a mechanical humanoid from another nation. wields a secret blade of a kind that only a mechanical being ever could, crushing all who disturb the silence with razor-sharp wind and ice as frigid as steel.
A/N: I didnāt have to include a moodboard with this but I felt like being extra.Ā Alsoā¦ this was meant to be just a headcanon list but hereās a whole ficlet, I guess! Canāt decide if Iām gonna finish Childeās or Dilucās after this, so inputs are welcome. Requests are open, rules are here! -Hal
Prompt: meet-cute
Content includes: Part 1 of Modern AU meet-cute series. model!kaeya, semi-ooc kaeya i think, florist!reader
Pairing: kaeya x gn!reader
Kaeya: heās a model whoās escaping the paparazzi and youāre closing up your flower shop
A/N: I didn't have to include a moodboard with this but I felt like being extra.Ā Also... this was meant to be just a headcanon list but here's a whole ficlet, I guess! Canāt decide if Iām gonna finish Childeās or Dilucās after this, so inputs are welcome. Requests are open, rules are here! -Hal
Prompt: meet-cute
Content includes: Part 1 of Modern AU meet-cute series. model!kaeya, semi-ooc kaeya i think, florist!reader
Pairing: kaeya x gn!reader
Kaeya: he's a model who's escaping the paparazzi and you're closing up your flower shop
Kaeya's a pretty big-name model in Mondstadt.
He's been featured in Fontaine Fashion Week for the past 2 years and has modeled for every season for Favonius & Co.'s works.
With such popularity, you'd think he'd have some sort of body guard to keep him away from the prying eyes of Teyvat Pop News.
But no, he's a pretty stubborn guy and Jean, his manager, never fails to give him a piece of her mind every time.
He finds himself escaping from a few paparazzi as he's walking home from the mall, so he detours and tries to find a place to rest after he think he's lost them.
Kaeya then spots the lights on inside a little flower shop and thinks, "Oh, thank god."
You're closing up your little flower shop, sweeping the floor of any fallen leaves and flower petals you've cut up for the day. Normally, you'd keep the shop running til evening, but something felt off and you couldn't place what it was. So it's only late afternoon, yet the shop sign has been flipped to 'CLOSED' and you're packing up hours before closing time. There's faint music coming from the back room and you're humming along to the tune when the serenity gets cut off by something knocking on glass. You jump in surprise, looking behind you to see someone by the porch. By the looks of it, they were out of breath from running.
Setting aside your cleaning equipment, you walk up to the door to see a blue-haired guy, dressed in similar-colored clothing, hands on his knees as he pants. He looks up at you with starry blue eyes and blows his bangs away. You think he looks familiar, and that he's breathtaking even when he looks frazzled.
The chimes ring as you open the door a crack. "Hey, sorry..." you start, "but we're closed for the day." you tell him halfheartedly.
Kaeya stands up and you see he's taller than you expected. He leans back and looks to the side past the road, and blue eyes meet yours in desperation. "Sorry, I'm trying to get away from... a few people." His head tilts to the side, puts on the best puppy-dog eyes he can muster, and clasps his hands together. "Can I come in and stay for a while?" he pleads.
It's bizarre, you think, that someone could look so innocently cute yet dangerously handsome at the same time. At first, your instinct is to open your mouth and agree to help him. Of course, if this was a bad situation and you're the only refuge he could find, who were you to deny him? Though there's also the possibility that this could be a really bad scheme, and he'll rob you as soon as you let him in. He looks too dashing to do such a thing, but you can never be too sure... but also do robbers even wear designer clothes like he does?
He senses the hesitation in the way you don't immediately respond. "I-It's nothing dangerous, I swear!" Kaeya's slim hands are held up in front of him in defense before he runs it through his deep blue locks. The cool afternoon breeze sweeps his cologne to your direction. He smells of mint, of fresh summer air and freedom. "The paparazzi won't get off my back and I could really use the help," He explains briefly.
At the mention of paparazzi, it makes so much more sense. You still don't remember where you've seen him, but he sure fits the role of some celebrity by the way he dresses and carries himself. That... and his face looks really attractive. He's still smiling at you with just the tiniest bit of desperation creeping in his voice when he talks. All caution goes out the window as you open the door wider. There's still no one behind him, but you usher him inside your little shop. "Alright, but if they start bombarding my business, that's on you." you warn him playfully.
The breath he's holding escapes as he exhales in relief. "You're an angel," He beams at you with the brightest of smiles.
The door closes and is locked once again, and you go around the shop to close the blinds just a little. Kaeya breathes in. He's not the first stranger to walk in your shop, but it sure feels a little awkward as if you're being judged. "Do all flower shops smell this good, or is it just yours?" he asks coyly, taking in the array of flowers and plants on display. The playful roll of your eyes and your retort of "Do you ask this to all florists, or is it just me?" make him laugh, with his eyes crinkling at the corners and a hand over his chest.
He follows you around, assisting you in closing up, and you don't miss the way he wipes a bead of sweat off his forehead most likely due to his escapade. "It's better this way," you say, pulling a string to close a set of blinds, "at least they won't see you." With the last of the blinds shut, you turn to your pseudo-customer and ask, "Would you like some water?"
"Please." the embarrassment shows on his face.
You disappear in the back room for a bit, grabbing a bottle of water from the mini-fridge. When you emerge to the front of the shop, you find Kaeya seated on a barstool next to the counter, idly thumbing the calla lilies on display next to the cash register. The beginning of the day's sunset peeks through the slats of the blinds, capturing him like a painting. It's peaceful, ethereal, and you almost want to pull out your phone and take a quick photo to immortalize what you see. It doesn't help that some love song starts playing on the shop's speakers. The spell is broken when he catches you looking, and he looks at you with an easygoing smile.
Clearing your throat, you step forwards and place the bottle of water in front of him. You feel the heat rise to your cheeks, and if he notices you were staring, he doesn't comment on it. "Here." You place the bottle in front of him and he takes it eagerly. "Thank you." Kaeya bows his head graciously.
Picking up where you left off, you hold the broomstick and dustpan and start cleaning the floors again. "So um... you're gonna have to forgive me," you sheepishly smile at him, "but why are you being chased by the paps?"
As fate would have it, the magazine rack next to the counter has several magazines including a copy of last month's Mondstadt Fashion. And he recognizes himself on the cover, wearing a few of Favonius & Co.'s Spring Collection pieces. Kaeya picks up the magazine and places it on the counter, which you peer at curiously. The double-take you do makes him laugh again, watching you look at the cover, then to him in front of you, and back at the cover.
"Oh," you murmur as the realization dawns on you. "you're a model."
You don't dwell much on celebrity gossip so you don't really recognize most of them at first glance. But no wonder he seemed familiar, you'd seen him in a couple of magazines both in your store and in news sites. If paparazzi were chasing him, he must be a huge hit with the general public.
For Kaeya, however, he shrugs like it's no big deal. "Specifically, Teyvat's hottest model and top bachelor of 2021." he says as he closes the water bottle cap. "According to Mond Fashion." he adds with a cheeky wink. You scrunch up your nose impishly. "Still though, having paparazzi invade your privacy and all." you shake your head to the floor mostly, still occupied with cleaning the remaining dirt. "Glad I could be of use somewhat." you tell him.
āKaeya.ā he holds out his hand in a formal handshake.
You give him your name and grasp his hand; itās soft, like the smile that never leaves his face
Kaeya offers to help around with your closing routine, but you stop him before he could pick up the broom again. It feels wrong having someone else do your tasks even though it's offered in good faith (and after all, he wanted to repay you for taking him in past your closing time). So you settle with having him arrange your excess daisies in a basket for tomorrow's bouquet orders. It's pretty easy work that he couldn't mess up, so you leave him at it while you clean out your floral buckets. Still, you try to speed through your routine and leisurely chat with him, thinking he must be bored with his task.Ā
What hobbies do celebrities even have?, you wonder. Surely it can't be chatting up some florist and counting flowers.
"Do I look pretty?" he asks abruptly. And when your eyes land on him, your breath gets caught in your throat.
Kaeya looks different. In fashion magazines he's featured in, he's always prim and proper, composed. It's not to say he's stiff, because he definitely carries that confidence wherever he goes. But to be dressed and told to act, smile, and pose a certain way; it can look... artificial. But here, sitting on a barstool with a few daisies in his hair; here with his blue jacket draped across his lap, a loose white shirt and hands full of flowers. Here, where instead of studio lights, it's just the soft lights overhead on your small store. And here, where instead of cameras taking shots upon shots of his face, it's just you in your apron that he focuses on.
"Breathtakingly so." You smile.
By the end of the day, he has a whole flower crown on his head and you wonder why blue's related to sadness when it's brought you joy when you least expect it.Ā
note: okayokay hey sO i literally JUST wrote this in like ten minutes because i was having diluc brainrot PLS no thoughts just diluc being very stressed about making a good impression for you,, uhhh this is a modern!au but only because of the phones <33
summary: heās been planning since you accepted his proposal, arguably too stressfully. questions about anything his mind can pinpoint cloud his mind indefinitely as he awaits your arrival. oh, dear archons, have pity on him for when you walk through the door.
diluc paces back and forth throughout the corridors of the house awaiting your text. his grip on his phone is entirely too tight as he stops to check every few seconds, just in case heād missed it. a few maids watch from the end of the hall, whispering among themselves about how āmaster diluc seems incredibly nervous, doesnāt he?ā
he wouldnāt approve of the word ānervesā to describe his feeling, but they were most definitely nerves.
heād wanted to treat you to a dinner, and offered for you to come over that night. that was over a week ago, and now came the day of reckoning.
since he awoke heās been sweating bullets. the first thing heād seen was your message about how excited you were for your date later that evening, ļæ¼and at that he almost passed right back out.
āa dateā is what youād called it. was it a date? well, of course he wanted it to be one but knowing that you thought of it as one...would he be able to live up to your expectations? what are your expectations?
and so, he begins to spiral. he makes sure to use the best-smelling conditioner when washing his hair. he adorns his body in cologne, which was a struggle in itself. what if you found that tacky? what if you didnāt enjoy the smell? what ifā
his watch is tearing up from how many times heās checked it, overanalyzing the handsā positions. is it really only three oāclock? he couldāve sworn it was later. heās ordering every maid and butler with such a frantic (yet still polite) disposition theyāre not even sure if they can keep up. elzer chuckles behind his hand, passing it off as clearing his throat when diluc inquires as to why heās laughing.
by the time the dining room table is set and fully prepared, itās eight oāclock. the lighting is just as heād imagined it to be, as well was the scenery in general. the chandelier hanging above the table chimed a honeyed tune as it lightly swayed with the luminance of starlight.
thereās a knock on the manorās door, and diluc berates his bodyās hesitance. his movements are clunky, almost robotic, but he manages to make it to the door. with a shallow inhale, itās opened, and all his breath is gone once again.
his brain abandons all worries for only a second when he meets your eyes. dreamlike and poised was your gaze, and he couldnāt begin to think of how uncharacteristic his probably appeared. swallowing his diffidence, he extends his hand.
āhello ā hi, you look...incredible.ā
youāre not even fully inside when he offers to remove your jacket, and you feel the tremble in his hands when they graze your shoulders. you silently gape upon all heās prepared, the candlelit atmosphere one you swore only existed in stories with princely figures. if you werenāt mistaken, just about every signature mondstadt delicacy was placed on banquet. various wines, dishes so golden they appeared to be sparkling ā thereās no way he couldāve had all this done just for you, right?
he speaks to you slow, as to not butcher what heās rehearsed for hours. itās evident that heās nervous, even though heās doing his best not to show it.
āwas your ride here alright? i made sure to specially pick the chauffeur, so i hope you werenāt given any trouble.ā
youāre not overwhelmed, but even you must admit itās a lot. itās obvious heās rehearsed everything, from his dialogue to the way he follows behind you. on one hand itās adorable, though on the other itās not as natural as you were hoping. perhaps you could put him at ease.
turning to face him, you extend your hand to the warmth of his cheek, exhaling a laugh at the way he tenses.
ānot everything has to be perfect, diluc.ā
he simply wants everything to conduct as smoothly as possible, though when you lean to peck him on the cheek, all rehearsal becomes obsolete. of course, youāre right, but he definitely still believes you look as perfect as ever.
itās like... iām plagued by childe thoughts @ 2am every night but hereās another thing no one asked for that iām only posting bc iām projecting my attraction to dancers: childe as a professional choreographer dancing this. (GIF under the cut bc it contains v slight nudity!)
like... you canāt convince me otherwise. iām pretty sure he knows how to street dance. him??? doing this?????
ur gonna have to excuse me for the terrible gif, i needed this specific scene
heās so hot as a dancer and he KNOWS what heās doing and the effect he has on his viewers. you could probably watch him perform and get lost in his movements. i chose that scene from the choreo bc... hello... childeās costume design in the game has his chest exposed like that...
anyway my modern au take is that he choreographs under a company named golden house studios. that or the DCKZ idol au where heās the main rapper but also dances with kaeya and they absolutely destroy the stage when they perform in concerts. and the camera focuses on him, showing his pretty face in the screens behind him. childe winks. all the fans scream right after.
gracieabrams
germansingergirl
amandla
andulkaphoto
ellievsbear
