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unabashednightmarepizza · 3 months

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𝐹𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑇𝑒𝑦𝑣𝑎𝑡, 𝑇𝑤𝑜 𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠

Genshin Masterlist

Mondstadt was far too peaceful, compared to the modern world of your planet. There was more greenery, more land to run around and just sit back and relax, trees and flowers weren't withered or tainted with cement...

And now, you were taking your words back as fast as Usain Bolt once ran.

Perhaps the outside of the city was just as you described, but the city? The City was the worst.

Children crying and screaming, people flocking around you and exclaiming their gratitude, elders praising you for your strength and beauty while telling how pretty and strong children you would have, how you were one of the fairest and most fierce maidens of the city and how blessed you were for having a face very similar to their Champion...

Aether's situation was worst, as he was soon surrounded with the teens of Mondstadt who had literal heart eyes for him, staring at his naked abdomen time to time as he blushed deeply while trying not to break anyone's heart...

You were starting to reconsider your early thought of settling here one day.

Your brain was turned into a puddle of jello, their constant talking doing nothing to relax your already throbbing head. Not even rubbing your temples worked, something that eased your school stress which often made your poor nape throb.

And the only way to just ease your poor abused mind, was to come to the Windrise where it was most peaceful with the almost-there hum of the nature and the huge tree

"Don't you think Lisa and Amber are like sisters?" you casually tell to Aether while extending a hand to touch the branch above your head as the shorter male looks up at you from the food he was eating, a kind of sandwich from your world that he was sure he would beg you to prepare more often.

It was one of the best snacks he ever had, and even tasted...familiar.

"Why do you say so?" He raised his brows with a questioning look, already preparing to hear yet another bizarre thing out of your mouth like you usually did whenever you were too bored, while wiping the leftovers on his lips with a napkin you offered so that he didn't use his dirty hands like an uncultured boy.

Nah uh, not on your watch.

" Amber does all of Lisa's footwork. Elder sisters also ask, rather demand, their little sibling to do something for them to laze around." You hummed all-too-knowingly with a shrug, slapping the branch softly with a smile.

He only hummed for a few seconds, pondering for an answer while looking through his previous memories with his sister. Although he forgot most of his memories, he was still able to remember Lumine and all the bickering they did.

And that alone put a smile on his face.

"Hmm... Since me and my sister are the same age, we always used to decide with playing rock, paper and scissors. How about you Y/N?"

"Oh... Uh, It's actually... Something I really don't want to talk about." you trailed off, clear discomfort written on your face as you and Aether sat side by side with Paimon laying on the green field like a starfish, looking up at the Tree of Vanessa and watching the slimes slowly go away to their path, totally unaware of the awkwardness that hung on the air.

But you also knew, from the almost teary eyes Aether had that he missed Lumine and needed to just vent... Even if you didn't wish to speak of your life back on Earth.

"How about Lumine? How is she like?" you asked him with a sigh, tightening your hold on your folded legs and resting your head on your knees as you turned your head to look at him with a soft smile. From what you vaguely knew, while Aether was a sunshine and more approachable due to his cute and round face, Lumine seemed more calm and collected and more likely to beat someone up and not be sorry.

Though she also had her soft and loving moments occasionally. As a matter of fact, you saw yourself in her even when you hadn't actually met her yet... A girl, looking so tough and strong, also sarcastic and funny in her own way, but is actually very vulnerable and in dire need of someone understanding her struggles and pain, and still loving and being there for her.

You could have become such good friends with her...

But you just... couldn't help wondering what happened to them. Why were they there? What did they see or experience enough to leave this world in a hurry? Why the Gods of this world didn't leave them be? What was beyond what others saw in them?

What did the Celestia plan for them this time?

You widened your eyes as your heart started beating erratically, all the while trying not to alert Aether, who was looking at the horizon, from your sudden fear, your mind was suddenly blank at what just crossed your mind. What was even this Celestia you just said? And what did it mean "this time"? You were so sure that you didn't know this world, you couldn't possibly know anything since you just started playing the game and getting into the lore, watching theory edits and such.

And you definitely hadn't read any books about the history of this world either. Then what was that sudden thought thar crossed your mind? Why did it sound like you knew this would happen and this Celestia?

The only thing you had gotten close to knowing about this world was that time when you first met Storm Terror and... a strange bard who talked to that dragon...

Who stared at you with a shocked face, eyes wide with terror and sadness as he looked at you tearfully, as if he had seen his lost lover after years of death taking his love away.

As if a war had wracked both him and whatever he held dear to himself forever to not give what he once blissfully had but never realized it. As if he had seen the ghost of a friend, or a lover right before him when he thought he would never.

Why am I thinking about such things? I mean sure, he was pretty cute with his big green and turquoise eyes and I literally felt my heart broke for him after he made such a kicked puppy face but... I don't even know him! Who is he anyways, and why do I feel like I know both him and that dragon? Why did such a terrifying creature literally whined at the first sight of me?

And your eyes just drifted up, where a land was floating slowly above, close to Mondstadt as if flauntly, as if to showcase its own power, to tell the humans below that they were the ones in power and that they could end them with just one single blow...

Arrogant jackasses... Those fucking, good for nothing Gods, thinking so highly of themselves yet still hiding...

Something inside of you told you that for whatever reason, you would see both that bard and dragon once again and then, you could demand some answers from him. Maybe it was a bit harsher than usual saying in such situation where you didn't even know that bard and therefore couldn't have any problem to begin with but, could anyone blame you for your fear, nerves and behaviour when you didn't know anything and anyone, not even about your travelling partners?

So, as weird as this whole situation was and you were getting the creeps because of it as if you were being watched, you were still happy to be here with Aether and hopefully learn more about him and his sister.

Maybe I could become friends with her too when all this ends and we find her? I wonder what she likes though, I hope she doesn't beat me up because I would be really sad but happy to be beaten by a strong, pretty-

At his silence that made the little balloon in your mind pop, which was enough to tell you that he wasn't ready to talk about her yet, you pondered for another way for him to open up without causing discomfort to him.

"What... exactly happened when you wanted to get out, Aether? And above all, why did you want to get out in a hurry?" you asked softly, not wanting to startle and trigger him since his eyes seemed lost as he concentrated on somewhere far away and also, not to dive deep in your own thoughts of being beaten by strong and pretty women.

He turned to you when he heard your voice after minutes of silence, focusing on your eyes as he shrugged his shoulders. He trully didn't remember much, he even barely remembered telling you that he and his sister was leaving in a hurry.... Perhaps, it was another play of that Unknown God to make him weaker, to enslave him forever.

He was going to have his revenge oh so badly, he swore it.

"I don't remember... All I remember is that feeling of panic and fear before the Unknown God came and another shooting star protected us before everything went black and I woke up near that shore."

You nodded your head absentmindedly, plucking a Windwheel Aster to play with as your mind played the familiar screen play where you needed to choose one twin over the other to save.

Which was just a while ago before you suddenly woke up here.

However, it was strange enough that there was a shooting star which protected them from the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, Asmoday, though he was yet to know her true name. From someone way too powerful than anyone on Teyvat, even the Archons.

But yet again, it was only normal. Archons were once normal Gods who lived in Celestia, before whatever it was that resulted in the ruined buildings, abandoned castles and desolate lands all across this vast world.

Yet...

Since the world was changing with your presence here, obviously since you were not from the game and lore... Would you dare to change the destiny of this world? Of all the people you will meet, of Aether and Lumine? Of Paimon on who you had no idea over as to what or who she is?

Do you dare to go against Celestia, as a human who didn't have a chance against Them even when a God had a slim one at deceiving and fighting that power?

These were definitely not in the game... Just what else is different than the game version?

Apart from the uncertainty this new reveal brought to you, which was initially another side that excited you, life in Mondstadt was... Peaceful for the most part.

It seems their Archon did a good job with maintaining what they were created for: Freedom.

Even imagining what future days may hold for you in this city, the secrets those ruins held, the kind of history they hid and what you could discover there filled you with a buzzing feeling that almost made you shake with excitement. After all, playing through a screen and actually witnessing them were way different.

Spoiler alert: You didn't like those Ruin Guards.

But even amidst your happiness, the one feature you had thanks to your more shy and reserved self back in your world since no one really paid attention to you started working: Picking on the mood of people close to you.

And in this case, it was Aether who was your stark contrast, sitting with a face close to breaking apart.

At first glance, Aether almost seemed like he didn't care about what happened to him. His eyes were hard most of the times, even when he didn't talk about his sister, and since he was kind of selectively mute because he didn't understand Teyvat language and you and Paimon were the ones who talked to him and communicated with others in his stead, that's why people often thought of him to be too harsh and hard to get close to.

If only they knew how wrong they were, if only they knew he had such a golden heart as you stared at his teary golden orbs as the boy slowly broke apart after months of being alone.

"And just like that... I lost both my sister and powers as some kind of seal was casted upon me and now, we are trapped here." Aether spoke out in a whisper, too low for you to hear had you been a few meters away from him as he clenched his hands angrily, veins popping up by the sheer force he applied at remembering the smug face of that Unknown God that trapped him here.

You always knew how lonely and hard it must be for Aether, with no one else to talk to like you did and no one to spend time casually with. Humans, whether on Earth or some other universe, always needed to be social whether they liked it or not. The humankind had always been that way, always seeking out closure and companionship and never wanting to be alone. If asked "What do you fear the most?", most people here would answer with "Archons." probably with "being alone" being the second most given answer.

But Aether had been alone for the longest time and possibly fought with many Gods in other worlds and this one, just to get out of here with his sister.

He experienced all the fears of ordinary people.

Paimon could always fly to wherever she wanted and eat without a problem, and even go for her own journey if she wanted. You could always ask for help from people and even hang out with them freely without worrying about anything and there wouldn't be a huge language barrier between you and them as well, unlike a certain short blondie.

Paimon could find another travelling buddy, you could settle down here and even build a new life for yourself.

Aether had no one and no way to do such things.

How could I be so stupid to not see this before?! He must have felt too bad as I hung out with Kaeya! Like a lonely kitten only wanting its owner..!

"You know... You are not alone here." you tentatively spoke, after internally scolding yourself for being carried away from the excitement of being in Mondstadt, carefully weighing your words as you slowly touched his hand, to which he lifted his head slowly in shock and stared at your star-shaped eyes that seemed to captivate him even more with each day.

"What do you mean? Have I suddenly started to understand their language or something?" he sarcastically asked with a slight hint of amusement, which he only did with you and not Paimon because your reactions were better, making you sigh out and pinch his cheeks harshly with a giggle as you cooed at his flustered state.

"Getting sarcastic now, are we? Oh my, I didn't know you had that side of you!" he rolled his eyes sarcastically at your dramatic gesture, swatting your hand away. But as the noisy little shit you were, you kept pestering him and nudge him with a wide smile that Aether couldn't dare to erase.

Enjoyment, nowadays, was hard to find for him after all.

He continued to look at you and listen to you excitedly talk, even though he knew it was because of your nerves by how hard you were chewing on your lips and fiddling with your fingers. Unaware, you kept on talking while putting stray hairs behind your ear to push them aside, all futile attempts too mask your nervousness from what you were about to stay...

And whether they would come off as offensive.

"I mean, obviously, me and Paimon can't be like your sister and we absolutely have no intention to do so but we are your friends. If you have something troubling you, you come to us. If you want to talk about anything, absolutely anything, you come to me. Because let's be real, Paimon would probably pull it towards foods and I'm rambling but you got the idea-

"Thank you... Y/N..."

"And I mean, I know I could be very-wait, what?"

You stammered nervously in shock at what left Aether's mouth so softly with a deep emotion, not expecting the chuckle that left his lips breathlessly next at your shock. His giggle was really cute, something that eased your worried heart and almost made you think everything was back to normal and that you two were just simple people hanging out together and not trying to roam this world for a way to get out.

But he was trully grateful, grateful for your attempts of making him feel better, always looking out for ways to look after him, being his friend...

Everything.

"I know you don't trust us yet, but I can assure you that as long as I am alive, I'll make sure you see your sister again and travel worlds again." you finalized what you had to say with a firm yet soft pat on Aether's back, promising him just like the time you had to choose one of them with a heavy heart and let the other be taken.

Like the first time you felt like a true villain.

Aether only gave you a wide yet tearful smile as he nodded his head, the light of the Sun of Teyvat hitting on both of your skins and making them appear to be so soft that you almost thought it was coming behind a silk cloth.

After all, he wasn't going to be alone anymore... After fighting his demons in the dead of the night for so long, without anyone really understanding his struggles...

He now had another friend, another one who understood him and how traumatic it was to be trapped in a completely foreign world.

Seeing you finally broke every kind of ice between you two, and since you didn't want to be sad all day when the weather was so nice, you hugged him tightly from his shoulders with a wide smile, opening your palm to show the vast greenery before you which was a blessing of Mondstadt and their Archon... well, whoever that fucker was now.

"Besides! You can't really get rid of me that easily! I have this bad habit of never separating from those I deem very close," you whispered the last part almost threateningly, leaning closer to his ear with a hand covering your mouth and his ear as if there was someone that could hear you, unaware of the heavy blush covering his whole face while he avoided looking down at your lips unconsciously...

A sudden, soft murmur broke you two apart harshly.... And saved Aether from the embarrassment by giving him enough time to dip his whole face to the cold water at the Windrise.

" So, does this make you and Aether my siblings, Y/N?" you flinched when you heard the childish yet sleepy voice of Paimon suddenly, who grew on you even if she sometimes got on your nerves. She was stretching as much as her tiny body would allow, slapping her lips loudly as she yawned and looked around with wide and curious eyes as if she wasn't here hours before she slipped into a deep slumber

Nonetheless, you couldn't help but coo at her cute question with a hand over your chest as Aether chuckled next to you while looking at Paimon who was sitting in front of you both before patting her head and confirming her...

Well, that was before she decided to become a little menace to you once again.

"Wait, wha- Aww you are so cute for-"

"Since you do all the footwork and I float-"

A cheeky grin from her as you groaned.

"Are you fucking serious right now?" An irritated scowl was plastered on your face with brows raised in question at the floating emergency food, the latter wheezing at the expression of your face while Aether tried to cover his giggles to be spared from your wrath ( which only earned him a slap to the back of his head because how dare he get satisfaction from such thing!).

But as much as betrayed you were from Paimon fooling you, it was also... kind of funny, what she said. She was really like a kid who didn't have a filter on her mouth and mind, never knowing when and what was the appropriate time to say something... That was perhaps what made her endearing in your eyes.

"Come on, Y/N, I can see your smile! I know you found it funny!"

"...Maybe, yes, it was funny." you grumbled to which they let out a loud yay! and you smiled at their enthusiasm with tired yet content eyes as silence settled once again. Paimon eyed you and Aether for a few seconds, admiring how pretty and strong you looked as you allowed Aether to lean his whole weight onto you and laid his head comfortably on your shoulder while she wasn't in any different position as she laid across your lap, with your hand slowly caressing her hair and pat her head.

For some reasons, you always gave off of a comforting vibe ever since they saw you or well, you saw them, timidly getting close to them to ask if you could sit with them near the fire they had built, promising that you wouldn't hurt them. They were suspicious at first just as any normal person would be, but Aether couldn't find it in his heart to decline you when you looked so helpless, just like he first woke up in Mondstadt apparently and didn't know anything, desperately in need of help.

You reminded him of himself, helpless and unaware of the dangers that laid ahead.

What sealed the deal for you and them, since they had eyed you all throughout the night for any suspicious move, and since Aether was laying down from the deep cut he got from his abdomen and bleeding, but was only met with a happy tune you muttered under your breath while getting warm with a contented smile, was how easily you got up and drew your dual blades- which they soon learnt them to be actually a spear that could be connected to each other- to protect them from a horde of hilichurls and even two Abyss Mages, with burning red and blue flames engulfing your blades and later the enemy.

The only thing you gave to them that night was a serene smile as you pointed to his wound with a worried expression, which made them both wince with guilt from how badly they thought of you when you only cared to protect them.

"Your wound looks bad... I have some ointments I made myself and I know how to sew a wound, letting it stay open like that would surely make it get infected. If you allow me, may I help you, young travellers who helped me?" and then a gorgeous smile that captured them.

And as you prepared everything while making small talk with Aether to draw his attention elsewhere from the numbing pain of his wound, initially learning you both were not from this world, that was when your fates aligned together which would change the fate of all of the Teyvat.

Suddenly, you three had become each other's companions and the others' everything.

And as she laid on your lap comfortably Paimon felt... bad and even saddened for you, feeling like crying suddenly as she stared at your protective hold on both of them even while you rested, being completely exposed to any kind of danger, although they knew there were no hilichurls or Abyss Mages close by.

You have always been there for both of them, protected them even when you barely knew them, patched them up, cooked them food and even gave some of yours to Paimon because she loved that particular dish so much or to Aether both because he was hurt and he was usually the one who did most of the work and needed energy more than you...

You have always been sacrificing something for them and what had they ever done to repay beck for all the kindness and love you gave them?

So far, nothing... They didn't exactly have a lot of Mora , even with new commissions they were taking and besides, you always refused to have a share of it since you three needed to either buy food or medicinal items and strictly prohibited them from buying anything for you like a mother scolding her children from spending too much for them.

"I don't need anything to know that you care for me and love me, sillies! Just be happy, healthy and make sure to not hurt yourselves too much and we're fine! Seriously, you are giving me grey hairs..."

Perhaps they couldn't show their love however they wanted to, per your orders, but she could definitely tell you how much you and Aether meant for her!

"Besides the footwork joke... Paimon never really had a family, or at least doesn't remember having one. So, Paimon is very happy to have such strong and caring siblings!" she smiled serenely, genuinely as she tilted her head to look up at you both, knowing full well that neither of you were actually sleeping from the small smiles you both supported. She nuzzled closer to your lap happily with a relaxed sigh, not caring whether you heard or not because she was so damn sure you did.

Paimon really could be so damn adorable when she wanted....

She didn't have to know, but both you and Aether were keeping your eyes closed just so that Paimon wouldn't get worried because of the tears that blurred your visions from what she said so earnestly, her touching words reaching the depths of your heart.

"We really are a strange Trio, huh? Two Outlanders, one pixie baby who refuses to be our little emergency food-" you idly sighed out with hands smoothing down their hair gently, making them both sigh and nuzzle closer to you... Though Paimon was just a tiny bit agitated because of what you said about her.

"For God's sake, come on!" you giggled in the most evil way possible at her growing irritation and kicking her legs up in the air angrily but continued anyways with little to no care.

Hah, that's what you get for always teasing me!

"One can easily understand this world's weird language and also the language of his other outlander companion, but doesn't have any other super powers-"

"They are called Visions!"

"And even so, it seems that some people noticed our strange behaviour..." You mumbled to yourself in worry as your hand momentarily stopped in mid-action, head lifting up to look at the city far from you three, standing on the lake and bustling with energy.

Oh yes, Lisa and Jean had their own suspicions about your powers. Both you and Aether seemed like normal people on the outside, but Aether could easily use Anemo vision and not get affected by the venomous tears of the dragon Dvalin.

And you? You used a different, much more powerful kind of fire than anyone else, wielded a long and heavy spear (something less than 3 people or so did in Mondstadt), and somehow... Understood Teyvat language and Aether's mother tongue without any difficulties even when you weren't from either one of the worlds.

"It's still very strange. Even if It's obvious they are exceptional and strong people, neither Y/N nor Aether seems to be affected by Dvalin's tear..." Jean mumbled curiously from her position near the window, staring sternly at you two as you shuffled closer to Aether to shield him and Paimon. That was, until your attention was taken away by Lisa who circled around you like a predator does to its prey, a finger touching your chin and turning your head to her direction flirtitously with a slight pout.

"Besides, StormsTerror seemed much calm and soft when its eyes landed on our cutie Y/N... I wonder why, have you ever interacted with a dragon before perhaps?"

To be honest, you also didn't have the answer for that. While you were floating up in the air with Aether, cross firing at the vicious dragon to stop it from harming the City....

You felt a sudden sting deep in your heart which threatened to tear you apart when its eyes found yours.

And no, it wasn't because of the glider Amber gifted you weighing on your back, making it harder to breathe since you weren't used to... floating.

It was as if you were hurting a very dear old friend, a family that was once your everything and a part of your soul.

Besides that chest piercing pain you still continued to experience even after that dragon flew away, what was that mysterious voice that helped easing your scared heart as the wind gently caressed your whole body and mostly face, as if phantom fingers rubbed your cheeks and head to map your whole face, and helped you with making StormsTerror leave Mondstadt for some time right after helping Aether with some shitty Mages that appeared out of nowhere?

Don't worry Windblume, I won't let you go. Not this time... Now concentrate and feel the wind in your veins just like you did before...

It was so soft, so loving yet... Also so pained, so hollow as if he missed a great part of him, as if he was trying to make up for a mistake he has done as you felt a sudden surge of power in you, a sweet pain on your back and just like that...

Five Mages were down with a flick of your spear.

"I just hope we didn't make their job harder than before with our presence..." You sighed after a long while, those thoughts still lingering at the back of your head and tapped their heads gently to get them to move since the sun was slowly setting and you needed to go back to the city where Jean kindly prepared a room for you three in the headquarter... After she asked what you needed since you three saved the city.

All of you first declined, but after Paimon and Aether left the room completely, you turned to Jean and with a stern face, asked for only a room which Aether would never have even a speck of information about you asked for it.

Fortunately, she understood your reasoning and with a kind smile, and even more respect growing in her for you, she offered whichever room you wished to have alongside new clothes and three courses of meal and told Aether that it was a "special thank you to the Honarary Knights from the Knights of Fovanius" and to have both of you closer in case of emergency.

Thank her and her brains, no wonder she is the Dandelion Knight and the Acting Grand Master...

"But just as Amber said, the number of hilichurls and Abyss Mages decreased significantly! Paimon wonders if it has something to do with Aether or Y/N!" Paimon exclaimed curiously as she watched you pack up and usher them both to go to their merry way as you turned abruptly, pointing to your chest unbelievingly and looking around.

"Me? Why though?"

She kicked her legs up in the air frustratedly, swiping her palm through the air and showing the nature around her as if it was an obvious fact and you were a fool for not seeing it....

And you trully didn't get it.

Seeing your confusion, Aether chuckled as he lead Paimon to float before you two started bickering again as he started to explain as much as he could.

"They always liked hanging out with you and even protected you... An insane part of me even thinks that they know you're in Mondstadt and therefore, don't want to disturb you since they know you are safe and happy."

Life truly didn't turn out the way Aether had wanted, and probably would never. His life had taken a sharp tune as soon as he and Lumine chose this world to travel next and... All of you knew how it ended.

But now, it wasn't so bad like it used to be months ago. Every day, even every hour, he was met with yet another extraordinary person or habit and it intrigued him a lot. Learning all about the people of Teyvat, what they did for living and their history, hanging out with people... He loved doing all those things, it made him feel like he was back to being the previous Aether before all the chaos happened.

Even though he knew he shouldn't get too attached and form bonds that would be broken in the end inevitably... when he finds his sister and leave the world behind. But maybe... Maybe he could get to bring you and Paimon with himself too? It wasn't like you couldn't, you definitely could land on another world since you were also an Outlander. There was a chance that Paimon couldn't, since he still didn't know of her origins, but he would fight Gods and Archons if he needed, so that he could keep his family together.

His sister, who was the literal half of his soul. Paimon who was always there to help him out and make him enjoy the life Teyvat could offer while guiding him and you... You, who always had tragic yet also comedic stories to tell them from your world whenever they get uncomfortable in some ways. You, who roasted people with your sharp tongue and quick mind, while being a total menace and gremlin, whenever they didn't take no for an answer since Aether didn't want to offend anyone and just did everything they wanted as the "helpful boy" he always was...

or whenever people didn't believe him whenever he said he was probably a lot older than their Archon because of his young, baby face.

Oh yeah... He was very doomed as he already got attached to you and the floating baby you always sweetly called.

"If you can consider being in a city where people worship 'The Champion' that eerily looks like me who fought alongside Barbatos for many times and face a huge statue of the said-champion every day being happy and safe... Then yes, I definitely am!"

Aether snorted at the sarcastic answer he got from you and the dramatic flip of your hair, not being able to help the fake-disappointed shake of his head as he watched you fondly with hands on either sides of his hip.

"What am I going to do with you?"

"Probably bear with me and my awesome self and amazing jokes, and also love me!" You turned around with a gleeful smile, hair floating up and dress swiping through the sudden wind that engulfed you softly and in that moment, he wished that the smile you always had would never disappear.

That you wouldn't loose the happiness and hope blossoming in your eyes with each new day greeting you.

And he thought, whatever strange things revolved around you and the mysteries even you didn't know about yourself...

He would always be there for you, just like you did and will continue to do with him.

You would get to solve all the mysteries and puzzles about just who this "Champion" was and their link to you. Meet and demand answers from that Archon about his sister and the Champion whom he was always depicted together with and maybe... Maybe, at least one of you would be able to get rid of that fog which clouded your memories.

And with that, three of you entered the safety of the walls of the City of Freedom once again... A place where you already started calling "home".

Unaware of what was waiting for your group in the headquarters.

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mimi-cee-genshin · 3 months

Text

Denial is Futile: Wanderer x f!reader - Chapter 6

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Summary:

What would you do if you were stuck with Wanderer indefinitely?

The cute and sweet guy from the bazaar was brought to your place while unconscious. But when he woke up, you were appalled by the amount of snark he had. Was he even the same person? And now you were stuck with him because he could literally die if he stopped holding your hand. You weren't sure if you could tolerate him any longer. Little did you know he was exactly the type of person you needed in your life.

Other info: Fluff, humor, sfw, enemies to lovers, some hurt/comfort and angst later, character growth, occurs after the version 3.3 Archon quest and Tighnari's story quest, female reader

Words: 3.2k

*****

Your arm didn't sting anymore. The pain medication finally kicked in. Despite your experience with fire, this was the first time you'd gotten burned.

You sat on the bench, now settled in Pardis Dhyai, and Tighnari inspected and redressed your wounds.

"You should be fine now," he said, kneeling in front of you, placing the rest of the bandages back into his satchel. "It shouldn't take long to heal as long as you keep it clean and reapply the salve I gave you earlier."

Wanderer slumped on the bench, elbow on knee and chin on hand. You took your arm back from Tighnari and gave him a brief thank you.

The sky was dim as the sun set behind you and the nocturnal insects had begun their hums. "You should probably rest for now," Tighnari told you. "I'll see if I can reschedule our meeting for–"

"Tighnari, you said you'd come hours ago.” A slender lady walked up behind him, placing her hands on her hips. She had pale turquoise hair and her white dress was decorated with isometric diamonds that were different hues of blue and green. You knew exactly who it was. It was Madam Faruzan.

Wanderer raised a brow and a slight scowl spread on his face. He didn't bother trying to hide his annoyance at her interruption. You squeezed his hand tight as a warning to be polite, but he merely snapped a look at you as if you were asking for something unreasonable.

"I could've been preparing for tomorrow's lecture," Faruzan told Tighnari. "Don't tell me you’ve completely forgotten."

The sky was getting dark, and you were tired from the long day. The battle with the Fatui dragged over today's schedule, and your legs were sore, not to mention the added difficulty of an injured arm.

“You're not the only one with places to go, you know,” said Wanderer with a click of his tongue, standing up in front of you. "Can't you see we're busy right now and that she needs some rest?"

You bit your lip and pulled him back onto the bench. Why must he be this rude to one of the esteemed professors from the Akademiya?

"First of all," Faruzan said to Wanderer, crossing her arms, "I was talking to Tighnari here. You should mind your manners, young man."

Wanderer merely snorted.

“Just what is so funny?” Faruzan reprimanded.

You wanted to disappear into the bench. Maybe she wouldn't notice you were here.

“It's just amusing how you thought I was younger than you,” he replied. "Last I checked, I'm actually older than everyone here – combined."

Faruzan took a step back. "What? H-how is that even possible?" she asked. “Then why do you look so young?”

“Are you really asking yourself that?” Wanderer said, rolling his eyes. “You of all people? Just what exactly do they teach at the Akademiya for everyone to be so stupid?”

In your panic, you jabbed him hard with your elbow, to the point where he forced out a cough. You couldn't risk a drop in your reputation that came from being associated with him.

“Madam Faruzan," Collei tapped her shoulder. "Please allow me to explain.”

You gave a sigh in relief, thankful she was here.

“Your meeting is actually with these two,” Collei continued, giving her a bashful smile. “I told Tighnari to wait for them here because Y/n got injured earlier. They saved us from some Fatui we ran into."

"Oh dear." Faruzan turned her attention to you, now noticing the bandaged arm under your sleeve. She knelt down to get a closer look but was careful not to touch it. "I apologize for my rudeness earlier,” she said after ensuring you were fine. “I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like that."

“Hmph. I'm surprised you even apologized,” Wanderer commented. You threw him another look.

“Well then,” Tighnari said, clapping his hands together. “Since that's all settled, Faruzan, Wanderer is the one who reacted to the speckled posies the other day.” Tighnari must have spoken to her about your dilemma.

“It was these two?” Faruzan said now connecting the dots. “So that's what this meeting was about. Why did you need to be so secretive about it?” she said with hands on her hips. “And here I thought they were a pair of researchers who just happened to be a couple.”

“What?” asked Wanderer.

“Oh… Umm…” you said, not sure how to respond to her. You really didn't want her to think you'd like someone like him. “Why would you say that?”

“Well, based on how concerned Hat Guy was just now…” she began, glancing at you two. You couldn't help but wonder why she had a skeptical look on her face. Was there something you missed?

“Well… that doesn't matter right now.” Faruzan brushed off the topic. “You wanted me to help you investigate why Wanderer goes unconscious, did you not?”

“That's right,” said Tighnari after clearing his throat. “Wanderer's symptoms were the same as Kartaka’s.” He briefly explained the current complications with Kartaka and discussed how it'd be best to keep his existence discreet. You had no idea this was why he never mentioned this to you earlier.

According to Tighnari, with Faruzan's knowledge of mechanical life forms from the past, he hoped she'd have an idea for why Wanderer had the same reaction as Kartaka did. He had called himself a puppet before but maybe there were some similarities with this ancient technology.

“To be honest,” said Faruzan, “I'm not sure if I'll be much help.”

“I have some other ideas I can experiment,” Tighnari replied. “I'll just need you to observe and see if anything looks familiar to you.”

What Tighnari brought was much more elaborate than you had expected. He pulled out various vials from his satchel as well as other fabrics and materials for testing. You didn't understand what exactly he was experimenting as he discussed his finding with Faruzan, but you simply followed his instructions, hoping they'd come to a conclusion.

A few of the tests required Wanderer to go unconscious again. It had been a while since you'd seen him laying on the ground like that, and you held your breath every time he didn't wake up immediately. You knew you needed to find a permanent solution, but it was difficult to see him in that state considering all the time you had spent together.

“I'm sorry to say that all these tests were… inconclusive,” said Tighnari.

Faruzan sighed before stretching her arms with a yawn. “You know, why don't you just look for a replacement part?” she suggested. “From the looks of it, I think our findings confirmed your original hypothesis. It's as if one of his organs is malfunctioning.”

“But even after all of these tests, we don't even know which part of me is malfunctioning,” said Wanderer. “How would I–?” he stopped himself and sighed, rubbing his palm on his forehead. “We're back where we started.”

You were all circling back to the same conclusion you had with Nahida and Baizhu, the conclusion you desperately wanted to avoid. You bit your bottom lip, reaching for a different answer, one that didn't include the Electro Archon. “There isn't anyone else we could ask for help?” you asked.

“There's always the Doctor,” said Wanderer with a snort. “He had previously figured out some of my inner workings.”

Your eyes grew wide with hope. “Why didn't you bring him up earlier?” you asked. “This could've been fixed by now.”

“Ah. I see,” Tighnari said with a hand on his chin. “I didn't know you were acquainted with him as well.”

“You know him, Master Tighnari?” asked Collei, her voice a little shaky.

“Let's just say I've met him briefly before,” he said while crossing his arms. “He wanted to take Haypasia.”

Collei gasped, hands covering her mouth. Her arms and legs froze and she bit her lip.

“This was a long time ago,” he said. “You know yourself that she's perfectly fine.”

Collei's shoulders remained stiff, and you knew you must have been missing some vital information. “So… is this Doctor not an option then?” you asked.

“No!” shouted Collei, realizing she said that a bit too loudly. “No,” she said again after adjusting her tone. “He might just…” she began to say, but her eyes wavered and grew dark, their usual light was gone. She didn't finish her sentence.

“He'd perform all kinds of experiments on us,” Wanderer finally explained with a sigh. “To say he'll have no regard for our well-being is putting it lightly.”

Collei's eyes grew wide at him. “Did he… ” she rubbed her arm, almost as if to soothe an invisible wound. “You too?” she asked.

“Well, in a different life, yes,” he said with a shrug. “But there's no use in discussing this anyway. He and the rest of the Fatui don't remember a single thing about me.”

So it was the Fatui. Despite learning some of Wanderer's past, you knew very little about his time with them. He mentioned it here and there with very little context, so you could hardly piece together a picture of his life there. Now you received another part of the puzzle; he was a victim too.

You had learned of the Fatui by chance, unfortunately because of Collei's trauma. A Fatui diplomat was in the city while the two of you carried some food from the tavern on the way home. Her trembling hands ruined the cake for Kamran’s birthday, but you were fortunately able to piece it back together. That was when Collei explained her past to you when you got home.

So seeing that Wanderer had a similar past, you had a glimpse of why he wished for revenge. For the first time, you felt like you understood him.

And that was why you'd never go back home.

Faruzan left for the night as the rest of you made your way back to Gandharva Ville. Collei had her bed back and you slept on the floor again but this time with Wanderer next to you. After staring up at the ceiling, you turned on your side to face him and inched a little closer to him.

“What do you think you're doing?” he asked.

You sighed, lying on your back once again. Collei was already fast asleep.

“Nothing. I'm doing absolutely nothing.”

*****

Wanderer clicked his tongue as you dragged him to the House of Dana for the third time this week. The meeting with Faruzan only concluded with what the two of you didn't want to hear: the next logical move was to see that woman.

You had been sleeping in more. It wouldn't have been a cause of concern if you were merely going to bed later than usual. But there were instances where you had trouble getting out of bed, almost lethargic at times. You would quickly regain your energy after eating breakfast, but Tighnari had instructed to keep an eye on your condition.

But you? You were ignoring it.

You continued with the work for your internship, not even addressing the issue of him being stuck to you anymore. He didn't care much either since he was forced to tolerate you and your habits the longer you were together. You would even compromise to his wants when he used to have to force his way instead. It was like you simply accepted that you'd never find a solution to being attached to him.

Until you had fainted.

Wanderer had caught you once again and this time it had taken you two days before you had woken up. And he had to remain by your side as Collei nursed you back to health.

“At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if you just decided to drop me at the ravine over there,” he joked.

It was the obvious solution to your deteriorating health. Just let go of the one who was draining the energy out of you.

“No,” you said. Your answer was firm.

So now here you were in the House of Dana in the dead of night, flipping through any book you could find in hopes of finding a way to keep you both alive. The topics varied widely: mechanical core applications, Archon energy manipulation, ways to access Irminsul, vishap creation myths… the list went on.

“I have no clue how to even pronounce half of these words,” you said, groaning into your hands. You sat on the cold tile floor, leaning your back against his. A book laid on your lap from the ancient alchemy section and neither of you were an expert in the area. “I should just ask some of the scholars in the other departments.”

“And how exactly do you plan on bribing them to do the work for you?” Wanderer chided.

“We could at least ask,” you replied. “There's no harm in trying.”

Wanderer closed his own book. Learning about the history of runes wasn't going anywhere. “Let's go to Inazuma.”

You didn't reply. This was exactly how he thought you were going to react. You had shut down all conversations related to Inazuma, even more so lately, and you tended to avoid whatever you didn't like.

So you didn't talk to him. You continued to look through your stack of books and it slowly dwindled as the hours went by. You let out a yawn and the next thing he knew you had audaciously cuddled against him and wrapped your arms around his elbow.

“What do you think you're–”

“The war in Inazuma created a food shortage,” you told him.

Wanderer raised a brow. That was an abrupt change of topic. And because he was a being who didn't understand hunger, he couldn't empathize.

“What's this got to do with anything?” he asked.

You went quiet again. The library was empty, now nearing dusk, and its high ceiling gave a feeling of hollowness. Your voice had a slight tremble in its timber, but you carried on as if it was nothing of importance.

“My brother was a fisherman,” you said with a smile, but he could feel the rise and fall off your breath against his shoulder. “He didn't worship Orobashi like the rest of the island. He was loyal to the Electro Archon and I never understood why.”

“Why are you even telling me this?” Wanderer asked. “Did you think I'd care?”

You shoved his shoulder. “Can't you just listen?”

“Why would I bother listening to another person's sob story?”

“Ugh. Forget it,” you said, pinching the bridge of your nose. “Why did I even try?”

You picked up another book and Wanderer returned to his. He didn't understand why you thought he could give you any comfort. He didn't remember much from Watatsumi either. His dealings were limited to the delusion factory and nothing was particularly relevant to him from that island besides the Resistance.

He flipped a page but his attention was elsewhere. After a few more pages and a sigh, he finally asked, “Did you go hungry too?”

“What?”

“Forget it,” he said. “If you don't want to answer the question, I'm not going to force you.”

“Seriously? You shut me down just to ask again?”

“You know, I don't even get why you want to tell me.”

“I brought it up because I thought you'd want to know why I don't want to go to Inazuma,” you said, slamming your book shut. “And I thought maybe, just maybe, you could understand because of what happened to you with the Fatui. I could understand why you'd want to avoid them too.”

“Ha. You think I'm scared of them?” he said.

“That's not what I said–”

“I simply just have no reason to associate with them. If anything, I'd rather not go back to Inazuma either.”

You were about to throw back a remark at him, but instead you stopped and you sighed and you rubbed the temples of your forehead. You muttered to yourself something about calming down and you fiddled with the spine of your book.

A moment or two later, you tried talking to him again. “Did you have bad memories in Inazuma too?” you asked.

He sighed and shifted his legs to a more comfortable position. “Why do you even bother asking?” he said, rolling his eyes. “Everything was fine and dandy every single time I was there.”

Despite his sarcasm, you didn't add anything else. You went silent as if you didn't want to touch the topic anymore. He wouldn't care either way. It was over and done with and he was glad you didn't try to comfort him. But was that really what he wanted? Just another person who let him be, and not interfere with the status quo?

He shook his head. No. It was better this way. You wouldn't want to see him when his feathers were ruffled the wrong way. Or worse, like that wild dog that bit Niwa while it was in pain. He was an idiot for nursing it back to health. Wanderer let out a sigh, remembering when his wife scolded him for getting hurt.

You eventually fell asleep on the library floor, giving up on your struggle to keep your eyes open. The amount of effort you'd put into this was absurd. Did you really want to avoid Inazuma at all costs?

You tugged on his arm as you stirred on the floor and he couldn't believe how troublesome you were. With a scoff, he lifted your arm up and muttered to himself about how fortunate you were that Nahida's home was close by. You'd better not slap him when you wake up.

Wanderer attempted to prop you up on his back, but something got caught in one of the books. It was the bandages from your arm and it began to unravel. Wanderer scrambled to reach for it, only for the whole thing to fall apart anyway. He awkwardly froze with no clue how to proceed. If he bent down to pick it up, you'd wake up. Wait. Why did he care anyway?

But before he could fully change his mind, your arm caught his eye. It had mostly healed and when he lifted your sleeve to take a look at it, he saw a scar that he never noticed when he tended your wounds. It was distinct from the burn you got from protecting him. He had seen this type of wound before from a delusion, a delusion made from crystal marrow, and it had been years since he’d seen one.

He decided he might as well bring you to Nahida's. You'd just have to get your wounds dressed again there, whenever you decided to wake up of course. The sun was rising as students began to make their way into the Akademiya. A few familiar faces turned their heads, gawking at the two of you. He rolled his eyes wondering if they had never seen a sleeping student before as he carried you through the school.

*****

I hope you enjoyed this! Thanks for reading and if you take the time to leave a comment, I appreciate them so much!

If you want to be tagged for future chapters, you can use this Google form or just let me know.

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starglitterz · 3 months

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➵ series masterlist.

❝ sub floreis lumen sagacitatis. ❞

━ under the flowers is the light of wisdom.

masterlist index.

cynosure. - streamer!xiao x fem!reader (complete) ★

-> you and xiao are genmates under the famed streamer company genshin impact. the chemistry between the two of you is undeniable, and your fanbases absolutely love your collaborations. but when you both start meeting up offline more and more, your connection starts to deepen past just harmless flirting and playful banter. with these real feelings starting to affect both your job and reputation online, how will you two react when your relationship becomes the internet’s cynosure?

to all the boys i've loved before. - genshin men x gn!reader (complete)

-> a short series based on my own personal experiences with love and crushes. a sort of messy goodbye to all the boys i’ve loved before.

serendipity. - scaramouche x fem!reader (ongoing)

-> when you, a waitress at the local coffee shop, are paired up with the new recruit scaramouche, you're pretty sure both of you are going to get fired within a week. he's just quit being a social media influencer and after being forced to work here to make ends meet, he's ready to let everyone there know how much he hates it. the worst part? you can't shake the feeling that you know him from somewhere. but as he slowly warms up to you, scaramouche realises that having a fresh start isn't that bad after all, and perhaps the two of you meeting like this was pure serendipity.

elysian - various genshin men x gn!reader (ongoing)

-> when you lose your job out of the blue, you’re pretty sure this is the end of the road for you. at least until you reconnect with your childhood best friend aether and he offers you your ideal job and a place to stay. the only condition is that his office will be behind the store you’ll be running, and under no circumstances are you permitted to enter. that’s how you begin your new life as a florist, though you’re not sure how to focus on working when aether seems to have too many pretty boys working both for and against him. your fresh start gets a whole lot more interesting when you discover just how many secrets these men are hiding, but somehow you think you’ll still be able to find the elysian ending of your dreams.

selcouth - xiao x fem!reader, scaramouche x fem!reader (coming soon)

#🗺 — navigation !#✏️ — quill writes !#genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #genshin fluff #genshin angst #genshin impact smau #genshin series #genshin smau #genshin impact fluff #genshin impact angst #genshin impact series

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idyllic-affections · 5 months

Text

MORAL INJURY — a non-romance genshin impact series. ♫

written by aphelion & banner by @www-brontide!!

➤ SYNOPSIS :: il dottore's most respected and skilled agent—the lab assistant, [surname] [name]—has, regrettably, committed a high form of treason. after being on the run for several years, cautiously avoiding nations with high fatui activity and never once setting foot back in snezhnaya, they decide to build a new life under a new identity in a new nation—mondstadt. the flames have not yet settled, though, and their pursuer has not yet given up. a worringly life-threatening game of cat and mouse, indeed, but all [name] can do is shrug and say, "you get used to it after some time."

➤ CONTENT WARNINGS :: mild depictions of torture, blood, human experimentation, murder, kidnapping, abuse of power, dottore is his own warning fr, depictions of trauma and c-ptsd, self-hatred, survivor's guilt, etc etc.

➤ MAIN CAST :: il dottore (& some of his segments), pantalone, scaramouche, the tsaritsa, collei, aether + paimon, jean, nahida.

main cast members either appear often, are mentioned often, are relevant to the plot, or appear once but will appear again later!

➤ SUPPORTING CAST :: baizhu, beidou, tighnari, cyno, childe, krupp, elchingen.

supporting cast members either appear occasionally, are mentioned occasionally, or play their roles only once or twice and are not pivotal to the plot!

➤ UPDATE SCHEDULE :: to be honest, i update whenever i am ready to! there is no set schedule.

➤ NOTES :: as is true with all the content i create, there is no romance in this series. all relationships are strictly platonic and often familial. individual content warnings will be posted at the top of each chapter; the general content warnings on this post will be updated as time goes on and as new chapters are posted. the information in this post, particularly regarding the cast, may or may not change as i develop the story. i only have act i written/outlined; as such, nothing beyond that is set in stone.

➤ TAGLIST :: @www-brontide, @umgatochamadopercyval, @starryshinyskies, @zeldadou, @pookiebearcave, @lesanyanyas, @francisnyx. contact me through messages/asks/etc non-anonymously to be added.

➤ ACT I.

i silence. ii the motherland. tbd.

➤ ACT II.

tbd.

#: [ moral injury! 🌸 ]#platonic genshin x reader #platonic genshin impact #platonic genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #i don't know if either of my writing networks would accept this series LMAO #it gets kind of. Rough. especially in the early chapters #genshin impact series #genshin series #genshin angst #genshin fluff

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versadies · 2 years

Text

CHAPTER TWELVE || MARJORIE

SYPNOSIS (of chapter). in which you and diluc spend the rest of your night together in the streets of mondstadt after the reception.

SYPNOSIS (of series). breaking up with your first love was heartbreaking, but not as heartbreaking as getting invited to his wedding after years of not seeing him. that is, until things seem to be easier when you encounter a certain guest, who could end up being more than just a blooming friend to you.

CHARACTERS. kamisato ayato and diluc ragnvindr (w/ gn!reader)

CONTENT. fluff, modern au, cheesy, no pain just pure fluff, ooc!diluc (?), not properly proof-read, no tw as far as ik :))

PENPALS. @scaraslover @saving-for-xiao @dawgimsohot @kazu-topia @chiruru @aqualesha @renamichii @mrkamisato @shenhesl0ver @serami00 @serenareiss @hiqhkey @emperatris-rinaka @bystander36 @irisxiel @ladycoleigh @034ven @dear-dairiess @owozi8 @hadesaedes @chiro-chiro-kun @hersscherofyatta @mariusvonhangme @yuzuricebun @hoshikistarlette @solaaresque @crowbird @lordbugs @flowersforayato @headintheclouddd @estelwrld @giyusimpsassemble @irethepotatosblog @moonlightaangel @alice0blog @shotosbrainrot @sniffoat @chihawari @mxsomn @kuni-kuzushii @jiminscarmex @mitsukii14 @nejibot @ylimeprive @sachispet @loreleis-world @sn-owo @starforecasts @someonetookmynamelmao @ceylestia @koshiisu @ymikkos @reallysporadicarcade @elychee @rion-s @denkineptune @franini @sophisticatedleslie @thedivinepriestress @smashsubs @httpmitsuya @bl6o6dy @cottonkendi (please visit this post if you'd like to be tagged!)

WORD COUNT. 4.3k words

LINKS. EVERMORE MASTERLIST \ MAIN MASTERLIST \ EVERMORE SURVEY

POST SCRIPT. feel free to check my notes for any clarifications from certain sentences that has (1), (2), etc.. :DDD

PREVIOUS || NEXT

It was at this night when Diluc realizes you’re one unpredictable person.

When he suggested to go and explore more around Mondstadt after the reception party, he never thought you’d ask if he’s going to go with you. Of course, he accepted seeing how he has no other things to do tonight, much to your delight.

Hence how you find yourselves walking out of the hotel together, the bouquet that somehow managed to land on you is now in the hands of Zhongli, who’s willing to bring it up in the room as he bids you farewell and a safe trip.

To his relief, the both of you agreed to come explore around a certain area of the city that’s quiet. The last thing he needs is people being curious and spreading news of why the wine tycoon’s with a “mysterious stranger” who’s just a friend to him.

The whole time throughout the stroll, the two of you were chatting about what you’d want for your weddings thanks to how you’re supposedly the next person to get married because of the bouquet of flowers(1).

Diluc honestly never thought he’d ever have a comfortable conversation with someone about what they want with weddings until now – if anything, your conversations with him brought him the simplest things he didn’t even know about himself.

“If you’d have to choose your cake for your wedding, what flavor would it have?” You ask.

“...Anything, I suppose. It all depends on what makes my spouse satisfied, really.” He answers. “But if they’d ask what I want if they can’t decide, I suppose chocolate flavored doesn’t sound bad.”

Before you could enter your own opinion about your question, you perk up at the sound of someone playing a violin somewhere near the area around you. People can still street perform at this hour? (2)

“It seems there are still street performers at night.” Diluc commented, looking around to look for the source of the music. “Would you like to see one?”

Your eyes brighten. “I don’t see why not.”

The both of you then look for the performer, relying on the sound to find your destination. It wasn’t really difficult nor did it take you long, it was only a few minutes of walking and turning directions while you grin in excitement when you two finally found the person behind the music. There were a few people around him – his audience – who all happily listened to the beautiful sounds of the violin playing.

You and Diluc decided to stand idly by and watch from a spot that’s near where everyone is, it’s enough to be far from those watching but near enough to see the performer and hear the music more. The performer is effortlessly playing the violin that’s in sync with the speaker behind him that’s playing out the piano.

You can’t help but sway left and right a little, something that did not go unnoticed by your companion, who can’t help but watch in adoration and amusement.

He immediately looks away from your direction as soon as you turn your head to the side to look at him. “Do you play any instrument?” You asked suddenly, your tone hushed but curious.

Diluc glances at your way before looking back at the performer, trying to act natural. “...Yes. I play the violin as well.”

You felt taken back by surprise. “Really? Do you play on a daily basis?”

He shakes his head. “I don’t use it as a hobby, I just know how to play it because of the lessons I took when I was a kid.”

“Would you play it if someone requests you to?” You ask.

“Depends on who it is.” He responds, crossing his arms.

“What if it’s me?”

“That’s debatable.”

“Is that a yes or no?”

“What do you think?”

“...Yes?”

Diluc can’t help but chuckle at that. “...I’ll think about it.”

You cheered. “That’s the spirit.”

After a few minutes, the performance finally ends. You and Diluc decide to come up to the performer and place a few mora on the violin case that seems to be piled up with other mora given by the audience, who are giving him an applause.

“Thank you Mx. and Mister. May the wind lead you.” The performer spoke up gratefully, not recognizing Diluc much to your relief.

You and Diluc nodded in acknowledgement. “Likewise. Your performance is beautiful, Mister.” You replied happily before walking away with your companion.

In just a few moments, another song starts playing, this time it’s more of a romantic one as the performer glances at where you and Diluc left off.

“Ah, that was a nice performance, isn’t it?” You comment happily, continuing your stroll around the quiet streets.

“It is.” Diluc hums, hiding his small smile from the amusing image of you swaying while watching the performance.

“Where should we go next?” You wondered, looking around your surroundings in hopes of finding something that catches your eye. “Do you have any place to go in mind?”

The man thinks about it for a moment. “We could visit the Market District. They sell foods and items that I think you’d like.” He suggests.

You didn’t give it any thought, agreeing to his suggestion straight away. “Let’s go there then! I think a cute souvenir to bring home sounds nice.”

“Let’s go then.”

And so you’re off to your next destination.

Unlike how you found the street performer, it took you and Diluc quite a while to get to the Market District until you arrived at last after a couple of turns. When you arrive, you’re met with the sight of the area that’s filled with shops, food booths and people walking around, who didn’t notice the fact that Diluc Ragnvindr himself is among them.

The aroma of foods being cooked and served instantly hits your nose, and you could almost feel your mouth watering at the thought of getting your hands on those delicious snacks.

“Shall we?” Diluc spoke up, causing you to look at him.

“We shall!” You replied enthusiastically before dragging your companion towards the bustling streets.

The both of you look at each shop and food booths you pass by, not noticing how close you two are due to the crowd around you.

You then stop when you see the sight of keychains displayed that have flowers, birds, wine bottles, and everything that represents Mondstadt as designs. Bingo!

“Do you want to get one?” Diluc suddenly asks, pointing at the booth that sells the said keychains.

You nodded in response. “Yes. I can use that for my bag.”

“Let’s go then before it closes.”

As you and Diluc walk towards the booth, the person selling the items quickly notices you both and waves at you. “Ah, welcome, welcome, Mx. and Mister! You made a good choice coming here to buy my products! Which one catches your eye?” She chirped.

You look at each keychain that’s displayed in front of you until you notice a keychain that resembles Mondstadt’s beautiful Anemo symbol.

You pointed at the keychain. “I’d like to buy that one please.”

The woman looks at where you’re pointing, letting out an “ah” before grabbing it. “Good choice, Mx! We hope you show the symbol of this land off with pride and happiness.”

“I certainly will.”

“And how about you, Mister? Would you like to purchase a keychain as well?”

Diluc shakes his head in response. “No need, I’m just here to keep them company.”

The woman nodded, walking towards her cashier as she brought out a paper bag. “You can just give me your payment and you’re good to go. That will be 1000 mora please.”

You then give her your payment as the woman hands you off the package that has the keychain inside, bidding you goodbye the moment you and Diluc walk away.

Throughout the walk, you and Diluc saw a lot of things and tried out almost everything. Be it the sunglasses booth whereas you try to find a good sunglasses that matches Diluc – only to find yourself making him put on a huge star glasses that made you laugh so much from how he looked so serious, the perfume booth where you tried out some perfumes with your companion, and mostly food booths where you ate snacks that originated from Mondstadt, Inazuma, and some other regions.

The one that’s memorable for you is certainly when you and Diluc encountered a photo booth, causing you to persuade your friend into taking pictures together to have at least something that has a reminder of this night. To your delight, he accepted it.

You two then proceeded to enter the booth, settling on your seats and preparing for the camera to shoot you.

“Alright, ready?” You ask as Diluc fixes his clothing.

“Yes.” He responds.

“Okay, I’ll press the button then!” Without another pause, you instantly pressed the button at the bottom of the screen that shows you and Diluc, causing a 10 second countdown to begin. “Since the photos are only five, we could do two casual pictures and three poses?”

“Sounds alright to me.”

After a few minutes, you walked out from the photobooth with Diluc, excited to see the pictures that’ll come out from the booth. When you did, you were satisfied with it.

In all honesty, it was you who did most of the poses and facial expressions. Diluc was either having a blank face, a confused look on his face, and hilariously: a thumbs-up as a response to your hand that’s making a half heart, and a half-heart as a response to your hand that’s making a peace sign, something that made you laugh endlessly the moment the pictures were processed outside.

He’ll admit, it was funny to see the last two pictures, but what made him almost laugh was how infectious your laughter is. Anyone who’d look at your direction would be able to notice how his shoulders are shaking due to him holding his laughter.

As soon as your laughter dies, the two of you then go to the last stop, which is a food stall that’s selling the infamous chicken-mushroom skewers, causing you to tap Diluc’s arm and gesture him to the food stall eagerly the moment you see the booth.

The red-haired man looks at where you’re pointing at and agrees to go there, causing you to drag him to the stall much to his surprise.

“Welcome, Mx. and Mister! What would you two like for this fine evening?” The vendor greeted you with a smile.

“Two chicken-mushroom skewers, please.” Diluc responds, a bit breathless from you rushing towards the food booth while dragging him.

As your orders are being cooked, you two wait beside the booth and continue your conversation.

“Are you having fun?” He asks.

You nodded happily. “Yeah, I enjoy our time here. It was a good idea for us to come and stroll around the city after the reception, thanks for keeping me company.”

“It’s no problem. I’m happy I was able to take you around Mondstadt.” He responds, his lips twitching upwards. “If you’d like, I could take you to the Plaza Park that’s somewhere near the Market District. Not a lot of people visit there at this hour as far as I know.”

“I’d be delighted! We can go there once we get the skewers if that’s alright with you.”

“Of course.”

As if on cue, the vendor is finished with your orders at last, handing it out to you both.

“If I may, I can’t help but want to comment about how you two are one wonderful couple! You certainly remind me of my youthful days with my dear wife.” The vendor explains honestly with a laugh, causing you and Diluc to feel flustered.

“O-Oh you got it all wrong, Mister! We’re not a couple.” You clarified with an embarrassed laugh.

The vendor stops laughing, looking shocked. “Oh, my bad! I apologize – I assumed you were together that way..” He said in embarrassment.

“It’s alright, here’s your payment for the food, Mister.” Diluc said, giving the mora to the vendor.

“Oh you didn’t have to pay for my food too, Diluc! I could always pay on my own.” You spoke.

“I insist. It’s on me.” Diluc reassures you. “Shall we go then?”

Reluctantly, you agreed, causing the two of you to start walking towards the nearest street that can lead you to the park. “Alright, if you insist.”

As soon as you and Diluc are out of the vendor’s sight, the vendor can’t help but sigh. “What a shame, they look like they’d be a wonderful couple.” He commented to himself.

The two of you spend the entire journey towards the park eating your chicken-mushroom skewers, making sure to stick together to not get lost from the crowd. It doesn't take long before you’re finally out of the place and see the park that’s not too far away from where you and Diluc exited from.

When you arrive at the park, you’re already finished with your snack.

“Ah, I’m so full.” You comment, throwing the stick to the trash bin that’s beside the entrance with Diluc following. “What’s the park like?”

“It’s quiet and peaceful. Usually I’d come to visit whenever I encountered it. They have a good view of the stars above.” Diluc answers, causing you to look up at the sky when he mentions the stars, only to be in awe at the lovely sight of the night sky above you two.

“The stars are beautiful tonight.” You spoke. “Usually I only look at it when I want to stargaze or wish for something.”

“Oh? What kind of wish is it?”

You smile sheepishly. “It’s kind of embarrassing and super cheesy…” You comment shyly.

“Try me.” Diluc said, now curious.

Hesitantly, you gave in. “Fine, I usually just wish for my dreams to come true.”

“Don’t worry about it being embarrassing and cheesy, everyone does that.” He reassures you.

You raise an eyebrow with a teasing smile. “Even you?”

He clears his throat, turning away. “...I suppose.”

“What do you dream about then?”

Diluc thinks about it for a while before he answers, “I dream of.. feeling home again.”

Your eyes widen a bit. You expected his dream to be somewhat related to his business – or even love – but not this. “What do you mean by that?” You ask.

“...The place I live in is anything but home.” He answers honestly. “I’m only living there because it’s one of the only things I have left that belongs to my father. It just feels… wrong for me to leave it.”

You frowned. “Won’t your father want you to leave it?”

“I’m not sure.” He responds with an unsure tone, looking up at the sky. “There’s a lot of things I’m not sure about my father anymore, but… maybe there’ll come a day when I decide to leave it. For now, I’m content with what I have.”

Diluc then looks at you. “What about you? What do you dream about?”

You think about it as well, then the memory of your conversation with Chisato’s father as well as what you found out about Ayato’s suffering from that cruel man flashes in your head, causing you to frown a bit. “I guess… I dream of the world to shine true.”

The man raises his eyebrows upward in surprise. “What does that mean?”

“I dream that someday, the world can be a place where evil can’t go unpunished as dawn comes and goes.” You explain, letting out a longing sigh as you look at the stars. “Isn't it sad that there are evil people who are getting away with what they’ve done?”

Something flashes in Diluc’s eyes. “Of course..”

You then smile, looking back at him. “Enough about that, shall we find a spot and stargaze?”

Without a thought, he agrees willingly. “Of course.”

It took you and Diluc to find a good spot to look at the sky for only a few minutes, when you did, Diluc was kind enough to put his tuxedo jacket on the grass for you to lie down on.

For the next hour, you spent your last destination looking at the stars, pointing out all the constellations you see all the while you talk to him more about your dreams and his, your laughter and his chuckles fills the silence of the park.

“Ooo I see the Noctua constellation!” You point out, staring in awe at the constellation that has the shape of an owl as you lie next to each other.

“Which one’s your favorite?” Diluc asks.

“I’m not sure, all the ones I know of are definitely beautiful. What about you?”

He points at where you’re pointing at. “The Noctua constellation. It reminds me of my pet bird.”

“You have a pet bird–?!”

“( Name )? Is that you?”

Your conversation with Diluc is stopped abruptly when you hear a familiar voice, one who you never thought you’d see in a place such as Mondstadt, causing you to sit up and look around to find the source of the voice.

Your eyes brighten at the sight of a familiar man.

“Heizou!?” You exclaim, quickly standing up from the ground. “Is that you?!”

If there’s one person you can count on when it comes to police-related matters, Heizou is your guy. The two of you go way back before high school and have always teased you whenever he has the chance, but you’d be lying if you said you didn’t like his company back when you were kids. He’s also incredibly smart, so it’s no surprise he ended up being a detective in the infamous Inazuma Police Force.

The young man laughs in shock when he learns it’s you, immediately walking towards you. “Well consider me impressed, I never thought you’d be in Mondstadt! weren’t you working in Liyue?” He asks, wrapping his arms around you happily, causing you to laugh in response and hug him back.��

“Of course I am! I’m just taking a vacation here.” You explained, not noticing how Diluc stands up as well from the ground and watches you two with a complicated look on his face.

“What about you? What brings you to Mondstadt?” You ask.

“Ah well, let’s say it’s work related.” He said, scratching his head. “But enough about me, may I say how absolutely breathtaking you look? Wait, are you on a date?!”

Suddenly, Heizou looks at where Diluc is. “Hey Mister, you better be treating ( Name ) good–”

You immediately stop the young man from talking any further by covering his mouth with your hands, flustered by his quick assumptions. What’s up with people mistaking you and Diluc as a couple?! “Oh my gosh, Heizou no! My friend Diluc and I are just spending time tonight after a reception party. We were exploring all around the street and was just stargazing.” You clarified, letting go of his hand.

“Diluc? Why does that sound familiar?” Heizou asks before looking down at his watch. “I’m sure it doesn’t matter, but I should be going now before I’m late. It’s a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Diluc, and it’s a pleasure seeing you, ( Name )!”

“Aw, it’s a pleasure seeing you too, Heizou.” You said, giving him one last hug before seeing him off. “I’ll text you when I get back!”

“You better! We should get out and eat sometime!”

“Only if you pay!”

As you watch Heizou walk away until he’s out of your vision, you immediately look at where Diluc is, who’s still standing there with a blank expression on his face.

“You alright?” You ask, coming towards your companion. “Sorry, I hope you weren’t bothered by what my cousin said.”

“...Cousin?” Diluc raises an eyebrow from that word. “Wait, he’s your cousin?”

“...Yeah?” You raise an eyebrow as well, confused with what your friend is trying to imply. “What did you think we were?”

He clears his throat in response, a bit embarrassed. “I thought he’s an old friend of yours, that’s why I was surprised. He’s a nice guy, I suppose.”

“He is.” You agreed with a happy hum. “He’s a great detective. I haven’t seen him ever since I left Inazuma.”

Your face slowly fell. “I guess… the same goes with you when I come back to Liyue. I’m not sure when I’ll ever get back here anyway.. I won’t be able to see nor talk to you at all.” You spoke, shoulders slump when you realize you won’t be seeing Diluc next week.

The same goes with your friend, who is a bit taken back when he realizes that fact too.

You then look down at your phone for the time and see 00:00, causing you to look at Diluc with an awkward smile. “I should come back now to the hotel, it’s already midnight and I’m sure Zhongli’s going to worry that I’m out for long.” You said, keeping your phone away.

“I’ll come with you.” He said, getting his tuxedo jacket from the ground and shaking the grass off.

“Oh no need, I don’t want to–”

“You do know I’m still staying in the Goth Grand Hotel… right?”

“...Oh right…” You said, feeling your cheeks warming up in embarrassment. “I-I thought you were invited to serve the drinks?”

“Not exactly.” He responds. “I’m invited as a guest due to how the Kamisato family often collaborates with Angel’s Share in the business world, so you could say Mr. Kamisato and I are acquaintances.”

“Didn’t you say something about being invited to the wedding and reception because they liked your drinks?” You ask, recalling the time when you manage to encounter him in Angel’s Share. (3)

“I… I didn’t mean it when I said that.” He said, a little embarrassed. “I was too focused on making drinks to uh… realize what I said until it’s too late.”

The both of you remained silent, now embarrassed and awkward from the conversation you had.

Diluc clears his throat. “..We should get going.”

“Definitely.”

–

By the time you arrived at your doors, the two of you were reluctant to go to your respective rooms, still having a lot more to say to each other despite spending time for literally hours together.

“...I guess this is it.” You spoke up. “We can always chat tomorrow when we can, won’t we?”

Diluc nodded in response. “Of course… As long as we’re free.”

You then look at your door, but before you could reach out your hotel card to the door knob, the man behind you speaks up.

“Or… We could always message each other.” He suggests, causing you to stop yourself from unlocking your room.

You immediately turned around. “Are you serious?” You ask with brightened eyes. “You’re really willing to give me your number?”

“I trust that you won’t share such information with anyone, won’t you?” He said, bringing out his phone from his pocket.

You nodded in response, bringing out your phone as well. “Your secret’s safe with me. Here’s my phone number.”

The both of you then proceeded to exchange each other’s phone numbers willingly before bidding each other goodbye.

“It was nice spending time with you, Diluc. I had fun the whole night.” You said, unlocking your hotel room. “See you tomorrow.”

“Likewise, ( Name ).” Diluc responded. “Have a good night.”

“You too!”

As soon as you enter your room and close the door behind you, you immediately rush towards Zhongli, who’s surprisingly still awake at this hour.

“Zhongli, Zhongli! Guess what happened with Diluc!”

Meanwhile, as soon as Diluc enters his own room and closes his door, he immediately heads towards his bed and sits on it, covering his face with his hands with a loud sigh.

He has to admit, he hadn’t had so much fun until tonight. There was never a time when he thought about going back to the hotel nor did he think about other things besides the ones you’re talking about.

And before he knew it, his thoughts slowly drifted to you.

He remembers the time when you swayed from left to right slowly as the performer plays with the violin and later on starts playing a romantic song as soon as the both of you had left, the time when you and him were almost touching from how crowded the Market District was which led him to be in a daze from how flustered he was, the time when you were laughing so hard at what he did in the photo booth that made him feel starstrucked at the sound that makes him want to hear it again and again, the time when he looks at you as you point out all the constellations you see at the sky as if the both of you are lying down on the softest bed you’re sharing, the time when he gained the courage to ask for your number,

And the time when he felt jealous because of Heizou, who turned out to be just your cousin.

Get it together, Diluc. He thought to himself strictly. You don’t deserve this. It won’t happen at all, you have no right.

Suddenly, he hears his phone vibrating in his pocket, causing him to put his hands away from his face and pulls out his phone to look at the message sent, his eyes brightening when he realizes it’s your number and quickly opens his phone.

His lips twitched upward when he reads your message, his fingers start typing out a response and press the send button.

Diluc doesn’t know why, but he starts feeling nervous the moment he sends his message, waiting for you to reply as well. Does his message sound too cold? Did he use emoticons right?

A minute later, you responded.

He sighs in relief that you didn’t point out anything about his message, but he feels a bit disappointed that the conversation ended so shortly. He responds to your last message with a simple one.

With that, he turns off his phone and puts it aside, letting out yet another sigh.

If he’s nervous about how he responds to your messages, he can’t imagine how he’ll feel later when he wakes up.

PREVIOUS || NEXT

DAN'S NOTES

"...thanks to how you’re supposedly the next person to get married because of the bouquet of flowers(1)."

there's a belief that whoever catches the bride's flowers is supposedly the next person to get married or have a wedding.

"People can still street perform at this hour? (2)"

in this au, one of the things that makes mondstadt different from the rest of the regions is the fact that street performers can perform all night as long as they're far from apartments and houses, unlike the rest of the regions.

“Didn’t you say something about being invited to the wedding and reception because they liked your drinks?” You ask, recalling the time when you manage to encounter him in Angel’s Share. (3)

this was actually an oopsie of mine and forgot the fact that he was personally invited by ayato and chisato when i wrote the angel’s share scene so sorry for that ( >_< ) !!!

“but dan, who would invite a guest to their wedding and make them work?!?!?!”

obv it’d be rude to invite someone to your wedding and make them work, so chisato and ayato wouldn’t dare to do that. it was diluc himself who offered to serve drinks to other guests since he isn’t much a fan to waste time doing something such as eating and watching people play games and dance instead of doing work, so the wedding couple — tho a bit reluctantly — accepted it.

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alatusprinz · 11 months

Text

Matsuri - Multi-Chapter Fic Series Masterlist (Xiao x F!Reader x Scaramouche)

Modern!UniStudents!AU - STATUS : ONGOING.

花祭り夏祭り - 何でも好きに選びなあなたの心の中咲かせな。

summary: you met both of them at your college festival. one reminded you of sunsets and calm spring breeze, while the other was a stormy night, an indigo shadow that held you close in your darkest nights. [ Drummer!Xiao and Artist!Scara]

genre: slowburn, fluff, sexual content in upcoming chapters

send an ask or comment to be added to the taglist!

Chapter 1 - Matsuri.

Chapter 2 - Someday.

Chapter 3 - TBA.

---

“But you don’t act like it, heck you don’t even acknowledge my presence both in person and through text! how am I supposed to know anything about your feelings-”

“I don’t know, you’re the first person I’ve ever felt this way before!”

A heavy silence filled the suffocatingly close distance from Xiao’s face and yours. With drumsticks in his one hand, his already-pale fingers seems to turn even paler from his firm grip on the wooden pieces. You took a moment to notice how his thin lips were trembling, his normally proudly straightened posture seemed hunched and reserved, how his amber eyes were avoiding yours desperately.

You finally realized how nervous he was.

“You're nervous.” You hated how questioningly meek your voice sounded from the unexpected proximity you two were in amidst the heat of the argument.

"...So are you." He was so close, you felt his slightly quivering breath hit your face- neither of you pulling away.

---

"He doesn't give a fuck about you, (Name)." You winced at his harsh tone as he tried his best to sound composed but he'd be damned if he didn't tell the truth to you when you were hurting so much in front of his eyes.

"Shut up..." You whispered, i don't want to hear it, i don't want to hear it- you repeated the words in your head impatiently as Scara's sharp words forced you to see the bitter truth.

"You need to face reality-"

"i can't right now, can't you see? i can't control it, i love-" His indigo eyes flashed a glimpse of quiet anger as his body moves beyond his control, gripping your wrist tightly to stop you from finishing your sentence. He didn't want to hear it. "Don't you dare finish that sentence."

"What's it to you? You just hang around me to piss me off don't you? In truth maybe you find amusement in my misery. You always did." Scaramouche gritted his teeth in frustration at how dense and stubborn you were being, making this infinitely harder than it has to be. With a tug on your wrist to pull your body in close to his, he faced your eyes and finally lets it off his chest-

"Maybe if you had half the mind to take your eyes off that drummer who obviously doesn't care about you, you'd see who actually fucking does!"

You didn't know who was more surprised the moment he finished speaking between you and him.

#genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #xiao x reader #scaramouche x reader #wanderer x reader #genshin impact xiao smut #genshin impact series #xiao x reader x scaramouche #xiao x reader x scara #scaramouche x reader x xiao #scara x reader x xiao #genshin impact modern au #modern au xiao #modern au scara #xiao x reader fluff #scaramouche x reader fluff #wanderer x reader fluff

313 notes · View notes

acaaai-t · 11 months

Text

resurface, my love

00. eyes on you

[fem! reader x villain! scaramouche]

cw: mentions of bombs, terrorists attacks, dead bodies, a tiny sprinkle of both fluff and angst, kissing scene, mild cursing

Where did it all start?

When did all this happen?

Why you?

…

Scaramouche is pretty.

Yet his prettiness doesn’t match up with his aggravating personality. It was no wonder why he was always seen alone by himself.

In a way, you pitied him. Maybe that’s what drove your 8 year old self to approach the lone boy.

Grasping your boxed lunch in your tiny hands, you hopped onto the available seat next to the purple hair boy and set your bento down. He gave you a weird look, but said nothing.

You clasped your hands together and muttered a quick thank you before opening your lunch, revealing a row of egg and ham sandwiches neatly tucked against each other.

You picked up a sandwich and offered it to him. “Want one?”

He wrinkled his nose and shook his head. “I don’t like ham,” he said.

“Where’s your lunch? Won’t you be hungry?”

“I don’t bring lunch, and no, I won’t get hungry,” he grumbled, annoyed by your questions.

You rolled your eyes and stuffed a bite of the sandwich into your mouth. “Whatever,” you muttered.

The next day, you brought in two separate lunches, each wrapped up in a different color cloth— one in royal purple, one in a sage green. When lunchtime finally came around, you immediately set out to find Scaramouche.

It took a bit of searching, but eventually you found the grumpy little boy hiding up on a tree secluded from others.

“Hey!” you shouted, waving to the small figure sitting on the tree.

No reply.

“Hey I brought you lunch!” you tried again, yet it was as if he was purposefully ignoring your presence.

“Oh whatever, I’ll just leave it here,” you said, setting down the purple bento by the base of the tree. “Just make sure to return the lunchbox to me by the end of the day.”

And with that, you ran off, nearly tripping over the sticks that litter the grass.

Scaramouche kept his eyes trained on your figure as you run off, all until you disappear under the blinding sunlight. It was only then did he slowly climbed down from the tree to retrieve the lunch you left him.

He hesitated. Nobody had ever treated him this nicely before, there must be a catch to this. There’s always a catch. His grip on the lunchbox tightened.

It would be a pity to let the food go to waste, but what if it’s all a trap? he stood there, his thoughts running wild. His self-consciousness— and his stomach, called for him to accept the food, yet another part of him screamed for him to throw it away.

In the end he gave in and took a seat under the shade of the tree, the cloth already unwrapped and folded neatly to the side. A slip of paper sat upon the bento— a note from you.

“HI. I wasn’t sure what you liked, but I did put some of my favorites in there. Enjoy your lunch :D”

He set the note aside and opened his lunch. His heart skipped a beat and his face flushed a light shade of pink.

You had made him a bento lunch art. Never in his life did he ever received something like this. It was so childish and so embarrassing.

It was a bunch of miniature rice pandas scattered about with egg rolls acting as flowers. Diced strawberries drizzled with dark chocolate sit in a small plastic container in the corner. There were tiny sausages sculpted in the shape of a octopus right next to the pandas. Sliced cucumbers laid aptly to the side, paired with two cherry tomatoes cut in half.

He nearly teared up. Despite how the art looked like it was made not by your parents but by yourself, he realized that nobody had ever put so much effort into him before.

He almost didn’t want to ruin it.

When classes had finally end, you skipped back to your seat with your friends still chattering as they followed. There sitting on your desk was your other bento box, neatly wrapped in the royal purple cloth. Laying on top of the bento was a folded piece of paper. You picked up the note.

A small thanks was hastily scribbled on with terrible handwriting. You smiled.

From then on it became a routine.

Everyday you would come in to school with an extra lunchbox to give to him, and everyday after school he would return the empty lunchbox back to you. Sometimes you’ll find a snack with a note, sometimes it’ll be a keychain.

Scaramouche never approached you directly to give his thanks, but you felt that an empty lunchbox and his small gifts was already more than enough.

This habit continued all the way through elementary and into your last year of high school. By then your collection of keychains had significantly grew. From a cat keychain to a air conditioner keychain— whatever it may be, there’s a chance that Scaramouche had gifted it to you already.

“Yoi look at what he gave me this time,” you giggled, dangling a badly drawn George Washington keychain in your hands.

Yoimiya stared at the keyring, dumbfounded. “That… how did he even find that? No, where did he even find that?”

You laughed. “He has his ways.”

Fire. Screams.

The sound of the late bell echoed through halls. You found yourself running around different classrooms, searching for Scaramouche.

“Where did Scara go?” you muttered angrily.

“Oh Scaramouche? He left early today,” your seatmate, Lumine, said.

“Already? He hasn’t given me my lunchbox yet…”

…

Where did your title as a hero come from?

“Hurry this way!” your voice hushed, urgency laced within.

Another explosion rocked the entire building, and you stumbled, just barely catching yourself. Your felt the grip on your hand slackened. Fear took a hold of your heart when your hand closed around nothing but the ashy air.

Immediately you turned back, adrenaline coursing through you as you search amongst the rubble and corpses. A faint glint of a jewelry caught your eyes. Nearly tripping over yourself, you scrambled over, taking a hold of the little girls hand once again before running for the exit. You didn’t dare look back, for you knew what awaits you. The walls collapsing one after another as the roaring flames blazes through.

A fiery death.

Shredded newspaper littered your room. Remnants of articles lay in the corner of your room in a pile of ash. Angry slashes marked the walls. Clothes a-strewn, curtain torn apart— the window shattered and boarded up. Noises of a news report filled the silence of your room, its voices blurring into static.

It mimicked your feelings.

A torrent of unquelled fury, one that screamed, raged.

A terrorist attack.

That was what the media called it. It was still unsure who was behind this attack despite the many claims as to who had done it. Proofs in form of photographs or surveillance videos of said suspect were all either too blurry to fully depict or it was just really badly edited.

During the attack, you had stayed behind while the bombs shook the building and the fire raged. And you ran, covered in ash and debris, carrying a unconscious girl in all the while leading a group of survivors— all the way until the promise of a safe haven was in sight.

Perhaps that rescue was what gave you the title as a hero, although for you— you didn’t deserve all that fame and glory.

In fact you hated it.

It was the media’s fault.

They had painted you as a hero, yet they had washed Scaramouche as the one that was behind the attacks. It was because of them that the public now flamed him as a villain.

They had painted an innocent bystander in red all because they needed a scapegoat, someone to shift the blame to because the police couldn’t do their damn job properly.

Had you known this would’ve been the outcome, you would’ve never cared for the lives still ghosting the halls.

Had you known, you would’ve just let them burn.

“Eye witnesses claimed that it was this… boy, who had done such atrocious acts. Any word on it, Ma—”

Click.

“It was terrifying… the look in his eyes. It.. was murderous, like he wanted everyone to burn. If it wasn’t for her, I would’ve have been able to escape…” her voice broke off into a sob. You switched the channel again.

“WANTED ALIVE—”

You threw the remote control at the television in a fit of rage, the screen immediately going blank. You didn’t care. It only adds on to your canvas of unfolding bitterness.

Your phone rang again. A string of calls and messages you chose to ignore. It’d been days since you’ve stepped out from your house, let alone answer any of the calls and messages.

A loud abrupt knock to your door jolt you out from your trance. You draped a light blanket over yourself and went to answer the door.

There standing in all his former and glory, was none other than Scaramouche himself.

Your breath hitched and the blanket slipped.

“Hey idiot,” he smiled, something he claimed to reserve only for you. “Mind letting me in?”

…

You pushed the piles of dirty dishes from the counter into the sink, not caring whether it breaks or not. The once quiet house was filled with the noises of dishes clanking against each other and Scaramouche— who was rummaging through the pile of buildup items.

“Quite the mess you’ve got,” he muses, holding up a piece of a broken mug.

“Where the hell have you been? I was worried sick,” you said, filling up a tea kettle with water.

“Hiding,” he simply replied.

“You didn’t attack the school, so why would you take the blame for it?” you slammed the kettle down onto the stovetop.

Scaramouche shrugged and plopped down on your couch.

“Now everyone is after you,” you continued, turning to face him. “And they even expect me to find you and bring you to the police.”

“They can’t find me, they won’t be able to,” Scaramouche said. “I’d say I’ve been hiding pretty well for these past few days.”

“And you didn’t even tell me? I was worried sick—” your voice broke off, hot tears welling up in the corner of your eyes.

Scaramouche could only sigh as he got off the couch. He came up to you and wrapped his arms around your waist, his body leaning against yours. “I’m sorry,” he said, resting his chin on your head.

A tear slipped.

“Don’t cry,” he mumbled.

You broke, pushing your full weight against Scaramouche as sobs racked through your body. He brought a hand up to your head, gently tussling through your hair— the only source of comfort he could bring for now.

Why me?

Why him?

“I hate you,” you said, your fists weakly hitting his chest. “I hate you so much…”

He swiped a tear away. It was futile. The storm had already begun. “Hey…”

You sniffed, wiping the tears off your face.

“Look at me,” he whispered.

You looked up, his purple eyes meeting yours. His thumb brushed against your lips, his face impossibly close to you. You could see every angle of his face, all the flawless imperfections he tries to hide. A light shade of pink dusted his cheeks.

“May I?”

All it took was a small nod from you for him to capture your lips in a kiss. A slow passionate kiss. Time slowed down. You felt the blood rush up to your head, your heart pounding against your chest.

His lips was soft, you noted, and slightly tasted like chocolate— could it be from the chapstick you gifted him before? It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. It was only you and him and that was enough. You closed your eyes and deepened the kiss, lacing your arms around his neck.

It was electrifying— your back arching against the counter and him pressed on top of you.

It felt so wrong yet so right at the same time.

He was the first to break the kiss. You already missed the taste of his lips against yours.

“It’ll be okay, I’ll be back. I promise,” he murmured.

In the kitchen, just two to-be graduates, confessing their unspoken feelings not through words, but with their action. Feelings that amassed over the years, finally spilled.

“You promise?”

It was on that faithful night that your relationship with him blossomed into something more intimate.

“I promise.”

It was also on that faithful night that he left.

He’d disappeared, no words— he left nothing.

Not a single trace.

You had foreseen this coming, yet you didn’t realize how much it hurts to have him gone. More often than not, you found yourself unconsciously making an extra bento box for him. More often than not, will you take out everything he had ever given you and stare at it for the hours to come.

The painful pang in your heart was a constant reminder that he’s gone.

He’s gone.

Perhaps his disappearance was what encouraged you to major in criminology and criminal justice after you graduated. It was your fuel of both determination and delusions.

Years passed by in a flash, and before you could even process everything that had happened, you found yourself with a position as a detective in Tenryo Detective Firm.

Yet even after all those years, you haven’t seen or heard from Scaramouche. The last time the two of you had ever interacted was when nearly four years ago, when he had promised you that he’ll be back. And even despite the fact that you’ve been waiting for his presence for year on end, your feelings for him never wavered. You still firmly held onto the promise he had made you, after all Scaramouche is a man that never goes back on his words.

Even if you had to keep waiting. But that’s okay— you’re patient.

“Hey hero, got anything?” Heizou asked, poking his head into your office.

You groaned— both at the stupid nickname and the frustration building up. “Heizou stop with that ugly name, and no, haven’t gotten anything yet. I swear, I’m going to bash my head into the wall.”

“Ahah, I don’t think Sara would like that our hero tries to kill herself. Besides, I’ve got good news. You just got a small tip about the case you’re working on.”

You immediately sat upright in your chair. “What?! When? How come I was just informed of this?”

“The tip just came in, come on, Sara’s telling you to check it out it,” Heizou said, disappearing as he turned away.

You got up from your chair and flung your jacket over your shoulder. “Hold on wait for me! Heizou!”

Hero.

That nickname always brought up unpleasant memories.

Hero.

Solving cases, catching criminals, helping people. It’s what you’ve been doing ever since you graduated, long before the Tenryo Detective Firm took you in.

Could you even be considered a hero?

Gaining a position in this type of job was what allowed you to figure who the real arsonist was behind that attack. But even after the truth had come to light, it was by far, still too late. The damage had already been done, the paint cannot be washed away.

A light breeze from your office window blew at your orderly pile of documents, a couple pages fluttering to the side just as the door closed behind you with a loud slam, your voice screaming for Heizou quickly fading away.

It was silent in your office.

Two sparrows flew to perch on your windowsill, their loud chirps indefinitely breaking the silence. They weren’t staying for long before they flew off— perhaps something had spooked them.

A figure emerged out from the shadows. They scanned their surroundings around for any onlookers, and when they’d made sure that was nobody, they slowly approached your window. With quick and precise movements, they unlatched the window screen lock and slipped in unnoticed.

“I’m in, what now?”

“Get all the documents regarding him.”

“On it.”

They moved with ease, gliding around as they searched through shelves, drawers, anywhere for the required documents. A locked drawer in the corner of your office caught their eyes, and it wasn’t long before the lock was popped off— revealing the stack of documents you’d classified as “IMPORTANT.”

A quick sift through the papers confirmed his needs. “Think I may have found it.”

“Good, did you gather information regarding her too?”

“Hold on, let me check… yeah I think I’ve got that too.”

“Okay, now get out of there. She’s coming back.”

“One moment…”

They carefully stored the documents into their bag and began fiddling with the lock before latching it back onto the drawer. To avoid arousing any suspicion, they had also arranged the room to the way it was exactly how it was before. Books were pushed back into the shelves, the documents on your desk were neatly stacked, thick folders filled with random case documents were inserted back into their original drawers.

Your voice traveling down alerted them. Giving the office one last look, they opened the window and hastily jumped out.

A tiny pin with their insignia fell onto the floor with a quiet clink.

The window dropped shut just as you pushed open the door with Heizou trailing right behind you.

“What kind of tip was that?” you exclaimed. “That was a utter waste of time.”

Heizou shook his head and sighed. “Twisted sense of humor, hate them.”

You plopped down on your chair and spun around. “Riddle this, riddle that. Now I have to stay up to decipher that stupid code. If it’s some dumb message like, ‘I like ice-cream,’ I’m gonna strangle someone.”

“I’ll just leave it on your desk,” Heizou hummed. “I have another case I need to catch. Heard they’ve got a new lead.”

“Finally a new lead for you,” you rolled your eyes. “It’s been weeks.”

“I better come back with a closed case.”

“Come back?” you echoed. “Are you going somewhere?”

“Yeah, they found the new lead in the city of Watasumi, so they’re asking me to travel there to further investigate it,” he replied. “I’m going to pack my bags, see you next week!”

“Have fun! Don’t die.”

“I’ll try not to,” Heizou grinned. “Bye.”

“Bye.”

You reached for the small slip of paper Heizou had left on the corner of your desk. Scribbled on it was a string of random code. By no means was this discovery unfamiliar to you. Throughout your career, you’ve dealt with far too many undeciphered codes. And you’ve managed to break through it each time.

This looks easy.

You turned on your monitor and set to work immediately.

When the sun had dipped far below the horizon, when the glow of the moonlight shone into your office— you were still clacking away on your computer, muttering nonsense to yourself as you racked your brain trying to break the code.

The clocked ticked on.

“If delta means this… then hexa should be this… oh shit that’s what it means? Wouldn’t that also change the way hexa is translated? Oh my god… do I really need that again?… fuck I do.”

Groaning loudly, you pushed your chair over to where your locked cabinet is. Your keys clinked against each other as you pushed a small silver key into the lock hole— where all your important files were supposed to be stored.

All the files regarding the disappearance of Scaramouche— and all the documents you’ve written about the various code you’ve solved.

Gone.

Where the fuck did it go?

You stood up, panic prickling at you.

“I didn’t misplaced it right?” you muttered to yourself.

So you searched. Every shelf, every corner, every nook and cranny. You took out folders packed full of other documents and sorted through each one individually, yet even after all the endeavor put into it, you just couldn’t find it.

Dawn was quickly approaching.

You sat back down on your chair— sinking into the plush and took in slow deep breaths in an effort to calm your erratic heartbeat.

Maybe a co-worker took it. But they couldn’t had the keys to it…

You blanked out, lost in your thoughts. A sudden minor detail caught your eyes. You frowned.

When did I close the window?

You got up from your chair, only then a sudden flash of red on your monitor screen recaptured your attention. You sat back down and turned to face the screen, but it seemingly returned back to normal… no, something was wrong.

Your contents had changed, for a canvas of white had replaced the endless amount of tabs you’d opened beforehand. Slowly, words began to format, each letter slowly appearing.

The first rays of the morning sun peeked through your window, consuming the shadows of your office. It was quiet, the only source of sound being your quickened breathing.

Your stomach dropped. You stared at the screen, the cold grasp of fear slowly worming its way into your heart.

It’s over, the eyes watches— it knows.

The clock stopped ticking. The slip of paper on your desk, long forgotten.

series m.list || next

synopsis— [✩]

— you, the hero, disappears overnight, and the only person who looks is the villain. Not your friends, not your family, not the news reporter or any of the people who claimed to love you. Just him, Scaramouche, the very same person who claimed to hate you.

notes— [✩]

— this chapter was meant to be a quick run through from the beginning of you and Scara’s relationship to the “end.” hopefully this hero x villain dynamic makes sense lol 🙏 (the ending kinda sucked ngl)

taglist— [✩`·CLOSED]

@akairaindrops @the-ghost-0f-t0m0 @elernity @shayewrites @angel-suicides @magica-ren @kyouzki @nana-bri @avxntxrine @bleedingwhiteroses222 @rainingduringsummer @darthvada @dan9a-00 @omgblade-starrail @kichiyoshi @inufinuf @vvyeislazzy

#[💫] acaaai-t #genshin #genshin impact #genshin impact series #genshin series #genshin impact scaramouche #genshin scaramouche #scaramouche #genshin x reader #genshin scaramouche x reader #scaramouche x reader #genshin fluff #genshin angst #resurface my love

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giamee · 9 days

Text

CHAPTER XI! i know what you did

<- prev masterlist next ->

you weren't sure when you woke up, or when you even fell asleep for that matter, but the rustling of your sheets and something moving against you is what ultimately roused you.

you opened your eyes to see a messy-haired cyno sitting up slowly in the still-dark room, trying his best not to disturb you but ultimately failing at that. you were now lying on the mattress rather than him, and he shot you a soft smile when he noticed your open eyes looking up at him.

"i'm gonna go back to my bed, 'kay?" he whispered it softly, a secret to keep only between the two of you. you nodded sleepily, raising a hand to smooth over his bedhead before you realised what you were doing. cyno tensed before relaxing into your touch, his features soft as he let you keep fixing his hair until you finally put your arm back at your side, satisfied with your work.

"it'll get messy again, you know." you did know. you couldn't count the amount of times you'd awoken to witness the absolute bird's nest of cyno's hair in the morning. he always had moved around in his sleep, after all.

you shrugged.

"i'll fix it again." it's a sweet moment, the way he's looking down at you so adoringly, almost enough to trick you into feeling like everything was as fine as they were months before the two of you broke up. almost.

he paused for a second before getting up, hovering over you and dropping the softest of kisses to your temple, before leaving the warm indent in the mattress and the rumpled sheets as any sign that he had been there at all. for all you know, the kiss could have been a dream as well.

your eyelids felt heavy again. you'll think about it tomorrow.

the rest of you sleep was significantly less restful, and when you did wake up there were messages to greet you.

✦ ⠂⠂୨୧ trivia :: you almost exposed yourself when layla initially sent that text message as you didn't know if she was referring to cyno or alhaitham

✦ ⠂⠂୨୧ gia's notes :: erm not so fun fact i ran into the ex this series was inspired off of the other day and i am PROUD to report that i felt absolutely nothing except a little bit of awkwardness cos he was w his new girlfriend 🥳 the chains have been lifted i am freee

✦ ⠂⠂୨୧ taglist :: @makimakimi @aeongiies @sukunasrealgf @ssoliva @sakiimeo @eggn0gcookie @yxcade @fiona782 @heartswonder @eunchaeluvr @clumsyphuq @pinksodacan @aelxr @themusingsofmany @obervation-subject-753 @kittycasie @aimno256 @maxineshearts @mafuyuslover @meigalaxy @mintydump @v4lerixxq @artwitchh @geo-hew-hew @imkaaayy @c4tsfr0mh3ll @kokoscutie @erzarq @eu-la @ddiluc @ichikaisflowers @rahhhmen @esmetrees @rain-and-a-nice-nap @g8mmaaa

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yelshin · 1 year

Text

CAT? HUMAN? | MLIST

﹙SCARAMOUCHE/WANDERER X FEM READER﹚

An: IM GETTING IMPATIENT TO POST THIS ONE SO ILL POST THIS RQ BEFR I GOT BUSY

Tw: 3.3 SCARAMOUCHE LORE SPOILERS, used pronouns in 3rd POV: they/them/you, cursing , another day another ginger slander/J DONT ATTACK ME PLS一

"ma'am are you sure you want a room this large-" "Did i stutter?" You send a threatening glare to the man while he nervously gulp "I-it cost 5,4000 (i def did not guess frfr) along with the items" You look over ur bank acc; feeling hesitant but still its for you best kitten right?

"fine, I'll take it." Just like that they start working on Kuni's new room which is pretty large for his size.. buy its okay atleast he got WAY TOO MUCH space to explore

"[Name] can you be fr right now?" Yoimiya sweatdrop while you're at the couch being proud parent that Kuni learned how to stand in 3 second "Yes Yoimiya I am being for real" you smiled before showering Kuni with your affection

"A LARGE ROOM JUST FOR A 3 SECOND STAND?? sigh this cat is very special yeah?" She also sat down beside you before noticing the amount of changes in your house

Before your house dont have toys around, a bowl at the floor, a sack of cat foods etc. 'thats a different breed there..'

Yoimiya looks over you who was busy pampering your kitten before asking the same question again "Are you sure you wanna pay that high just for...yk Kuni"

"He deserve everything in the world. If he got hurt i wont hesitate to hunt them^^"

"oh my fucking god."

"Kuni! Where are you, its time for bath!" You called out playing as if you dont see him at the very corner of your house; sulking

"there you are!" You pick him up before heading towards the bathroom and give him the most relaxing bath that no kitten could ever have(/j). Making a bubble bath you scoop some before putting it to his forehead as a hat... (ITS CUTE. FIGHT IF DISAGREE 👿)

You giggled before taking a picture of him having a bubble hat and grumpy looks and finish his bath and drying him up.

---

"Can i PLEASE bring him? I'll make sure he won't hurt anyone" You plead at your(girlfriends) friends to let them bring your kitten to your hangout "Cmon [Name]! We only hangout for like 3 times a week and we rarely spend time with each other!" Hu tao frowned but even you guys hangout yesterday it felt like a month to them

You frowned before looking at Kuni who's sleeping peacefully at his cat tree wiping small tears in the corner of your eyes "but look at him! He look so lonely if i left him alone yk.."

"Why not hire someone to babysit him?" You grinned at Ayaka's idea before contacting someone to take care of your little (demon) angel Kuni while you we're gone

"WHY ME?! OUT OF ALL PEOPLE WHY." Childe sobbed at the fact his life is gonna be in danger for the next 20 hrs of his life "Don't worry this is your chance to befriend with him! Im sure he wouldn't hurt you unlike last time^^" and just like that you left with your girlfriends while Childe look at Kuni who's now awake and preparing his evil plans to make Childe living in hell.

Childe was chilling at the living room watching some movies on the TV until he heard a glass getting shattered on the floor. He look at the counter to see Kuni glaring at him before signaling him to put food at his container. Childe only rolls his eyes as he continues watching..which made your cat wanna scratch him again

"why should i give you food when you scratch me last time 😒"

It didn't take that long for Kuni to jump high and landed on Childe's stomach and Childe felt like his organs are getting destroyed.

"YOU LITTLE一" Kuni showed him his sharp nails meaning if Childe continue his words he wont hesitate to scratch him; damaging his face.

Childe gulp before going to the kitchen and put some cat food at Kuni's container "I wanna go home..." The ginger walked to the door and tried to open it but...

It was locked.

Childe felt the whole world is against him. He wanna get out of the house and leave Kuni alone! "What did i do to deserve this.."

"You not giving me food."

Childe flinch at the voice and look around to see a small person; with indigo hair and eyes. Childe was completely confused.

First Kuni is a little demon cat(for him) AND NOW HE'S HUMAN??

"WHO ARE YOU?!"

"the demon under your bed." Kuni answered grinning at the poor ginger "I KNEW IT! YOU LITTLE DEMON MAKING MY LIFE GO HELL!"

Kuni rolled his eyes and walk to the kitchen grabbing some sweets at the shelf ignoring Childe's presence. Childe grab his phone and instantly contacting you to tell that your kitten is officially now a human!

You felt your phone ring so you picked it up

"hello childe?"

"COMEHOMENOWYOURCATISAFUCKINGHUMAN"

"Can you PLEASE speak slower?"

"YOUR CAT IS A H一"

and after that the call ended, you just shrugged before continuing to eat your food

It took 30 mins to Childe to calm down before talking to Kuni who introduced himself as Scaramouche. "So like you can be a cat around [Name]...?" "Dumbhead i can turn into cat whenever i want, but for now ill stay hidden because I don't wanna be ended up on the streets again" Scaramouche frowned while Childe look at him with pure confusion

"You're lucky [Name] loves you so much that they bought you your OWN room" he sigh for the 69th time while Scaramouche sat back "i told you they're secretly Kylie Jenner"

"if your previous owners are kylie jenner then why did you ended up on a box?💀"

"WE DONT TALK ABOUT MY PAST."

An: Y'ALL IM SORRY IF THERES NOT MUCH OF SPOILING KUNI😞😞 IM REALLY RUNNING OUT OF IDEAS(just like ur bank acc)

Taglist: @thetwinkims @sunsethw4 @etherisy @kunikuzushicandegrademefr @Heiijoxz @eliciana @naritecs @kkazuyass @itztaki @makilovescofi

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telemi · 2 years

Text

↝ “i think i’ve fallen in love this time”

𓂅 status : DISCONTINUED

🖼️ ྀ♡̷ ─ ## ˑ ִ ࿐

summary. Being a risk taker all your life, you were free in spirit and reckless to the core, only this time you’ve gone too far. At risk of being stripped of your authority and being married off to a man whose notoriety is beyond your dignity, you must marry immediately or be cast out by the family’s patriarch. You set your eyes on an inconspicuous bachelor, whom you are not too keen on marrying, but you have no choice. With your back against the wall and your fingers crossed, you choose Zhongli, the quiet and reserved count, mostly because you feel like he would make a good and respectable husband. You both know that this is just a fraudulent union, and that the marriage is strained from the very beginning. Only when you face the greatest trials of your life do you realize that your feelings for him are far deeper than you believed.

genres. romance, historical au, contract marriage au

fic warnings. female reader, contractual marriage, angst themes (slight ??), fluff, may contain suggestive themes, note that everything that happens within this fic is fiction and therefore is not canon.

note. i wanted to write this for my irl friend bc she loves zhongli sm 🙄🙄‼️ughh zhongli lovr 3000 👊👊

RELEASE DATE : DISCONTINUED

— SERIES M.LIST

prologue — “this is only the beginning”

SYNOPSIS (of chapter) : The clock is ticking, your heartbeat is raising. The race to find a suitable husband is extremely urgent and you must marry before the next full moon arises.

discontinued . . .

TAGLIST : @kazucafe , @iiyumii , @imnikki , @pearlywritings , @hamdehlesmis , @jjgukkiesvrp , @bambambunny , @kalncallily @nejibot , @ping-pongmach1ne, @miulxx, @genshinparty, @zlsluv, @zhonglis-wifey, @dreamyxflurres, @deimmortales99, @local-mr-frog, @luvablkwomanfrominftoinf, @astrxealis, @hamburguer-estragado, @kazu-topia, @lattebabie, @kujuo, @lunaflvms, @haiiiiiiiyaaaa, @nxwxie, @icarusignite

— send an ask to be included in the taglist

#[🔖] falling fallen #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact #genshin #genshin x reader #genshin impact x female reader #genshin x female reader #zhongli x reader #zhongli x you #zhongli #zhongli genshin impact #zhongli x female reader #genshin angst #genshin impact angst #genshin fluff #genshin impact fluff #zhongli arranged marriage #genshin series #genshin impact series

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mimi-cee-genshin · 8 months

Text

Denial is Futile: Wanderer x f!reader - Chapter 5

Read on AO3 | Series Masterlist | Taglist

« Chapter 1 | < Chapter 4

Summary:

What would you do if you were stuck with Wanderer indefinitely?

Other info: Fluff, humor, sfw, enemies to lovers, some hurt/comfort and angst later, character growth, occurs after the version 3.3 Archon quest and Tighnari's story quest, female reader

Word count: 2.8k

*****

"She seems okay," Baizhu informed Nahida. "Her heart rate is on the low side, but it's still within the normal range."

Wanderer watched your eyes; they were avoiding Baizhu's as well. Now that made the three of them if he included himself and Nahida. Your behavior ever since you regained consciousness was strange to say the least.

When you first woke up, you didn't get up. You laid there lifeless with no will left in your body. Your eyes were open, but your hand laid limp in his. He didn't think much of it at first. It wasn't strange for a weak human like you who had recently gained consciousness, so he chided at you about something like the weather as if you were fine.

And then you smiled.

You claimed you were surprised he was still there, all while staring at the wall behind him. It was as if making eye contact with him would cause you harm. He was faced with a blank mask displaying nothing but the outline of a smile.

"You're lucky Baizhu was here in Sumeru City," said Changsheng. "It seems we have to reschedule our meeting with Tighnari."

"Sorry," you replied. Your smile didn't reach your eyes and you didn't look at her either. Your attempt at feigning happiness was rather pathetic. Still, Baizhu continued with your assessment.

"I am limited in the range of tests I can perform," he said. "They may cause unintended side effects considering your current situation with Wanderer. From what I can tell, further testing would be unnecessary."

"Thank you, Baizhu," you told him, avoiding his gaze as well. "I guess this is all we can do for now."

Just how long were you going to act like this? As Baizhu listed some precautionary measures for you to follow, you stared down and fiddled with the blanket.

Wanderer grabbed your chin and turned your face towards him.

Whack.

"What do you think you're doing?" you said after slapping his hand away.

You glared at him. Perfect.

"Weren't you taught to look at the person you're talking to?" he asked you.

"What?"

"It's rude."

"You're one to talk," you said.

"Hmph."

"You literally yanked my face just to make me look at you."

"Do you even notice how you were acting just now? I guess you're even more dim-witted than I thought."

"Ugh! You–"

"All right. That's quite enough, you two," Baizhu said. "Wanderer, you shouldn't be agitating a patient. Especially not one you're dependent on."

"Hmph." At least you were human again. Maybe now you'd return to the task at hand: finding a way to sever himself from you.

"Before you forget," Changsheng told Baizhu, "there was one more observation you've forgotten to mention, wasn't there?"

"Ah yes." Baizhu turned to you. "The energy around your heart is a little peculiar. Unfortunately, I cannot ascertain if you were born with this condition or if it's due to your current situation with Wanderer. It's also possible that it's caused by some other unknown factor."

Your heart? Wanderer certainly didn't expect this. You were an ordinary human being in his eyes, but perhaps this was why you had the ability to keep him conscious.

"Have you ever experienced symptoms such as these before?" asked Baizhu. "Fainting spells, palpitations... or perhaps extreme fatigue?"

"I don't think I have." You scratched your head. "I'm fairly healthy and something like this hasn't –Wait a moment…"

You rose to your feet and reached for the projector, pulling Wanderer along in the process.

"What do you think you're doing?" Wanderer raised his brow. The projector lit up the wall once again.

"Shhh! I need to find it."

"You're shushing me?"

"Could you just be quiet?" you said, already in the middle of scanning through his memories. "I'm going to lose this thought because of you."

You fast forwarded his time at Tatarasuna with a glimpse of the furnace from the projector. Then you continued all the way to the time he met The Doctor before rewinding again.

"So what exactly are you looking for?" he asked.

"Something in Inazuma. Something… looked familiar," you said. "It was pink. Maybe leaves?"

"There are sakura trees everywhere in Inazuma," he noted, rolling his eyes. "Are you seriously trying to find something with that tiny piece of information?"

"Well… I think I remember red buildings too."

The projector revealed the time when he arrived at the shores of Inazuma City after withstanding the storm. He sighed. His past search for help to save the people of Tatarasuna was a waste of time.

In the images, Kabukimono traveled to the Tenshukaku and arrived at the gate, pleading to speak with the Almighty Shogun. You rewinded and played this scene several times.

"I've… I've been here before," you said, squinting your eyes at the projected image. "Where is this?"

"Weren't you just talking about red buildings?" asked Wanderer.

"Could you just answer the question?" you said, glaring at him.

He sighed. "This is on Narukami Island. More specifically, this is the Tenshukaku in Inazuma City."

"What?" you said. "But I've never been to the city before."

"Aren't you an Inazuman?"

"Yes... I can't believe you assumed every Inazuman has been to the city."

Wanderer let out a sigh. "Always picking a fight I see. It was a simple question. Why are you so offended?"

"I see that those two have quite the temperament," said Baizhu.

"Indeed," replied Nahida.

The scene continued as Kabukimono waited for days in the rain. Footsteps rushed towards him and a pink umbrella reached over. At this point, he had given up hope.

"Wait!" you exclaimed, pointing to Yae Miko on the screen. "I know her!"

"What?"

"A tree…" you muttered to yourself. "In front of a large tree, she was talking to my b-brother..."

You lowered your eyes and bit your lip. Your shoulders went stiff as well. Yet, you held yourself together with whatever was going through your mind and continued your explanation.

"I… uh, I don't remember much else," you said, pausing to clear your throat. "I think I struggled to stay conscious when I was there for some reason. And there was a weird bitter taste in my mouth afterwards."

"I see," replied Baizhu. "So being unconscious reminded you of this memory?"

"But I haven't passed out like this in a long time," you added. "It actually happened regularly when I was a child. And it... just stopped one day I guess."

Baizhu placed a hand on his chin. "Hmm… It seems to me that the bitter taste may have been from an herbal remedy known to treat certain diseases," he said. "My patients often complain about it due to its distinct and unpleasant taste. It's a sort of antibiotic with a wide range of applications. It's even taken for post-operative situations."

"I see…" Nahida pondered to herself. "This is a bit unrelated, but didn't Tighnari mention that one of Wanderer's organs is failing? Or at least, that was his theory. Maybe he needs a replacement part."

"Hmph," said Wanderer. "If I need a replacement part, it means I should go see the woman who created me." He let out a sigh. "Unfortunately, going back to Inazuma isn't exactly on the top of my list of things to do. It's not like she would remember me anyway. I'd rather keep it that way."

"But visiting the Electro Archon seems like the next logical step," said Nahida. "Or maybe the two of you could go to the Grand Narukami Shrine to see if Yae Miko can help find a solution."

"So we show up at the shrine on one fine sunny day and then what?" said Wanderer. "She's not the type to bend over backwards when a random person shows up with a request."

"You never know unless you try," replied Nahida.

"Neither of them remember me nor would they care to help someone in need. We'll find a different way."

"Well… since you're not the only one who'll be affected by this decision, why don't we ask Y/n?" suggested Nahida.

Now that Wanderer's attention turned to you, he noticed you'd gone silent again. Your eyes were lowered and your grip around his hand was firmer than usual.

"I want nothing to do with the Electro Archon," you said.

*****

The sun found a crack in the roof to shine through, just so it could find your eyes in the morning. Turning over on the bed, you saw Wanderer sitting with crossed legs on the floor, awake as ever. It would've startled you if you weren't used to it by now.

"Don't you ever get bored like that?" you asked.

"Hmph. Humans just have such short attention spans."

"Good morning to you too," you said dryly.

Neither of you said a word about Inazuma ever since that meeting. Why would you when that Archon had caused so much misery? You never understood why your brother was grateful to her.

You and Wanderer had an unspoken agreement: you'd focus on your lead with Tighnari instead. You didn't care much about Wanderer's reasons for avoiding the Archon, but if he was on the same page as you, that was all that mattered.

"Your hair is a mess," Wanderer commented.

"You think I didn't know that," you replied, rolling your eyes. "You tell me every morning."

You didn't bother fixing it and, instead, walked to your desk to scan your calendar. Collei was coming back to Sumeru, likely even here already. Unfortunately, this meant you'd be sleeping on the floor again, but it was by choice. You couldn't bear the thought of using the bed at her expense even if she wouldn't care.

You picked up the extra sleeping bag Tighnari left for you and held it out to Wanderer.

He raised his brow before rolling his eyes and helping you lay down the bag.

That was when something caught your eye. A soft, round object, which looked like a face and hair had been sewn onto it, laid on the floor under Wanderer's blanket. You picked it up and saw it was a small doll that was slightly larger than your hand.

Wanderer snatched it from you.

"Is it yours?" you asked.

"Whose would it be then?" he said.

"Was it a gift?"

"No."

"Then did you make it?"

He didn't give you an answer, only a huff as he placed it in his pocket. So Nilou wasn't just being nice when she complimented him on his needlework. You didn't expect he had a talent for that.

After fixing your hair, you unzipped your bag and placed a few notebooks and pens inside. Tighnari said he wanted us to meet him in Pardis Dhyai today. He got a hold of someone who might be able to help us.

Then we wouldn't have to go to Inazuma.

You were glad that Wanderer wasn't thrilled about the idea either, although after learning about his past made you realize you misunderstood him. You thought it was a reasonable conclusion that his vision caused the change in his personality. How were you supposed to know he had lost and gotten back his memories?

So which one was his real personality?

"Why are you staring at me?" he asked as the two of you walked towards Pardis Dhyai.

"You really don't do small talk," you commented. He was silent this entire time.

"Well, there's really no point to it, is there?" he said.

"It's a way for people to get to know each other," you said.

"What? Are you interested in me now?"

You placed your hand on your forehead. You couldn't believe you had a crush on him at one point. "Where the heck did you get that idea–"

A scream came from the forest.

"C- Collei?"

A drop of sweat formed on your brow. It couldn't be her, could it? With her skills and experience, nothing fazed her in the forest. Not usually at least.

"It did sound familiar," mentioned Wanderer.

"You know her?" you asked.

His lips turned into a scowl. "Does that even matter right now when we know that–"

"Don't touch me!"

Collei!

Your legs picked up speed and raced toward the forest. Wanderer tugged you hard by your arm and swung you onto his back.

"Grab on," he said, activating his vision and floating in the air.

He flew through the forest at full speed as you clung onto his neck. The wind pushed your hair back as he maneuvered around several trees and branches.

A forest ranger was trapped under a fallen trunk while an Electro Fatui skirmisher held onto Collei's arm. She couldn't escape his grasp.

Wanderer released his skill and fell like a meteor to kick down the skirmisher's head at an angle. This launched the three of you several feet away from the fallen tree trunk as a puff of dust surrounded you.

"Collei!" you yelled out, climbing off of Wanderer's back. "Are you okay?" You couldn't see her with all the debris in the air.

"Y/n?" asked Collei with a quiver in her voice. "H-how are you–"

"Have a load of this!"

A bullet came towards Wanderer and you pulled him aside and stretched out your hand in front. It just missed your hand, but its fire burned your arm. You pulled it back in pain and clicked your tongue for relying on that 'curse' once again.

"Why would you do that?" Wanderer yelled at you. "Are you eager for a death wish?"

The debris settled and the Pyro Fatui skirmisher took aim once more, but Collei's blazing green arrow shot him first.

"Ugh. Humans are such feeble creatures," Wanderer continued to scold you. "You're no better than insects."

"Hey!" the forest ranger called out to him. "Bring her here." A bubble of water formed above his hand as he laid on the ground.

Wanderer carried you over before launching the tree off of him. He stretched out his arm, ready for another attack.

The forest ranger cooled your arm with the water and soothed the burn that stretched from your wrist to your elbow. So this was what a burn felt like. Yet you could tell it was only skin deep.

"Let's end this quickly!" said the Electrohammer skirmisher.

He wasn't knocked out yet?

Collei dodged his attack, launched herself off a low hanging branch and shot his weak point.

The Pyro Fatui aimed at her again.

"Forget my arm," you said, climbing onto Wanderer's back. "We have to help her!"

He flew towards the gunner and struck him with his wind blades. He continued to fight them with Collei providing cover from a distance.

It was strange. Others were doing the fighting for you as you clung onto Wanderer's back. Yet though you were defenseless, you weren't not dismayed.

The Fatui were now subdued and tied up. Collei took a look at your arm and verified it was a first degree burn but you would still need more aid.

"I'm sorry I let this happen to you," she told you. "I wasn't able to hold my bow steady at first because I… I was a bit shaken up."

This was the girl who was fearless against creatures multiple times her size. You couldn't blame her for getting scared this one time.

"I… wanted to be able to protect everyone," said Collei. "I'll work harder next time."

"There's no need to push yourself," said Wanderer. "It isn't exactly lucky for you to have a run-in with the Fatui." He took a sigh that held a measure of heaviness with it.

The more you observed Wanderer, the more caring he seemed. You were previously blinded by your anger and projected your past onto him. He was still rather rude and abrasive, especially when provoked. But glimpses of the guy you saw when you first met were still there.

"I'll take him with me back to Gandharva Ville," Collei said as she placed the forest ranger's arm over her shoulder. "It'll be easier to treat him there."

"Alright," you said. "We'll stay here until you get someone to help deal with them. Although, I think now we're late for our meeting with Tighnari in Pardis Dhyai.

"I see," she said. "In that case, we'll go there instead to update him on the situation."

After Collei left with the limping forest ranger, Wanderer squeezed hard on your uninjured hand.

"Ow! What the heck are you doing?"

"Sit," he commanded with his eyes glaring at you.

You heeded his word and promptly sat down on the ground. He took the bandages from the first aid pack that Collei left and loosely wrapped them around your burn.

Your heart skipped a beat.

Your eyes widened, your breath hitched and you placed a hand on your chest. The feeling in your gut told you that something was terribly wrong.

Yet, you pretended like it never happened.

*****

Thanks for reading! Here's Chapter 6 >

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dearemilia · 2 years

Text

Evermore Elysium | Series Masterlist

Genshin Impact x F! Reader

Summary | Lumine feels tired and hopeless, all she wants is to find her brother and get out of this world but it’s clear that this world isn’t making it easy for her. So what happens when she meets with a traveler that is from another world just like her.

Fic Tags | Honkai Related, Heavy lore, Op! Reader, Heavy angst, fluff, romance, reverse harem, major character death.

Additional Note | OC's will be included for the reader's past and since this is Honkai related, there might be some spoilers though I will put CW.

Status | Ongoing

PROLOGUE - Amidst the flowers

ACT 1 - LIYUE

Chapter I | Farewell, Archaic Lord Chapter II | A new star approaches

ACT 2 - ?

Chapter III | Bough Keeper Chapter IV | We will be reunited

ACT 3 - INAZUMA

Chapter V | Autumn Winds

#genshin impact #genshin #honkai impact #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #zhongli #venti #ei #diluc ragnvindr #kaeya alberich #dainsleif #lumine #aether #tsaritsa #childe #albedo #al haitham #genshin impact series #genshin series

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versadies · 2 years

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN \\ CLOSURE (VERSADIES'S VERSION)

SYPNOSIS (of chapter). in which you're slowly getting better.

CHARACTERS. diluc ragnvindr, kamisato ayato, thoma (w/ gn!reader)

CONTENT. fluff/slight-angst, mentions of violence (almost getting hit/slapped), sh1nsuke 🤢🤢🤢, mentions of yelling, mentions of threats

PENPALS. @scaraslover @saving-for-xiao @dawgimsohot @kazu-topia @chiruru @aqualesha @renamichii @mrkamisato @shenhesl0ver @serami00 @serenareiss @hiqhkey @emperatris-rinaka @bystander36 @irisxiel @ladycoleigh @034ven @dear-dairiess @owozi8 @hadesaedes @chiro-chiro-kun @hersscherofyatta @mariusvonhangme @yuzuricebun @hoshikistarlette @solaaresque @crowbird @lordbugs @flowersforayato @headintheclouddd @estelwrld @giyusimpsassemble @irethepotatosblog @moonlightaangel @alice0blog @shotosbrainrot @sniffoat @chihawari @mxsomn @kuni-kuzushii @jiminscarmex @mitsukii14 @nejibot @ylimeprive @sachispet @loreleis-world @sn-owo @starforecasts @someonetookmynamelmao @ceylestia @lychme @ymikkos @reallysporadicarcade @elychee @astrxlis @denkineptune @franini @sophisticatedleslie @thedivinepriestress @smashsubs @httpmitsuya @bl6o6dy @cottonkendi (visit this post if you’d like to be tagged!)

WORD COUNT. 6.4k words

LINKS. EVERMORE MASTERLIST \\ MAIN MASTERLIST \\ EVERMORE SURVEY

POST-SCRIPT. decided to make another version of this chapter after reading some of your messages about the original one. so there'll be two versions starting from chapters 13 to epilogue which is the original version (the storyline of reader and ----------) and the versadies's version (the storyline of reader and diluc w/o the plot twist happening). im sorry again for the disappointment, consider this as an apology gift.

– i know some might also get some reactions of this post's and versadies's version chapters' existence, but it's the only thing i believe i can do to make things up and to clear my head off so i hope you guys can understand.

ORIGINAL || PREVIOUS || NEXT

The next day after all has happened, Zhongli noticed how you seem to be… happier.

You really weren’t lying when you told him last night that you and Diluc have been getting along pretty well, because you surely never seem to take your eyes off of your phone as you type out responses to your newly found friend the whole time in the hotel room.

By the time you take your eyes off your phone is when you came out of the hotel room to do your activities for the day, such as eating breakfast, taking a stroll around the garden once more, visiting the convenience store once again, hanging out with a friend of yours by Good Hunter, and so on.

The thing is, all of these had one thing in common.

Besides a certain experience, you kept seeing a certain red-haired man to the point where it’s no longer a coincidence. Do you two just really have the same schedule or something?

As you lined up for the buffet with your plate in hand, you were tempted to grab your phone and check if you received any message from a certain man, still smiling from enjoying your last conversation with him on the phone.

It wasn’t until you hear someone clearing his throat behind you when you turn around from recognizing it, causing your eyes to brighten at the sight of the familiar man you’ve been talking to for the past hour earlier.

“Diluc!” You greeted happily.

“( Name ).” He greeted, also pleasantly surprised.

“I thought you were out for work already! Didn’t you mention you often go to Angel’s Share early?” You ask curiously.

He nodded in response. “I do. Just not today it seems, I have something important to do today.”

The two of you started picking your foods by the time the food is now displayed in front of you after taking a step forward, choosing what you want to eat for breakfast all the while chatting with Diluc – a major difference a few days ago when you and the man were suffering from the awkward silence between you two.

Turns out, Diluc supposedly had a plus one, but the person wasn’t able to make it due to not having time, hence how he finds himself being alone. Today, however, is the day when the plus one visits the hotel just to greet the wedding couple and wish them well, who will be leaving tomorrow for their honeymoon.

You’re curious to know who his plus one is, but you wouldn’t be surprised if it’s someone as important and highly regarded as him.

Once you two finished picking your meal at the same time, you started heading towards where Zhongli is, who’s waiting for you to come at last. You paid no mind how Diluc is following you, perhaps he’s heading towards his table as well that’s in the same direction as yours.

“You could sit with me and Zhongli if you want. You two seem to know each other back then before we visited your establishment.” You offered with a smile, carefully holding your plate in fear of dropping it.

He shakes his head. “Oh I’ll be alright. Mr. Zhongli has visited Mondstadt back then a few times and would come by for a nice tea and brunch. Though, he tends to have his chatty friend with him whenever he does.”

You can’t help but grin when he mentioned the chatty friend. “You mean Venti?”

Diluc nodded. “Yes. That id– man usually comes around to drink a lot of alcohol. It’s a miracle he didn’t get any sickness from drinking so much.”

You visibly imagine Venti drinking lots of alcohol, causing you to laugh at the thought. “Well I’m not surprised to hear that. He seems the kind to do that.”

Before you knew it, you’re finally at your table, causing you to stop your tracks instantly and bid Diluc goodbye before sitting on your seat. If it weren’t for you noticing Zhongli waving at you as well as Diluc slowing down his walk, you would’ve not noticed the fact that you almost walked past your table from being distracted with your conversation.

“Let’s talk again next time. Enjoy your meal, Diluc.” You said as you watched Diluc giving you an acknowledged nod before walking away to where his table is.

By the time Diluc is long far away, Zhongli decides to speak up after taking a sip of his tea. “You know, I was starting to think you were too busy being indecisive on your food, but I suppose I was wrong.” He said with amusement.

You chuckled, picking up your eating utensils. “Consider yourself lucky that I wasn’t in the mood to eat seafood, lest I decide to tease you with it.”

You feel satisfied seeing the cringe look on his face, grinning to yourself as you take a bite of your food.

–

After eating breakfast, you and Zhongli went back to your hotel room and got ready for your first activity. While your friend is getting ready to work out in the gym, you decided to go visit the convenience store to buy some snacks.

You wanted to try something new this time, so you decided to choose snacks that are from Mondstadt instead of Liyue or Inazuma. Of course, you wouldn’t forget the ones Zhongli wanted, particularly another certain drink.

“It’s a non-alcoholic drink called Fruits of the Festival.” He says as he zips his bag that contains the things he needed for working out. “Venti recommended that we drink some now that there are a lot of them in stock for the celebration of the upcoming Weinlesefest festival.”

With that in mind, perhaps you should’ve taken into consideration that the drink would possibly be out of stock soon , because by the time you encounter the aisle that supposedly contains the Fruits of the Festival, there was only one bottle left.

Just as you’re about to take the bottle, you didn’t notice how someone else was reaching out to it as well, causing your hand to touch his.

Surprised, you look at the person who’s getting the same item as you, only to be even more surprised when you realize who it is.

“...Diluc?”

“( Name )?”

You can’t help but let out a laugh, not believing that you will meet your friend again coincidentally. “Oh wow, I didn’t expect to see you here! Are you trying to get this one?” You asked, gesturing to the drink you’re still touching.

He hums in agreement. “Don’t worry, I could always get the other one.” He said, about to let go until you immediately let go of it.

“Ah no, no, no! It’s better if you take this one since it’s the last one. Consider it a payment for letting me have the grape juice last time.” You said with a laugh, gesturing to the man to take the drink.

He shakes his head, letting go of the drink. “It’s fine, you can take it. I wouldn’t want you to miss out tasting something such as the Fruits of the Festival.”

You refuse to get the drink. “Oh come on, it’s better if you’re the one who’ll get this.”

“No, no. It’s fine.”

“Just get it, Diluc.”

“I prefer you getting it.”

“No you–”

Suddenly, someone else takes the drink in front of the two of you, causing you to flinch in surprise.

“Brother Albedo! Is this blue drink the one you’re talking about?” A little girl with a red dress says before running towards where her brother is with the drink in hand, leaving you and Diluc stunned.

“...”

You can’t help but laugh. “Oh man, this reminds me of what happened back then.” You said, remembering the way you and Diluc fell into the same situation and kept insisting on who’s taking the drink.

His lips twitch upward. “Likewise. We really have come a long way after that.”

You nodded in agreement with a smile. “We have. Though it’s really a shame none of us got the drink. I’m sure they’ll restock soon.”

“We can visit tomorrow if you’d like.” Diluc offers. “I’m sure my plus one will be asking to go visit the store to buy some together, you can join us.”

You shake your head. “Ah, no need! I wouldn’t want to bother you catching up with whoever your plus one is. I’m sure I’ll eventually be able to try it when I hang out with my friend later.”

He nods in understanding. “Very well then. I hope you’ll enjoy the drink. If you somehow weren’t able to drink it, you could always visit Angel’s Share. It’ll be available today or tomorrow.”

Your eyes brighten, remembering the delightful establishment. Now that you think about it, you do miss their drinks there – so it wouldn’t exactly hurt to go there before you and Zhongli leave to the airport. “Alright, I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks again, Diluc.”

“See you next time, ( Name ).”

Then you two parted ways, unaware that next time is very much later.

–

After coming back to the hotel from the convenience store, you were itching to go visit the garden after passing by the entrance. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to wait there for your friend instead of here when it’s time for you two to hang out.

Which is what led you to immediately get ready for your hangout once you finished unpacking the things you bought from the store.

“How do I look?” You ask Zhongli as you come out from the bathroom, now fully dressed for your brunch. “Do I look alright?”

You watched as your friend looked away from his book, looking at your outfit carefully before nodding in confirmation with a smile. “Yes, you look great.”

You sigh in relief, grabbing your bag from your bed to start packing up your things. “That’s good. What will you be doing while I’m gone?”

Zhongli shrugs in response. “I don’t have any plans for today, but a walk around the garden would be nice later.”

“Alright. I’ll be back in a while.” You said, checking your phone for any messages (from a certain man) before putting it inside your bag.

“Have fun, ( Name ). Don’t forget to tell Diluc I said hi.” He said with a chuckle, remembering what you told him about the wine tycoon today.

Your mouth opens agape. “Wow– Alright, whatever. Have fun too, Zhongli.”

As you zip your bag closed after getting all the things you need, you immediately head towards the door. Maybe I should try taking pictures of some of the scenery, You thought to yourself.

Fortunately the trip to the garden didn’t take long, and by the time you entered the hotel’s beautiful garden, you delightfully inhaled the fresh air. Thank Celestia it’s a good day today, you thought, looking around your surroundings.

As you walk around the area trying to find a place to sit on, you bring out your phone to take a few pictures. You were so fascinated with how each flower looked amazing in the pictures you took – with the lightning and atmosphere bringing ethereal energy to your pictures.

While admiring the pictures you took, you didn’t notice a person walking towards the same direction as you, causing you to accidentally bump into them.

“Ah, so sorry!” You said with a yelp, maintaining your balance. “I didn’t mean to bump into you–” Your eyes widens when you realize who you bump into.

“The apologies are all mine, I should’ve watched where I was goin–” The red-haired man’s words slowly trail off when he hears your voice, now realizing who’s in front of him.

“..Diluc?”

“( Name )?”

You let out a laugh once more. “Oh wow, I can’t believe this! I’m starting to think this isn’t a coincidence now – since when have you started visiting the garden?”

“Just now. I wanted to see what it looks like during the daytime. What brings you here as well?”

“Ah, I wanted to take a stroll around the garden while waiting for my friend to come and pick me up so we can go have brunch. This place is really beautiful, isn’t it?” You replied, keeping your phone aside.

He hums in agreement. “It is.”

You then thought of something. “Wanna walk around the place together while I’m waiting for my friend?” You asked.

“I don’t mind.” He said with a nod.

And so, you two continued where you left off from last night in the garden, talking about Weinlesefest as you wait for your friend to come.

Throughout the stroll, Diluc explained to you all the things you needed to know about the upcoming festival. Apparently, the Weinlesefest festival is more about making new wine as they invite their Archon to drink with everyone. So it makes sense that someone like Diluc, whose entire business and establishment is famous for the amazing wine, is currently thinking of something that could make good wine.

He also explained about what you could do if you participate in the festival, particularly visit Springvale and explore around the place since it’s where the festival will be held. Ah, just hearing all the things you could do and eat made you want to consider extending your stay, but alas, you think one week in one of your favorite regions is enough for you. Besides, even if you decide to extend your stay, only Celestia knows what would happen to you once you’re back to work.

While you converse with your friend, you couldn’t help but notice the way he looks as though there’s something in his mind. You didn’t find the guts to ask him though, thinking you’re meddling into his business if you do so. Still, you’re a bit concerned that something bad happened and you want to at least help – it’s the least you can do for everything he did for you.

Before you could bring up and ask what’s on his mind, you hear someone calling out your name.

“ ( Name )! Over here!” Your eyes light up when you hear the familiar voice of your friend, causing you and Diluc to turn around and look at the person who’s calling you.

“Thoma, there you are!” You greeted, walking towards the blonde-haired man who’s also walking towards you. “And here I thought you weren’t gonna show up any time soon, what took you so long?”

Thoma spreads his arms wide as you give him a hug. “Aw man, I’m sorry for being late! I was busy helping Ayato out with preparing for his next trip, I didn’t notice that I was about to be late.” He explains. The two of you quickly separate each other from your hug.

He looks at where Diluc is, causing him to stand up straight and offer the tycoon his hand. “Hello! You must be the infamous Diluc Ragnvindr. A pleasure to meet you!” He says with a smile.

Diluc didn’t hesitate to shake Thoma’s hand, giving him an acknowledged nod. “Likewise. I would like to congratulate you for your efforts in this wedding, it’s truly amazing.”

The blonde-haired man lets out a bashful laugh. “Oh you’re too kind, Mr. Ragnvindr! I hope I wasn’t bothering you two, did I?”

You hesitantly look at Diluc, who remains the same expression as always, before looking back at your friend with a smile. “Ah not really. We were just talking about the Weinlesefest festival until we heard you.”

“That’s good to hear. I’m a bit disappointed that I won't be able to experience the festival though.” Thoma lets out a sigh. “Oh well, there’s nothing we can do about it. Mind if I take ( Name ) away, Mr. Ragnvindr?”

Diluc nodded in response. “Of course since that’s what ( Name ) is here for. I’ll see you next time once again, ( Name ).”

You gave the red-haired man a grateful smile. “See you next time, Diluc. It was fun talking to you!”

–

The purpose of your brunch with Thoma is simple. Catch up with one another, talk about the things you’ve missed in Inazuma while you talk about the things he missed in your trip.

So why, why do you feel so bothered?

Despite being able to listen to your dear friend and keep up with your conversation, your mind lingers on Diluc. You’re still worried about how he seems to be out of it back in the garden – is it perhaps because of how he needs to think of a new wine?

“You know, I’m glad you and Ayato had spoken to one another about what happened back then.” Thoma confesses, causing you to be taken back by surprise. “I hope you won’t be offended with what I have to say but.. You look happier than before.”

You raise your eyebrows from his words. Happier?

“I… I didn’t notice that.” You replied, letting out a small laugh. “Am I really that happy because of how me and Ayato have resolved?”

Thoma lets out a small laugh as well. “Well, that’s just my guess. Did something else happen that made you happier than that?” He asks.

You took a second to think about it. It’s true that ever since you and Ayato have made up, everything's been going a bit well for you, but then again, it’s sort of weird how you’re a lot happier about it than normal.

Is it… really just because of that?

Seeing how you hesitated, Thoma’s eyes slightly widened in surprise. “Wait, did something actually happen?”

You look away from Thoma, a bit flustered. “I-I really don’t know either!”

“Really?”

“Yeah!”

“Then… It’s not about someone, is it?”

You begin to scratch the back of your head. “Well… I did become friends with Diluc…? That’s the only thing that happened besides what happened with Ayato.” You said, looking at your friend while you fiddled with your fingers. “He’s fun to talk to, I’ll admit. I had a lot of fun for the past few days thanks to him.”

The blonde haired man nods in agreement. “I can tell. Every time I look at you during the bachelor and reception, you look like you’re having fun talking to him,” He then lets out a laugh. “It honestly reminded me of back then when you and Ayato were still pining for each other.”

You look at him in confusion, still smiling. “Huh? What do you mean?”

“Well for starters, it’s the way you’re looking and talking to him. You always pay attention to him and everything he says that you don’t focus on eating your food or your surroundings much. I was able to see you while I was hosting the bachelor party.” He explains. “...Of course, I’m sure you don’t see Mr. Ragnvindr that way, right?”

You slowly glance down at your food, processing his words carefully.

…Huh.

You didn’t notice how Thoma’s face slightly fell from how you didn’t answer his question. “...You don’t see him that way, right?” He repeats.

You want to answer yes, but something is holding you back. You don’t understand, you don’t really see Diluc that way right? You two are just friends – and yes, there were some moments between you two whereas your new friend made you feel… things – but that’s normal, right?

This feeling… Isn’t surely the same as what you felt towards Ayato back then, right?

Then again… When was the last time you had fallen in love?

You wipe your now sweaty palms on your lap, starting to feel a bit conflicted from your thoughts and feelings. Even if you are in love with him, how could you even deal with it? How can you even face him knowing your feelings? What if you end up being heartbroken?

But if you aren’t in love with him, why does that make you feel.. Unsatisfied?

You can’t help but think about him, and you realize you’ve always been thinking about him for the past few days. He makes you happy, there’s never a dull moment with him besides when you two first interacted with one another, and he’s understanding and gentle. The gentle look he gives you as he respectfully treats you well makes you feel safe and comfortable. He treats you equally and you two always get along despite your differences. Not to mention how you always smile whenever you think of him, something that Zhongli had pointed out one time. You also couldn’t help but get excited at the thought of what’s to come for you and Diluc the next day.

Seeing how the question turned the mood sour, Thoma instantly tries to think of a way to change topics. “It’s alright if you’re unsure, ( Name ).”

“No, no, it’s fine.” You quickly reassured your friend. “I just.. Didn’t realize it until you pointed it out.”

“So.. you do love him, do you?”

You stayed silent for a few seconds. “...He makes me feel things no one has made me feel for a long time.”

Thoma nods slowly in understanding. “...I see. Then I hope you get something good out of it.”

You smile gratefully. “Thank you. Though, I feel bad our conversation went this way, we were just laughing a few minutes ago.”

He quickly lets out a small laugh. “Oh it’s no problem. At least you found something you didn’t know, right?”

You nodded. “Yeah, thanks again, Thoma.”

“Anything for you, ( Name ).”

You decided to try and change the topic. “Wanna share Good Hunter’s newest dessert together?”

Thoma nods with a smile. “Fine, but you better not finish everything in one go.”

“Hey!”

–

It took perhaps another hour before you and Thoma decided to get the bill and get out of the restaurant. Unfortunately, your friend won’t be able to join you in going back inside Goth Grand Hotel once he drops you off, telling you how he has some things to do for Ayato and Chisato before they go off to their honeymoon destination.

As you enter the hotel lobby, you can’t help but think back about what Thoma told you. What would happen between you and Diluc? Will you still act the same as before, aware that your feelings for him are possibly more than platonic?

While thinking, you didn’t notice someone behind you heading towards you until you felt them harshly gripping onto one of your shoulders.

You turn around, wondering who on Earth would be so rude to do such a thing, only for your eyes to widen when you realize who it is.

“Good afternoon, Mx. ( Last Name ).” Shinsuke greeted you with a smile that’s obviously fake. “I apologize for bothering you on this fine day,” A lie, “but I must request you to come with me somewhere more private.”

You hesitated for a moment, knowing the risk if you said yes. But even so, who’s to say what could happen if you turn down his request?

You look around the area, trying to look for someone who can notice your troubled situation and help you, only to unfortunately find no one around. If only you could’ve convinced Thoma to escort you back to your hotel room…

“...I suppose I could spare some time for a chat.” You said, trying to act calm.

You suddenly feel an eerie presence looming behind you, causing you to glance at your back and see a few bodyguards standing behind you – as if to prevent you from running away. Unlike the ones who were stationed for the wedding events, these particular guards were foreign, with strange but somewhat familiar symbols on their brooches. You could tell they’re not like the bodyguards you’ve seen.

“Perfect.” Shinsuke comments, and you start to regret accepting his offer. “Come with me.”

Without letting you reply at all, the man turns and starts walking, causing the bodyguards behind you to shove you in order for you to follow, leaving you no choice but to oblige.

On your way, you hoped that you would at least encounter one of your friends, frantically glancing around the hotel lobby looking for a familiar face. Unfortunately, you finally arrived at what you assume is a private room.

You’re going to be alone with Shinsuke and these scary bodyguards.

“Before we can go in, I have one more thing to request of you.” Shinsuke spoke up before he could open the door. “Take your bag away and give it to one of the guards.”

Your eyes widens, hesitantly looking at the bodyguards behind you, who all remain unfazed and emotionless. Slowly, you take out your bag from your body and pass it to one of the guards.

“Don’t worry, they won’t open your bag and look through your things if that’s what you’re worried about.” Shinsuke said in a nice tone, as if that’s enough to reassure you in this situation. “Let’s go inside now.”

You feel fear crawling up on your spine as you enter the room, unsure of what’s going to happen to you.

The room is a conference room, with multiple chairs surrounding one long table as one of them is situated by the end of it; you assume that chair is where he’ll be seated.

“Go sit down here.” He says, pulling back a seat that’s right in the middle. “We have a few things to talk about, it won’t be long, don’t worry.”

Swallowing down the lump in your throat, you carefully went to where the seat is, trying to contain your frantic breathing in order to hide your fear. The bodyguards that were following you both are situated outside.

By the time you sit down is when Shinsuke starts talking, not deciding to sit down on a chair. “Now that we’re in a more private area, let’s start talking, shall we?”

You nodded slowly. “..Is there… A problem, Mr. Hiiragi?” You ask hesitantly.

He laughs, starting to walk slowly around you. “Straight to the point, I like that.” He comments. “Yes, there is a problem, Mx. ( Last Name ).”

Your breath hitches; he proceeds to explain more. “You see, this wedding is a very precious event to the Hiiragi Clan. Everyone thinks the lovely couple is perfect, like straight out of a fairytale, so I like to keep it that way.” You watch as he brushes one of the chairs as he walks by. Did he find out about you and Ayato?

“So when someone reported to me that they caught sight of you walking back inside the bachelor party venue together with the bride – who didn’t bother hiding the fact that she was crying – I have to make sure all’s well.” He adds, and you mentally sigh in relief.

His eyes then narrow. “I hope you understand where I’m coming from, and I fear that you might take the opportunity to taint the Hiiragi name and accuse that Chisato is unhappily married to Kamisato Ayato.”

You shook your head frantically. “N-No, I wouldn’t dare to do such a thing to my friends.”

“How should I know if you’re telling the truth? And before I knew it, the media would talk about how Chisato had unwillingly married the CEO of the Yashiro Company because of you and your schemes!”

“I am telling the truth, Mr. Hiiragi! I wish nothing but happiness for the couple.”

“As if that’s enough to do so.” He lets out a “tsk”, glaring down at you. “I have no choice but to get rid of you. Who knows when you will eventually risk tearing down my reputation!”

You gasp aloud, immediately standing up from your seat. “Get rid of me?! But Mr. Hiiragi, that’s too much! I haven’t done anything ever since the bachelor party happened–”

“You dare to raise your voice on me!? Did you forget your place, or shall I remind you?!” He exclaims. You panic when he suddenly storms towards you, his hand slowly raises up to hit you.

Suddenly, the door opens, causing the man to stop himself from hitting you and look at the intruder.

“Was I interrupting something?”

Your eyes brighten when you recognize the person’s voice, and you look at the intruder who’s standing by the doorway.

“O-Oh, Mr. Ragnvindr!” Shinsuke spoke, his tone is now nice and kind unlike a few seconds ago. “What a lovely surprise. I was just having a special meeting with Mx. ( Last Name ) regarding the wedding–”

“I’m here to talk about your pesky bodyguards who aren’t doing their job right” Diluc spoke, his voice dark and cold – a big comparison to his gentle tone when he talks to you. “I was just passing by when they suddenly confronted me and dared to lay a hand on me for no reason.”

You saw the way Shinsuke’s eyes widened, his eyebrows furrowing. “What?! How unprofessional of them! Where are they now?”

Diluc opens the door wide. “You may check on them. I simply pulled self-defense since they tried to fight me. Had this happened to someone else, I fear an innocent person would get hurt by their recklessness.” He scolded Shinsuke, who hesitated from his offer to check on the bodyguards.

The elder man glances at you, causing you to freeze up from his glare. “This isn’t over yet.” He mouths before looking back at the red-haired man. “I apologize sincerely on behalf of my bodyguards. I’ll make sure it won’t happen ever again.”

“Good. Now leave.”

Begrudgingly, Shinsuke heads out from the conference room. By the time the CEO is out of your sight, Diluc looks in your direction.

“Diluc.” You called.

His eyes softened. “( Name ).”

He then gestures to you to come with him. “Come with me. Let’s get you out of here.”

When you come out of the conference room with Diluc being by your side, you’re surprised to see the sight of Shinsuke standing over the bodyguards on the ground, some groaning out in pain while some were out cold. Just what did Diluc do to them?

You dare not to question, grateful for saving you from what Shinsuke was planning to do to you.

As soon as you two are somewhere where most people don’t come to in the lobby, you let out a breath you didn’t know you’re holding.

“Are you alright?” Diluc asks worryingly, giving you your bag you didn’t know he was holding. “What happened back there?”

You slowly grab your bag from him, avoiding his gaze. “I… I don’t know.. He just took me to that room and threatened me for something that happened in the bachelor party. I wouldn’t dare to do that to my friends.” You clench your teeth at the audacity the cruel CEO has. “I’m just grateful you were able to come by before something happened. How did you know I was there?”

“I saw one of the guards holding your bag.” He answers honestly. “I recognized it was the one you were carrying when we were taking a stroll around the garden, so I had to investigate. Did they hurt you?”

You shook your head. “Mr. Hiiragi was about to, but you made it in time before he could hurt me.”

Diluc’s eyes slightly widened, before quickly narrowing his eyes at the thought that someone would dare to hurt you. “How dare he.. I knew he wasn’t good news.”

“It’s fine… None of us could’ve predicted he would do something like this.” You mumbled. It was technically a lie, you knew someone like Shinsuke would do this, but you didn’t want your friend to be worried and angry. “Thank you for your help, Diluc. I owe you a lot.”

“Anything for you.” He replied. He suddenly puts a hand on your shoulder in an attempt to comfort you, causing your heart to start beating fast while your cheeks begin to warm up from his words and gestures. “You don’t owe me anything. Just… be more careful, I don’t want you to get hurt by someone as cruel and despicable as him.”

You nodded slowly, your mouth twitching upwards. “I’ll try.”

“Were you heading towards your room?” He asks, and you hum softly in response. “I could escort you back there if you’d like. Just in case Mr. Hiiragi dares to come to you again.”

You shook your head. “Oh I don’t want to bother you since you’re waiting for your plus one. I think I can go back on my own.”

“I insist. It would hurt me if something bad happens to you again when I could’ve helped you, and besides, I’m sure my plus one can wait and understand.” He insists. “Come.”

“...Thank you again, Diluc.” You spoke softly before the two of you started heading towards the elevator area that’s across the hotel lobby from where you are.

The two of you didn’t say a word to one another while you’re walking, but you didn’t mind. You were still shaken up by what happened. Who knows when Shinsuke will try to bother you again? What if he comes to Liyue and ruins your life?

“Will you be alright, ( Name )?” He suddenly asks, causing your worrisome thoughts to fade away from his voice.

You look at him for a moment before nodding slowly. “I suppose so… I could just ask Zhongli or someone else to accompany me every time I go until I head to the airport in a few days.”

You failed to notice the slight change of expression Diluc’s holding when you talked about going to the airport, your thoughts now drifted to what’s going to happen in a few days.

Now that you think about it, the day you’ll go back to Liyue is near, so that means you’ll be back to your life again. You’ll be back to your cozy and comfortable apartment that you missed instead of the luxurious hotel, you’ll be back to working all day instead of exploring around Mondstadt,

You’ll be back without seeing Diluc ever again.

Your heart ached at that thought.

What will happen once you return? Will you and Diluc stop talking as if nothing happened? You didn’t want that to happen, you could care less if he doesn’t like you the way you do, wouldn’t it be sad if you two act like strangers—?

“When will you travel back to Liyue?” Diluc asks, causing your thoughts to be stopped abruptly from his voice as the two of you arrive at the elevator area.

You try to count the days you have left.

“In 2 days perhaps. Maybe more if I could.”

One of the elevators lets out a “ding!” noise as it opens for you and Diluc to come in. By the time you did, you found the urge to ask him a question. “Why did you ask?”

Diluc clears his throat, feeling a bit embarrassed. “I just want to know so I could say goodbye to you in the airport.”

Your eyes widen a bit and glance at his direction, did you hear that right?

“That’s only if you don’t mind me coming, of course.” He clarifies quickly. “I understand if you don’t want me there.”

“O-Oh don’t worry, I don’t mind.” You reassured him. “I just felt surprised since I didn’t think you wanted to since you could just say goodbye to me by the hotel lobby.”

“That’s true,” He hums in agreement, “but I prefer saying goodbye to you in the airport before you go even though we’ll talk again once you’re back to your home.”

Your eyes brightens from hearing that Diluc’s actually planning on chatting with you, now feeling rest assured that your friendship with him will go on.

A smile grows on your face as you ignore the way your heart flutters. “That’s sweet of you, I’ll be looking forward to it then.”

The two of you continue to converse with one another as the elevator finally arrives at your floor. It didn’t hit you that just conversing with him put your thoughts about Shinsuke away by the back of your mind.

Now that you think about it, this day is just like the one a few days ago. It’s funny to think that you’d end up in this situation again, especially now that the both of you are more comfortable with each other.

By the time you finally arrive at your hotel room, you hesitantly look at Diluc. “Thanks again for what you did, Diluc. I hope you’ll have fun with your plus one.”

He nods in response. “It’s no problem. I hope you’ll be okay, I’ll see you again next time.”

You then brought out your hotel card and opened the room with it. Before you enter though, you look back at Diluc.

“Goodbye, Diluc.” You said.

“Goodbye as well, ( Name ).”

Without another word, you enter the room, leaving Diluc now alone in the now empty hallways.

…He should head back before his plus one gets impatient.

Too late, he already is impatient.

“And here I thought you completely ditched me because of how I took so long to get here.” Kaeya spoke up as soon as Diluc was in front of him from the elevator. “Aren’t you supposed to be an early bird? What took you so long anyway?”

Diluc rolls his eyes. “It’s nothing. I simply had a talk with a friend of mine.”

“Last time I remember, none of the guests were even your friends—” Kaeya stops himself when he realizes something. “Oho… I see now. You must’ve met up with that ( Name ) person, didn’t you?” He asks, a mischievous smirk is evident on his face.

Diluc furrows his eyebrows. “What? No, of course no—”

The blue-haired man pats the red-haired man’s shoulder. “I wish you the best. I hope you didn’t say anything that’s embarrassing to the Ragnvindr's name and I expect a proper introduction to whoever this ( Name ) is that seems to capture your interest.”

“Don’t make me ban you from taking the wine in my estate.”

“Am I not allowed to show my support in my dear sworn brother’s first experience in lo—?”

“Let’s just go to Mr. and Mrs. Kamisato instead of wasting our time talking about this.” Diluc cuts him off before walking away from Kaeya, who’s still smirking.

This is going to be fun, Kaeya muses before following the red-haired man.

—

As you enter the room, you let out a sigh of relief, walking towards your bed and falling on it in exhaustion.

“Took you long enough.” Zhongli spoke up. “Let me guess, did you manage to encounter Mr. Ragnvindr once again?”

You didn’t bother lifting your head up. “Oh don’t get me started.” You respond, your voice muffled from your face being covered. “Which one do you want to hear the most?”

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