with hints of maroon. you distinctly remember picking such an outfit out this morning to match your boyfriend's, but the memory turns hazy, as if not actually lived. at kaeya's side, there is no longer any foreboding sense of danger. you were escaping from something earlier, weren't you? why can't you remember who that was?

there's a wistfulness in kaeya's expression that pulls you out of your confusion. you squeeze his hand reassuringly and smile at him. he returns your smile with one of his own, a thin mask hiding his sadness. but you know kaeya better than to pry. when he wants to talk about an issue, he'll be the one to bring it up.

"is this where we're going for date night?" you ask, turning to look at the restaurant behind the two of you. you don't remember it being there before, but kaeya hums in agreement.

"only if it's alright with you," kaeya says. "i wouldn't dare try to disappoint you, sweetheart."

"it's perfect," you say quickly. "i've always dreamed of going here."

kaeya's brow furrows slightly at your words, but he dares not question you. instead, his hand leaves your own, instead wrapping around your waist as he guides you inside the venue. he is a perfect gentleman in every way -- assisting you with your chair, being kind to the faceless waiter who floats by, as if not fully rendered in your mind, and holding your hand over the top of the table as the two of you sit across from each other.

it is as if the two of you have known each other forever. he makes flirty conversation, never hesitating to shower you in subtle praises. the food is delicious, although you cannot remember what it actually tastes like. for all intents and purposes, it is a perfect date, but there is a scratch at the back of your mind that the conversation just can't reach. perhaps it is the way you are struggling to remember what happens. weren't you just eating a salad just a minute ago? why is it suddenly a side of rice? the waiter hasn't come back around, and the flames of the candles on the table never seem to flicker, despite the air of each of your breaths floating past them.

as kaeya pays for the check, you watch as the centerpiece flowers upon the table begin to wilt. color fades from their petals as they turn into shells of their former vibrancy. kaeya falls quiet, choosing to stare at you as you process the scene before you.

"what's happening?" you ask, and wistfulness returns to kaeya's expression.

"romance isn't always perfect," kaeya says. "it's rather hard to keep this type of façade running for a few hours. i'm not as powerful in this realm as i am in others."

you tear your eyes from the flowers, looking up at your lover. the candles on the table illuminate his skin with a warm glow. the scene is nearly perfect, if not for the way your vision warps on the edges, as if the world around you seems to understand that it doesn't quite have to fully load for you to be immersed in it.

"'realm'? 'façade'?" you echo. "what are you talking about?"

"i would much rather for us to meet in the real world, but..." kaeya evades your question with the ease of a professional as his fingers play with one of the stems of the dead flowers. "it seems as though fate isn't quite ready for that, darling."

"kaeya, what are you talking about? this is the real world, silly," you laugh nervously, but something inside you urges to remember something, but you can't quite remember what. "you're starting to scare me, kae."

kaeya stands up from the table, walking around to meet you. gently, he guides your chin so that you look up at him. he flashes you a crooked grin, still as lovely as ever.

"don't fret, sweetheart. nothing bad can happen to you here, i promise. if anything does, you'll wake up as if nothing ever happened."

your mind races through a million thoughts a second, but it is as if there is a barrier on your knowledge, unable to come to a conclusion. it bothers you immensely, frustration threatening to burn away at your patience.

"be safe, darling." kaeya leans down, kissing the crown of your forehead. "i'll be thinking of you always."

"kae-" you begin, reaching out for the collar of his shirt as he pulls away. as soon as your fingers touch the silken fabric, the dream that houses the two of you shatters, and the warmth of the god of romance is nothing more than the memory of a comforting blanket on a cold winter's night.

IX. GOD OF LIFE - albedo

your mind lurches forward, and you find yourself suddenly falling through the air once more. your body unceremoniously thuds against a bitterly cold stone floor, but pain does not ricochet through you. instead, you roll onto your back, staring up at the dark ceiling. the air is laced with frigid humidity, and a smell of wet moss and aged buildings permeates through the air. there is a fleeting feeling of warmth in your mind, but you can no longer remember what it is from. you cling to it nonetheless as you stand up.

the hallway you now stand in seems endless, sprawling out in two directions. to your left, darkness lingers, and there is no sign of light further down the hall. to your right, several torches illuminate a path, as if urging you along. not wanting to resist fate, you turn to your right, ignoring the darkness as you quietly look for something, anything inside this foreboding location.

the noise of your footsteps echoes through the hallways, but in the distance, you can hear water dripping. no matter how far you walk, the noise of water never seems to change in volume, so you give up paying attention to it. with each step you take, the plants covering the walls only flourish, ivy winding through cracks in the walls that lead to gods-know-where.

the air is suffocating as you approach the end of the corridor. a dead end provides you with no other way to turn but backwards. surely, darkness is not where to turn, but there is nowhere else to go, right? the moss patterns on the wall are nonsensical, but you are drawn to them nonetheless. after all, there is one similarity between you and the plants: you are both alive.

when your fingers make contact with the moss, it hisses loudly, before curdling into brown death. it falls off the wall miserably, shriveling up as if stranded in a desert for eons. without the moss fusing the stone together, the corridor begins to shake, and you watch as the stone crumbles into nothingness, and falls into the void below.

now, you are surrounded by darkness. perhaps this was your destiny all along.

you take a step forward, feet finding purchase on a surface that does not exist. the air is still frigidly humid. you are still there. apart from the moisture in the air and the company of your own flesh, you are completely and utterly alone.

"hello?" your voice echoes throughout the void. it does not speak back. you wonder where the stone ended up.

a hand grabs your shoulder and you swear your heart stops.

"you should not be here," the voice says, eerily calm as fingertips press into your shoulder. without turning around, you wonder if the darkness comes from your assailant. his action towards you are not intrinsically evil, yet you shudder under his touch nonetheless. you do not consider yourself the reactionary type, but you cannot refrain yourself from jerking your shoulder away from him and roughly swatting his hand off you.

you whirl around to face him, incensed, and you almost wish you hadn't. standing before you is most certainly a deity, but there is a vacancy in his eyes that makes you stumble back.

"do not touch m-" you begin to spit out venomously, despite knowing better than to provoke the figure in front of you. at your repulsion, an ambivalent expression crosses his face. the ambiguity of his smile reminds you of a painting that you cannot recall as your mind is weighed down by the call of the void surrounding you.

"oh," he says softly. "it appears as though i have forgotten to introduce myself. i am albedo."

the name invokes fear within you. it is primal, as if the name has been spoken through thousands of years of cautionary folktales, only to end up intertwined in your dna. albedo's gaze is clinical as he studies you, staring you down like a child does towards an ant on a playground.

"you are shaking," he observes. "it is not quite cold enough here to induce hypothermia upon a human. however, your pupils are dilated, which indicates a sense of heightened emotion. the area we are in currently does not lack or contain light."

you do not respond, but you take a step back, wondering if there is any escape from the foreboding presence in front of you.

"are you are frightened of me?" albedo suggests, and you glower at him. "do not be afraid. it would be counterproductive for me to harm you."

you notice that his chest does not heave with each breath he takes. in fact, you don't believe him to be breathing at all, apart from the inhalation and exhalation required for speaking. his hand upon your shoulder contained no warmth either. the radiance of his blond hair and the frigid brilliance of his eyes promises godhood, but he doesn't quite seem to be alive.

"what are you?" you ask firmly, voice unwavering despite the tremble that permeates your bones. albedo tilts his head.

"that is most certainly a profound question," albedo says.

you notice that the movement of his lips does not match the words that exit. you also notice that he blinks precisely every three seconds, and the rest of his body is perfectly still. you are both alike in appearance, and yet you long for the company of the moss you destroyed not so long ago.

"if you let me study you, then perhaps my discoveries with you can answer that question," albedo says. he takes a step towards you.

you take a step back, only to stumble into the invisible wall behind you. you have reached the edge of nothingness, yet all you can focus on is the rush of adrenaline that surges through you as albedo takes yet another step towards you.

"do not be afraid," albedo echoes, which only serves to escalate your fear, because nobody normal has to say that as they approach. but albedo isn't normal, and that's abundantly clear. there is no familiarity in his presence that you experienced with kaeya, nor the remembrance that you recalled with the god you were running from before. the yaksha. the dream eater. the god of equilibrium. the -

"alatus," you breathe as albedo's hand stretches out towards you.

in an instance, the void illuminates with a startling radiance, and everything turns white. the scraping of a weapon being freed from its sheath is quiet in the distance, but still audible. as albedo's hand makes contact with your skin once more, you feel the burn of life and death escape from his gloved fingertips.

a mere breath after albedo's touch forces you to witness the truths of creation, you are thrust back into reality, floating upon a cloud in the endless blue of the sky once more. you watch as a familiar spear collides with the hand of the god of life, and you experience a thousand deaths as albedo is ripped away from you.

the spear is followed by a flash of green, slamming into the figure of albedo. you watch as the blond-haired alchemist of life explodes into a cloud of dandelion seeds, fluttering about the air. in the wake of the supposed death of life, you watch breathlessly as the dandelion ashes embed themselves within the green locks of equilibrium personified. xiao's chest heaves with exertion, and he turns to look at you over his shoulder.

a glower mars his expression.

"oracle," xiao growls. "avoid the kriedeprinz if you wish to keep the world in balance. disregard my words and i shall finally be forced to truly use my weapon against you."

you part your lips to speak, but all that escapes is a cough as dandelion seeds escape from your throat. xiao's expression softens at the sight.

"it is dawn. it is time for you to wake. rest well in future nights, and do not dream of the gods if you wish to experience peace."

you awake heaving for air, fingers curling into your sheets as you stabilize yourself. you are awake. you are safe. watching as the memories of the night slip through your mind, you are left with no memory, despite the desire to never fall asleep again.

#genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #xiao x reader #kaeya x reader #albedo x reader #axia.writing #writing.mythos #writing.xiao #writing.kaeya #writing.albedo #mythos.xiao #mythos.kaeya #mythos.albedo

[favoniuscodex]

a/n: spoilers for scara's origin but no 3.2 spoilers. i just think he needs a hug (ignores his war crimes). kind of an npc wife fic if anyone remembers tht series. kind of not.

"you don't bleed?" you ask in a hushed tone as you peer at the gash in scaramouche's arm. for once, no biting remark leaves his lips. sure, he could pull his arm away, but what's the point? you've already realized he's a freak, something other than yourself due to the lack of crimson that flows from his injury. yet, you hold his arm gently in your hands, as if his synthetic skin is made of porcelain.

"no," scaramouche says quietly, and he feels as if he is kunikuzushi once more, naively trying to seek out the good in others. he waits for the betrayal of your words, in which you finally grow tired of his antics and disgusted with whom he truly is. the balladeer waits for you to discard him like all the others, for he has failed once more to truly transcend the burdens of his creation.

"does it hurt?" your voice is a soft murmur as your fingertips creep towards the wound.

"i am aware that i am injured, but it doesn't hurt," he says. normally, he'd bite the head off of any nurse that asked him such a question, but you are not his nurse nor are you asking out of pity. you ask out of genuine concern. you ask out of love, which is why scaramouche calls you his beloved.

as you gently prod at the skin, revealing a glimpse of wiring underneath, scaramouche waits for your scorn -- laughter, rage, or tears. perhaps all three. he is not human and he never will be. he is not godly and he never will be. thus, he has been a fool to believe that he could ever be your beloved as w-

"scara?" you ask softly, pulling him out of his thoughts. you look up at him, eyes wide with innocence, eyes glimmering with kindness. no, wait, scara thinks. this isn't how this is supposed to go. you're supposed to cast me out, you're supposed t-

"how can i help patch you up? would stitches work, or does it require something else?"

scaramouche stares blankly at you. your words are kindhearted, spoken with the carefree nature of someone motivated by gentleness and love. you have transcended the gods that have abandoned him and the humans that have forsaken him, becoming something greater than celestia as you kneel before him, concerned of his injuries. why aren't you pushing him away?

"sweetheart?" you ask at his empty gaze, reaching a hand out to his bent knee and gently shaking it to gain his attention once more. afterwards, your hand finds his own, looping your fingers through those that extend from his uninjured arm. you give his hand a reassuring squeeze, and the floodgates in scaramouche's mind break, tears welling up in his eyes and spilling forth.

alarm crosses your expression, and scaramouche realizes he's done it now, finally tarnishing your image of him. he waits for you to unlatch your hand from his, to pry him off and discard him like he's no more than scrap metal. a broken sob releases from him at this thought. he can't lose you. he can't lose the only person he cares about. he knows he will, he knows you'll push him away, but he can't bear the thought of it. and so, he cries.

scaramouche whimpers as you let go of his hand and your other hand unwraps itself from its place upon his injured arm. he feels the tears fall from his face and stain the fabric of his pants as he kneels pathetically in front of you, position mimicking your own. this is it. this is where the balladeer is on his own once more, forever traversing the lands for answers he will never truly have.

you wrap your arms around scaramouche's shoulders, pulling him into you and gently rubbing his back. he stiffens under your touch, but you know your lover well. you press your lips to his cheek, kissing away some of his tears and leaving behind a brief mark of warmth.

"it's okay," you murmur. "i'm not leaving you behind."

in an uncharacteristic display of emotion, scaramouche sneaks his arms underneath yours, wrapping them around your torso as he buries his head into your shoulder, tears soaking the fabric of your shirt. the position is awkward, but the two of you don't dare move, in fear that the other will slip through your grasp. his fingers clutch at your back, as if afraid that you'll change your mind.

"i love you, scara," you say. "i mean it."

"you," scaramouche's voice is muffled and his breath ragged as the waves of sobs finally break into shaky exhales. "are my moon and stars."

#see reader's the moon & stars bc they're actually real bc he knows its a fake sky. anyways. #axia.writing #axia.scaramouche

[favoniuscodex]

npc [ series masterlist - scaramouche x f!reader ]

summary : a series of individual snippets & scenarios that focus on scaramouche and you, his wife. in this series, you are a completely normal and sweet individual, working with in human resources and the absolute antithesis to all of scaramouche's snark and rage. to most, you aren't remarkable in this world. your existence is a visionless one, not designed for greatness or high achieving activities. however, to scaramouche, you are nothing short of divine. (aka scaramouche with an npc wife)

taglist : ask in the comments of this post to be tagged ! (please do not ask in tags, leave an actual comment - it's easier for me to track.

author's notes : this is a constantly updating (generally) slice of life series that will update throughout different points of the reader and scara's relationship! this masterlist keeps track of all updates in a chronological order!

series masterlist :

first encounter with scaramouche's coworkers

shared mornings, days off, & cinnamon pancakes

false alarm

more to come ..!

#genshin impact x reader #scaramouche x reader #axia.writing #axia.masterlists

[favoniuscodex]

hello m' wifey !!!!!! congrats on ur milestone !! it is what u deserve, may u have many more !! i am Formally requesting forget-me-nots, white hyacinths, and hydrangeas w brown wrapping paper please :3c

prompt: a bouquet that represents loveliness, fidelity, and heartfelt emotions, presented to you by a suitor: xiao. pairing: xiao x gn!reader wc: ~0.6k

xiao rarely grants himself the luxury of rest.

for an adeptus like him, he strives not to indulge in the opulence of what life could be and rather focus on what life is. past sins and regrets have accumulated into an existence of suffering, but xiao pushes forth and uses his own wretched immortality to defend those who will blossom with the spring and wilt by the century's winter. yet, no flower has quite managed to catch his eye like you have.

xiao wishes to pluck your petals and imprint your leaves between the sheets of history, in the way humans do with the blossoms of glaze lilies in an attempt to salvage that which is destined to die. but, he knows that the most successful blooms are the ones which remain untainted from the avarice of the living. he settles for admiring the silky fragility of your petals up close, praying to dead deities that the karmic debt that plagues him does not befall you as well.

in the presence of such beauty, xiao sheds former habits and rests underneath the coverage of an old tree. he performs a newfound duty of his, rather than engaging in the constant destruction of the demons that traverse the lands of liyue. rather, xiao rests, and, in this action, provides you with a place to rest as well. your head rests upon the muscled expanse of his thighs as you look up at him, expression blissful and sweet. your lips slowly curl upwards to reveal the whites of your teeth as your eyelids flutter shut. in the absence of a weapon in hand, xiao's hands busy themselves by gently carding through your hair.

"xiao." a faint breeze sweeps across the two of you as you exhale. "promise to remember me once i'm gone?"

xiao's heart twists at the thought of being unable to indulge in the floral splendor that is your existence. yet, while he cannot physically hold you forever, xiao knows that both celestia and the abyss themselves could not prevent him from holding the memory of you close to his heart forever. for now, you are by his side and xiao is nothing short of grateful for that fact.

"it will be impossible for me to forget."

the words come out terser than he planned for, but you fall asleep with a content smile on your face anyways. xiao watches over you as you snore almost imperceptibly. in this moment, xiao enacts the wordless promise of forever, one that extends far beyond your lifespan and one that surpasses even his own. he will love you until the earth of teyvat swallows itself whole, and his love will endure in the ashes that ensue.

xiao cannot convey such affection with words, so he settles for lifting your sleeping hand up to his lips and kisses the spot on your ring finger that he soon plans to claim as his own. as he cradles your hand in his, xiao tears his gaze from your figure to stare out at the horizon. where the endless blue meets mountainous peaks of green, xiao finds hope in the thought that in another life, the two of you will meet again.

in the comfort of your existence, the vigilant yaksha closes his eyes and dances with the indulgence of slumber, knowing that you will be there to greet him once he awakens.

#xiao x reader #genshin impact x reader #xiao fluff #genshin fluff #genshin impact fluff #axia.writing #writing.xiao