alhaitham x gn!reader; modern au, night clubs, mentions of alcohol and smoking, strangers(?) to lovers, kissing, universities; 2.3k words
a/n: i'm a sucker for clubs and bars... extremely self indulgent! i hope you'll like it :>
cross posted on ao3
after a few drinks and a dozen of upbeat songs you finally feel your body relaxing. the stress from upcoming exams has been affecting you a lot, so you thought that a night out would be a perfect solution; you were absolutely right. in the crowd, among all the other people trying to drink their feelings and worries away, you felt almost like home, letting the music flow through your body and make it move like you are the main character of a dance movie. the alcohol from the earlier drinks hit you in just the right way to let the happiness get to your brain easier, but to keep you in your right mind.
at some point you sense someone behind you, almost copying your moves, and his hands float above your shoulders and waist softly, as if asking for permission. you haven’t even detected the stranger at first: that’s how barely noticeable his touch was, though noticeable enough for curiosity to spark inside of you. you catch his hands in the air and put them on your waist confidently, keeping them there and holding with yours above his. you feel rings on his fingers, and for some reason they seem familiar, but you can’t understand where you remember them from. you press your back to his front slightly and can feel his broad chest moving simultaneously with your own body.
curiosity gets the best of you, and you finally turn around when the song ends and flows into the next one smoothly. at first, you can’t believe your eyes; but you can’t be that drunk to start seeing hallucinations? you wrap your hands around his neck and start playing with his hair every so slightly (you can always blame your behaviour on alcohol later). you feel his hands tighten on your waist in response.
“i wonder, what a diligent student like you might be doing in a place like this?” you ask, looking straight into his green-ish eyes that seem almost black in the dim light of the night club.
“that’s what i should be asking you.”
when alhaitham speaks, you feel a hint of alcohol in his breath too; that makes two of you, so you are on even terms right now.
“but i was the first to do that, so be good and answer my question. or are you so studious only when it comes to studying in the library all day?”
he clicks his tongue, and his smirk doesn’t escape your eyes.
“i came here to just have a few drinks, that’s all. didn’t expect to see you though.”
his hands on your waist haven’t moved an inch. you raise your eyebrows.
“i’ve also come here to have a few drinks and dance. didn’t know you danced.”
you turn around and press your body back to alhaitham’s torso, to which he replies by sliding his hands a little bit down from your waist. you wrap your arms around his neck again and place your head on his chest; he’s perfectly taller than you for you to dance with him like that, swaying your hips from side to side.
“you’ve got some nice moves though”, you notice, turning your head slightly in the direction of his face.
he has to lean closer for you to be able to hear what he says, and you feel his lips touch your ear.
“i’m just a fast visual learner.”
“with some hands on experience.”
he chuckles, his breath rolls over your skin and you can swear to god you would’ve never thought that you’d be dancing like that with a nerdy lunatic guy from your university who everyone is always a little bit intimidated of. but you wouldn’t call him intimidating in any sense, it’s always just seemed like he was out of this world a little bit and always on his mind. actually, you have been slightly intrigued by him, especially after you had to study in the library together one time. well, technically, not together, but all the seats were taken except for the one at the table where he was sitting. so you came up to him, asked if you could sit at the same table, and a barely noticeable nod was all he gave you in response. it was comfortable sitting in silence with him like that, with quiet clicking of his laptop keyboard and your whispering of the notes you had to memorize; he didn’t mind that at all.
alhaitham has always been somewhat appealing and mysterious to you, during lectures he has always been the one to take the seat in the front and have discussions with teachers. you are pretty sure people have been calling him an upstart even, but you would always mentally disagree with that. it's not his fault that almost no one in the course except for him treats the education seriously. and meeting him in the night club doesn’t help to get rid of the thoughts of him that have preoccupied your mind at all. with his tight slightly unbuttoned black shirt and rolled up sleeves. on the contrary, you feel like you’re melting into him and his touch, as if becoming one whole with him while flowing through the crowd on the dance floor.
you feel your head almost start spinning, and before it gets too bad you stop dancing, turning to alhaitham again. you pull him closer by his neck, and he seems a bit surprised as to why you’ve suddenly changed your position.
“i need to go for a breather”, you almost scream into his ear, holding onto his shirt to keep balance. he notices a slightly lost look on your face and his arms around you tighten, he carefully leads you out of the crowd closer to the tables near the bar, where some people have been peacefully sitting and chatting.
“are you feeling okay?” alhaitham asks, cupping your face and tilting it up a little so he has a better look on it. his hands seem awfully cold against your hot skin, and it helps you get back to your senses a bit. the grip of his palms is tight, but he doesn’t seem to care about it, examining your face.
“i’m fine, it just got too hot here”, you reply, taking his hands and putting them down from your face; you are sure your skin is red as hell, but you’re not sure why exactly.
“you can go get your jacket and go outside, i’ll join you in a bit. i think i have left my phone on one of the tables.” alhaitham starts looking around and scanning the surroundings.
“alright, but don’t leave me all alone for too long.”
you are not sure what makes you say this, and you are not sure why you are willing to spend all your time tonight beside him. might be alcohol, might be something else.
alhaitham chuckles for the second time this night.
“don’t worry, i won’t”.
cold night air makes you feel refreshed the second you breathe it in, and the lights from everywhere around you fall onto your skin, blending into each other softly. you stand right beside the club entrance, looking at the door and waiting for alhaitham to finally join you. the door indeed opens in a few minutes, and alhaitham leaves the club wearing a black coat.
of course. of course he can’t be wearing anything else than an elegant black coat that fits him perfectly.
his eyes find you quickly, and he takes a few step to stand closer to you. he looks even more beautiful with street lights dancing on his skin.
he takes a pack of cigarettes out of his left pocket and lights up one of them almost instantly, takes a deep puff and breathes out a thick cloud of smoke; a sigh of relief leaves his lips.
“you smoke?” you arch your brow. he looks at you bringing the cigarette to his lips, then takes another puff.
“only when i drink”, alhaitham replies after breathing the smoke out in the opposite from you direction.
“and i assume you don’t drink too often?”
“what, are you worried about my health?”
you want to wipe his stupid smirk off of his face, but hold back your violent urges. instead, you laugh.
“you wish.”
alhaitham replies with a grin and takes another puff. you think that all he does seems elegant and magnificent, even the damn smoking, but that might just be his coat though. who wouldn’t look good in a neat black coat?
stupid coat.
the wind blows your hair into your face, and you sense a mild familiar scent. it takes you a few seconds to realize that your hair smells like alhaitham’s perfume.
stupid alhaitham.
while you're lost in thoughts about him, he studies your face with the most genuine curiosity. if you saw him like that, you would think that he is hypnotized or something.
when you glance at him again, he looks at the cloud of smoke in front of him. his half burned cigarette is about to touch his lips when you suddenly take a step closer to him and pull him into a kiss by the collar of his coat. he lets out a hum, obviously not having expected something like this from you, but a second after he wraps his free hand around your waist and pulls you closer. he's got the breath of his menthol cigarette on his teeth, and in any other situation with any other person you wouldn't kiss them right after they'd smoke. but for some reason alhaitham feels different, and you don't mind deepening the kiss, tasting more of this weird alcohol and menthol mix on his tongue. you hold onto his coat desperately, like you might fall any second, but his hold on you never weakens while you're savouring each other.
when you pull away at last, you fix his coat and take a tiny step back, putting your hands into the pockets of your jacket. he's stunned.
"what was that for?" alhaitham taps the cigarette with his thumb to shake off some ashes.
"sorry. did you mind?"
"...no. of course not."
"just felt like doing so. maybe i will not even remember it tomorrow." you hide your face from his curious gaze and look to your left, where cars sometimes slash through the empty driveway.
you know you will remember.
he hopes you will remember.
"so, do you want to go for a walk around the city? i think it looks the most wonderful at this hour." alhaitham takes the last puff of the cigarette and throws it into the bin. he looks at you expectantly, having tilted his had to the side slightly.
"do you remember that we have a lecture tomorrow first thing in the morning?" you cross your arms on your chest.
"yes. don't tell me you have some homework not done for tomorrow, i will not believe you."
"i have everything done! i wouldn't have gone to the club otherwise. but what do you mean?"
"you are literally the next person after me who is always prepared for classes and stuff."
"ah, so you have been watching me, haven't you?" you grin at alhaitham, and he rolls his eyes.
"so do you want to continue the night?"
"i haven't paid for my drinks yet..."
"neither have i. should we just run away then?"
you only have time to open your mouth, and when the door to the club suddenly opens, alhaitham grabs your hand and runs for his dear life never looking back, turning at the nearest crossroad. you are running for a few more minutes until your lungs give up and you let go of his hand; he stops immediately and looks observantly at you. you stare at each other for a few more seconds before bursting into laughter and laughing so hard your stomach starts aching afterwards. this time, you take his hand first and pull him towards some small and very pretty decorated street to continue your little spontaneous adventure. he intertwines his fingers with yours and follows you immediately.
next morning, when you enter the lecture hall, alhaitham is already sitting there, his nose in his notes as always. you hesitate in the doorway a little. what if he doesn't remember a thing? what if that was just alcohol speaking in him? what if that was just a one-night thing? you suddenly realize that for you it definitely wasn't just alcohol speaking yesterday. after taking a deep breath, you eventually approach him and drop yourself on the seat close to him.
when he breaks away from his notebook and looks at you, you see one of the most genuine smiles you have ever seen in your life.
"hi", you break the slightly awkward silence, and alhaitham closes his notebook.
"good morning", he replies and rests his head on his fist, putting his elbow on the desk. he definitely looks tired; the dark circles under his eyes look much more defined than usual and give away the fact the he hasn't slept much this night. "you're not scared of what others might think of you seeing you hanging out with me?"
"gosh." his smirk is so stupid. you absolutely love it. "you were too much of a good kisser yesterday for me to just ghost you today."
he pouts at your words. "just a good kisser? i'm offended." you roll you eyes.
"give me a kiss already", you sigh and make 'duck' lips, drawing a chuckle out of alhaitham.
he gives you a quick peck on the lips, and the widest smile appears on your face. he shakes his head and opens his note book again, which reminds you to prepare what you need for the lecture as well. you start revising previous topics as well, sometimes stealing fast glances on alhaitham and catching him looking at you too.
he will never tell you that he did pay for both of your drinks before leaving the club.
firstly, he is THE definition of a gentleman, always caring and attentive; looking out for you is one of his top priorities
i feel like he is the kind of guy to prove anything with his actions, not words; that's why there has never been a certain point when you suddenly became lovers, you were slowly becoming more than just friends throughout the time and ended up falling asleep together on the couch at the winery one time after a long and nice conversation that seemed to clear any misunderstandings you might've had
he is not much into pda, the most he would do is put his arm on your lower back or shoulders, or pull you somewhere by your wrist if there's something he wants to discuss with you
though he always tries to greet you by kissing your hand or at least giving it a little reassuring squeeze if there are too many people around <3
but when you're in private he enjoys every little bit of your attention
one of his favourite things is when you come into his office when he's working and ask how he's doing, giving him a tiny kiss on the nose before leaving
after that he always takes a few minutes to sit there grinning like a complete idiot (he'd never let you see him like that tho)
diluc thinking he's good at keeping a good façade to hide emotions but actually being so hopelessly in love with you that even the tavern customers start wondering 'what's gotten into master diluc'
kaeya always blaming diluc's weirdness on lack of fresh air and almost throwing him outside so that he can cool down
diluc never understands why.
speaking of, diluc really appreciates when you help him around at 'angel's share'. it can be any kind of help really, even if you just sit near the bar counter and keep him company while he's making drinks and wiping glasses with the towel
if you leave early, he always offers his shoulder kindly, you wrap your arm around his and you take a long walk back to the winery, where you can finally fall asleep in each other's arms after a long hard day
but if you stay until there's no one at the tavern, you can't help but pull him into the kiss, leaning over the bar counter and pulling diluc closer to you by the collar of his coat
bonus: slow dancing in the empty tavern after its closing hours to diluc's quiet humming of some melody he remembers from his childhood until your feet get sore, so he can carry you bridal style to the nearest bench or chair to let you rest <3
english is not my first language, please excuse me for any mistakes you might encounter (just ignore them)
i mostly write sfw content, though sometimes i might write and/or reblog nsfw content as well. keep that in mind, and such posts will have corresponding tags and warnings.
i will only write for 'older' characters, no content with child-like characters can be found here. i will not write any problematic things or stuff i'm uncomfortable with for requests or myself. i can't specify it as of now, but i will surely let you know.
diluc quirks his body in a somnolent movement of your question as his chin comes to rest in the bend of your neck, relishing in the familiarness of your scent which brings him comfort in the deadest of the nights chilly atmosphere.
the snugness of your body and the softness of your shared bed make a perfect infusion for tonight, especially after a long and exhausting day that had him cooped up with abyss mage hunting.
“yes, sweetheart. i love you.” he mumbles, voice hoarse and laced with momentary wonderment from your sudden query.
you could feel his warm breath blow against the shell of your earlobe in steady intervals, his chest rising and falling with each take, and although his answer was expectedly sincere and direct, it still made you wonder if what he said was actually true.
“why do you love me?”
diluc was always a difficult man to understand, especially from the debut of your first encounter. he was reserved in manner and appearance which made getting to know him extremely difficult, and at times, pointless.
this didn’t make you give up, though. he was stubborn, unabashed, but not an asshole. you knew this. yet his reliance on you only grew the more you stayed around because it was unprecedented to how his past usually panned out.
and that still made your heart ache. you didn’t want to let him down. you didn’t want to let him go. and you didn’t want him to forget you.
despite all this, you were still drawn to him, like black duckling and mother— you were drawn by how his dauntlessness was masked by a silent vehemence of hurt and confusion amidst his wonderful life of viniculture.
of course, completely disregarding the stereotype of the ‘aloof and mysterious’ master of dawn winery only seemed reasonable for those who didn’t know him.
but you did. he was transparent and almost titanium at the same time. it seemed uncannily ironic to think such a thing, yet it was true.
you felt selfish for something he didn’t know how to express. and a past so tragic like his, made you feel hopeless of the distance he always kept at arms length between the two of you.
that was why you cherished blue moon moments of vulnerability and fondness like these with him. you were just beating a dead horse with broodful thoughts about the man you loved so much.
that was only normal, you told yourself.
there was a brief pause before diluc stirred onto his back, slipping an arm under your neck and huffing a chuckle through his nostrils.
“go back to sleep, baby.”
he pulled you closer to his body, slowly drawing circles on the lower side of your cheek with the flat of his thumb.
it was strange. that small interaction was enough to calm your nerves. his touch was gentle like a swan yet it was his response that made you come to realise he was okay because he is with you. right here, right now.
nothing else mattered in this moment but him and the domestic environment you both built between the two of you. it felt like a home needed to fussed over and that was what made it so inviting.
and maybe you were prone to overthinking about him. but you couldn’t help it. that’s why he loved you so much— looking out for him when he couldn’t do that himself was something of the archons gift.
“but if this was for breaking a bottle of that wine, you might need to think of a better way to apologise, sweet.”
lips pursed, you rolled onto your side, interlinking a leg around his thigh, sulking.
“shut up. that’s not what i meant.” you mumbled immediately pressing your face against his arm and diluc letting out another breathy laugh.
when alhaitham presses his lips into yours for the first time, you feel all his build-up tension and frustration disappear in a mere second. the books you just took from the shelves are becoming one million times heavier. the books that alhaitham asked you to bring to him are now laying on the floor near your feet, while you’re clutching on his shirt with your now free hands.
he pulls away after just a few seconds, and his eyes move rapidly between all your features, but his gaze always gets stuck on your lips for a little bit longer than it probably should. you consider this your own little victory: making his cold calculating brain go insane with just a sight of you. you’ve always been patient with alhaitham; you’ve known he needs a lot more time to process his own feelings than any other average human being. he is nowhere near to being average, and you absolutely adore this about him.
now you are the first to close the distance between the two of you, and you stand on your tiptoes to catch his lips again. sometimes his height gets super annoying, but more often than not it makes your insides do a flip when he reaches for the higher shelves in the library to get a book for you.
he slightly pushes you forward until your back hits the side of one of the huge bookshelves slightly, and you gasp, not having expected such a move from alhaitham. he traps you between the wooden bookcase and his body, curls his fingers deeper into your hair and tugs on it barely noticeable, but enough for you to take a sharp breath in, inviting him to deepen the kiss. his other hand slides from your waist lower, down your hip, and you catch his arm quickly, fearing he’ll make you make noises that are not quite acceptable in the library. you feel his lips curl into a slight smile and not interrupting the kiss you put his hand back on your waist, to which he responds with pressing you tightly to his body.
his lips are not as soft as you thought they would be; you definitely need to remind him to use the chapstick you gave him a few weeks ago more often. he tastes like black coffee he has had this morning, and his hair smells a lot like mint and some other herbs, and you feel getting more and more addicted to him with every second that you feel his lips on yours and inhale his scent. you let your hands finally let go of his shirt and ruffle his hair, smiling into the kiss, almost throwing yourself on him, trying to fit him like a perfectly suitable puzzle piece.
when you pull away from each other at last, alhaitham cups your face with his palms and puts his forehead to yours. his breathing is deep and heavy, so is yours, and you lean into his touch not being able to stop smiling. he holds you like this for a little and then slides his hands down your arms, taking your hands and intertwining your fingers. he looks at you with indescribable storm of emotions scattered across his beautiful face, but then hides his gaze from yours in an instant, biting on his slightly swollen bottom lip. his cheeks are of a pretty rose shade, and you are sure you have never seen anything lovelier.
when he finally parts his lips and takes a deep breath in, you interrupt him.
“i know.” you say, giving his hands a light squeeze. “me too.”
his face almost doesn’t change at all, only the corners of his mouth go up a little bit.
but in his eyes you see happy sparks light up one by one, shining brighter than sun, moon or any stars. just for you.
i started this last night and finished just now, i am feeling a serious lack of this man in my life. i hope you like this :)
cross posted on ao3
based off of that moment in the archon quest. wc 2.8k, fluff, spicy/suggestive. warnings: kissing, it gets heated, there is a bed. also kabedons. MINORS DNI please.
It all started when he asked you to follow him to a more secluded location to continue your conversation.
Alhaitham isn’t exactly nondescript. With a lean, muscular and tall stature, a head of gray hair that you wanted to touch as soon as you saw it, and an outfit that verges on dramatic, you’d be hard-pressed to believe that anyone who laid eyes on him would forget it quickly. Sure, he wears the colors of the Akademiya, but you don’t think that’s why you felt numerous pairs of eyes watching when you greeted him at Wikala Funduq.
This makes it all the more intriguing when you realize that this man is no ordinary scholar, Vision aside. He has a tendency to only answer questions he likes, he can intimidate troublemakers with a few words, and he holds his cards very close to his chest.
“Listen, you don’t need to tell me your secrets if you don’t want to. But I think I have an offer you’d regret refusing.”
He raises an eyebrow at your suggestion, a thoughtful quirk to his lips. “Is that so? Let’s take this somewhere else then. Even the walls have ears.”
At the very least, Alhaitham appears to be a man of his word. He agrees to the deal, you uphold your end of the bargain, and you receive the results you ask for within the week. In fact, it’s such smooth sailing that you propose another deal, and he accepts with only a few questions about logistics.
With time, this odd relationship, full of give and take, hidden within code words and furtive conversations, begins to eat away at you. Because of course you aren’t the only one who notices when the two of you meet.
The young girl who works the front desk at the inn you are staying at asks you about the “handsome man who walks you home,” fingers twirling her hair. You inform her that regretfully, you only know as much as the Akasha will tell either of you. The food vendor who sells your favorite lunch set asks if you’re seeing someone, with an obnoxious wink that makes you snort and shake your head. Even the Eremite who handles commissions gives you a curious look every time you walk into Wikala Funduq, but he probably knows better than to ask about anyone Alhaitham meets. As you have personally witnessed a few times, the silver-haired man is quite the intimidating force when provoked, both physically and psychologically.
Perhaps you've grown closer to him after sharing meals a few times and fighting back to back in the occasional scrape. But to the outsider, the two of you are just acquaintances who happen to collaborate occasionally in your lines of work. Maybe even friends, if you count the number of times he's quietly snorted at a stupid joke you made or the relief you feel when you feel a touch on your shoulder and turn to see it’s him.
But none of that explains the current position you find yourself in, back pressed firmly to a wall, body boxed in by a very familiar pair of arms.
“Please, explain to me again why we’re doing this?”
You hiss at Alhaitham, who doesn’t look away from the open air market the two of you are monitoring from the shadows. Instead, he places the pad of his left thumb against your lips, and you fight the strange urge to bite it. Rolling your eyes, you grasp his hand and pull it away from your mouth.
This time, Alhaitham had asked you to join him on an information-gathering mission. Apparently he needed to look inconspicuous - which you noted gleefully that he certainly wasn’t, not with that attire. To your surprise, he agreed and asked for your help. Which brought you to this vibrant bazaar, full of people and goods from all over Teyvat. Surely, if you needed items to help this visually striking man change his appearance into one that the casual passerby would glaze over, this would be the place to find them.
Of course, wherever the two of you go, somehow trouble always seems to find you. You had barely spent thirty minutes browsing when Alhaitham nudged your arm. “We need to leave.”
“What? We just got here!” You frowned at him, but the look in his eyes combined with the underlying tone in his voice told you he wasn’t joking around.
“Fine, but I’m not done here.”
Alhaitham tugged you into the shadows of a tree at the edge of the bazaar behind a building. Heart racing, you barely managed to catch your breath before his arms obstructed your line of vision. Cue your current situation.
The sound of numerous boots hitting the stone pavement jerks you out of your reverie. Despite feeling rather confused about why the two of you are hiding at a bazaar, you trust that Alhaitham has a good reason to not want to be seen by what sounds like the Eremites. After all, he could easily take them in a fight if that was all that was needed.
Then a single pair of boots comes closer, and your heart jumps into your throat as it rounds the corner. Any second, they would be on to you - and Alhaitham leans in with a rough whisper.
“Pretend to kiss me.”
As the clattering approaches from around the building, you quickly throw your arms around his neck, sliding one hand into his hair as he presses into you, his face mere hairwidths apart from yours, breath warm on your cheek.
Then you hear the boots stop and some awkward coughing. Knowing they might try to pull you apart and interrogate you, you decide to just go all in and discourage them from sticking around.
Lifting a leg, you hoist it to rest on Alhaitham’s hip as you rake a hand through his hair. To his credit, he quickly catches on, lowering a hand to catch your thigh, moaning loud enough for the guard to hear. It resonates deep in his chest against yours, and you swear your heart quivers. The feeling of his breath against your lips as his other hand slips around your waist briefly makes your mind blank out, overwhelmed by his sudden proximity, everywhere and all at once.
When he gently rests his forehead against yours, you finally snap back into focus and let out a shuddering moan in response, letting him crowd you against the wall as you trace a hand up his broad back.
You hear a loud spluttering, then the sound of boots pounding away from you. Neither of you miss the muttered “youths nowadays” that echoes off the pavement, and you both shake with silent laughter.
Then you realize he’s still very much in your personal space, his breath fluttering against your nose, his hand burning under your thigh. As if he just realized as well, Alhaitham quickly lets go of your leg, and you both avoid looking at each other for a long moment. What do you even say at a time like this? Hope that wasn’t too bad? Did my breath smell? Was my leg heavy? Who are you hiding from and why?
You decide to stick with the last question. It feels the most safe to ask in the unspoken tension that now hangs in the air between you two.
But as soon as you open your mouth, Alhaitham shakes his head. “I can’t tell you right now but it’s related to the mission. Are you still up to the task?”
Giving him a confident smile, you rest your hands on your waist. “Of course. I gave you my word.”
Dusting yourselves off, the two of you quietly return to the bazaar to quickly wrap up shopping, deciding to move independently for the sake of time. Neither of you talk about what just happened.
Two weeks later, you are walking through Port Ormos, arm in arm. With the disguise you put together for him, it’s almost impossible to recognize the man under the brown wig. You hope the loose clothes will be enough to obscure his build.
You’re trailing a man of interest. As you watch from a distance, the portly man enters the tavern and you follow him in after a few minutes, arms linked. Alhaitham tugs you away to a nearby corner, sitting on the side closer to the man’s table.
As you place your order, you notice the suspicious man looking around carefully, eyes darting all over the tavern. Alhaitham leans in and whispers in your ear as you look down, avoiding the man’s eyes as they skim over your table.
“You see, the man’s wary of who might be listening in - but not of a young couple sharing sweet nothings with each other.”
“I bet he would never expect you to be canoodling here,” you murmur back with a chuckle. He snorts and grasps your hand resting on the table, letting you slip your fingers between his.
“And that’s why I asked you. From his point of view, we are too busy being enraptured with each other to even spare a glance for him.”
True to his observation, Alhaitham and you spend the time undisturbed as you furtively observe the man. An Eremite comes in to speak with him for a while, and Alhaitham nods at you to continue whispering as he listens in. It feels awkward at first, holding a one-way conversation while trying to appear like lovebirds. You can’t help but tense up whenever the two men shift in their chairs, but Alhaitham squeezes your hand and you refocus.
After reaching some kind of conclusion, the Eremite nods and leaves. The man you were following stands up soon after, and the two of you quickly huddle to hide your faces as he makes one last visual scan of the room before exiting. Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, you head out to follow his tracks.
But as soon as you step outside, it starts to pour - heavy rain that splatters mercilessly onto the now dark gray pavement, threatening the integrity of your shoes.
“We won’t be able to track him in this rain, but he also won’t be able to make his move today. Let’s call it here.”
“You sure?”
Alhaitham nods and turns to you. “I got plenty of information today, so don’t worry about it.”
“Then why don’t we have dinner and regroup? We didn’t actually eat anything in there.”
To your pleasant surprise, he raises an eyebrow with a small smirk. “The one who gets the most wet pays.” And with that, he races off into the rain.
“Ugh - not fair!” You rush off after him, protesting at his unfair methods as you do your best to hop between store fronts and overhanging trees for brief amounts of shelter.
Thankfully it doesn’t take too long to arrive at your inn, and you wring your clothes and hair briefly before heading in. Alhaitham is leaning next to the door, looking rather pleased with himself.
“Well, well, someone certainly got drenched out there.”
You roll your eyes and enter the inn, letting him close the door behind you. “I’d say the exact same about you.”
Alhaitham watches as you speak to the girl at the front desk, apologizing for the mess and asking about dinner. He should be worried about his disguise slipping, the humid rain making his hair stick to his forehead uncomfortably, his shirt clinging to him in all the wrong ways, his shoes squelching with water. But he can’t help returning your smile as you beam at him, hair in your face, offering him a towel and describing the menu for tonight. Another reason to be thankful for rain, he muses.
At the landlady’s urging, he is ushered upstairs to bathe and refresh himself. It isn’t long before the two of you are seated in your room, dishes piled precariously on your table. You both eagerly dive in - the landlady’s food is always delicious, even more so after a bath.
“So.”
After the dishes are cleared, the day’s events reviewed, an uneasy silence falls between you. Your foot taps quietly on the floor, your eyes dancing about the room. Alhaitham has been around you long enough to know your body language is practically screaming nerves at him, and it makes an odd feeling curl in his stomach that the Akasha has no name for.
“What is it?”
You finally look right at him, eyes burning with a determination he doesn’t know the reason for but it punches him in the chest, demands that he pay attention.
“We need to talk about… this. That time at the bazaar.”
The words spill out of your mouth, thick and heavy. He bites the inside of his cheek at the memory, your fingers in his hair, the warmth of your body against the cold stone wall. His stomach swirls again, and he swallows.
“I couldn’t let them see my face or they’d know I was in the area and likely aware of their current dealings.”
You sigh loudly at this, leaning back into your seat and staring up at the ceiling. “You know that’s not what I’m talking about.”
“Then what are you talking about.”
Something in you must have snapped, because you shoot up from your chair, march around the table, and grab the collar of his shirt.
“How about now? Still have no idea?”
Alhaitham shakes his head with a frown. “I’m afraid you’ll have to explain.”
“Ugh, you-!” You let him go and let out a breath.
“I’m sorry.”
You stare at him incredulously, and he frowns again.
“Really, I didn’t intend for it to go so far, it was the only thing that came to mind. I apologize for saying this so late.”
“Oh.” But instead of looking appeased, your countenance clouds and your lips twist in a way he’s never seen before. “So you didn’t mean to. An accident. Of course.”
The hurt dripping from your voice turns his insides sour, and he knows he has to fix this.
You turn away, moving toward the door when he calls your name. Despite yourself, you pause, one hand outstretched for the doorknob.
“What?”
“I’m sorry I gave you no choice at the time. But just because I didn’t mean for it to happen doesn’t mean I regret it.”
You turn around slowly, hand falling back to your side.
“You don’t regret it?”
Alhaitham looks squarely at you, and you know he’s not lying.
“No. Do you?”
He stands up from his chair, walking toward you, and you can’t look away. But he pauses a few steps away from you. Your choice this time - to move toward him or leave and not come back.
“Not at all.”
You breathe out and promptly grab his collar, tugging him forward. He quickly follows your touch, a hand on the small of your back pressing you closer as he captures your lips. Your body feels like it’s burning up, the way you taste each other again and again as if you both had starved for days, gasping for air in between until your back hits the wall.
“Is it me - hah - or do you have a thing for walls?” Your chest heaves against his, arms now around his neck, and his eyes glint as he cups your face in his hands.
“Only yours. Is that a problem?”
“Only if you don’t believe in beds.”
Chuckling, Alhaitham catches your legs as you cross them around his waist, leaning in for another kiss as he walks to the awaiting mattress. He moves to set you down but you tighten your legs, resulting in him tumbling onto the bed next to you with a soft grunt.
You laugh giddily at his surprised expression, pleased at your successful stunt.
“So that’s how you’re going to play, hmm?”
Before you can think, his tongue is tracing your lips, pressing into your mouth, hot and wanting. Your grip tightens on his shirt, the soft fabric crumpling between your fingers. You know he’ll probably scold you for it later, but you can’t bring yourself to care when his calloused fingers are climbing a ticklish path up your back, making you shiver.
Then he pauses, reaching forward to tenderly brush a thumb across your cheek. “Are you sure about this? It’s not too fast?”
You smile and press a soft kiss to his jaw. “It’s perfect.”
Alhaitham sighs in relief, pressing his forehead to yours. “Archons, I adore you so much.”
You squeak, and he blinks in confusion at the sudden sound, making your face burn.
“I - I just realized that we didn’t exactly… talk about it just now. I like you too. Very much.”
To your pleasant surprise, Alhaitham covers his eyes with a hand, but you can see his neck turning pink.
“You will be the death of me, one of these days.”
Snickering, you press a light kiss to his lips. “Not if you get me first.”
“Is that a request?” He moves his hand to meet your teasing gaze.
“Can you handle it?”
He smirks, and you think it’s the most attractive sight you’ve ever seen. “Try me.”
⚘ ‹ tags › lighthearted, fluff, academic rivals, short-tempered reader, alhaitham is persistent, reader is in denial with a capital d, banter, academic purposed kissing, bad flirting if you squint, both are scholars
⚘ ‹ note › ooc alhaitham purely hc,, mhy i need more alhaitham content #copium,, x
You swore it was just a one-time thing, and that you would never succumb to whatever spell Alhaitham had on you again. You were an individual with morals, unlike him, who can simply throw away whatever belief system he had for the sake of rationality.
That rationality being… a kiss as a solution to your attraction to him—the words you still couldn’t believe came out of his mouth.
“Are you high on shrooms?” You blinked at him confusedly when your brain finally caught up to comprehend his words, before shutting down again. A kiss to answer your what towards him?
Your body felt warm all of a sudden as Haitham raised an eyebrow, glancing at the pretty flush on your cheeks, like it was enough proof for him to make an astute conclusion. You sent him a sharp glare.
“How arrogant can you get?” You hissed in indignation. “I don’t feel anything towards you!”
Haitham looked at you as if you were delusional, and you fumed under his gaze.
“I don’t mean to sound conceited,” he said, sounding apologetic in the most unapologetic tone you’ve heard. He eyed you with curiosity and a hint of mischief. “But I must say you’re looking quite… flustered, more than you were when you were inside the House of Daena.”
How he knew that, you had no idea. He leaned down to examine you closely, taking up your personal space, and you held your breath as he tilted your chin to meet his gaze. You prayed he wouldn’t notice, but the gods were cruel to you.
Alhaitham smirked. “That means the probability that my hypothesis is correct is almost absolute.”
You scowled. “Almost.”
He quirked an eyebrow, taking you up on your challenge. “Exactly. That’s why we should test it accordingly with a kiss.”
“A kiss is too soon, you know,” you argued as he cornered you against the wall, noting how attractive he truly was even when you despised him for being such a know-it-all and the bane of your existence in the Akademiya. “Some people would try to be friends first and go out on dates, but you probably already know that.”
“I do,” he replied, nodding. “But academic rivalry already seems like a pretty amicable relationship to me.”
“You’re incorrigible.”
“You enjoy it,” he noted, and you rolled your eyes, “with displeasure.”
You sighed, letting your anger go, but you felt petty, so you held onto your annoyance instead. He was right in a way; the scholar in you wanted to try this hypothesis of his. For academic purposes.
“Fine.” You slid your hands around his neck, testing your boundaries. Alhaitham tensed under your touch, and you held a laugh inside. “Just one kiss.”
He nodded, and you would have missed the sparkle in his eyes if you weren’t so close already. His hand found its way to your waist, and he pulled you closer as he tenderly held your cheek. You closed your eyes, waiting.
“Oh, and to answer your question,” he delicately traced your jaw with his fingers. “I’m not high on shrooms,” he said, grinning, and placed his lips on yours.
Featuring— al-haitham x reader
⤀ gn!reader, academic rivals, can be taken as platonic or romantic
a/n: not proofread! just a quick midnight brainrot
it’s a new year at the akademiya and you’re starting it off optimistic! you’ve got all the right classes and even your seat mate is quite handsome
until he starts talking
his know-it-all attitude rubs you the wrong way. like how he has a slight condescending lilt in his speech. does he think he’s better than everyone even though you literally all got into the akademiya??
your feelings aren’t one sided though because he thinks you’re annoying too. especially the way you have to challenge everything he says
does mr. “i’m gonna play devil’s advocate for a second” not realize he does the same
you guys keep a tally of who gets a higher score on tests, papers, etc. at this point you guys are kind of acquaintances? more than just seat mates but definitely not friends
he’s been known to have an aloof and robotic personality; some might even go so far as to call him a lunatic. so despite his good looks…he’s not very popular
which means he was not invited to the huge post-term party at port ormos that everyone was talking about
you feel a little bad so you invite him, ignoring all the ‘???’ and ‘wtf’ looks thrown your way. you just shrug it off
but he says ‘no thanks’ all nonchalantly and walks away. ngl your pride is a little wounded
your relationship hits a turning point one night in the library. it’s the early hours of the morning, 2 maybe 3 am; doesn’t matter you’ve lost track
what does matter is that you’re really struggling with this concept that you just don’t get and you’re on the verge of a breakdown
scratch that, you’re in the middle of a breakdown when you look up and see... al-haitham
al-haitham who somehow finds you in this huge library. great. the last person you want to see you stressed and crying is here seeing you…stressed and crying. just your luck
he doesn’t know what to do honestly, he’s not one to comfort someone so he doesn’t really know how. in spite of your little rivalry in the classroom, he doesn’t want to accidentally make it worse. so he just averts his gaze, clears his throat and leaves. like does a 180 and just walks back the way he came
and you kind of appreciate it because the moment you two first made eye contact, it was like a silent agreement that he saw nothing, this didn’t happen
the following day, you go to lecture as normal; al-haitham’s already at his seat next to you. his chin rests on his hand, and he’s looking the other way, refusing to look at you but he slides something over to your side of the table
it’s his personal notes on the subject you were struggling with; you can’t tell but he even added little notes on the sidelines to help you! you try to thank him but he plays it off like
“no point to this little…whatever…if you flunk out of the akademiya”
so now you’re kind of friends you guess? because you guys sometimes sit together at the library, and sometimes head out together for food, and sometimes you even share notes which you were super adamant about not doing before
“who the hell was this zandik person anyway? you’d have to be insane to understand his thought process,” you muse
“then you should have no problem with that”
you chuck a pen at his head which, to your annoyance, he easily dodges
everyone gets paired with their seat mate for the partnered research assignment. it takes the combined brainpower of the entire rest of your class to notice how you're both, very subtly, very eager to work together they're doing a different research project of their own
.....interesting....
a/n 2: writing this does not make me want to fight this man any less!!! also i’m obsessed with the fact that dottore canonically got bitches and al-haitham has none
just some instances wherein you’re caught under a sudden downpour and you find yourself joined by the company of a familiar man.
INCLUDES : alhaitham ; dainsleif ; diluc ; zhongli
reader is gender neutral w/ you/your pronouns !!
A/N : *gasp* sophie writing smth in canon timeline rather than an au ??? :shocked_pikachu_face: (blatantly ignores dains part while typing this haha,,,) i just love me some rainy (kinda) romantic moments ;w;;
likes and REBLOGS are appreciated if u enjoyed this !! <33
— alhaitham : kissing in the rain
“are you looking to catch a cold?”
“i’m not cold,” you huff out in response to alhaitham’s remark. “i’m feeling rather warm, actually.”
he blankly eyes your drenched form with scrutiny, and you fight the urge to shiver from the water droplets landing along the back of your neck. it’s not your fault the rain decided to pour when you decided to take a stroll! curse the weather and its unpredictable changes.
he gives a low hum after a few seconds of silence. “then why are your lips trembling?”
“i was just so excited to see you that my lips started to tremble— ack!”
the scribe stares blankly at you once more as he watches you try to rapidly blink away the raindrop that landed in your eye. he takes a brief glance at the downpour steadily increasing in strength before sighing to himself and stepping closer to you, lifting part of his cape to shield you from further onslaughts.
alhaitham had always thought rationality was the best and most efficient course of action. why should one prioritise fleeting emotions over sound evidence and logic? it never made sense to him, and he always thought it would simply stay that way.
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