𖾕𖾝𖾟 @akwechi - Tumblr Blog

— third door on the left, marked "debate club"

two professors. one office door away from kissing or killing each other. maybe both.

featuring . theoretical philosophy professor!anaxa x practical philosophy professor!fem!reader.

tags . university au. nodern au. suggestive. semi-public sex mentioned/referenced. (you make so many) sex jokes. fluff. ooc. soft anaxa. comedy. mild language. academic rivalry but make it professors. mentions of alcohol use. workplace romance. bickering as a love language.. flirting. so many philosophy terms (that i barely understand). wc 3.1k.

a/n . a friend dabbed me into philosophy and i folded. the handjob joke was initially hers but i couldn't help myself. im not a philosophy major so if you are please forgive me for any mistakes, my friend who actually majored in it helped me a small bit and im still confused. lmk if there are any typos. enjoy <3

"your handwriting is offensive," you mutter, turning the paper sideways, then upside down.

anaxa doesn’t look up from his tea. "you still read it, though."

"barely. is this supposed to say 'conscious' or 'conscience'?"

"both."

"no."

"well, that’s why i'm a philosopher."

"i also am one. your last footnotes gave me a headache."

he finally looks up, raising an eyebrow. "then my work here is done."

shokoiism

how do i make you love me

☆ that was until his eyes flickered over and finally landed on you, shamelessly letting them run down your body and back to your face, a grin resembling a predator with prey in sight. “well, hey there, little bunny. don’t you look absolutely scrumptious today.” he licked over his teeth obnoxiously.

lohen was…an interesting customer, some would say. you, however, would love to poison his coffee.

pairing. lohen x baker!reader word count. 12k content warnings. violence, stalking, knife violence: stabbing, blood, manipulation, mentions of murder, protective lohen. notes. this is my first time publishing anything on here, my first genshin fic and my first fic of this sort. began writing this before lohen release and just finished it now, so i hope it does him justice. written entirely on my phone and not proofread ! read on ao3 divider credit: cursed-carmine

“he’s back again!” venti’s voice sang through the back, giggling slightly through the words. “and asking for you like always.”

“tell him i’m busy.”

“already did! and then he threatened to jump the counter,” venti replied less enthusiastically, now sticking his head around the back and giving you that puppy-dog look—the one he knew didn’t actually work but annoyed you enough to make you let out a loud sigh and throw the piping bag to the table, following after venti with an annoyed grumble as albedo carefully picked up your abandoned piping bag and neatly put it back in place.

just as you rounded the corner into the bakery, your eyes immediately locked onto a pair of crimson eyes already staring at you with that same slightly concerning glint swimming around them. lohen. your most bothersome and infuriating customer who always insisted on talking with you and nobody but you, glaring daggers into all of your staff members to such a degree that they all feared him immensely. your part-time employee bennett had once spoken to lohen and been left an absolute mess, hiding in the back with tears streaming down his face and his body shaking. he was already taking a sip from his usual order of black coffee with your handmade blueberry syrup, smacking his lips together impatiently.

that was until his eyes flickered over and finally landed on you, shamelessly letting them run down your body and back to your face, a grin resembling a predator with prey in sight. “well, hey there, little bunny. don’t you look absolutely scrumptious today.” he licked over his teeth obnoxiously.

“one day i’m gonna make sure your coffee is poisoned,” you stated with an exasperated tone, ignoring the way he almost seemed excited at your proposal. “what do you want? i have stuff to do.”

“just wanted to see your pretty face; figured it’d bless the rest of my day.”

lohen was…an interesting customer.

not long after you’d initially relaunched the bakery in mondstadt city and hired some of your closest friends, you experienced an odd morning where both of your baristas were delayed and bennett was sick, leaving you to man the counter momentarily whilst waiting for your usual employees; something you never usually did as you preferred to stay in the back and bake, especially during the morning rush. you had good customer service skills, having worked in a store before, but venti and dahlia were just on a completely different level, thriving off interactions with customers. the bakery was mostly silent, with a few customers scattered around with their laptops, clearly working on something with their beverages and their chosen selection from your rather creative menu of sweet treats, baked goods, and sandwiches.

lohen came in, eyes already snapping over to examine everyone and everything before they suddenly snapped to you, causing you to quirk an eyebrow in confusion at his odd behavior. what was even weirder was the way his uniquely crimson eyes widened the second they landed on you, his lips pulling into what looked like a crazed smile, making you recoil ever so slightly at just how downright insane he suddenly seemed. you’d never seen him before, but after that day… you weren’t sure you ever wanted to. he was perfectly polite, sans the rather weird flirting he tried to initiate and the way he’d just never let his eyes move from you for more than a second. even when you’d made his coffee and given it to him, his tongue ran over his teeth, spreading into a predatory smile as he thanked you for the coffee, backing out of the store as if he never wanted to take his eyes off you.

since that day, he would routinely come in and ask for you specifically, unwilling to let anyone else take his order or make his coffee. the one time you weren’t around and they had bennett on trial for making coffee during stressful situations, lohen had lost his absolute mind and yelled at the poor boy. when you did finally show up for work, having decided to shift your hours, you’d find a crying bennett in the back and venti already throwing words at you.

needless to say, the very next morning upon lohen’s arrival, he was surprised to see your usual neutral face scrunched in anger and your flat tone raised in a genuine flare of anger, scolding him viciously for what he did to bennett. despite him apologizing to your staff member, something about the way he began staring at you dazedly after that sometimes made you wonder whether his little fascination with you had truly bloomed after that day; whether seeing you show more emotion than your flat delivery and expressionless face had really gotten him going.

“it’s seven am.” your hands slammed down onto the counter, eyes squinting in lohen’s direction as he casually sipped on his coffee, clearly amused. “i’m not in the mood for your shit, lohen.”

“well, well, well, that’s no way to talk to a customer, now is it, bunny?” lohen teased, and within seconds had learned in, nose to nose with you as his intense eyes bore into yours, leaving you slightly stunned at how quickly he had moved. “but you seem… genuine, so i hope you have a great day. just remember, any rude customers and i’ll happily deal with them for you!”

he was dressed in his usual slacks and loose white shirt, hair messy but styled, and of course, his two daggers sitting snugly in his belt just waiting for usage. you knew he had a pistol tucked into the back of his slacks and most likely one tucked away somewhere else, and that was not because you’d noticed randomly, but rather because he’d eagerly shown you all of his weapons one random morning when you’d inquired about the red stains on his slacks. that is to say that you’d learnt quite a lot about his work that day, especially how he apparently worked for some special task force—something you would’ve questioned if not for the one time he came in with his supervisor, a man much taller, bigger, and energetic.

the thing was, his supervisor, varka had been very nice. he conversed loudly with some of your staff members and friends, specifically venti, and that was how you’d learn more about their special task force and maybe catch a peek into lohen’s role there and why he felt the need to carry multiple weapons on him. where lohen was calculating, observing, and had a tendency to follow his own whims rather than actually listen to what he was told, varka came across as someone who commanded all attention in a room but was simultaneously very emotionally intelligent, something you realized when you noticed how his thoughtful eyes observed lohen, as if he had noticed something never seen before.

everyone else went back to serving customers normally, bennett pretending to not see lohen as he cleared off various tables whilst dahlia prepared coffee orders and venti happily took more from the surge of people who’d entered your bakery. but now standing off to the side, you could feel lohen’s eyes watching your every move, burning into your head as you returned to the back and even if he didn’t say anymore, you still briefly turned around to see that same crazed smile painted across his lips, winking at you. with a groan and a muttered swear word, you’d rushed into the back and ignored albedo’s confusion over the redness in your cheeks, washing your hands rather aggressively.

“is that your boyfriend?”

the bar of soap in your hand dropped to the sink, clattering loudly as your head snapped over to gape at durin, your newest employee and an apprentice under albedo, whose eyes had widened from your surprise. shaking your head furiously with a scoff, you quickly finished washing your hands and pressed the wet hands to your cheeks, hoping to calm the burning in them down significantly. you pretended not to see the way albedo nudged durin slightly, shaking his head and leaving the young one even more perplexed as he continued working on the tempered chocolate.

they all loved to tease you and make small innuendos about you and lohen, noticing how you clearly relished in the odd attention the man showed you. unlike others, who spoke to impress or to brag, something about his odd nature of speech was comforting to you, even if it was him often threatening to harm any customer who’d been rude to you or him graphically telling you about his latest encounter—he was an odd person, but you quite enjoyed his weirdness even if it did seem borderline unstable at times. after all, who were you to judge? he was always perfectly normal to everyone, threatening violence, but you knew that was part of his job, and made sure to never cross any lines. even his nickname for you was one he’d begun calling you out of nowhere, and even if you did scold him about it multiple times, he never really used it in an obnoxious manner; he’d clearly taken an interest in you and you had to admit that you enjoyed it. you enjoyed the verbal banter, being able to speak freely without having him give you the usual ‘women shouldn’t speak so crassly’ bullshit like other men often did and the way his eyes shone brightly whenever you didn’t immediately shut him down.

“bunny!” lohen’s voice reached you throughout the back, your head snapping up in confusion as to why exactly you were able to hear him so clearly. “leaving now, don’t miss me too much,” he sang cheerily as he leaned over your counter, head poking out to stare right at you with that same cocky smirk playing on his lips. rolling your eyes, you raised your hand to flip him off and turned back around, ignoring the loud chuckle he let out followed by a whistle.

you let out a sigh, silently thanking the archons above that albedo and durin did not care for this, both quietly working in the corner of the large kitchen in the back. unfortunately, the idiot duo, as you lovingly called them, were less socially aware, and both skipped to the back to tease you, leaving bennett to handle the front. their mouths would not stop talking about lohen, venti’s insistence that lohen absolutely had a thing for you, with dahlia agreeing but also making it clear that something about lohen seemed borderline unstable at times. like the time when lohen had damn near broken a cup when a customer decided to yell at you after yelling at bennett and your part-time helpers razor and fischl, inevitably summoning you to the front to deal with him. you had no problem handling the angry customer, keeping your tone steady and calm but with a chilling coldness as you told him to fuck off.

to absolutely nobody’s surprise, the customer never came back, and the sheer fear people felt from seeing your eerie display of calmness in a perilous situation paired with a deathly coldness was enough to never cause trouble. lohen had been sitting in the corner, on the phone, but tuned in the second he heard the commotion, and whilst he’d never say it, you knew he didn’t actually care about what was happening. however, you did notice how he suddenly narrowed his eyes in your direction when you came storming from the back, pushing all three employees behind you as you levelled the sour customer with a nasty glare. and of course you noticed the way lohen’s regular, borderline scary grin twisted into a rather crazed one when you kicked the customer out of your store.

(and if lohen had apprehended the customer outside in an alley and dealt with him, well that was nobody’s business but his).

“if the two of you don’t get your asses back now, i’ll revoke your day off.”

“you can’t do that! lyney and lynette’s magic show is finally coming to mondstadt city, boss,” venti protested with a stomp and a huff, acting like an overgrown child all while dahlia nodded at his side.

you cocked an eyebrow in his direction, leaning in close to flick his braid. “well, get to work then.”

“you’re so unfair.”

“dahlia, don’t piss me off now.”

“…”

needless to say, the two men gave you faux glares as they backed back into the store, grumbling and groaning about their dictator boss. but you knew they were just messing around, and they knew you were as well, never wanting to let down your friends. after all, venti and dahlia had been the very first of your friends to offer their full-time services at your bakery when it was still merely an idea, a dream. you’d worked at this bakery part-time for years when studying but always dreamt of perhaps owning your own place, somewhere that wasn’t all international business and marketing but bread and cakes with a comfortable atmosphere. and when your boss eventually told you she’d be retiring, she gave the entire bakery to you, allowing you to turn your dream into a reality and become the new owner of this bakery, customizing it and becoming rather well-known for your food items.

the lunch rush eventually came in, which meant your shift was done, leaving your bakery in the capable hands of your employees as you headed home, exhausted and in desperate need of a nap. unlike the others, you and albedo usually had the earliest shifts, coming in bright and early to spend the whole day baking and preparing, then leaving around noon or early evening with the bakery in the hands of your bright and lively employees. lohen had your schedule down to perfection; even you didn’t know how he always knew when you’d be there and what days, but you’d been informed multiple times that he never stepped through those doors if you weren’t there. it was as if his sole purpose for coming by and making himself awfully comfortable with that lean posture and wide grin was to see you.

a warm shower later, and you plopped down onto your couch with a warm bowl of food in your hands, the television already playing one of your favorite shows as you ate in silence. you loved working with all of your friends, but starting at three am and having to hear venti’s and dahlia’s bickering from as early as six am could definitely be mind-numbing at times. your phone was charging, your empty bowl was placed on the couch, and you let out a yawn as you got comfortable on your sofa, hoping you’d be able to get through at least an episode. alas, your mind must’ve had other plans, and within just a few minutes, you were fast asleep on the sofa, the sun beaming on you through the tall windows.

a loud ringing snapped you out of your sleep, leaving you to rapidly snap up from your sleeping state and sit upright on the sofa, looking around with choppy breaths leaving you. your eyes narrowed in on your light pink phone charging on the table, and with a sigh, you reached out to grab the phone, opening the flip phone to accept the call.

“hello?”

“uhm, h-hi boss.” bennett’s nervous voice came through your phone, and you fell back into your couch, glancing out the window to stare at the beautifully painted sky, full of stars, as bennett struggled to verbalize on the other end, and you knew better than to interrupt him, giving him time to get his words strung together. “uhm, so promise you won’t get mad… we’re really sorry!”

“bennett, what happened?”

“well, uhm, you know razor and fischl came over for the evening shift, like planned. and then, uhm, venti and dahlia told us to lock up when we leave, like usual. and then, uhm, i told razor to set the alarm, and we left—”

you could already tell where this was going, but you decided to remain patient, taking a deep breath as your hand began massaging your temple. “bennett, please get to the point.”

“razor forgot to set the alarm, and we didn’t know, but we went back and the alarm wouldn’t let us set it at all, saying it needs an administrator password, but, oh my god, fischl, don’t say that! but we don’t know what to do, and we’re really sorry, and i totally understand if you want to fire us, but it really was a mistake, and razor feels super bad about it–”

“hey, hey, hey!” your voice broke through whatever freak-out bennett was experiencing, rendering the other side completely silent as you asked to be set on speaker. “i’m not gonna fire any of you. it was a mistake, it happens. i’ll go check up on the bakery and set the alarm.”

a collective sigh of relief came from the other side, but what caught your ear was the slight sniffle and bennett’s small words of comfort to razor and you know he must’ve been feeling terribly about this mishap. after a few more words of comfort and asking all of them to come by the bakery after their classes tomorrow, you threw on a pair of jeans and an oversized knit sweater which hung off your shoulders, tucked into your jeans as you slid on a pair of sneakers, grabbed your purse and rushed out of the door. your bakery was located a good ten–minute walk away, so whilst you weren’t necessarily a fan of walking through the city in the middle of the night, you were used to it due to your early shifts.

the birds were chirping happily, a few stray dogs were running around, and you shared a smile with some of the people you saw on the way who were frequent patrons of your bakery, wishing you a good night. upon reaching your bakery, you were relieved to see the bakery looking perfectly fine, running around to the back to unlock the door only to find your employee entrance unlocked, setting off several bells in your head.

even if razor forgot to set the alarm, they wouldn’t have forgotten to lock the door. or so you would’ve hoped, but they’d already told you that they’d gone back, and as you told them that you would be heading back to set the alarm, you figured they may have merely left it open for you to make it easier. shrugging to yourself and pulling open the door, you let it close behind you as you placed your purse on the small table just outside the kitchen, walking through your various shelves to check if everything seemed fine. like every evening, your staff had cleared everything perfectly and left out the utensils you’d need, even putting the speaker to charge alongside the ipad so you could listen to music during your morning baking shifts. the windows were sealed close, the lights were off as expected, and the front of the bakery seemed fine: chairs on top of the tables, curtains drawn, and the floor swept.

“hm, should be fine,” you muttered to yourself, deciding to check one last place before you left. but that chance never arose, for just as you were about to turn around, you suddenly felt something cold press against your throat, your breath immediately catching when you felt a hard front press against your back, an unsteady breathing hitting your ear. “w-what the hell?”

that same blade pressed into your throat and a hiss escaped you at the pain of having it dig into your throat, your brain continuously throwing commands at you: run, stay, hide, fight back, stay, don’t die. everything felt like it was coming at you at once and even as the body behind you wrapped another arm around your middle, pushing their own legs to push yours forward and leading you behind the counter, you kept your eyes squeezed shut and tried to let your brain take you anywhere but here—somewhere that wasn’t your safe space becoming your nightmare.

“who are you? what do you want?”

a guff chuckle resonated through your back, your lips curling in disgust as the blade continued to dig into your throat, leaving drops of blood to escape the wound. from the corner of your eye, you could see more people escaping from your storage room, the very last room you were going to check before leaving. the man behind you seemed to hold no interest in anything else but keeping you subdued, giving commands to the other men and instructing them to grab the money from your till, but never once speaking to you. his hand around your middle tightened as you began to struggle in his grasp, gritting your teeth together and attempting to escape.

“lady, i struggle you stay still unless you want me to slit your throat and leave you here to die alone.” his gruff voice echoed through the front of your bakery, your body going still when you felt that same blade dig deeper, tears whelming up in your eyes.

this was not how you expected your evening to go. yet here you were, held captive in your own establishment with a knife pressed to your throat and watching with your own eyes as they stole your hard-earned money from your register. as they grabbed the expensive kitchen machines and tools, stuffing them into duffle bags and running out of the back entrance. and every word began to feel like it was muffled, as if your body were underwater when the reality dawned on you. because you felt helpless—there was nothing you could do. unless you wanted to die a miserable death, left to die and most likely having to traumatize your own friends by having them find your dead body, you’d just have to remain helpless and watch as your life was invaded and abused, as your business was ravaged and purloined.

“that’s a good girl.”

your elbow snapped back, ignoring the way the knife dug deeper into your throat before dropping, leaving you to helplessly grab at your throat to stop the blood, thankful that it hadn’t gone too deep and would hopefully not kill you, but painfully enough to have shards of agony coursing through your nerves as you stumbled backwards, grabbing onto a table to steady yourself. your breaths were coming out in pocketed gasps, eyes widening when your brain realized that you weren’t actually inhaling enough oxygen, subconsciously leading you to panic inwardly about how the hell you’d just done. the man hissed at the contact between your sharp elbow and his ribs, cursing in anger as he picked up the blade again, charging straight at you. stumbling around the table, your feet carried you a mere few feet forward before a hand tangled into your hair, a cry of pain breaking free from your chest when you were thrown to the floor, your hand immediately shooting up to cover your throat.

“i told you to stay still.” the man charged at you, landing a kick to your legs, ignoring the scream which escaped your throat, merely landing a few more to your stomach. “i told you to not do anything stupid.”

another kick was incoming; you knew it, and you did your best to shield yourself, ignoring the blood gushing from your throat and escaping out of the corners of your mouth when your arms struggled to wrap around your stomach to brace for another kick and as you’d expected, the heavy boots collided with your middle again, your arms taking most of the damage when you let out another cry, your head painfully colliding with the floor when you blinked up at him, aware of all the blood around you. someone from the back of the store hollered something at the man, perhaps warning him about someone and when he stared down at you again, a snarl on his lips, you could almost see the contemplation in his eyes: should he kill you or not?

lucky for you, time was not on your attacker’s side and he leapt past your pathetic form, grabbing another bag from the counter as your eyes tracked him escaping through the back of your store. the phone in the back of your jeans was calling your name, begging you to slide it out and call someone for help, for aid, for anything, yet the heaviness in your arms rendered you helpless on the floor. the blood trickling from your mouth and throat was forming a pool beneath your body, the aching in your body expanding and deepening immensely as your sight went blurry; whether it was from the involuntary tears or the burning from your wounds, you couldn’t tell.

what you could tell is that you were alone, all alone. in the darkness of your own sanctuary, you’d watched your hard work be stolen within seconds, felt everything you’d ever worked for be taken from you, and left youself in a sorry state. as if your machinery and money weren’t enough, the blood swimming around under you was yet another theft committed against you, taking something as simple as your blood and your fight from your damaged and shattered body.

that was until you saw something blurry crouching down in front of you, hands steadily reaching out towards you as your mouth began moving on its own, pleading whoever had come back to not kill you, to not hurt you anymore, slurring your words when begging the person to just take whatever they wanted but leave you alone. your eyes couldn’t narrow in on whoever was in front of you and even if some part of your brain was trying to register the person’s smaller but lean build, your mouth kept blubbering the same pleas, scared of having your own friends walk in and find you beaten and left to die.

“bunny, it’s me, it’s me.” the cold hand washed over your forehead and into your hair, pushing back the unruly strands which were sticking to your bloody face and finally allowing your blinking eyes to narrow in on the stature of lohen crouching in front of you, his usually crazed grin dampened into an angry grimace as those same crimson eyes rapidly scanned over your entire body, scowling. “nobody’s coming back to hurt you.”

“l-lohen?” your eyebrows tried to come together, a hiccuped gasp tumbling out of your throat as his cold hand pressed against your throat, providing you with some much-needed relief and finally blocking the blood trying to escape your throat. “w-wha’ are you doin’ h-here?”

a reply never came as his hands slid beneath your wounded body, muttering small praises as he gently flipped you onto your back, pulling out his own dagger and harshly cutting into his shirt, firmly wrapping the fabric around your throat to stop the bleeding as his hand then gently pushed up your sweater to see the swelling and bruises forming on your stomach, eyes flickering up to see your hazy eyes focused in on him, never once protesting as he pushed up your sweater even further, pressing his hands against your marred stomach and staring intensely at you as gasps of relief poured out of your blood-stained mouth, your eyes never once breaking contact with his.

“i knew something was weird when you came back,” he muttered more so to himself as his hands continuously poked around your torso, hushing you gently every time you let out a gasp of pain or a cry, assuring you that he was merely attempting to locate any more injuries internally. “didn’t understand why you’d return already.”

something about his words should have made bells go off in your head. something about the weirdly cold expression on his face should have been equally disturbing.

however, in this very moment of haziness, you thanked the archons above that lohen was here, not giving another thought as to why he knew of your whereabouts and how he got here so fast. in your sorry state of bodily fluids pooling beneath you, the feeling of his cold hands pressing into your torso was all you needed. and even if the rest of the situation were a haze in your mind, only remembering bits and pieces, you’d never forget the brush of his warm lips against your forehead, promising you that you could relax now–promising you that nobody would ever lay another hand on you again.

perhaps some people would call you an idiot for believing a man you essentially didn’t know, someone who merely came into your bakery every day and asked for you for personal and selfish reasons, but something about the fire of fury burning within his eyes felt special to you. it felt like he truly cared about you and was genuinely angered by finding you in such a state. nevertheless, your arm rose from where it’d been limp on the floor, hand finding lohen’s face and wrapping about his cheek as his crimson eyes snapped to yours in confusion. your thumb caressed the soft skin beneath his eyes, a small smile pointed in his direction with a whispered gratitude before the world went dark.

and in the very bakery, lohen could feel his heart stir in a way it hadn’t in years. his hand would reach down to intertwine your fingers again, lifting them to his mouth and pressing a small kiss to your bloodied fist. but despite the pain you’d faced and feeling an insatiable desire to hunt down and kill whoever did this to you, he also found himself thinking that this might be the most beautiful you’d ever looked if only the blood covering you so messily wasn’t your own.

☆

days would pass before consciousness came to you, leaving you perplexed and stunned when you awoke in your bedroom in your own pajamas, curtains drawn and not a single thing out of order. your groggy mind was trying to convince you that maybe everything you seemingly experienced was a dream, but the aching in your body felt as real as the continuous twinge of pain in your throat whenever you moved too much.

memories from the former events would soon resurface, leading you to bury yourself deep within your own bed, covered entirely by your duvet as those small flashes of fear kept making their appearance. your pillow was stained from the silent tears, and even as you lay curled up in your bed, crying silently, feeling every silent sob send trembles through your body, your hand was pressed firmly against your throat, so as to assure yourself that you were okay. you survived, you’d made it out, and you had begun to recover, but the trauma was lingering. the feeling of the man holding the blade against your throat, the cool steel and its sharp edge puncturing your skin was a feeling you would never forget.

suddenly you felt a hand caressing your form over the duvet, a small humming following, and despite the attempts to be comforting, your body froze entirely, a cry stuck in your throat when your mind began to process that you weren’t alone… again. someone had invaded your bakery and tainted its sanctity, and now they were in your home, probably looking to finish the job. but the feeling of panic never truly settled as a voice spoke into the silent room, melting every inch of tension from your body.

“awh, little bunny, it’s just me.”

a pair of fingers hooked around the top of your duvet but never moved, almost as if the person were giving you the option to refuse if you didn’t want to show yourself. but even with all these questions swarming your mind and strangling you silently, you yearned to feel less alone, to not feel left to death or recovery on your own. and so you allowed lohen to pull the duvet from your head, knowing you probably looked like a fucking troll with your messy hair and widened watery eyes, staring up at the ceiling as the world slowly came into your view. but instead of taking in the view from your window or glancing around, your eyes instinctively found lohen’s crimson eyes surrounded by a blue tinge, finding a sense of comfort in that small smile lingering on his pink lips as his hand tucked in the duvet by your waist, keeping you nice and warm but exposing your face to him. his hand gently caressed your arm, moving up and wiping one of those tears from your face, staring at your face and specifically at those spilled tears as if they were something precious.

and when he lifted his hand, licking your salty tear off his thumb with a euphoric expression passing over his face, eyes momentarily widening in surprise, it didn’t scare you, nor did it send a shiver of confusion down your spine as one would expect; instead, a flood of warmth came crashing over you, a flower of comfort blooming in your stomach. something about the glint of obsession in his eyes when he glanced back down at you, gently taking a place by your side and reaching out for your face gave you a comfort you hadn’t felt for years, if ever.

“c-can you tell me what happened?” your voice was raspy from disuse, triggering a small coughing fit after as lohen gently ran his hand up and down you back with small tuts, truly treating you like a small bunny. “i… i’m really confused.”

those crimson eyes skirted back to meet yours, an almost mocking sigh leaving his mouth. “are you sure, bunny? it’s a lot.” something about his tone didn’t seem entirely genuine, though, as if he really did want to tell you everything.

nevertheless, you pushed yourself upright in your bed and leaned against the headboard, lohen aiding you in moving around as groans and hisses of pain kept escaping you unwillingly, his one hand wrapped around your throat in a way that should’ve seemed threatening but felt comforting more than anything, especially the coldness of his touch. something about the sun reflecting from behind him, illuminating him from behind yet casting a shadow over his face, made your eyes narrow in confusion.

“wait,” you spoke in a whisper, placing a hand over his hand as he softly rubbed the dried tears off your face, halting his actions. “how did you get here, lohen?”

lohen let out a sigh, not answering you whilst concentrating on wiping your tears with that same soft touch, crimson eyes tracing every inch of your face as you watched him quietly, enthralled by how almost reverent he seemed in his actions, dedicating himself to you. he wasn’t in his usual work outfit, instead dressed in what looked like a pair of sweatpants and a well-fitting t-shirt, confirming to you that he really did have a rather lean build underneath his shirt, corded with muscles but not bulky—but the most striking part was just how comfortable he seemed in your apartment, present as if this was normal, never once bothering to explain himself before now, moving around like he belonged here.

the retelling of what had happened was just as haunting as the small bits in your head told you, and as lohen wrapped up the retelling, your eyes had begun to glaze over, sending you into some odd state of dissociation. not entirely sure what to do but never one to back down from a challenge, lohen let out a coo and repositioned himself, sliding in behind you and sitting against the headboard as he pulled you back, now seated between his legs as your back rested against his firm chest and head landed in the crook of his neck. his cold hands were gently running up and down your arms, grounding you softly but never once pressuring you to return to reality as the memories flooded your mind. not even the small kiss placed on your temple by the man seemed to faze you whatsoever, leaving lohen grinning as your mind seemingly chose to lure you back into sleep, too overwhelmed to process all of this trauma alongside the pain thrumming along in your body.

including lohen’s hold on you tightening, relishing in your blind trust in him, peacefully sleeping in his hold, letting him run his hands along your waist and press small kisses into your temple as sleep soon came to him as well, delighted to be tangled up with you.

☆

the next few days would pass in a blur, lohen never once leaving your side but often going out of the room to take calls. the sudden affection was, however, something that truly caught you off guard. whereas his usual shenanigans in your bakery consisted of flirty comments, oddly protective behaviors, and the occasional attempt to hold your hand or trace his fingers over yours as you handed him coffee, it felt as if that had all culminated into whatever this was. his eyes would always be fixated on you, admiring you at every turn you took, always ready to steady you if the pain became too much, leisurely picking you up and carrying you throughout your own apartment, laughing and enjoying his presence.

the days would be spent watching shows together, lohen telling you about his work and the people he worked with, tracking circles on your skin whenever you opened up about your own work situation, telling him about the origins of your bakery. you’d learn about his habits, how he often acted like a clingy cat and refused to break physical contact with you, and you’d find yourself steadily coming to appreciate his company. at your bakery, it wasn’t exactly a well-kept secret that you did enjoy lohen’s presence – as venti had pointed out once before – and that you kept playing along because you somewhere deep down loved the attention he showed you. the dedication to come by every day, to never cross any real boundaries but instead relish in your natural reactions and the half-hearted insults you’d throw at him, the way he often observed you with crimson shaped hearts in those eyes, a sly smile always lingering on his face.

it felt as if you were finally beginning to actually know lohen as more than that slightly annoying but very handsome customer you dealt with every morning.

when you finally built up the mental fortitude to ask what happened after lohen came to your rescue, you were quite surprised at his answer about how and who had taken care of you. with lohen sitting on the far end of your sofa, your head in his lap and healing body strewn across the soft fabric, he revealed the aftermath of the attack to you. how his medic friend had patched you up and made sure that you would suffer from no permanent injuries from this horrific attack, sans a small scar running across your throat from where you’d unfortunately been sliced by the blade. he recounted how he remembered hearing you mention your older sister once, who he had gotten in contact with using his work connections. she was the one who took care of you, changing your clothes whilst you were unconscious and staying around to make sure you recovered well. but her work would not let her take more than a few days off and so she had to return to sumeru, asking lohen to take care of you; when you’d questioned why him, you’d seen a flush creep up on his face, muttering something about how she’d assumed the two of you were a couple due to the sheer time he spent around you, waiting for your recovery.

he assured you that the men who’d broken into your bakery and caused such harm to you would never be a threat to you again, claiming that his task force had found them shortly after the robbery and arrested them, sending them off to a prison way beyond the borders of mondstadt due to the sheer amount of evidence testifying to their crime. something about the almost murderous glint in his eyes when he relayed this information made you question the validity of this information, but alas, deep down you knew that you didn’t actually care what happened to those men–if lohen had perhaps dealt with them in another manner… well, that wasn’t really your problem.

the memory of him finding you, the horror on his face upon seeing your state yet never once panicking, was forever etched into your mind, bringing a smile to your face as you were standing in your bathroom, finally able to move around on your own without the fear of your pain flaring up or a sudden wave of dizziness crashing over you. perhaps it was soon, but you could tell deep within your stomach that whatever was going on between you and lohen was beyond a friendship; maybe it had never been a friendship to begin with. your entire gimmick was the flirting between you every day, something you both fed into no matter how unwilling you made yourself seem—a fact he was well aware of as he continued to come back every day and indulge even if you told him to fuck off. those interactions had merely been the prelude, and the last few days, almost two weeks, had truly created a bond between the two of you that no words could even aim to describe.

the others did not know what had happened, according to lohen. in fact, he had told you how his team had not just tracked down the criminals in record time but also put everything back in your bakery and cleaned the mess, including your floors which were drenched in your blood. whilst confused at first as he stood in your kitchen, making you dinner in just a pair of loose slacks and a tight tee, he went on to claim he’d seen how much you cared for your friends and he just felt you’d hate for them to know. instead, he’d relayed to them that you were quite ill at the moment and your sister would be taking care of you—something you chose not to question but instead chose to appreciate.

it was moments like those which steadily cemented the two of you as staples in each other’s lives and made you realize that perhaps all your banter with lohen had always been your way of showing interest in him, and now he’d been spending the better part of two weeks staying with you every waking moment, guiding you through the healing and resting process with grace and patience. he spent the first few nights after your initial awakening on the couch, not wanting to cross your boundaries, especially seeing the confusion on your face when you’d awoken and found yourself entangled with lohen. but as days went by and something new bloomed between you two, lohen’s designated sleeping spot became by your side in your bed, always with an arm wrapped around your waist and soft lips pressed against your head. the small suitcase initially placed in your bedroom moved into your bedroom, and slowly, the clothes from within found their way into a designated drawer in your cupboard.

just like his clothes, he craved himself a place in your home and in your heart.

“boss!” durin’s voice echoed throughout the bakery, causing you to spin around and see all of your employees standing in the front of the bakery, shocked and surprised expressions all around as you waved meekly, already bracing for the million questions. “you’re back!”

a tearful reunion later, mostly venti trying to strike you with a baguette with tears brimming in his eyes and dahlia blinking his away, you were told that they’d all been coming in much earlier every morning to bake all the goods for the day; your absence was not just felt in the lacklustre atmosphere but the sheer workload without you felt like too much. venti asked about your health, and it seemed lohen had told them you’d contracted some sort of virus, so after merely assuring them you were fine, all of you got back to work even if you did notice the sweet smiles they’d all directed your way when they thought you were distracted.

observing the way dahlia and venti kept hip-checking each other whilst placing the baked goods in the glass display made a smile subconsciously grow on your face as did the sight of durin finally being able to recreate one of your most memorable pastries all on his own—not perfect but wonderful nonetheless. the proud smile on his face when albedo patted his head in approval, the noise from the front of the bakery, hearing bennett’s laughter throughout the entire shift from the front of the house—moments like these made you so eternally grateful that they didn’t know the truth. they didn’t know that the floor they were currently dancing across, sliding around with happy laughs and cheerful faces, was the very same floor on which you’d almost held to death, coldness seeping into your bones and your mind slowly slipping.

“hey, are you okay?” albedo’s gentle tone would break you out of your own thoughts at times, a concerned glint in his eyes. “you seem… disturbed.”

“i’m fine,” you’d muttered back with a sigh, forcing yourself to flash a small smile in his direction as you tried to bury those memories far back. “just thinking about something, y’know.”

“well, you know we are all here if you wish to speak your mind. it’s been too long.” albedo smiled sincerely at you, patting your shoulder.

that urge to spill your guts to albedo and tell him why you didn’t want to even go into the front of your own bakery grew intensely over the next few days, especially when you’d catch his attentive eyes watching you as your eyes glazed over and your mind went somewhere else. he would never pressure you nor ask too many questions, but that same gentle smile on his face would always assure you that whatever you had on your mind, he was willing to listen.

“boss, someone’s here for you!”

just as you came around the corner with a small sigh and pushing your loose strands of hair away from your face, your eyes found a pair of crimson eyes already narrowed in your direction with that same teasing smile. lohen was sitting at his regular spot by your ordering station, a cup of black coffee already held in his hands, yet it seemed he hadn’t taken a single sip yet.

“took you long enough,” you jabbed in his direction, pretending not to notice how the others were staring at you with flabbergasted expressions as you picked up the jar of blueberry syrup and poured some into lohen’s awaiting cup, rolling his eyes as he winked in your direction.

lohen let out a satisfied hum, licking over his reddened lips as his eyes searched your face, falling to your lips a second too long before they came back up to meet your awaiting eyes. he was obviously relishing in how you were waiting for an answer, arms crossed over your chest and an eyebrow quirked in his direction. “didn’t realize you missed me so much, bunny.”

it was a sunny day with no clouds in sight and the sky as bright as ever, casting a certain joy over the streets of mondstadt. the beaches were most likely packed with people looking to relax, the bars were lined with people sitting outside enjoying their cold beverages, the stores were empty but content with the lack of customers, and inside your bakery sat only two other people, both hidden away in the corners with headphones on and enjoying cold beverages. other patrons had purchased their drinks and left with a smile, headed out to enjoy the great weather and participate in the first real day of summer for teyvat.

and inside your bakery, the usual cloud of confusion and veiled flirting hanging above you and lohen on days like these seemed to be replaced by a sunny disposition, lohen’s smile a little less sharp and with a warmer tone, while the usual scowl on your face seemed less cold and more playful than usual. venti and dahlia were observing with poorly concealed curiosity. as were albedo and durin from the back, bennett hiding away in the industry fridge but still observing from a distance due to his fear of lohen. and they all had the same reaction when you playfully rolled your eyes at him and landed a small flick on his forehead, leaving lohen grinning up at you as his hand grasped yours, placing a small kiss on your knuckles.

“it’s rude to vanish for two days without letting me know.”

“it’s all varka’s fault, bunny. i told him to let me text you, but oh no, it was oh so important that i took care of the mission immediately.”

“well, is it done?”

“obviously, bunny. otherwise i wouldn’t be sitting here, admiring your beautiful face.”

“shut up.”

“make me, and make it hurt.”

“oh my archons, you’re such a freak.”

“don’t act like you don’t like it.”

venti could feel his knees buckling under him whilst watching the two of you flirting so blatantly in front of everyone, your usual banter having become a lot more flirtatious and perhaps sincere. he was used to lohen firing off remarks to flatter you and staring at you as if you’d hung the stars, the moon, and the sun in the sky with your own two hands, but he was not used to lohen being so sincere in his words with you. he had heard you casually asking about lohen’s work before, clearly fascinated by the idea of working for a task force, but he was not used to you clearly amused by lohen’s actions and playing along. and he certainly wasn’t ready for lohen’s fingers to intertwine with yours as he leaned over the counter to mumble something in your ears, to which you’d roll your eyes and slap his shoulder, lohen letting out a wolfish laugh at your annoyance.

“are they—”

“seriously dating?” dahlia was equally appalled, somehow convinced that he had somehow been teleported to an alternate reality in his sleep; that this was merely the product of multiverses and alternate selves. because in what fucking universe were you and lohen, an annoying flirting customer who clearly had a crush on the chronically tired baker who clearly didn’t care for said flirting customer, having a calm and overly friendly relationship with your fingers intertwined and your words laced with familiarity and affection?

venti observed the way lohen would poke at your fingers and the way he’d smile up at you with so much adoration in his eyes, as if you were the only one he saw, but the more surprising aspect of it was the smile on your face as you nodded along to whatever he was telling you. see, venti knew something might be going on between you two, especially as your closest friend in the world, but he didn’t really expect it to evolve into this. however, he merely assumed that whatever sort of blossoming relationship you two had commenced before you got sick must’ve evolved into a very strong bond throughout lohen’s dedication to take care of you whilst sick.

even after lohen left with a brush of his knuckles to your cheek as you tried to push him away, grumbling beneath your breath about how annoying he was all while he laughed loudly and openly at your half-assed annoyance, venti was truly struggling to hold himself back from asking you questions. even when he saw you pull out that signature pink flip phone with the beautiful keychain, the one he knew lohen had gifted you a few months back, the one you’d pretended you didn’t know was from lohen but never removed from your phone, and saw you biting your lip to hold back a smile as your fingers flew across the keys, he knew better than to ask you questions.

after all, he could understand if you did not wish to tell everyone that you and lohen were actually dating after all these months of flirting and playing hard to get, stringing him along and watching him get pulled along happily. he also understood if you didn’t want anyone to know that lohen was the one who’d been taking care of you, so when lohen muttered something about it the next day, venti was understanding.

“you get what i mean, right?” lohen swirled a hand around, staring directly into venti’s eyes as he made sure to stay out of your view even if you did have your back turned to them. “she doesn’t want everyone to know already, especially not that i’ve been taking care of her while she was sick; you know how she is. strong, stubborn…”

venti let out a sigh, twirling his braid around his finger and trying to suppress the odd feeling he got from lohen’s crimson eyes staring up at him. “i guess you’re right. she’s never been one to openly ask for help or share anything about herself. but i hope you know as her best friend, i’m totally obligated to give you the speech. if you hurt her, cheat on her, or do any of the sort, i’m afraid we’re gonna have a problem, mister vice captain.”

“oh ho,” lohen laughed freely, clasping a hand over his own mouth as a wolfish smirk broke out on his face, one hand drifting down to land on his dagger. “well, color me surprised, venti. never thought you had that in ya! but i promise, cross my heart and hope to die, swear on the honor of the archons above and bastards below that i’ll never hurt, harm or betray your best friend. if i do, feel free to plunge my very own dagger straight into my heart and twist it ‘til there’s no blood left to drain.”

“…”

“too much?”

“way too much.” venti shuddered at lohen’s grim words, grimacing as he spun back around and prepared the usual black coffee, grabbing the jar of your special blueberry syrup and placing it on the table, knowing that the second the coffee was done, lohen would be asking for you. “but, i’m glad you’re serious about her. she deserves a good partner and frankly, i have absolutely no idea what she sees in you but if she’s fine with dating a freak who loves to talk about violence, then so be it.”

lohen’s grin grew in a predatory way, leaning back in his chair as he crossed his arms over his chest, eyes glazing over as memories came soaring back into his mind. “oh, trust me, she loves my freakiness.”

“i didn’t mean that, you fucking buffon!” venti grabbed the towel from the desk, rapidly bunching it up and throwing it at lohen’s face, gagging as the true meaning of lohen’s words caught up to him, finally giving him an answer about the small bruises littered across your collarbone which you’d tried to cover up with makeup. “ugh, don’t ever say that in front of me again.”

the noise from venti and lohen would end up attracting your attention as well, coming to the front to greet lohen with a small smile and immediately dropping the usual amount of syrup into his drink as he smiled at you, whipping out his phone to show you pictures he took on his way home from work, the little bunny hidden away in the bushes hiding from lohen. admittedly, venti observed the two of you with a sense of happiness upon seeing how excited you seemed at the video of lohen chasing after the bunny for a video to show you. venti had known you for years and knew the things you’d struggled with from a young age, especially your habit of never really sharing whatever may be going through your head and always pretending to be fine. yet now, seeing the free smile on your lips and the flush on your cheeks as you’d abandoned your spot behind the counter, instead standing by lohen’s side as he showed you more videos, venti could tell you were genuinely happy.

lohen’s one arm was wrapped around your waist, holding you close to his own body as his other hand held his phone over the counter, showing you the videos and pictures he’d taken. you had leaned down to stare at the screen, a few strands falling to cover your eyes, and before he could even move to swipe them away, your eyes flickered to his and shot him a wink as you pushed back your own hair, averting your eyes back to the bunny videos. dahlia and venti were stunned watching lohen’s thumb gently running across the buckle of your belt, tracing circles into your stomach with his remaining fingers. it was early in the morning, sure, and there were barely any people in the bakery or anywhere near, but never did they think they’d see you participate in such a discreet, but, nonetheless, public display of affection; you’d always been a private person, but clearly something about lohen allowed you to lower your barriers and find yourself at ease.

“what happened to the bunny?” you questioned once there were no more videos, turning in lohen’s grasp and staring straight down at him as his crimson eyes revered you from the lower position, both arms now wrapped around your waist as your finger poked at the cute little birthmark beneath his eye.

lohen let out a sigh of contentment. “called barbara and had her pick it up, you know how she loves animals. it’ll probably be kept alongside the others down at the church.”

the atmosphere in the bakery was as serene as ever, the morning rays beaming in through the door and windows as a slight breeze kept the bakery cool. the plants strung along the walls brought the needed pop of greenery and the feeling of nature, as did the flowers placed in beautiful handmade vases on each table, string lights blended into the plants hanging on the walls, creating a truly magical atmosphere. your gaze fixated back onto the white floor, unwillingly thinking back to that night many weeks ago when you almost lost your life. but then a tap on your waist snapped you out of your own stupor, and as you glanced with furrowed eyebrows and a pit of unease settling into your stomach, your hazy eyes fell upon lohen’s as he shook his head gently, silently refusing to let you go back to that night. his smile seemed less cocky this time around, imbued with a warmth you had become rather familiar with, and you relished in the way his cold fingers continuously drew patterns on your waist, determined to keep you grounded and safe, even if it was from your own memories.

“bunny, don’t go back there. i promise you everything’s handled, you’ll never have to think about that again.” lohen kept his voice low, sleeves of his shirt rolled as his one arm rose to rest against your neck, pulling you down to his eye level. “i’ll always keep you safe, i promise.”

there was a certain twinkle swimming around in his eyes as they bore into yours, something that felt on the border of pure and unadulterated obsession—something dangerous. to say you’d never realize that the luster in his alluring eyes always seemed unhinged, almost scary, would be a lie, for it was one of the first impressions you’d picked up on: he wasn’t normal. then came the frequent offers to dispose of anyone who’d been nasty to you, the sing-songy lilt to his tone always veering on the line between playful and psychotic. you knew he never joked about these threats, and you knew that just one word would have him racing to use those daggers for your benefit. that kind of power was intoxicating, you had to admit. a man like lohen at your beck and call, ready to do anything for you, his eyes always lingering on your figure like you were the goddess whom he revered and the only one who mattered in any room.

venti and dahlia had returned to servicing other customers, greeting them cheerfully and taking orders smoothly, one churning out the coffees whilst the other tapped in the orders and accepted the payment. if any eyes fell upon you and lohen, no words being spoken, they would draw the attention away with their exuberant personalities, letting you and lohen share whatever moment you were having. but from the back, albedo found himself leaning against the counter, observing the two of you with a curious hum.

weeks passed and everything went back to normal, the bakery going back to its usual business with you meeting in for your shifts like always. durin improved vastly in no time, and often, you’d have him meet as the second person overall and albedo start later so he could stay longer for the rushes in the noon and evenings, seeing as your three part-timers were in their exam period. the only difference was lohen’s presence no longer being a tornado of flirtatious remarks and longing glances. he no longer came by every morning to grab his coffee from you, indulging in shameless but abnormal flirting. instead, the staff at your bakery became more so used to seeing him either hanging around the bakery upon showing up for shifts or seeing him waiting outside the bakery for you as your shift ended, most likely holding some sort of bucket of flowers or small present for you.

it was no longer a secret that you and lohen were dating, especially not after durin had walked in on the two of you making out in the corner of your kitchen, scaring the life out of the poor boy. whilst you awkwardly sent him off to recount the inventory, letting your flushed face fall into lohen’s firm chest, your boyfriend merely laughed in rotten amusement, relishing in the opportunity to flaunt his affection for you.

lohen barely slept at his own home anymore, more so than spending every night at yours. if he wasn’t swinging by the end of your shift to spend time with you due to his own work, he’d make sure to text you so you knew. dinner was always eaten together, whether it was made in chaos by the two of you squeezed into your kitchen or whether it was a late night stop at one of the restaurants. the members of lohen’s task force became accustomed to seeing the man walk in on a regular basis with dark bruises littered across his collarbones or neck, his messy hair looking messier than usual, or lips still bitten and swollen from whatever the two of you had been up to; both of you were glowing from this newfound relationship, and even as lohen brought you over for a formal welcome, he reveled in how well you fit in, how some of the lower ranked agents and officers ogled after you in sheer lust but faltered when they learned that you were the girlfriend of none other than vice captain lohen himself.

“you two are like two peas in a pod,” venti offhandedly remarked one morning to lohen as he sat by the bar, sipping his coffee. for once, varka had messaged him and told him to start later, and so, he’d decided to kill time at your bakery while you worked hard as ever.

lohen had yet to tell you about his work, about what his title truly entailed—a fact only known by varka who was the leader of the task force, and his vice leader jean, who were both overseeing the various sub-teams within their task force. whereas some of the other teams took care of various aspects such as logistics or defense, lohen’s team were in charge of reconnaissance and gathering information on people; that was the official responsibility of him and his team. but a lesser known fact was lohen’s responsibility as lead interrogator and the one who took care of anyone who needed to be disposed of. the same hands which had saved you from certain death and now held you with reverence and adoration were the same hands with the blood of countless people on them, stained red by blood yet equally stained by love for you.

“hmm, really?”

“i never thought you’d actually win her over, y’know?” venti teased lohen and even with that glare directed in his own direction, sending a shiver down his spine, he continued his line of thought. “at first, at least. then you became more, i don’t know, sincere, and she became more receptive. smiling whenever you called her that godawful nickname, actually entertaining your stupid jokes. and i really thought you were just messing around at first, but then it just clicked for me.”

lohen quirked an eyebrow at venti, suddenly very interested in this conversation with your absolute best friend in the entire world, pleased by the quietness of the bakery. “oh? do explain.”

“you’re really fucking weird but you always come off as honest, remembering whatever she’d mentioned or bringing little trinkets by that actually fit her. she is someone who wants to be seen for who she is, someone who wants to be appreciated for who she is, bad habits and all. someone who will care for her and respect her boundaries no matter what, like you did when she got sick. i know she was appreciative of that.”

but the second those words registered in lohen’s mind, he knew something wasn’t right. his hand gripped harder around the mug as he tried to chew on venti’s words, mentally breaking down very single word until it finally dawned on him why venti’s words had bothered him. “what do you mean, like i did when she got sick?”

“hm?” venti didn’t seem to have noticed the sudden blankness on lohen’s face nor the harsher tone, instead merely preparing yet another coffee for a customer, handing it off with a smile as he began explaining. “oh, well, you basically nursed her back to health and took care of her for weeks. that’s, like, the ultimate sacrifice in her books, i’ll have you know. as an only child, she’s never really been used to being the center of attention, never really asking for help, but you taking time off work so early in a relationship to care for her? i don’t like praising men ‘cause ew, yuck, i hate men. but that’s the kind of love we all want, really.”

the silence in the bakery was replaced by a ringing in lohen’s ears; his brain was now truly working overtime as the pieces in his own head began shaping into a larger puzzle. something about this situation wasn’t right; it wasn’t according to his plans. he knew something was off from venti’s words, but as he lined up venti’s words with the individual steps of his plan, he began to see discrepancies.

“only child? i thought she had a sister in sumeru?”

“oh my archons, no way! that was a lie, she fired off to some stupid customer who kept insisting she looked familiar to him,” venti laughed heartedly, never once seeing the slight widening of lohen’s eyes or the slightest tick in his face. “she’s an only child, grew up in the countryside with her parents until she moved out. but she did tell me all about how you were oh-so-sweet and gentle, taking care of her when she was ill, making sure to braid her hair carefully and all. never pegged you as a proper gentleman, lohen.”

however, lohen had stopped listening to venti, his eyes unfocusing as he stared at the wall behind the man. if you didn’t have a sister, you knew he was the one who’d been running around your apartment, changing your clothes and making sure you stayed fresh and clean even when unconscious. you knew he was lying to you this whole time and just let him. you must’ve known by now that you never informed him of your address before you lost consciousness, meaning you also knew he’d been to your apartment building multiple times without you knowing. you knew he was deceiving you, trying his very best to manipulate you with white lies and lingering touches, and you just let him. despite all of this, you allowed him in your home, in your bed, kissing you every morning and every night; drinking your coffee and making dinner in your home; taking showers with you in the mornings; soaking in the bathtub together at night; and allowed him to touch you in every way imaginable whilst knowing he was a stalker with a severe obsession for you.

as his eyes slowly came back into focus, a new sense of panic and fear bloomed in his chest. if you knew about all of this, did you also know that he had killed the men who’d hurt you? did you know that he insisted on not telling anyone else so he could slither closer into your life and become someone worthy of your trust even if it was through nefarious means? but when he finally worked up the courage to glance into the kitchen, hoping to catch a glimpse of your beautiful back working your arms into a large batch of dough, he was once more left in a state of surprise.

for you were already staring right at him, arms crossed over your chest and eyes piercing into his with a blank expression on your face. but as his eyes met yours and his brain began fearing the worst, thinking you’d already reached out to varka about his behavior to report him or that you were merely playing the long game and hoping to catch him red-handed in his crimes, his heart skipped a beat when a slow smirk made its way onto your face, head cocking to the left—the same crazed smile often worn by himself. your phone was stuffed into your back pocket, but he could see the keychain hanging from it, swaying around in the air—the very same keychain which held a tracker relaying your whereabouts to him.

you knew.

he was certain. you knew all about his plans: you knew he’d been obsessed with you since that first encounter, coming back every day with hopes of winning you and gifting you a keychain to continuously monitor your location. you knew he’d murdered the people who’d dared hurt you, that he’d lied about taking care of you, and that he had essentially manipulated you into falling in love with him.

yet the realization was not as jarring as he’d assumed. because within your eyes, he could spot that same fire, that same gleam of pure and unadulterated obsession directed right at him as you just stared at him. and he had to wonder.

had he truly manipulated you into believing every word he’d ever said or had he been the fly caught in your web of lies?

a matching smile spread across lohen’s face, delighted in seeing that same craziness swirling around in your eyes as you let a finger trace across that scar on your throat, the one you’d received in a robbery gone wrong; one lohen now found himself thinking about once more. had it truly been a coincidence that you had walked into your bakery while it was being robbed, or had that been part of your plan to alert lohen of an abnormality in your daily routine, encouraging him to take action and thus finding you in a vulnerable stage, allowing you to manipulate him into thinking he was finally in a position to manipulate you?

he would never know. and he found that he didn’t really care. because seeing the way you stared at him like he was the only person to ever exist, knowing you were just as fucking crazy as him, hiding your scheming nature behind sarcastic smiles and loyal friendships.

he knew he’d irrevocably found his soulmate.

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