Think about the anemo boys, they had some traumatic past and maybe they have night terrors when they are stressed....what will happend if they wake up after a heavy(and really angst) night terror and they search for reader and the bed is empty? (and the reader is eating something because who doesn't had a midnight snack?)
{Sorry for the bad english!}
Your English is perfect don't worry!!! I love writing the anemo boys so thank you so much for your request!! (Also a midnight snack is something I do often so you're one hundred percent right about that!) I hope you enjoy!! <3
(P.s sorry if this isn't incredible, I was having major writers block...)
─⊰⊹ฺ🎃𝔾𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕠𝕟𝕤⊰⊹ฺ🎃
{༻~Where have you gone~༺}
CW: Characters have night terrors! Lots of tears and worries! Descriptions of death in the night terrors, (it's not real), sleep walking in Heizous, cursing in wanderers! Slight angst but fluff in the end!! (Pet names: Kazuha: Honey, Xiao: Flower, Venti: My dear)
(Includes: Kazuha, Xiao, Heizou, Venti, and Wanderer!)
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𑁍༄Kazuha:
Kazuha shifted closer to you sleepily, trying to shake away the remnants of his night terror and stay awake so he wouldn't slip back into the horrible dream world, but even as tired as he was, he noticed instantly that you weren't near him, your comforting familiar warmth was gone and seemingly nowhere to be found. He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes and scanning the dark room, it was unlike you to leave in the middle of the night...
Goosebumps formed on his skin as he remembered his nightmare once more, the sound of glass shattering, the subtle grunt of the intruder as he struk you down, was it real? Were you slipping away while he sat there idling on? He glanced at his sword, making the silent decision to take it with him as he left the bedroom behind and quietly made his way around the house, if anyone had gotten in he'd take care of it before they could even make a move.
"Kazuha what are you doing?"
He turned to face you, a blush crawling up his cheeks as he noticed the glass of milk in your hand, he'd gotten carried away again..., "I was just...checking to make sure no one unexpected had shown up in the house, ahem, what are you doing up so late honey?" You chuckled softly and the sound warmed his heart instantly, you always helped him, without even knowing it.
𑁍༄Xiao:
Xiao groaned quietly, sitting up in your shared bed with sleep clinging to his sharp yellow eyes, his heart was racing with emotions...anger, fear, sadness, hatred...but it had all been just a bad dream right? Nothing had actually happened to you, "Flower...are you awake?" His voice was raspier than usual, laced with with worry as he glanced in your direction, but your side of the bed was empty...in fact you weren't even in the room.
Panick started to set in, what if it hadn't been a dream, but a memory, had he lost you? Or what if someone had attacked while he was sleeping? He threw off the covers, polearm appearing in his hand as he rushed out of the room, what was he going to do if he couldn't find you?
"Xiao? You okay?"
His eyes shot in your direction, a heavy sigh of relief escaping his lips as he pulled you into a tight embrace, "Thank the archons..." He whispered into the crook of your neck, you weren't sure what had gotten into him, but you kissed his cheek and snuggled into his touch, "Hey it's okay...I'm alright."
𑁍༄Heizou:
Heizous feet slowly padded against the cold floor, his eyes dazed with sleep and barely even open, yet he knew he wasn't where he was supposed to be. He could have sworn he was just investigating a death, now he was suddenly in the living room?...what had happened in between those two points? He shook his head, recalling what he'd thought had happened, only to be brought back into his dream, realization hitting him almost instantly, face pale as milk as he stared down at you...the death he had been investigating...was yours?
He took a step back, crashing onto the floor with a loud thud, he couldn't wrap his head around what was happening and he was starting to have trouble breathing, where you actually gone?
"Heizou?!"
He looked up at you, now even more confused as tears welled up in his eyes, was he relieved, scared? He didn't even know, "Y-you're okay?" His voice sounded so fragile, like your answer could break him, "I'm perfectly fine...are you okay? You're the one sitting in the middle of the living room floor." You kneeled down next to him, kissing his cheek while he sighed in relief and gave you a short nod, "I'm okay."
𑁍༄Venti:
Ventis eyes fluttered open, cold tears clinging to his cheeks as he stared up at the ceiling, the image of his friend slowly leaving the world plaguing his thoughts..making him wish he didn't even have dreams. Until that day he'd never experienced the loss of someone close to him, in fact he hadn't gotten that close to someone since then, other than you. He loved you so much, the idea of losing you would be even worse than death...
He started to hum in a attempt to make himself feel better, cuddling up to you...or at least trying to, "Huh...?" He sat up slightly, moving the covers to find that you were in fact gone and he was all alone, so alone...his night terror replayed again in his mind, only this time it was you who was slipping away and he swore it was like his whole world had shattered at the sight of it, tears welled up in his eyes and he didn't even know what to do. Was this some type of panic attack, was he really all by himself?
"Oh my gosh, Venti what's wrong?" You set your small tray of food aside and rushed over to him, pulling him into a tight hug while he shook with emotion, "Shhh it's okay. Did you have another nightmare?" He didn't answer, he just pulled you you even closer to him and hid his face in the crook of your neck, sniffling as he tried to calm himself down...if he ever lost you...it might just mean the end of himself too.
𑁍༄Wanderer:
Wanderer looked out the window, on the outside his appearance was the same as always, unbothered...maybe even slightly annoyed, but on the inside it was a different story. He was terrified, the words you had said in his dream replaying over and over in his mind, each time stinging worse than the last...
"I'm leaving and I hope I never see you again"
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If that ever happened...he wasn't sure he'd be able to handle it, you're the one person he'd ever felt love towards in his hundreds of years of living and without you...it would be like loosing his heart all over again, "Please don't ever leave me." He whispered, hoping you hadn't heard how pathetic it sounded...wait speaking of hearing, why didn't he hear your soft snores. "Oh crap...are you awake?" He glanced in your direction only to be caught off guard by the empty space, covers thrown aside like you'd just got out of bed in the middle of the night and wandered away.
Again your harsh words came to mind and he clenched his hands into fists, anger flowing through his veins, had you left him without even saying a word?
"Oh hey, want some crackers?...what's with the look on your face? Bad dream?"
He shot you a glare for a split second, "I don't have bad dreams, I'm just annoyed...that you woke me up so late. What the hell were you doing?" His words sounded harsher than he'd meant them too, but you didn't mind, you knew by now that whatever he said was usually the opposite, "I wanted some crackers, hence the plate of crackers."
summary verr goldet and huai'an playing matchmaker, basically
warnings wc 1.7k, this fic is xiao pretty much watching over reader in his very xiao way so if you’re not into stalking elements pls don’t read LMFAO + xiao having a crushhh
You’ve felt the looming presence of someone watching you ever since you’ve set foot in Liyue.
It wasn’t anything sudden—in fact, no ordinary human being would have noticed it. But you’ve been trained to deal with all sorts of animals, from wild Rishboland Tigers down to slippery Red-Tailed Lizards. You could sense the tiniest snap of twigs and freshly fallen leaves that could have only occurred from an interference.
And having dealt with animals for so long, you can safely conclude that whatever has been following you for the past ten days is definitely not an animal. If it were, it would’ve been some skilled predator that somehow disappears into thin air when you steal a glimpse. The only possible trace you could find is the barely discernible mark on the dirt.
It also helped your Vision gave you the blessing of being attuned to the wind and the shift of air from a heavy presence.
You thought you’d be dead by the fifth day of your stay—murdered by this newly-acquired stalker of yours, but nothing happened. You asked (politely, with a please) this person to reveal themselves and save you both the trouble, but nothing happened.
You even went as far as to throw yourself into the first hilichurl camp you saw to see if anything happened, yet while you were defending yourself against one, all of them fell to the ground limp once you turned back to them. You search for more camps nearby, but they’ve all been cleared—and all of them were freshly beaten as if your stalker made quick work once they figured out what you were up to.
“It’s hard to tell if you’re out to protect me instead of murdering me if you don’t show yourself,” you say to the empty field, hoping for at least one answer, but nothing happens.
You suppose all that matters is that it’s hard to feel lonely with the constant presence.
“You been hanging around Wangshu Inn lately?” asks the man you went up to. It is in case you weren’t alone in what seemed to be the beginning plot of a horror movie. At your reluctant nod, he snorts, “Well, aren’t you a lucky one? Or perhaps it’s the complete opposite if you’ve been up to no good and disrespected an Adeptus.”
You don't understand what this man’s point is. You’ve briefly heard of the term ‘Adepti’ floating around Liyue, but you’re not quite sure if it’s one person or something else entirely. Have you done something to offend any deities in Liyue? All you’ve really been up to is researching the wildlife and tracking down the stalker.
“What does Wangshu Inn have to do with this?”
“Why don’t you ask and find out yourself?”
You frown. “It would save me hours if you just tell me now.”
“I already told you what I know, kid,” says the man to you, a full-grown adult. “But I suppose I can let you in on one secret: you’ve piqued the interest of someone.”
This man is crazy.
You sigh. You’ve only been hanging around Wangshu Inn for shelter, but the sun is setting a little too fast, and the warm lights and delicious aroma of their food are starting to speak to you—you suppose there is no other way.
Making your way up to an inn has never been more interesting.
While walking, you belatedly realize that you feel the presence of the stranger again. It’s stronger than before, says the winds, and they never lie with what they touch as they fly by.
You also take it upon yourself to ask the merchants and customers alike, calling yourself new and curious as to what they know about the Adeptus lingering around Wangshu Inn.
“An Adeptus? All I know is that this inn is hiding a mysterious secret, but none of us have really gotten to a point where we found more about it.”
A secret.
You’d really prefer if the man you met before weren’t lying, as you would want your stalker to at least be some sort of god than an ordinary human being who has been watching you for no other reason.
You mull this information in your head as you climb up the inn. And then your limbs lock in place once you hear a voice. It speaks to you, for some unknown reason—as if the winds have quieted down to make you listen. You’re not sure if it’s the rasp or the absolute command his voice demands that gets to you, but—
“The next person to come here will ask about me. You will say you know nothing about my whereabouts.”
Then, a new, feminine voice speaks up. It breaks the brief trance you’ve been under. “…Is this the same person you’ve been watching over for the past two weeks, Adeptus Xiao?”
Adeptus Xiao. Watching over…?
Yet when you pick up pace and hurry to the counter, it’s just a woman alone, wide-eyed as she looks at you as if you were the one acting stranger.
“Sorry,” you blurt. “I’m, ah… I thought…”
Were you really just imagining that? No. That’s impossible.
The lady smiles. “I’ve seen you around the Inn recently. My name is Verr Goldet, the boss here at Wangshu Inn.”
“Oh, yes, nice to meet you.” Embarrassed, you choose to stare at the cat resting on the edge of her desk. You wonder if that cat can sense your distress; it’s blinking up at you innocently, surely the eyes of someone who has witnessed what you’ve missed. “My name’s Y/N, and I wanted to book a room…”
Verr Goldet brightens, but you suppose anyone receiving a customer would be, too. “I see. Have you considered the room on our highest floor?”
“Not…really?”
She hums, then smiles like she's letting you in on a little secret. “You should. If not, then at least consider climbing up the stairs and see the view for yourself. Most of my customers book rooms solely for that reason.”
That does sound appealing, and you have time to spare. “I will; thank you for the suggestion.”
Pleased, Verr Goldet turns to her desk to assumably book you a room. In the silence, you find your voice, “Hey, boss.”
You look up, and Verr Goldet’s eyes are sparkling. “Hm, yes? Oh, your expression looks terrified.” She laughs, sliding a key across the desk and urging you to take it. “I’m just used to correcting people who call me ‘boss lady’. What was your question?”
“Well, I’m pretty new, and—I’ve heard something interesting about this place.”
“There are a lot of rumors about this place. You’d have to be more specific.”
She might either kick you out from where you’re standing or understand what you’re about to say. “Well, ever since I arrived here at Wangshu Inn I always felt like I was being watched over… and then a man I met outside from here told me that there’s an Adeptus nearby?”
“I see. So you’ve met my husband,” she smiles knowingly. “You’re not from Liyue, aren’t you?” You shake your head. “Usually, no one knows about this, but my husband must’ve caught it, too. You’re looking for Adeptus Xiao, and I have noticed that he’s been lingering a lot more recently. More so than usual—I’ve concluded it’s ever since you arrived.”
“Should I be scared?” Because you’re not. Your heart is pounding. It’s a little messed up, but the thought of someone so highly esteemed having noticed you sends a thrill down your spine.
“Of course not. Xiao is the slayer of demons—he keeps Liyue and, most notably, this Inn safe from harm. Of course, I can’t blame your curiosity: no one else has seen Xiao with their own eyes.”
“Am I correct in assuming my stalker could be this Adeptus?”
Verr Goldet laughs. “Why don’t you head up and find out?”
Breathtaking is the first thought that crosses your mind as you finally reach the terrace. You can’t hold back your elated gasp seeing the place from this height—the lanterns, the people, the scenery.
And then you say, “Adeptus Xiao, are you here? Verr Goldet told me you’d be.” She didn’t say it directly, but the implications were there.
The wind shifts as a presence materializes behind you. It’s an all-too-familiar feeling. Goosebumps arise in your arms, and it’s not from the breeze. You turn, and come face-to-face with the most beautiful man you’ve ever met.
Xiao clicks his tongue, his pale skin tinted red. “I did not ask for them to resort to matchmaking.”
“You heard that? So you’re not denying that you’re the one who’s been stalking me ever so creepily?”
“Do not disrespect the Adepti with your accusations,” Xiao quickly retorts, like it’s second nature.
But you now know that one of the Adepti has a little crush on you, so you hardly care less about that at this point. “I’d say that invading my privacy is more disrespectful.”
Xiao’s silence embodies a scolded puppy.
You grin, stepping closer. It widens as Xiao stares at you warily, yet doesn’t disappear. The moonlight brings out the color on his face. He’s beautiful and acting unbelievably adorable. “It’s nice to meet you, Adeptus Xiao. Thank you for protecting me during my stay in Liyue.”
It must’ve been the sincerity in your voice that has him clearing his throat, scrambling for some sense of control again. “It’s—It’s my duty.”
“To watch over one person in particular?”
Xiao glares weakly, caught red-handed. “Do not get so presumptuous.” He says, yet he hasn’t disappeared into thin air while talking to you, unlike what Verr Goldet says usually happens. That alone says a lot.
“It’s hard not to when you look at me like that.”
Xiao visibly startles, losing his calm composure by blinking. “How do I look at y—“
“I think I’ll be staying in Wangshu Inn for a little while longer,” you voice aloud, the grin on your lips never once faltering. “I’ll be in your care, Xiao.”
Xiao cannot, in fact, handle this, as his entire face goes up in flames, and he disappears into wisps of teal and black. You’re not too worried. You can still feel his presence, the way you’re already getting used to.
A/N OH MY GOD. A XIAO FIC. FINALLY. FROM SIXOSIX. SELF-PROCLAIMED XIAO MAIN... im shaking as i post this like im so nervous. and i hate this. but out of all the xiao fics i tried to write this one has been the one i actually completed without throwing out halfway through
In where scara claims you're a distraction when studying
Gn! reader, artist! scara,just fluff hehe
"That's wrong"
"You aren't even looking ?!"
He let out a sigh as he closed his notebook and snatched yours. "This is basic shit I already gave you my notes and you're still stuck on that question. talk to me when you got it all figured out" He then carelessly threw your notebook back to you. Why did you even ask him to help you!
"Well, I would've gotten that right if you just taught me properly" You crumbled up a piece of paper filled with your solutions. "You have my notebook read it" He narrowed his eyes at you as he continued to doodle something in his notebook.
"You're not even doing your work, how can you possibly know that my answer was wrong and not right!" he just shrugged it off and continued doodling. "You're distracting me." That was your last straw, how can you distract him when he's basically slacking off!
"What are you even drawing ?!" you snatched the notebook off his hand making him gasp "Give it back you–" "Oh"
The page was a sketch of you with furrowed brows while reading a notebook with scribbles on the side. "aww is this what you mean that I'm distracting you!" A noticeable blush crept up his face. You continue to flip through the pages seeing more sketches of you, some unfinished, some finished but it is a fact that he's been drawing you for a while. As you were engrossed in the pages he tore the notebook off your fingertips with a huff and a blush.
Silence was shared between you, neither wanting to speak up first but you figured out he was too embarrassed to even say anything. "Well i th–" "I don't care what you think." he narrowed his eyes at you as he put the notebook back on the table. You giggled at his reaction. He can be so cute yet so stubborn.
"I think it's beautiful" he slowly looked up at you, his blush slightly faded but with your following words the blush came back in a second "I liked your drawings scara! I think it's beautiful" You gave him a warm smile
He swore he wanted to draw you again. At this moment you looked just so beautiful. "W-Whatever…it's not like I asked for your opinion anyway.." But deep down he loved the idea of him loving his drawings.
He then cleared his throat sitting down on the table again "J-Just finish the assignment." you nodded sitting down again as Scara picked up his pencil once more.
Wanted to do something new so here’s the fan art equivalent of x Reader stuff, I guess? Also trying out a new style, but I don’t know if I can finally decide to stick to it. ;-; Y/N is apparently shy and awkward or something and looks like your average NPC just cuz. I wanna do more of these x Y/N stuff so suggestions/feedback would be appreciated.
❝ but it’s you, you’re the one that i want! you, everything that i want! ❞ // as idols, these boys know they aren't supposed to fall for you, their manager, but as long as they keep sparkling on stage, it should be fine to adore you in secret, right?
✧ warning(s) ; suggestive (heizou), very brief mention of diets (aether), toothrotting fluff tbh
✧ a/n ; MANNNN I LOVE IDOL AU !!! esp since i started getting into kpop 🤭 i hope u guys like this as much as i do >:) also 6reeze is so txt-coded idc i said what i said !
please reblog + leave comments ! it motivates me to write more :)
✦ AETHER. [ child of the stars ]
aether is renowned in teyvat for being a jack of all trades, commonly addressed as the ‘ace’ of 6reeze alongside being its leader. whether it’s singing, rapping, dancing or interacting with fans, he gives everything his all, and when seeing him onstage it’s clear that some people truly are just born to become stars. his fans are all obsessed with how caring he is towards his younger sister lumine, as well as his responsible appearance as the leader of 6reeze.
“hey, ace,” you tease, calling him by the nickname you know he despises as you enter the dining area, where he’s refilling his water bottle after finishing up some extra dance practice. “hey!” he pouts, “don’t call me that…” aether claims that he still has much to learn and improve on in terms of his skills, so he prefers not to accept a title that heaps so much praise on him. he sweeps his blonde braid over his shoulder as he walks over to you and lifts the stuffed convenience store bag out of your hands. as he peers inside it his face breaks into a grateful smile, “you bought my favourite snacks!” you wink, referring to the terrible diet plan he’s supposed to follow, “i won’t tell if you won’t.” his smile widens and he mimes zipping his lips, “i have no idea what you’re talking about.” “i ordered dinner for you guys, it should be arriving soon. could you call the others for me?” you continue, bustling around to sort out the plates and cutlery. aether raises an eyebrow, “and what about for yourself?” “ah,” you’re caught like a deer in headlights, and you look away as you mumble, “instant noodles…” aether shakes his head and cups your face, “no, no, no. y’know you’ve got to eat well too, right?” “i will, i swear, but you’re all more important-” “not another word. i want you to take care of yourself too,” he hushes you with a finger on your lips. there’s a pin drop silence for a second as the two of you stare at each other before aether realises how close he is to you and leaps away, face turning bright red, “u-um! i mean, you better go order yourself a proper meal, we’ll wait for you before we start eating. and i better go bring the rest of them down now.” he dashes away before you can say anything, and buries his face in his hands the second he’s out of sight. from being sweet enough to remember and buy him his favourite snacks, to the adorable way you looked at him just now - you really are going to be the death of him.
kazuha is the lyricist of the group; he’s penned so many iconic songs for 6reeze and other groups as well. he’s known for his poetic prose which flows so perfectly, almost as if his words are being carried by the breeze the group is named after. his fans keep records of every single song he’s ever written and have his lyrics in their bio across all their socials.
kazuha groans, throwing yet another scrap of paper into the dustbin. the basket is practically overflowing at this point, and he swears it’s only going to be an hour more before he’s drowned in the scraps of paper covered with trial lyrics that just won’t come out the way he wants them to. “‘zuha? you okay?” you knock on his door as you open it slightly to peek your head in, “i heard you sighing…” “it’s nothing,” kazuha runs a hand through his messy tufts of red-streaked hair, “just can’t get my brain to write tonight.” “mind if i come in?” when he shakes his head, you enter his bedroom and perch on the edge of his bed, “maybe we could do something else to get your mind off it.” “really?” he tilts his head curiously and you beam, “yeah! we’ve just got to get your creative juices flowing… maybe if you look at it from a different angle?” you clap your hands together delightedly as if you’ve discovered the solution to one of life’s great mysteries and you beckon him over, “c’mere, lie down over the edge of the bed like this.” “what?” he can’t help but be confused even as he does what you say, draping himself on the bed so his feet are on the pillow as his head almost touches the floor - the entire room is upside down now. you’re beside him doing the same thing, and you turn to face him with a grin so bright he swears it lights up the room, “what do you think? is it working?” he bursts into laughter, “definitely. i’m getting so many new ideas right now.” “yay!” you cheer, and he smiles softly at you, affection glimmering in his irises. when 6reeze’s newest single drops, the internet is thrown into an uproar over just how romantic the lyrics are, all of them focusing on an unknown muse who provides the members with the inspiration to keep creating.
✦ SCARAMOUCHE. [ kunikuzushi ]
kunikuzushi, or scara, according to his stage name, is the main dancer of 6reeze. his every move strikes with carefully calculated control, executed with the perfect amount of precision and sharpness to depict the dance with clarity while still putting his own spin on it. it’s no wonder he’s regarded as one of the top dancers in teyvat. but all that skill doesn’t just appear when he snaps his fingers. scaramouche puts in hours and hours of work into his dancing, often staying back to burn the midnight oil long after the other members leave. his tsundere personality appeals to his fans, who are also the most unhinged out of all the 6reeze solo stans - they can often be found on twitter asking him to do the most unholy things possible.
“scara?” your voice snaps him out of his reverie, and he stands up to stop the recording of his practice before playing it back as he answers, “here.” his brow furrows when he watches the video, noticing every single flaw and mistake that would be invisible to anyone else yet is the most obvious thing in the world to him. he scowls at his phone screen and you ask, “what’s wrong?” he tries not to sound disappointed as he answers, “the choreo for ‘freedom’ is so fucking difficult. i’m doing fucking terrible.” “i’m sure you’re doing fine, scara,” you reassure him, “anyways, it’s late, you can just continue practicing tomorrow.” “no!” there’s no mistaking the finality in his tone, “i have to get it correct now.” “it’s past midnight. you’ve got another full day tomorrow, you’ll be exhausted,” you explain gently, trying to coax him to relax. “i don’t care,” his voice trembles for a second and in a rare moment of weakness, he lets his vulnerability show, “if i don’t get this perfect, i’m not good enough. i can’t hold back the rest of the team. i have to do this better than anyone else to prove i’m enough.” you open your arms to him wordlessly, pulling him into a hug, “oh, kuni.” he buries his face in your shoulder, inhaling your familiar scent and slowly beginning to calm down as you speak, “kuni, you’re doing so well. you don’t have to prove anything to anyone. you worked hard and fought to get to debut, and you deserve every inch of success you get, okay? please don’t push yourself like this, you’ll end up getting sick.” he doesn’t say anything, but he wraps his arms around you tighter, and you joke, “if you get sick, heizou might get the choreo first~” “no way.” his voice is muffled by your hoodie. “exactly. so how about we go back and get some rest for now, mmkay?” “fine,” he murmurs, “but can we just stay like this for a while?” “as long as you want, kuni,” you whisper, stroking his hair until he falls asleep in your arms.
✦ SHIKANOIN HEIZOU. [ analytical harmony ]
heizou is the heartthrob and main visual of 6reeze. he’s known in their fanbase as the ‘stan attractor’ and for good reason; he’s always doing something comedic on camera, and he’s also the flirtiest with their fans during fanmeetings. his fans are the type to make those ‘if you blush or smile, you lose’ compilations, and it’ll just be clips of him from fancams.
“pff, y/n, you won’t believe this!” heizou laughs as he scrolls through something on his phone. “what is it?” “i twirled my hair around my finger after i clumsily fell into his arms. his olive orbs stared blankly into mine,” heizou puts on a dramatic narrative voice, acting out each part. “what are you doing, dumbass?” you giggle at his antics as you finish double-checking their schedule for tomorrow. “reading fanfiction about me. it really boosts my ego, y’know, especially when they think i’m like ten inches-” “ooookay, we are not discussing that,” you massage your temples, trying to hide how heat is rushing to your cheeks at his casual admission of the risque sentence. “he puts down the microphone and looks at me with anger in his eyes,” heizou looks aghast as he reads, but then his jaw drops as he scrolls to the next part. “why?” you peer over his shoulder, curiosity piqued by his reaction, “what happens next?” without warning, heizou suddenly turns around and slams a fist against the wall beside you, effectively caging you in a cliche kabedon as he murmurs, “this does.” you’re too stunned to speak, unable to do anything but stare up at him with wide eyes; now you really feel like a romance manga protagonist. but then, as if nothing happened, he pulls away and groans loudly, “does this even sound like something i’d do?!” you regain your composure enough to swat his shoulder, “nope, you’re not that cool.” “hey!” “and y’know what?” “what?” “i hope the reader punches you in the fic next.” “you’re so mean!”
✦ VENTI. [ windborne bard ]
venti is the self-proclaimed ‘cutest member’ of 6reeze, which he considers to be his primary role instead of being the main vocalist. he’s mastered a variety of instruments, and according to his fans, his singing gives one the feeling of being comforted or wrapped in a warm hug, or even a fleeting kiss like the caress of the wind on your skin. despite being the oldest member of 6reeze, he doesn’t act like it in front of the cameras, and his cutesy act helps bring in a vast number of fans who probably have framed pictures of him on their wall.
you rap on the window of the recording booth to signal your presence, “good luck, venti!” he grins and offers you a thumbs up before yelling (even though you both know he doesn’t have to shout), “now that y/n is here, i’ve really got to do my best!” he proceeds to sing his heart out, putting so much emotion into every note of the heartbreaking ballad ‘vision’ that you feel tears prick at your eyes. the second he’s done, he comes barreling out of the recording booth, only to see you look at him with watery eyes that you hurriedly try to wipe away. “what happened?! are you okay?!” venti panics, fluttering around you like a concerned butterfly. “nothing happened,” the producer laughs, “your singing is just that good.” “really?” venti puffs up his chest with pride, even as he rubs comforting circles on your back, “but if my singing makes y/n cry, i’d never want to sing again.” “don’t be silly, venti,” you giggle softly before whispering, “you always remind me just how incredibly talented you are.” venti’s face turns as red as a tomato, but he quickly recovers, “at this rate you could replace heizou, darling manager~” “shut up,” you shove him playfully before handing him his favourite drink, “anyways, here you go. dandelion wine for your throat.” “you remembered!” he squashes you in a warm hug, “you really are after my heart.” “yeah, yeah,” you wave him away embarrassedly, “as long as you’re at peak performance.” “after this?” he downs half the bottle in a gulp before pumping it in the air triumphantly, “i’m ready to record another hundred times!” “venti, please behave-”
✦ XIAO. [ vigilant yaksha ]
xiao is arguably the most popular member of 6reeze. he’s the main rapper, and his deep yet suave voice has both fans and non-fans alike swooning. he’s quiet, but that’s part of his appeal, as every fan believes that they could be the one to get him out of his shell. he’s the type whose fans make him trend on twitter every time he does literally anything, i.e. ‘#XIAOFORGUCCI’ ‘#XIAOINPARIS’ or ‘#APOLOGISETOXIAO’. the last one trends abnormally frequently because his fanbase defends him like a pack of rabid dogs. he’s also the type that non-fans post about like ‘who’s the boy group member with black and green hair and amber eyes???’ so he’s also considered a stan attractor.
“okay, let’s try this again. xiao, i’m your biggest fan!” you gush excitedly, and xiao’s face turns so red you think he might just explode. a few seconds pass, then a minute, and he still hasn’t said anything. reaching up, you flick his forehead, “xiao!” “hm?! yeah?” he blinks twice as if waking up from a daze and you sigh, “how am i supposed to help you practice for fan meetings if you keep zoning out?” “i don’t know…” he rubs a hand over his face, desperately trying to calm his racing heart, “maybe this isn’t working.” “xiao, i love you!” you try a different approach, clasping your hands over his and gazing at him with sparkling eyes. “w-what?!” it looks like you’ve broken him, please press the reset button. you can’t help but burst into laughter at his stunned expression, “you know what, i think you’ll be fine tomorrow. your fans will probably think you’re adorable.” he groans, but then he musters up all his courage to meet your eyes and ask, “well, do you find me cute?” now it’s your turn to freeze. is he really asking you what you think he is? “ah… um. i mean, cute is a pretty subjective term, actually, but yeah, i guess i do find you pretty cute.” xiao smiles, a hint of a tease playing about his lips even as his ears heat up when he replies, “i find you pretty cute too.”
quill comeback showcase ?!?! LMAO i hope u liked this my brain was so dead by the time i finished this its literally 1.30am 😔 goodnight! // general masterlist
Matsuri - (Xiao x Fem!Reader x Scaramouche) - Modern!UniStudents!AU
word count : 5.1k
trigger warning: none except potential swearing. reader wears a dress and is referred to in feminine titles.
Chapter 2 - Someday .
Proceed to masterlist - Matsuri .
---
“Anonymous: thank you…?”
You were positive you were dreaming when you saw the private message on the anonymous website of your college community. There was actually no way this was him, was someone messing with you after they saw your post? That had to be it, it felt too good to be true.
You shakily typed back a response after pondering for a solid minute spent staring at the screen motionlessly.
“Are you really the drummer who played Raise Hell?” You hesitantly pressed “Send”, heart pounding in your chest with millions of questions raising in your head. It was the name of the first song they performed, the hidden gem you didn’t imagine many knew until you coincidentally heard the familiar melody today.
To your surprise, the reply came relatively faster than you first assumed.
“I am, yes. Could I ask who you are?” Slight anxiety from his curt message made your hand tremble as you hurriedly thought of a reply. People don’t normally immediately tell their names or introduction in situations such as this, do they? It’s not as if he knows you to begin with, so you decide to somewhat divert the question.
“I was at your performance, and I just wanted to write about how cool it was to see you and your bandmates on stage. I’m sorry if the post made you uncomfortable!” You sent the reply, and stared at his previous message for a while. Call it the spur of the moment, but you remember adding something embarrassing along the lines of “I wonder if he has a girlfriend”. It was too late to delete or edit the post now but god, you truly did regret adding that part. It's not like you could’ve known he would (un)fortunately see it, or even send you a private message to begin with. You didn’t even write to post in an attempt to court him if that’s what he was worried about. Then again you imagine you’d find yourself apprehensive if you saw the same post regarding your performance if you were in his shoes.
Just as you were starting to wonder if you said something weird for him to not want to reply anymore, he thankfully did after around ten minutes.
“Not at all, it was just curiosity speaking. Thank you for appreciating our performance.” Now, you appreciate him replying at all but his messages really had no corner for you to turn to continue the conversation. Was it perhaps on purpose? You guess you’d never know if you didn’t push your luck a bit.
“Your first performance really was amazing because I hadn’t heard Raise Hell in years! I really liked the arrangement your band made.” Your eyes nearly popped out when he replied almost immediately after you pressed send.
“Oh, Raise Hell? It’s nice to hear the band isn’t as underappreciated as I thought. :)” Shoot, your heart almost leapt out of your chest at the random smile he added at the end. Something about the fact that he wrote the smiley face in between two dots to end the sentence properly made it even more adorable than it probably would’ve been otherwise.
You blinked in slight pause when you noticed the smile on your face that bloomed beyond your control, and at least attempted to keep a straight expression on the bus in a sea of passengers.
“I love the song, I used to listen to it a lot back in high school. I really didn’t expect to hear it today, your band did an amazing job performing it, truly.” You wrote the reply back after a little more than 3-5 minutes so as to not startle him with an instant reply. Call it dignity or pretending to have something to do if you will, there’s just something distasteful about immediately replying especially to someone you barely knew. And in this case, a complete stranger you knew nothing about except for the fact that he plays the drum and is unfairly attractive.
After a while, your phone vibrated in your hand. The speed at which you picked it up to check the message would be somewhat embarrassing to let someone else see, but truth be told you couldn’t be bothered to think of what strangers on the transportation thought of you when you were overjoyed that you actually managed to contact the pretty drummer like this.
“I suggested the song to my bandmates, actually. It took a little bit of persuasion but it was worth it in the end, I’d say.” As if he was actually talking in front of you, you nodded a little as you read the last part. “Worth it” would be an understatement, their band truly did an amazing job performing the song. You found yourself repeating that over and over both to him and yourself.
Suddenly you felt maybe it wasn’t a bad idea to write that post spontaneously after all.
—
The pretty drummer had slowly become some sort of an internet friend before you knew it. It had been a little more than two months since you two first started chatting. It was like an unspoken rule between you two to keep the somewhat exciting anonymity, neither of you knowing each other’s names or faces yet. Well, you’d be the one with a slight advantage because at least you knew how his hair looked. The raven locks flowing past his shoulder slightly with that prominent forest green streak, it was hard not to remember. But then again, he was wearing a mask and even if he weren’t, you couldn’t have had a clear look from the distance between your seat and the stage. So in other words, it was safe to say neither of you knew much about each other personally except for the most random messages you two end up sharing in the comfort of anonymity. He was a great listener in spite of being a curt replier, he somehow always made his responses short and direct while still not making you feel uncomfortable or cornered.
For example, you mentioned yesterday how you were craving a slice of cake and he simply sent two cafes near you two’s college with a “These places are pretty cheap and nice to sit in.” The other day you briefly ranted about your college group presentations with teammates and he gave you short advice on how to deal with the ones who slack off, the ones who are stubborn and only want to pursue their own ideas. College was tiring and an insufferable struggle, both of you seem to bond over that one fact if nothing else each day past.
On the other hand, you had to explicitly ask him a question if you wanted to learn anything more about him. The most he asked from you was your age on the day you started chatting, and he turned out to be one year older than you. So you had automatically assumed he was probably a junior since this semester was your second year of sophomore year. Well, that turned out to be your false assumption because he mentioned that he was one year below you in engineering college this morning in the middle of a conversation, albeit a bit randomly. You’d like to think he brought up the topic because he wanted your chat to continue or perhaps because he wanted to get to know you better. Though you weren’t sure if he knew how out of the blue it felt to see a reply of his major and year 17 minutes after you left him on read at his “Ah, I see.” when you mentioned how particularly tasty your iced drink tasted in the morning while you were semi-running late to your lecture. You could only assume.
He had a habit of replying a bit on the later side during the weekdays and relatively sooner on weekends you noticed. One thing you found somewhat cute was how he always disappeared around 11pm every day with a “Good night. :).” and replied to your latest message the next morning around 7am with a “Good morning. :).” His smiley emojis were one of the sole reasons for your happiness as of late if you could afford to be a bit dramatic.
What surprised you the most was how he mentioned he had been playing the drum for only half a year now, and claimed to be a complete beginner. Now, you don’t know much about drumming to start with but unless playing an instrument in a band that mostly performed upbeat hard-rock songs was extremely unchallenging (you knew for a fact it wasn’t easy), this guy had to be gifted. Truly gifted.
You felt yourself slowly getting attached to him, the more you talked on the anonymous platform. It felt so easy to fit him into your daily routine, just having a comforting online figure to talk to. Well, maybe for some people his replies wouldn’t be comforting and you may be overthinking, but it did feel like he was making an effort to make his messages sound less harsh. By that you mean he'd attach a “:)” or heart-react to your message if he found it pleasant to see once in a while. That could mean something, no? Even if it was out of common courtesy, it wouldn’t hurt getting a little ahead of yourself if it wasn’t hurting anyone, right?
—
That was all in your sophomore year. It startled you when you noticed an entire year had passed since you first met Xiao, especially since your memory was crystal clear from the way you spent every day giddily waiting for him to reply.
Unfortunately before you knew it, you two began to grow distant more and more as class workload had gotten the best of you after around 2 months or a bit longer since you got into the habit of chatting with him every day. To be perfectly honest, you two did end up changing social media accounts. But the problem was in the fact that he rarely logged in and didn’t reply to your messages for a week or longer because he hardly ever used it so in truth you semi-regretted choosing to move onto another platform where you two could communicate. There were times where you uploaded a picture including your face on your stories to see if Xiao (you finally got his name the day you two followed one another’s accounts) would see, but there was no use. He never watched your stories, or probably anyone’s in fact. 68 followers and 54 following, no pictures and no stories with a single song link on his bio- that was his account. An account you were positive he remembered the existence of once in a full moon, you were convinced. So it was almost safe to say you two remained strangers who now happen to know each other’s names and nothing else, even after exchanging your social media.
His long, long absence on his account slowly contributed to you two growing apart and hence, you hadn’t talked to him at all for the past 9 or so months.
That’s why from the announcement of Breeze, you silently wondered if he was even in the band still to begin with. If only you were still in contact, maybe you could’ve known prior and even cheered him before he went upstage. Or, you don’t know- be less startled by his potential appearance and not feel like your heart is going to leap out of your chest, holding your breath to see if he would actually be here? Some bandmates, especially the ones in college often seem to quit amidst their time together due to various problems, academic pressure being a popular reason why. Now that you were in your junior year and him in his sophomore year as you assumed, maybe he had quit due to workload that drove you two apart in the first place.
Well, you were wrong.
Your breath hitched when you surely saw him walk towards the seat behind the drumset with his familiar black attire, his street-comfy style still similar to the first day you saw him. Only this time he was in a black leather jacket, his signature (or so you assumed) silver jewellery layered around his neck and over his fingers in forms of stylish rings. This time everything about him graced your eyes, perhaps too much so from the way your heart wouldn’t calm down from seeing him again. His hair was slightly longer than you remembered last year, and most importantly- he wasn’t wearing a mask this time. Being in the front row, your eyes widened and nearly popped out of your sockets when you saw his face so clearly. He was beautiful. He had a curious shade of amber eyes, and a bold red eyeliner drawn similarly to Scaramouche as you noticed earlier. You didn’t know when red eyeliner had become a trend or if their tastes just happened to overlap, but you continued staring at him as if you temporarily forgot that you weren’t watching this on screen, but in person.
You shamelessly gawked over Xiao’s attractive appearance as you stood motionlessly amidst Kazuha and Hutao sharing a lively conversation, you didn’t even notice when she moved over next to him and you found yourself shoulder-to-shoulder to Scaramouche again. Maybe you would’ve been irritated by her switching sides and consequently forcing you to tolerate the smug brat next to you, but the moment you saw Xiao again, nothing else seemed to matter. In fact, you didn’t even hear him poking fun at you anymore as he started off his band performance with the same four hits on the cymbal. The entire moment felt like déjà-vu, the familiar sight of Xiao playing the drum with a silent yet domineering confidence, and you in the audience in awe. And once more, you felt yourself completely enthralled by Xiao.
You’d be lying if you didn’t keep him in your mind even though you didn’t speak anymore. Perhaps it was foolish to feel this sense of longing? missing? when you hadn’t even spoken a single word in person before. In fact, you were sure Xiao didn’t even know what you looked like.
A pang of sadness made you softly put your hand over your chest as your expression flashed melancholy. He left such a lasting impact on you, adorning your thoughts and stayed in your restless mind for months of no contact. And when you finally somehow found your fate cross his again, you were brutally reminded of how little you truly mattered to him. You bit the inside of your cheek in conflicted emotions as you realised you were the same as everyone else in the crowd in his eyes. A complete stranger.
The moment he set foot on stage, your world faded away to nothing and your entire focus had shifted to nowhere else but Xiao. All the while being painfully aware of the reality- he doesn’t know what you look like or perhaps doesn’t even remember your name. You had to remind yourself you were just a passing by online friend for him, not this fated destiny you somehow managed to convince yourself it was.
Perhaps your gaze was overly clear or the way you completely fell silent and stayed unmoving was too obvious, it unintentionally captured the attention of the not-exactly-a-stranger next to you.
“Ex or something, is he?” You didn’t even think he was talking to you until you yet again saw him turn his head entirely to stare at you. Him and his unyielding gaze.
“What?”
“That drummer you’ve been staring at nonstop.” His tone was devoid of the amusement he held earlier, diverting his indigo gaze to Xiao. For a moment, it almost looked like he was concerned about your sudden change in behaviour, but you brushed off the thought. Why would he be worried? That was ridiculous.
“No, just…” You found yourself stumbling over your words as you paused before explaining how you knew the drummer. What were you to him anyways? More than a nobody, yet less than a friend? Or were you two entirely strangers at this point? If it entirely came to that, you couldn’t even deny the possibility of someone else chatting with you because they saw your post and wanted to ridicule you. But come on, you two had been chatting every day for a few months, surely at least it was him?
“...someone I know, I guess.” Settling for a vague reply, you mumbled under your breath. It didn’t take a genius to know you couldn’t offer any more explanation, and thankfully Scaramouche hums in acknowledgement. Although he dropped the subject, whether he stopped pressing on because he truly noticed your hesitance or just lost interest remains unknown.
“You might want to be discreet with the staring. You’re very much visible to him, if you didn’t realise.” Just when you thought he’d gotten the hint. With a sigh you crossed your arms over your shoulder, facing Scaramouche.
“Well, it’s not like he’s going to notice me amidst a sea of people.”
“You never know. You didn’t say you two were strangers so I can only assume you two share a history.” Once again you didn’t know how to reply to his statement. How could you explain that he probably doesn’t even remember your identity when you were so obviously astonished to see him on stage again?
Scaramouche’s face was unconcerned most of the time if not for the smug amusement from time to time. Maybe you should’ve gotten the hint when his eyes widened at some sort of realisation after a while.
“He does know you, after all.” A tad too slow to grasp what he was referring to, you sighed quietly.
“What do you mean?” Your question remained unanswered as you diverted your focus back to the stage at his wordless gesture towards who you assumed to be Xiao.
And oh, you did get the answer to your own question the moment you looked back at those amber eyes who bore into yours directly. Eyes widening in shock, you glimpsed around to check if it was truly you he was staring straight at. Nobody else seemed to be focusing on the drummer perhaps due to his location at the very back, but you were. In fact, you were the only one whose attention was pinpointed at one member in particular and the way your gaze met for the first time ever took your breath away. Even that was an understatement as your heart pounded in your chest in excitement. Could it be that he really did recognize you amidst a sea of people? Or was this another one of your borderline delusional mindset playing another prank on you? You wanted to ask Hutao to confirm if he was truly looking at you of all people but deep down, you knew he was staring straight into your eyes. He had been looking directly in your direction for minutes now, gaze unshifting and somewhat inquisitive. Like he couldn’t believe his eyes as much as you couldn’t either.
Of course Scaramouche would be the one to break your little moment as he sighed out dramatically. Reluctantly, you glanced in his direction to see what his issue was. Maybe it was “the Xiao effect” but you found yourself even less irritated by Scara’s behaviour that was almost driving you crazy to the point you wanted to throw him to the stage and force him to sing Bohemian Rhapsody. Maybe that would wipe that smug smirk off his face.
“You call that ‘someone you know?’. He’s been looking at you for the past ten minutes or so now.” That was news to you. Ten minutes? That’s even longer than you became conscious of his stare.
“I… didn’t know.” This time when you turned your face back to the stage, Scaramouche remained quiet for once. Perhaps you would’ve teased him for his silence if you weren’t so caught up in the sudden weight of Xiao peering over at you without bothering to conceal his attention. Or maybe he wasn’t even aware of his fixated look in the first place, you couldn’t put past the possibility if you had a hunch on his character for a few months since you’ve known him.
Neither the golden-eyed drummer on stage nor you who was occupied with distress on deciding your following actions seem to focus on the braided band leader who was introducing his bandmates to the crowd. It appears that they had two more songs to perform, and this time Xiao looked like he was the only drummer in charge. You’d be lying if you said you weren’t excited to see him play the instrument again, if only your heart and mind could quiet down for a while at least until they got off stage so you could properly enjoy their hard work spent practising the songs.
Every cell in your body seemed to be screaming at you to wave at him or do something, anything to confirm your suspicions, but you found your actions held back by the constant fear of being wrong. What if he truly was looking somewhere else and you waved at him, a complete stranger whom he didn’t recognize? Or was there something on your face, or your hair was weird, your dress was untidy, something that attracted his regard within these lines?
Amidst your inner conflict, he slowly raised his hand to your astonishment. A short nod of acknowledgment followed his slightly awkward wave, his drumsticks still in his hold.
He waved at you. He waved at you.
It didn’t help one bit how faintly cautious he looked, like he was nervous behind his piercing stare. And if your eyes weren’t deceiving you, his hands were shaking ever so slightly too. All of your former thoughts seem to evaporate into the saffron tinted evening air as you raise your hand to wave back, eyes wide just as your smile was. You couldn’t help it, you could barely wrap your head around the fact that Xiao recognised you, let alone acknowledge your presence. From the way his ochre sight pinpointed you as the centre of his attention, you knew you weren't imagining things.
A part of you pondered how he knew it was you in the first place, did he somehow come across your story when you didn’t check it? Admittedly, you had stopped going through your feed and pictures you uploaded both on the platform and stories for the past few months when you assumed he never used the social networking site anymore. You had spent an embarrassing amount of time just scrolling through the viewers and likes in hopes of spotting one blank account which never happened. To your surprise, it turns out in the end, your efforts were not in vain.
And so the festival continued with molten gold and midnight amethyst gazes directed to you.
—
A part of you kept considering writing to Xiao especially since as soon as the performance ended, he took off and disappeared just like the first day you talked to him. It was hard to stay still when you got a positive sign on this seemingly-hopeless feeling you’ve harboured for an entire year.
Do you write to him, and even if you do, what do you say? Or should you ask to see him for a while? You had no idea, how do you even talk to guys?
What came as a surprise to you was how Scaramouche for once stopped poking fun at you every breathing moment. In spite of bickering with him for the past few hours for the first encounter with him, you found yourself slightly curious about his… colourful personality. He was an enigma, and you’d be lying if you said you weren’t even the slightest bit intrigued by his uncommon behaviour.
“Fine arts, was it? Do you happen to paint?” You asked the question to hopefully break away this tension between the two of you that you didn’t even notice for a while now.
This time he didn’t even look at you as he answered in a slightly bitter tone.
“What’s it to you? Are you trying to force whatever subject you can find to accommodate the silence? There’s no need.” You didn’t know whether to sneer at his unwelcoming attitude or feel impressed by his ability to twist such a simple question into… whatever that was.
“Is it unbelievable to think I’m just interested in getting to know my saviour of the evening?” You purposefully quoted his former words as he liked to turn back on you so much.
As you slightly leaned forward to peer over to Kazuha and Hutao, your eyes nearly popped out of your socket when you noticed not one but both of them absent. It didn’t take much to understand it was mostly Hutao’s idea to probably “give them time to themselves”, and Kazuha probably went along with it because he already had misunderstood Scara’s hoodie wrapped around your waist. What a turn of events.
“If you’re looking for them, they both left around twenty minutes ago.” Noticing your shock, he smoothly replied as he reached out to fix his hair blown to the side by the wind. Once again your eyes worriedly shifted to his bare arms, his tight-fitted tank shirt didn’t look warm in the slightest.
“Your friend led him away.” Of course it was Hutao. Alright, here goes nothing.
“Are you cold?” You managed to ask him what you’d meant to make sure about an hour ago.
Ah, yes. His familiar smug smirk returned immediately. You had been prepared for this.
“Why, are you worried all of a sudden?”
“But the wind is super chilly.” You might’ve been speaking for experience from the way you shivered under the cool breeze just now. It felt like the cold seeped through your thin crop cardigan (if you could even call this see-through material a proper piece of clothing) that you wore just so you wouldn’t be showing the entirety of your arm. Not to mention it was thanks to the sleeveless dress that’s been the centre of all of your series of unfortunate events today.
“You’re shivering like that from one gale of the wind? I don’t get cold easily, worry about yourself.” His unwavering gaze dropped down to his shirt hanging onto your lower half, holding the stare as if considering something.
To your surprise, he pulled off the hoodie around your waist from the side and once again, purposefully paying attention not to drag your skirt along with it, then draped it over your head.
“Wear it properly. It’d cover your skimpy short dress plenty well if that’s keeping you back. It’s long enough”
You pulled off the thick fabric again from atop your head, half irritated by him messing up your hair a second time, and half impressed with how surprisingly observant he was. How many guys just offer their outerwear to a girl he might never see again and stand in the cool wind in a tank shirt? Exactly, so despite everything, you truly were grateful.
“Thank you.” You replied and followed his words to wear his hoodie, then zipped it up all the way. Although you were sure you looked ridiculous with a mismatched oversized street-style hoodie and the somewhat preppy dress, you found yourself unable to mind such details in hopes of avoiding catching cold in this weather. After all, spring-summer colds were the worst.
“Does this even fit you? It’s so big.” His entire body was slender without being too stick-thin, you’d go as far as to say he looked like a model. Not that you’d ever say it out loud, it’s bound to feed onto his preexisting god complex or narcissism you reckon he had.
“It’s called style, I imagine it’s your first time hearing such a term.” Right. It doesn’t even surprise you anymore as you continued paying no mind to his words and replied.
“It definitely is. When has this term started to go around? Youth these days, nothing but outer appearance on their minds.” You played along, making Scara raise his brow in what you assumed to be an indication of pleasant surprise.
“Ironic coming from a vixen who comes to a college festival in a short dress who can’t handle the cold.”
“Vixen? I seem to remember that isn’t quite the insult you think it may be.”
All of the former annoyance he held seemed to slowly lessen the more he talked to you. Now that isn’t to say he is kind or welcoming now, it just means that he is slightly less insufferable in comparison to when you first met him. As much as you’d like to deny, he was fun to be around. So much that you were barely paying attention to the performances on stage anymore.
“Watercolour painting.” Scaramouche quietly mumbled under his breath amidst the comfortable silence you two were sharing.
“Huh?”
“Fine arts. Watercolour painting.” He replied to the first question you asked to break the ice. Your eyes widened in pleasant surprise at his forte, quietly concluding how it seems to suit him now that you imagine.
“It suits you.” With a nod, you looked at him.
“Heard that before.” If he didn’t mean to sound cocky, he failed miserably. Yet despite his tone that some may find unbelievably arrogant, you found yourself nodding along in silent agreement. It wasn’t like he wasn't allowed to be confident in himself. Besides, art school students hold a place in your heart from the way they seem to hold such free and creative minds enough to pursue it as a career. They create their pieces from the bottom of their soul. Art was soulful, and you respected those who could create such physical manifestation of their thoughts and emotions. Respect was an understatement, really.
A glimpse of a mismatching shade on his black tank shirt captured your interest when he stretched with a tired groan. You tilted your head slightly when you noticed the splashes of what you assumed to be watercolour on the side of his top. It brought a small smile to your face before you could control it.
Without a warning, Scara suddenly sighed out loud and threw an unamused look at the stage.
“I’m leaving.” You blinked and turned your head at him slowly with a confused look at his declaration out of the blue. First Kazuha and Hutao, now him?
“Now?” Reaching out to grab his black leather bag, he carelessly swung it over his shoulder and nodded at you.
“Yeah. See you.” Before you could say anything or even offer his shirt back, he was gone, disappearing into the crowd of students.
Just a simple something I had in mind for a Genshin otome game... I have 0 attention span, 0 time, and 0 knowledge to write and build a full-fledged 3D game with intricate stories, plot, and mechanics. This is just a simple visual novel with a streamlined plot and partial voices. You should be able to complete everything in like... 30 minutes long in total. Might be less, even.
◇ 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬 ◇
The game will contain the following: established relationship, FLUFF, comfort, lots of pet names, suggestive themes, lots of kissy sounds on some routes, implications of violence (not towards player), a sprinkle of protective behavior
◇ 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 ◇
Zhongli, Xiao, Childe, Diluc, Kaeya, Itto, Kazuha
(Zhongli is selected by default because who doesn’t love geo daddy???)
◇ 𝐰𝐡𝐨'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫? ◇
This is a very self-indulgent project, hence the dialogues were written with fem!player in mind. It will contain suggestive themes, so please be aware of that before downloading / playing!
◇ 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲? ◇
Yes, it's totally free - in fact, I do not accept payment.
◇ 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲? ◇
Click the link to download the appropriate file based on your OS. Only Windows, Linux, and Mac are supported. No, I won't release it on other platforms.
Open the game, and you’ll find that it’s pretty straightforward. Customize your profile, select your love interest, then start the game.
There are no wrong answers and the love interest can be changed anytime (just go back to main menu and select the character’s picture on the right side).
◇ 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐢 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬? ◇
You can personally send links to this post / the game’s itch.io page to your friends via DMs, but outside of that (reposting), NO. For example, posting about this on Reddit is prohibited.
◇ 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞? ◇
This is a super casual project.
Scripts are not proofread. Probably lots of grammar mistakes.
Novel format without narration (full dialogs).
There are no actual sprites, just official art and something akin to a speech bubble to cater to the characters’ changes in ‘expression’.
There are voices, but only partial - mostly just grunts, chuckles, kisses, and stuff. I’m using JP voices EXCEPT for Itto because Max Mittelman is a gem. No, I will not add other languages' voice versions.
Sound cues and voices are quite important for this game so I recommend using headphones.
Depending on when you open the game (morning, afternoon, nighttime, midnight), your currently selected love interest might greet you differently.
To reiterate, there are no wrong answers.
Selecting all talk/act options for a character will unlock a small event where they'll give you unique gifts.
I lowkey have so many ideas on how to expand on this in terms of gameplay and options but let’s be real here it probably won’t happen lol why can’t my brain be this creative when it comes to work
◇ 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐮𝐬??? ◇
No... That said, anyone can literally say that. Please be responsible for your own actions.
I have also released other games on the same itch.io profile, so this isn't my first rodeo. Feel free to check the reviews on those before making your decision if you're wary about downloading!
◇ 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 ◇
hyv please don't sue me i gain 0 dollars for this and i just wanna simp in peace
Summary : After Teyvat had been wiped clear of the memories of the sixth harbinger, the Wanderer heads towards a place of thoughts of reminiscence; hoping to find the only one who'd ever understood him.
Genre : Angst, Romance
Scaramouche walked ahead, trodding a path of moss and grass. Squirrels scurried away with every step he took with his wide hat fluttering in the wind.
He had escaped from the Fatui, left behind his dire thirst for vengeance and was now a shell of the harbinger he had been with only memories of his exploits. Memories that only he would remember for the world has spun ahead without him.
He was a lone Wanderer, the nature was his humble abode. He had no name, no home and didn’t have anyone’s arms to go running into as the night grew cold.
Well, no one except her.
He could see a harbor appearing before him, huts rising beneath the clear night sky. Pin pricks of light shone as families slumbered inside, lost to the land of dreams.
Scaramouche hurried beneath the archway, his pathetic excuse of a heart growing warm at the thought of seeing her.
At the thought of hearing her laughter.
At the thought of feeling her touch as soft as the silk flowers that filled the air with their scent.
He turned around familiar alleyways, a path that his feet had lead to countless times; a haunting melody of his past.
Would she remember him? Remember the nights that they spent together and the rough kisses shared beneath the moonlight?
Scaramouche was afraid to find out the answer.
At last, he arrived at a house with rose vines that crawled along the rooftops, their alluring fragrance drawing him in.
Scaramouche took in deep breaths and cleared his throat, ignoring the way his chest seemed to tighten at the thought of seeing her face.
He knocked on the door thrice, loud and clear in sharp contrast to the flurry of questions flying across his head.
Does she still remember the love she had for me?
Scaramouche needed her to, for the notion of not being the object of her affections left him in a cold sweat. If she looked at him like a stranger even after holding him close to her chest at a past which seemed like it was an eternity ago, he wasn't sure what he'd do.
The door swung open with an ear piercing creak and there she stood, the woman that had once melted through the cold defenses of the sixth harbinger, locks of hair falling across her face.
Scaramouche gazed into her eyes, waiting, yearning and even pleading within himself for a sign of recognition.
Yet nothing came, only a look of confusion.
Y/N stared at the man before him, the way his blue eyes seemed to twinkle like the stars in the sky and the billowing clothes that adorned his frame.
"Excuse me, do I know you?" She asked, wariness evident on her features
It felt like a hole had been ripped open in the place where Scaramouche's heart should have been. Screams threatened to rip from his throat as memories of small hugs, shared chuckles and the way her hand had felt in his flashed past his eyes.
They were being set aflame, falling apart to ashes.
"Sir?" Y/N asked, eyebrows furrowed "Do you need anything?"
Scaramouche swallowed the bile that threatened to rise up his throat before replying. "I'm just a traveller and I'm very tired after my long journey. Do you know where I can find a place to rest?"
Please, laugh in my face right now and tell me you're joking. Tell me that you obviously remember me.
I can't lose you too, the only thing that made this tapestry of lies worth living.
"Just keep walking ahead and you'll find the Crescent Inn, it's a very comfortable place, I'm sure you'll like it."
He looked down, tears welling up at the rim of his eyes. His lips trembled as he forced himself to stare at the ground at his feet.
"Are you okay? Do you need a glass of water?"
There it was, that familiar concern that had drawn Scaramouche to her in the first place.
He met her questioning face. "No, it's just been a tough day. Thank you and I'm sorry if I bothered you."
Y/N smiled weakly before slamming the door on his face. Scaramouche turned around and left through her house's gate. The ground beneath him seemed to be tumbling down with every step he took.
He'd made it past her house before collapsing onto the ground, bellowing curses to the wind as tears ran down his porcelain face.
He damned the gods, their lies and torments and how with each of their intervention, they'd ripped apart any chance for him to hope in this world and had forced him to leave a trail of regrets.
Scaramouche had scoured marshes, crossed deserts and climbed the most ruggedy of mountains to find Y/N, only to lose her yet again.
"Scara, look at me."
"Why do you even care for me?" He asked haughtily "A mere mortal like you, do you really think you could satisfy me?"
"You and I both know you aren't fooling anyone with that rude act of yours."
Scaramouche stepped closer to her, brushing the hair from her face with his slender fingers. "Fine, then can you love a puppet, a broken creation like me? I don't even have a heart to give you."
"I love you just as you are, you're more than enough for me." Y/N held his hands, slowly caressing his palm
"Even if it meant tearing Teyvat apart, you're the only one for me. No one else could ever compare to you in my eyes." She continued, a light hue of pink sprinkled over her face.
"I'm not a good person, Y/N. I've killed so many people and I will have to keep doing so. I could harm you, maybe even ruin you and I don't want to do that to you."
"Scaramouche." She muttered, holding onto his hands even more tightly.
“Even my own creator, my mother didn’t want me. I’m not even sure if I’m capable of loving you to extent you deserve without a heart.”
“Enough.” She pulled Scaramouche into a tight embrace, engulfing him in her affection. “I don’t care about your mother or what the world would think of me if I stood by your side, all that matters is that I get to spend a lifetime with you.”
Scaramouche stiffened, muscles tensing as Y/N wrapped her arms around him. “A lifetime would never be enough for me. I would consider your death as the utmost betrayal.” He said, straining his voice to keep its composure.
The darkness of the night couldn’t hide the hurt that flickered on Y/N’s face.
“But at least let me have this.” He whispered, voice soft and vulnerable as the facade of the powerful harbinger shattered into pieces like shards of glass. Scaramouche buried his face into the crook of her neck, nuzzling against her soft skin.
"We can stay like this for as long as you want." Y/N hesitantly placed her hand atop Scaramouche's head, running her fingers through his hair. "As long as an ounce of life exists in my body, my heart will always beat for you."
The sixth harbinger pushed away, the thoughts behind those blue eyes unreadable as he allowed his gaze to wander. "Do you promise that?"
Scaramouche knew promises were worthless in the face of the monster known as time, but he still wanted to hear it.
"Of course I do." She smiled and with such a simple gesture, she managed to completely untether the course of Scaramouche's world.
He didn't know if it was the way the moonlight shone of her face or if it was the alcohol making his mind fuzzy that allowed him to even consider the daring thought that entered his head.
Perhaps he had lost his mind because he placed his lips upon hers, as tender as a fleeting butterfly.
She tasted like honey and Scaramouche allowed himself to drown in the feeling of her body against his and the way his hands fit perfectly against her waist. He’d never been a believer of the gods but at that moment, he couldn’t help but pray that this would last forever.
Scaramouche wanted to laugh at the wind, at the irony of it all. He certainly hadn’t grown wiser about trusting mortals after three betrayals.
Three betrayals and he still wanted to go crying into the arms of a human.
Three betrayals and he'd still allowed himself to let her escape from his grasp.
Every leaf and bird of the forest seemed to sing the words that Scaramouche had been terrified of saying when he was somebody that she used to know.
The breeze seemed to whisper in his ears, taunting him with the three words which if he'd said, might have changed everything.
I love you.
But it was too late and those words would forever remain sealed within Scaramouche, shut within the fortress of his unspoken desires.
⌇ feat. scaramouche, xiao
⌇ premise. your boyfriend and a child? a match made in hell
⌇ cw. modern au, fluff, gn!reader, children
notes. baby fever is real and i'm feeling it
apples⌇kunikuzushi
The last thing Scaramouche expects to see when he enters your apartment is a child waiting for him at the door. He immediately backs out of your place, slams the door shut, and then whips out his phone to text you.
kuni [12:43pm] there's an intruder in your apartment
you [12:44pm] ???
kuni [12:44pm] there's a child in your apartment what the fuck
you [12:44pm] oh shit hang on i'm on my way!!
you [12:45pm] can you watch her for me?? i'm supposed to babysit today
And so Scaramouche finds himself glaring at some stranger's daughter on a Saturday afternoon.
"Up!"
"No," Scaramouche deadpans.
Two small hands clutch onto the fabric of his pants. "Please?"
"Absolutely not," he grumbles, but he begrudgingly picks the child up, one arm supporting her back so she doesn't topple over backwards. "What the hell do you want, brat?"
"Can you make me a snack?" she asks, hands coming up to yank at his purple strands.
"Say please," he scolds, indigo eyes narrowing as he shakes her grubby hands out of his hair.
"You're mean, I'm not saying please."
"Oh, what the fuck," Scara mutters under his breath, but he playfully pinches her cheek before heading to the kitchen to ransack your fridge for a snack suitable for a six-year-old.
And although he preaches loudly about how much he hates children, Scaramouche remembers to wash the kid's hands before wrestling her onto a chair (although he accidentally knocks her head against the dining table in the process).
It's the effort that counts, he tells himself.
When you rush in through the front door, the first thing you hear is a child's laughter and your boyfriend's quiet swearing. And then you see Scara peeling an apple, eyebrows furrowed as he focuses.
In front of him is a plate of apple slices, shaped like bunnies.
polychrome⌇xiao
Xiao doesn't know how to do a lot of things.
Working an air fryer, keeping a plant alive, entertaining children—all of these fall out of his expertise, and you know this. But somehow he finds himself alone in your apartment with your neighbor's daughter, and Xiao doesn't know what to do.
It's your fault, for shoving the kid into his arms and racing out the door while muttering something about forgetting to buy groceries. But you promised him that it wouldn't take long, and Xiao prays that you'd come back soon. He nervously glances at the clock hanging on the wall, pointedly ignoring the two round doe eyes peeping out from beneath the table top.
"Mister?" There's a small hand tugging at his sleeve now, and Xiao feels his heartstrings getting pulled as well.
"...You can call me Xiao," he says gently, leaning down to look her in the eye.
"Xiao!" The child beams, displaying two missing front teeth, and pulls him into the living room. "Can I color the picture on your arm? Please please please?"
"I guess," he says flatly, and awkwardly sits on the couch while the child rummages through her backpack. There's a brief moment where the kid pulls a pack of permanent markers out and Xiao panics, but after fumbling to snatch the markers out of her hand, he settles back down (kid in his lap) with a few washable markers that he found in a random closet.
When you come back from your impromptu grocery run (hours later than you promised), you find Xiao on the couch with colorful scribbles covering his tattoo and a sleeping child in his lap.
You owe me one, Xiao mouths, glowering when you take a picture of your boyfriend and the drooling child.
Synopsis: Caring for an irresponsibly injured man was not on your plan for today, so why was he at your door?
Characters: Morax, Xiao, Childe and Scaramouche x Fem! Reader!
Warnings: Zhongli as an archon and Scaramouche as fatui again, Childe’s part has angst/comfort. description of injuries and trauma. ♡´･ᴗ･`♡ [i needed to post something sfw and clear my drafts! <3]
Morax
It wasn’t every day that you’d hear the hasty pummel of closed fists against your front door and even rarer was it to witness one of the Seven requesting for your help— a meagre goddess who tried to live a tranquil, joyous life to the best of her ability.
“I fear i may of overestimated myself, dear.” Morax’s throaty voice could be made out from behind the door, notably lower in volume. Neither was this the first time, yet something felt different than usual. Of course, the archaic god was prone to injury in battle, but upon opening the door, he was more maimed than you had thought.
Brunette strands of hair plastered to his chest and forehead—covered in elemental ichor and sweat. His limbs were littered in a spectrum of wounds, bruises and incisions alike. His robes of ivory reduced to scraps of crimson-dyed fabric, blood from who knows where drenched his torso.
In short, you were responsible for an Archon who had gotten himself too deep into bloodlust. As always. Your lips pressed together before you let out a displeased hum. You just wished he would of cared for himself better.
“Morax…are you even aware of the severity of your injuries? Thank Celestia no one had attacked you on the way here!” You scolded, arms crossed as an attempt to look irked enough for the irresponsible man to come to his long-lost senses.
Though to him, you just looked adorable, he had always been fond of your gentle heart in the midst of a war. Therefore, Rex Lapis knew you valued him too much to leave him isolated in the dangerous depths of the night, entering your abode and placing a bloodstained hand on your pretty face. You didn’t grimace from his touch.
“I’m truly sorry, but you’re the only one i can trust with healing, my goddess.” You felt your knees buckle at the endearment, rather embarrassed that such a high-status being was addressing you as superior. He just never learns, does he?
“Please stop the flattery, my Lord. Instead, follow me so i can actually treat you.” Another exasperated sigh from your lips, you gently held his finger and guided him to the steaming bath, collecting all relevant tonics and herbs in your store room and returning back to the wounded god.
Your heart lept in your chest seeing this he was, quite literally, already fully undressed. Oh, so shamelessness was another quality he lacked? It most certainly didn’t help that he could barely even fit his tall frame into the jade tub, glowing aureate arms casually resting on the outskirts of the container. You felt your mind begin to wander as did your trail of vision.
“Ah, my injuries are starting to sting slightly—Hm? What has you so timid?” Morax’s tone felt unfamiliar to you, seeing the God of contracts so relaxed might of stunned you beyond repair. You dismissed yourself, dampening a medicated towel and wiping it gently over his chiseled chest—as calmly as one could in such a predicament.
Grunts and groans followed with some obscenities of his at the stinging serums painted your cheeks scarlet. Genuine or not, you didn’t think you could hold your composure for another minute. Even worse— the youthful archon wouldn’t remove his piercing critical gaze from your face, analysing every single movement in your expression.
“Admire me and my lips all you’d like afterwards, but i’m in a dire condition at the moment, dearest.”
“It’s not like that, Morax! Halt such talk and stay quiet whilst i treat you! Please!”
Xiao
Stubborn.
The quality that the Yaksha had always been described as. Especially by you. Yet he never listened to your pleads to let you help him.
Xiao hesitantly loitered around the door to your estate, a gloved hand lingering on the doorknob for longer than it should have. He’s been doubting his feelings of just ‘friendship’. He’s seen human couples— so loving and expressive it squeezes his heart in a manner so painful, you deserved better than a man who didn’t even think to enter your home, so he discarded his thought.
Especially one who would turn up with blood around his clothes, a deep wound on his side too.
Just as he contemplated leaving, the wooden barrier inched open. You held a miniature basket, a lengthy list in the other. Xiao was keen to disappear at that moment. Despite this, you were quick to drop them both to encase the adeptus in a tight embrace.
“Xiao!” An excited exclamation from you as you rested your cheek against his shoulder. Had you noticed his injuries at all, or was it pure blinded excitement to greet him? Crimson still trickled down his abdomen, but you had wrapped your arms around his waist.
A surge of pain and discomfort flashed through his body— he couldn’t stop the loud gasp he let out when your arm grazed his injury.
“Agh!” Xiao cried out, causing you to recoil back into place upright upon the doorstep. Your delicate features morphed into a state of horror whilst he stumbled back. Your sleeves were coated with vermillion fluid, eyes fluttering to the yaksha’s expression and back to your stained clothing.
“This isn’t anything major, i’ll leave myself to treat it—” You barely let the usually vigilant adeptus finish his sentence before grabbing his wrist and pulling him close gently, barricading him from vanishing into a flurry of karmic debt.
“No. I can’t let you go until you’ve recovered well, you can barely walk upright Xiao!” You smoothed your thumb over his cheek tenderly, distracting him that you were, in fact, taking him inside into the safety of your abode.
The adeptus’ face was warm— tentatively watching your own lips so close to his. Your kindness was irreplaceable, your heart was too soft for his liking, but he’s never once felt unwelcome in your presence. Xiao had witnesses the false sympathy humans showed off towards him, yet you’ll always be willing to listen.
Now you’re treating his wounds? Why are you doing this?
“I’m running out of my medicine, i’ll visit Bubu Pharmacy later, just have these now, please?” You offered, suddenly noticing the flush over his cheeks. Maybe he has a fever too? He accepted the concoction of herbs, hesitantly consuming the mixture. Xiao, having noticed your obvious staring at his chest, shifted around in his seat.
“Xiao…?” Archons, he just looked so anxious it’s endearing, you’d hate to push him from his comfort zone but he hasn’t got much of a choice.
“Yes?”
“You’re going to have to…remove your shirt—” You meekly stated, ashamedly hanging your head down at your lap as he cleared his throat numerous times. That just sounded so disrespectful! What if he took it the wrong way? You resided within the embarrassing realm of overthinking.
“As you wish, but be quick, i’d rather not have you ogling me.”
“I do not!”
Childe
Two in the morning.
That was the time your beloved decided to show up— weak, timid thumps of his open palm across the wooden barrier. Childe knew he had already messed up, clenching his jaw with anxious anticipation. What would you say? Yesterday, tired tears flowed down your cheeks. It hurt him to leave his care in your hands rather than his own. Would you do anything at all? Would you leave him lonely in the cold?
The harbinger’s questions were answered for him. Your body slumped over, distress tugged at your eyebrows. You stared at every injured limb of his.
Merciless splotches of the infamous crimson liquid matched his scarf, ripped and loosely tied against his thigh. A tourniquet, ideal for hiding the severity of the injury below it. His bruised skin was as lifeless as the pale snow cascading to the floor, where his eyes stayed put. A classic snezhnayan man fitting right into his war-strife homeland. If it wasn’t his own blood, it was the metallic scent of other’s. The unpleasant smell was overpowering, that migraine of yours worsening and nausea invading your stomach.
You remained blank and wordless, firmly securing one of his least injured arms over your shoulders and guiding him to the armchair. Childe hated seeing you like this— yet he never changed his ways. He didn’t know what hurt more, the pre-assembled medical kit laying on the side cabinet, or the two cold dishes set upon the dining table that went uneaten from hours ago. He messed up, for sure.
“Darling…Please, say something.” Tartaglia breathily beseeched, clasping a wounded hand over yours. You shook him off. You yourself didn’t know what you were feeling. Shock? Well, this was the third time this week, so no. Hurt? Something deeper than that.
“Say what? Childe, you just never learn!” Your sudden outburst made him flinch, and your heart panged with guilt—yet it was never strong enough to overcome your fury.
“Two days ago you arrived with major burns, the next with a broken wrist and today barely making it alive? Tomorrow will you even come back to me? Or will your coworkers deliver me your death instead?” Your tears swelled up in your eyes, distracting him from you by pressing the antiseptic towel against his stab wounds.
Childe hissed, unsure if the sting was from your harsh words or from the medication. His heart felt as if someone had squeezed it tight, the truth pained him to hear, especially from his wife’s mouth. He had kept you up for so long, losing your rest and throwing you into an abyss of constant worry. He deserved it. How could he ignore you?
“Love, i’m so sorry, i beg you, you can do anything to me. Ignore me, hate me or punish me for all i care, just don’t leave me alone…please.” His cerulean eyes held no lies, staring into your distant ones with desperate longing.
He clinged onto your torso, near sobbing into the crook of your neck. The frantic nature of his words broke your trance, anger dissipating with each tear of your own. Soon enough, your arms instinctively raised to wrap him in your embrace. Staying infuriated with him was futile.
His half-conscious pleads ceased as he calmed down, exhaustion catching up to the young Harbinger. You combed his matted tresses with your fingers, pressing a chaste kiss to his forehead to lull him into comfort.
“I’m sorry, Childe, just take better care of yourself, okay?” You reassured, his confirmation in response felt real this time. He rested his heavy head in your lap, enjoying the warmth of your hand on his cheek.
Your husband wouldn’t give up your company for the world—if he had to cease his pursuit of strength for you, he’d do it in a heartbeat.
Scaramouche
“What, are you just going to stand there staring at me? Let me in.”
A rude introduction from an even more arrogant man. Scaramouche stood lazily upright at the entrance to your estate, somehow expecting you to take him in your arms and nourishment. Expecting you not to question him. Too bad you did just that.
“Yes, i will. Care to explain why you’re here?” You scoffed in an equally aggressive manner. Your eyes trailed up his legs and waist, exposed and bruised— if that was possible for a puppet. Nothing spilled from said wounds, but the Harbinger discreetly winced from the pain. He remained there silent, opting not to share any details.
“Shut up, this isn’t my fault.” Scaramouche almost yelled, his unexpected outrage igniting irritation through your body.
Oh? You clenched your teeth together in frustration. Your grasp on the doorknob was deathly, you were in no mood to deal with his attitude nor his own problems. “Then this isn’t my concern.”
And with that, you forced the door shut— well, as far as you could. Scaramouche pushed the door open with his foot and arm, a look of disbelief and confusion gleamed in his eyes. How dare you? Those words he wanted to spit at you, but all that fell was a single word.
“Wait!” The harbinger exclaimed, forcing his way through the gap in door. He couldn’t believe himself. First, he dared to show up to your house and now he’s begging for your help? He felt pathetic, truly.
Resistance was pointless against him. Letting your ex-boyfriend back into the very same house he’d swear he’d never step into again. But being ruthlessly ignorant was his characteristic, not yours. Scaramouche had obviously forfeited whatever ego he latched onto— you weren’t that cruel as to leave an injured man by himself.
“I’m sorry, alright? I shouldn’t of been so blunt.” His head, for once, was inclined towards the wooden floor, indigo eyes barely meeting yours. It was an apology nonetheless. “I mean, for everything, even for how i acted before.”
Scaramouche was…genuine? Bewilderment accumulated within your judgement, your heart softened. You knew this feeling— you knew you shouldn’t be feeling sympathetic for the harbinger you used to love so dearly, the man who left you without a valid answer. It couldn’t be helped.
The more that Scaramouche longingly gazed at you, the more he desired to be kept in your arms just like he used. His cold exterior melted away like treaded snow, instead your footsteps trampled over it. He couldn’t justify the guilt-ridden sensation plucking away at each inch of his body. He found himself on that day, emotional, again.
Scaramouche doesn’t act like this. Kunikuzushi does.
If he had to surrender his dignity to take you back as his, he’ll do it, just this once. His fingers, still blistered and scarred from earlier yet appearing so delicate on his porcelain skin grazed your jaw. Soft touches and gestures lulled him into safety within your embrace. An action he missed far too much.
Kunikuzushi latched tightly onto you in his mindless stupor of mental and physical distress, not coming to terms with he consequences of his behaviour later on. You found his conduct abnormal—  if it was fear of losing you again, or simple loss of informed conscious, you wouldn’t know.
Raised, superficial gashes of violet and burgundy littered his pained countenance. You never thought that wounds could look as pretty as his. Not a single tear was shed for a vessel such as he, but his grasp on you slipped once the puppet fell into a peaceful slumber.
With your heedful care and more ointments than preferred, he had recovered by the next morning and those surreal memories wafted back to him. Two sentences wavered in his mind.
“Don’t disregard my words from yesterday, i meant it. Whether you accept it, it’s up to you…”
“…If it results in less harm for you, i’ll listen to those words from my mouth thousands of times over.”
Summary: You turn into a cat! ...but you don't know whether your doting and overly protective lover is a blessing or a curse in this situation.
Genre: fluff, crack
Warnings: none, just jealous men
Note: A spin-off of smitten kitten but the situation is uno reversed (evil laugh). But because each story has gotten quite long, you remain a cat indefinitely >:3
Also, no cat puns this time sorry, but check the end for a surprise!
Kamisato Ayato
Ayato is rarely a free man, and so whenever he's no longer chained to his work, his first mission is to seek you out!
But today was a little different.
He had searched high and low, in the estate and in Inazuma city, even dispatching a few shuumatsuban in hopes of getting even a glimpse of you.
His only companion in his woes? A random cat that kept following his every move.
The cat even has some of your features and accessories, which led him to think that you secretly owned a cat.
Oh well, explanations are for later. Now, he just pats the cat with a deep frown on his gorgeous face as no news of you has reached him yet.
The cat was a noisy fella. Answering his every rhetoric question and his every sigh about missing you.
It was starting to impatiently nip and scratch on the hems of his sleeves when a shuumatsuban barges in, chest heaving in a panic.
"My Lord! We've apprehended a treasure hoarder who admitted to attacking (name)!"
Ayato shoots up from his position, heart pounding a mile per second but face eerily cold, "And (name)? Where are they now?"
The shuumatsuban hesitates before speaking up, "The treasure hoarders claimed to have...turned them into a cat with an ancient relic? The said relic is now allegedly destroyed after its use."
The poor guy winced as he spoke, knowing fully well how absurd it sounds. He can only hope that the Commissioner won't have his head for reporting such nonsense.
But as those words were spoken, the cat in his arms meowed loudly, as if joining in on the conversation.
"Yes! That's what happened! It's me, Ayato, it's me!"
You desperately exclaim, but all that came out was "meow! meooooow!"
Ayato looks down at you and believes the story for one heart-stopping second before scoffing at himself, "No...that's ridiculous."
You bite him as punishment.
When he finally, finally believes you after pointing at yourself in the portraits that he keeps around, pulling on his pants to tug him towards your room, and a terrible attempt at using his brush and ink to spell your name...you might as well wish you haven't tried at all.
He's so smug and teasing about it, please feel free to bite his fingers should you feel annoyed.
He parades you around the estate, arms clinging around your form and bouncing you up and down like one would to a child.
Your ears and tail are the common victims of his affectionate kisses and gentle tugs. When you do turn back, he promises to adopt a kitty (and endlessly tease you about this situation).
"Don't worry," he nuzzles your head for the nth time in an hour, "no other cat is as adorable as your cat form, my dearest."
He even lets his bemused sister pet you after she hesitantly requests to do so (she doesn't want to miss this moment!)
But when Ayaka has been petting you for too long and you start to purr and melt under her gentle ministrations, he suddenly feels a wave of possessiveness. The commissioner then snatches you away and locks the both of you in his room.
Definitely gatekeeps your cat form for himself, poor you (:P)
Thoma
Thoma had just finished feeding the stray cats and dogs and was on his way back to the Kamisato Estate when he noticed a new cat trailing behind him.
The cat looked too well groomed to be a stray, it even had some accessories exactly like yours!
Was it the (last name) clan's pet? Maybe it escaped and got lost?
Whatever the case, Thoma gently picks it up and carries it with him while he looks for you. Afterall, the path back to your place is not the safest, especially for a defenseless house cat.
Thoma chuckles at the way it melts into his arms exactly how you usually would.
"Sadly, you don't have a collar with your name on it, so I don't know what to call you. But knowing (name), you either have an elegant name or a really silly one."
You couldn't even talk back (meow back?) at his little comment before Thoma scratches at just the right spot between your ears and you go slack.
"Let's get you back to your owner hmm? I'm sure they're worried for you," he coos in the voice he reserves for animals and babies. "Just don't tell them that I'm using this as an excuse to see them."
Your cat self perked up at his last statement and looked up at him with an amused "oh ho ho! Really now?" expression.
Thoma didn't know cats could even be that expressive!
He rants and continues to sing praises about his amazing lover along the way to your home. This is great, you internally laugh, so much teasing material handed to me for free!
When he finally reached the gates to your estate, the sight of frantic guards and your personal advisor about to lose their wits made him think of the worst possible scenario.
Fear and paranoia dumps on him like a bucket of cold water.
Did something happen? Did something bad happen to you?
Your personal advisor notices him and immediately rushes to the both of you in relief.
"Mr. Thoma! Thank goodness you're here! (Name) had turned into a cat after a battle with an abyss mage and had escaped─" they look down at the unimpressed kitty in his arms and gasp comically.
"My liege!" They cry out in relief.
You meow back in a dismissive tone not unlike how you would normally say "Yes yes, fret not," to your anxious advisor.
"I was so worried seeing you gone! I even called over the Arataki gang to help with the rescue mission!"
Thoma, after finally snapping out of his shock and confusion, looks down at you flustered. He thinks about everything he's embarrassingly said to your cat form and begs the ground to swallow him up whole.
You're never going to let him live it down, are you?
That's fine, you'll make up for it with kisses!
"Wait a second, why the Arataki gang and not the Yashiro Commission?" Thoma asks, knowing your genuine friendship with the Lord he serves and how much more capable they are. No offense, Itto.
"Well, the gang are your close friends right? Plus, I didn't think the Yashiro commission would believe the whole cat shenanigan and might call us liars," your advisor scratches the back of their head.
"No please, if a friend is in need, no matter how ridiculous the situation is I'm sure Lord Kamisato is ready to help!"
Just as Thoma reassures your staff, the Arataki gang comes barreling in.
"IS IT TRUE? HAS (NAME) TURNED INTO A CAT AND IS NOW MISSING?" Itto screeches.
"NOOOO NOT MY BEST FRIEND AND PARTNER IN CRIME!" He bawls as the rest of the gang awkwardly pat his back. He sniffs, "It's alright, leave the search to me! I'll get them back no matter what!"
Thoma is stunned, such a dedicated friend..?
"Itto they're uh... they're right here," Thoma slightly raises you up in his arms.
The oni gasps dramatically and snatches you away despite Thoma's protests.
"MY GOODNESS! THEY'RE ADORABLE!" He nuzzles his face into your neck and Thoma knows he means well! But the housekeeper has never seized you back so fast, an uncommon frown/pout combo taking over his face.
He's not jealous, not jealous at all! Please don't add this to the growing list of what to tease Thoma with.
Xiao
You have been consistently visiting him at the exact same time every day unless you say otherwise. So when you weren't in your meeting spot and no word came from you saying you'd be late, he's a little concerned.
That's fine, he can wait. He's not the type to worry easily.
SIKE
Man is searching everywhere.
He checked your usual spots first: the docks at the harbor, at your favorite restaurant, even back at your home.
And when he fails to find you, he returns to your meeting spot atop Wangshu Inn where a cat oddly resembling you greets him eagerly.
His intuition is so strong he immediately knows it's you.
To be honest, it catches you off guard at how fast he reacts to your situation. You even prepared ways to convince him that it's you!
After quickly scanning over your cat form to check for injuries, he picks you up in his arms as gently as he can, mumbling a small polite "sorry" before whisking you away.
Xiao's first mission: take you to Cloud Retainer in hopes of turning you back.
His second mission: try not to combust at your cuteness after you had licked his arm in affection.
After some unsuccessful impromptu trips to several adepti later, his last hope depends on Zhongli's vast sea of knowledge.
During this whole ordeal, Xiao has not let go of you once, even when the adepti poke and prod at your cat body (respectfully) to try and investigate you.
So when Zhongli asks to hold you, you can almost see math equations hovering over his head as he is torn between agreeing or not.
Now don't get me wrong, Xiao trusts Zhongli with his entire being, but the thought of this smart, attractive, desirable former archon and bachelor holding you (yes, even though you're a cat) somehow sets off alarms in his head.
Yet you knew that Zhongli is most likely the key to your cure, so you gently headbutt Xiao's hands to tell him it's fine.
"Hmm," Zhongli frowns slightly as he twists and turns you in his arms, intensely surveying the elemental energy around you. "Alright, I have figured it out. So what happened was─" he proceeds to go on an hour-long lecture to tell you and your lover what could have caused this and how they can turn you back.
"You can leave (name) with me while you go look for the cure," Zhongli smiles kindly, cradling you close to his chest.
"No thank you," Xiao immediately answers and grabs onto you, vanishing in a puff of black smoke.
The parlor consultant only smiles in amusement after the two of you had left, "Ahh, youngsters."
a little treat: the whole fic summed up in three photos
Content Warning: Cult and Religious themes ahead! You've been warned.
Reader is the true creator of Teyvat. GN! Reader
Part Two Part Three (You are here!)
This probably has some inaccuracies of genshin lore but this is all to fit the narrative of the story :>
You’re assuming that the False Creator didn’t show their face much.
Even though you didn’t want to, you had to cut through a village to get to Liyue but it seemed that no one noticed you. Not by face at least, your clothing was the most evident thing about you.
You let out a sigh of relief, if they showed their face before, it clearly was lost to time. Even the statues that were built in your name were faceless which made things easier.
Liyue wasn’t much further now, you were deep into the forest of Sumeru and once you had reached the clearing you knew there would be a tunnel that would lead to the Chasm.
“Hey you there!” A voice from above called out. “Please help me! I’m slipping!”
In the tree above you, there was someone gripping tightly onto a branch that was cracking. They weren’t that high up, you could assume that if they were to fall they would survive. Although they could be gravely injured if that were to happen.
The branch cracks more and their grip begins to loosen. You look around the wooded area seeing if there was something that would help but you failed to find anything.
“Hold on!” You call out, “I’m going to run back and get something to break your fall!”
They shake their head quickly, “there’s no use, I can’t hold on any longer.” Before the branch could snap fully, their grip fails and they come plummeting to the ground. Without thinking you use the power of Anemo and they land softly in the grass.
They pat themselves a few times, maybe checking if they were actually safe before jumping to their feet running up to you.
“You saved me!” They exclaim a large smile on their face, “thank you! I didn’t know you had a vision! Ahh, you’re so lucky.” You give them an awkward smile but they don’t seem to notice as they continue talking.
“I always prayed for a vision and I think that one day I’ll have one! Then I’ll be able to join the Adventures Guild.”
You tilt your head to the side, “you want to join the Guild? Is that why you were in a tree?”
They rub the back of their neck as their face grows red, “well-er… no. Not really. I was actually looking for this plant that one of the Forest Rangers wanted! I thought that maybe if I found it first I could sell it to them.”
You nod slowly and their eyes widen, “don’t get the wrong idea! I wouldn’t just do anything this shallow just because I want to, it’s just… I really need the Mora.”
You put your hands up, “you don’t have to explain yourself to me. I’m just happy that you are safe now. What I am curious about is do you need a vision to join the Guild?”
The give you a weird look, “huh? You don’t know? I’m not sure where you’re from but no you don’t. It does make it easier if you have one though!”
You acknowledge their explanation with a nod.
“Thank you for saving me,” they say softly, “if I were to get hurt or even… then no one would be able to care of her.”
“Her?
“My sister…” they reply, “she’s really sick and I’m the only one who’s able to care for her. I tried praying to Their Grace to save them but I think they want me to figure this out myself!”
In other words, their prayers were never answered.
You felt your stomach twist and a frown crosses your face but their hopeful look never leaves.
“That’s the main reason I want a vision, if I can get Mora from the Guild I’ll be able to get enough money for her treatment.”
You smile forcefully nodding at their words, “you’re very selfless for that.”
They give you a bashful look, “well my sister means the absolute world to me so…”
You look around for a moment then you bend down to pluck a flower from the grass.
“Here take this, if you mix this with tea and give it to your sister she should get better.”
“Huh? I never heard of this plant having any healing properties…”
“Not many people know but trust me, it will help them.” You explain.
“Alright… I guess I can try it. Are you some type of doctor?”
“I am. A traveling doctor to be exact, I’ve used this flower countless of times to help others.”
You were lying of course, but explaining the truth to this person would take more effort and confusion than you have time for. Hesitantly, they take the flower from your hand gazing intently at it.
“Wait I can’t,” they try to hand the flower back to you, “I cannot afford this.”
You shake your head, “you don’t have to pay me anything. Just stay out of trees, okay?”
Their face was unreadable for a moment before they quickly jumped into your arms saying ‘thank you’ multiple times into your ear. You let them hug you keeping your arms limp at your side.
“Oh I’ve truly been blessed!” Once they let you go they lace their fingers together looking up at the sky, “thank you Almighty Creator! Thank you so much!”
Their way of worship was loud, but nothing you weren’t used to. It actually warmed your heart that you could help someone despite all of the problems you were facing already. This person has been praying for help for years and it went unanswered. It amazed you that their hope never faltered, but now they have nothing to worry about, even just a little of your power should be enough to save their sister without alerting anyone to your presence .
Or so you hoped.
You bid your farewell to them as they run back to the village gripping the flower tightly in their hands. It felt good to help someone after so long…
A few moments later, Zapolyarny Palace
The weather in Snezhnaya was cruel and unforgiving, it matched well with the infamous group the resided there; the Fatui.
If you ask anyone besides the harbingers or the Tsaritsa herself, no one could tell you what their true motives are. Once Snezhnaya had shut down their borders many speculated that they didn’t believe in the Creator. Rumors even spread that they had plans of usurping them and taking over Teyvat.
Yet that couldn’t be further from the truth.
The Tsaritsa sat quietly in her chambers, it would only be a matter of time until her wish came into fruition. She only needed two more Gnosis until they can perform the summoning.
The summoning to bring the true Creator to Teyvat.
It was only speculation that it actually worked but it was a risk she was willing to take ever since the wretched one tarnished the world with their presence. Pretending to be someone they’re not. 
At first, the Tsaritsa was fooled just like the other Archons but it didn’t take long for her to open her eyes to the truth. Once that vermin had disgraced her nation by coming here and acted as if they knew her from before. It took everything out of her not to slay them right then and there.
But she had to think rationally, killing them wouldn’t change anything. In fact, it would just cause more problems, but if she could bring the real Creator here then everyone would be aware of the sins they had committed.
Getting the Gnosis was going to be difficult, and sending her Harbingers to go head to head with her fellow Archons was a risk but their devotion to Their Grace was powerful and she believed they would come back successful.
It’s been almost a year since The Doctor had returned from Sumeru with the Dendro and Electro Gnosis. Despite how stoic the Fatui could be it was clear that they were elated, they were one step closer to seeing Their Grace.
However getting into Fontaine and Natlan was going to be hard, the False Creator had publicly expressed their distaste for Snezhnaya and the Tsaritsa so the Fatui’s influence in other nations were slipping.
The Tsaritsa let’s out a sigh staring out her large window, thick snow covered the ground as far as the eye could see and if didn’t seem that the snowfall was going to stop any time soon.
A warmth spread through the Cryo Archons chest, it felt almost foreign, something she hadn’t felt in centuries. She jumps up from her chair making a beeline to the door, she doesn’t acknowledge any of the lower ranking Fatui officers that bowed once she was in their presence.
Her suspicions were confirmed when she entered the room seeing the harbingers standing around the four Gnosis, all of them with a golden hue.
“Their Grace…” she mutters, “they’ve returned.”
One day later
Someone was following you.
It was clear they weren’t trying to be obvious about it, but once you had made it to the Chasm you soon felt the presence upon you.
The Chasm wasn’t being taken care of anymore, despite all of the people you saw around mining or just standing around aimlessly. You could tell that this place was abandoned for a while.
You brush off the feeling of eyes on the back of your head staring at a group of individuals wearing odd masks. Not only that, their clothing seemed to be way too heavy for Liyue’s heat. Yet before you could approach them, a hand from behind you covers your mouth pulling you behind a rock.
“You shouldn’t do that Your Grace.” The feminine voice says, “I’m going to remove my hand but please don’t scream…”
She removes her hand slowly and you whip your head around to look at her. She had slanted bangs and her hair was dark at the top that faded to a blue color, her eyes expressing worry.
“Wait…” you say eyebrows furrowed, “how did you know that I-“
“I’m Yelan.” She says cutting you off, “and those people you were about to approach are the Fatui.”
The Fatui. You’ve only been in Teyvat for three days and you’ve heard of them multiple times.
“The Fatui. Who are these people?”
Her jaw drops slightly, “you don’t…? we’ll it makes sense you wouldn’t know. They are a very dangerous group ran by the Tsaritsa, and for how I know your true identity it’s because of the Fatui. I’m not sure how they know the other… ‘you’ is fake but I do know they are looking for you right now.”
She adjusts one of her bracelets, “you shouldn’t approach anyone you see with masks like that, and you should definitely steer clear from any of the Fatui Harbingers. I don’t know what their plans are for you, but I doubt that it’ll be any good.”
You stare at her as you take in her words.
“But how do I know I can trust you?” You ask suspiciously, “I’m guessing you were the one following me and you just pulled me behind a rock.”
“I’m sorry about that, truly… I was just trying to save you from making a huge mistake. Since it seemed you were about to talk to them… How about this, I’ll take you to the exit of the Chasm? Could you forgive me then?”
You pout a little as if you were a child before nodding, “fine, but don’t pull me behind anymore rocks.”
-
Yelan leads you out of the Chasm steering clear of anyone she deemed suspicious. Once at the exit, she stops walking turning to look at you. “I know somewhere safe you can go Your Grace. If you want, I can take you there.”
You shake your head, “I’m already safe. Teyvat will never let any harm come to me.” She smiles at your sentiment, “well if you’re sure, can I at least walk with you towards the Harbor?”
Normally, you would prefer to be alone, when others come with you they could be a liability and you can’t risk having to save someone right now. Yet you still had some unanswered questions she could answer.
“Sure, only if you tell me more about the Fatui? Who are these harbingers you mentioned?”
Yelan nods. “Of course, there are supposed to be eleven Fatui harbingers but seat number six has been vacant for centuries, all of them are very powerful and not just in strength. They used to have a lot of power in other nations besides their homeland. They even have a Bank in Liyue. Yet when the other… Creator expressed how they disliked Snezhnaya and the Fatui their political power is began to fall.”
‘So that’s why Paimon was talking about how one of these Harbingers were so dangerous and scary…’ you think.
“-when they aren’t in Snezhnaya, most of them complete missions in other nations. The one you’re most likely to run into in Liyue goes by the name Childe, he’s pretty obnoxious about his position as a harbinger. The others are a bit more secretive but you’ll know who they are because of their masks.”
“Yelan I appreciate all of this valuable information you’ve given me and I’ll keep it in mind as I go through Teyvat from now on.”
She gives you a soft smile, “I’m glad I can be of some help to you. Your Grace.”
You two are walking in a comfortable silence, it was clear to you that Liyue hadn’t changed much. Maybe Morax’s Adepti were still running around, you hope to see them soon.
“Hey Yelan,” you say breaking the silence. “How do you know I’m the real Creator? If you don’t trust the Fatui at all how come you believe them when they say I’m the real deal.”
“Hmm-“ she pauses for a moment, “-when I was watching you when you enter Liyue, I just got this feeling and I knew… it’s hard to explain.”
“It’s fine, I completely understand-”
Suddenly Yelan grabs ahold of your wrist, “wait…”
Off in the distance you could hear some rustling, as if two people were fighting. The noise didn’t last long until you heard a clank of something hitting the ground and heavy breathing.
“That’s enough sparing for today Ganyu.”
You eyes widen, remembering that name clearly.
You go to take a step forward but are quickly pulled back by Yelan who holds a finger to her lips, telling you to be quiet.
But it was too late, when she pulled you back you stepped on a branch causing the voice to quiet down.
“Who goes there?”
You hear quick footsteps approaching where the voice was, Yelan attempts to pull you away so the two of you could hide but green and black smoke appears a few feet in front of you before you could move.
The footsteps you also heard stop and you were right, it was Ganyu standing at the top of the hill. The one in front of you was the Conqueror of Demons, or Xiao.
Both of the Adepti stare at you with their mouth agape as you and Yelan stare back, her still holding your wrist tightly.
“Your Grace?” Ganyu begins approaching slowly, “you’re back from Sumeru already?”
Once she was standing next to Xiao she bows to you and he mimics her action not daring to meet your eyes.
“Your Grace…” Xiao whispers, “Please forgive me, if I had known that you’d be here, I would’ve left immediately.”
You tilt your head to the side, “what do you mean?”
He stops bowing but keeps his gaze on the floor, “what you had said, you didn’t want my disgusting karmic debt in your presence anymore.”
You felt your heart shatter at his words. Just what was this False Creator telling him?
You pull your wrist out of Yelans grip approaching the Yaksha. “Xiao, please look at me.”
He slowly raises his gaze, staring at you.
“Whatever that… thing said, I would never say anything like that to you. You two are the first ones I’ve ran into that I actually recognized from the past, so know this, I never stopped caring about either of you. The Adepti still hold a valuable spot in my heart.”
You notice Xiao’s face grow scarlet as Ganyu gives you a confused expression.
“Wait… you just seen us two months ago?” Ganyu questions, “what do you mean?”
You explain how the one they had met wasn’t the real Creator, but someone or something pretending to be you. You weren’t sure of their intentions on this world but it clear that they were hurting lots of people you cared about.
The two Adepti hang their head in shame, it was clear they wanted to cry.
“Your Grace please forgive us!“ Ganyu cries, “we didn’t mean to commit such a heinous sin against your name.”
You shake your head, “it’s not your fault, they have everyone fooled, but that’s why I’m here, to put an end to it.”
Yelan looks away awkwardly, seeing the two Adepti sad and begging for forgiveness was odd but it’s not like she could blame them. If she didn’t use the Fatui to figure out the truth, she would’ve done the same as them.
“I won’t let them cause you any more pain.” You assure.
They pick their heads up giving you a hopeful look.
Xiao knew the second he was face-to-face with you something was different. Not feeling his karmic debt crawling up his back was the most obvious sign, but it also felt like someone had just wrapped a blanket around him. He remembers feeling this centuries ago, but when the other ‘you’ came to Liyue it didn’t give him the same feeling. All he felt was despair and dread, like when he had lost the other Yaksha.
Ganyu, on the other hand, was half human. Although she still felt that warmth once she was close to you, she was still afraid. Anytime the False Creator entered Liyue, they stayed in the Jade Chamber, so Ganyu made it her personal responsibility to care of their every need. Yet nothing she did was right, she couldn’t remember the amount of food and drinks she had thrown in her face.
“Your Grace…?” Ganyu speaks up, “is there anything we can do to help you? We can tell Rex Lapis about your arriv-“
“No.” You interrupt. Immediately Ganyu closes her mouth looking down.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. It’s just I have people in Sumeru helping me and I can’t risk their lives if words gets out that I am around. Please keep this information to yourself.”
The two exchange looks, before nodding.
“Alright, but if you need anything please don’t hesitate to reach out…” Ganyu says sweetly.
“And don’t hesitate to call out my name.” Xiao says after.
You smile at both of them, “of course.”
Yelan grabs your wrist gently once more pulling you away from the two, they watch you leave before Xiao blinks away and Ganyu takes off in the other direction. You didn’t worry about them telling others the truth, you trusted them the last time you were here and that trust still hasn’t faded.
“Alright,” Yelan breathes out once you two were alone, “we still have a ways to go before we reach the Harbor, let me tell you everything I know about the Fatui.
You and Yelan never made it to Liyue Habor before the sun started to go down. She had suggested that you should camp for the night and at first you tried to decline her offer but it’s been days since you had last rested so you stopped putting up a fight. The two of you found an abandoned camp, she cleans it up a bit to make it better for you despite you saying it wasn’t necessary.
“I am going to collect some fire wood Your Grace.”
“Oh, I can help you.”
She shakes her head, “no, you need to rest. I’ll be back in five.”
The moon was the only light source you had as Yelan walked off into the forest. You were worried about her of course, if the False Creator didn’t believe that you were dead that could put everyone’s life at risk that came in contact with you.
Not only that, the Fatui are aware of your presence, if they work under the Cryo Archon then they must’ve figured out due to you using your power’s yesterday. You let out a breath, you knew it was reckless to help that person but you still did it anyway, and now Lumine and Nahida could be in danger.
You bring your knees up to your chest hugging them, you just needed a few more days. As soon as you were aware of all the damage the False Creator caused and where they came from you will waste no time putting their reign to an end. You just hoped that everyone in Teyvat can hold out for a little longer.
A sound from outside startles you, it had only been two minutes since Yelan had left the camp.
“Yelan?” You call out softly, “did you get enough wood, if you bring it to me, I’ll light it.”
No response.
You raise a brow. “Yelan? Are you out there?”
The sound of grass crunching under someone’s feet causes you to go silent. You could hear their steps as they approached closer to the entrance. You stare as their shadow grows bigger and bigger and soon enough, they were in view.
It wasn’t Yelan, Xiao, or Ganyu.
He had long golden hair pulled into a braid, his clothes were just as odd as Lumine’s and just by staring at him, you knew he wasn’t from here originally.
“You Grace…” he whispers stepping inside the tent, he kneels down next to you resting his gloved hands on top of yours.
A small smile forms on his lips. “…I finally found you.”
-
-
-
Note: I figured out how I want the story to end and I realized there’s still a good amount to cover. So this and the next chapter are probably going to be the longest in the series.
Just a pretty swan in its nest by the lake living its best life....until these avians decided you are their target of affection.
Broken grammar, Swan!Reader x Avian Constellation characters {Kaeya, Diluc, Xiao, Ayaka, Layla, Al Haitham, Kaveh, Fischl}, GN!Reader, Modern AU(?), the reader is oblivious(?), non-establish relationship, you are "that one neighbour" type of thing feral-like behaviour, everyone acting similar to their representation bird, hints of yandere, possessive and obsessive behaviour, a bit of suggestive if you squint.
------
Note : Human with bird wings! Nest refers to everyone's own house, You are a swimming trainer at your local pool.
Note (13 May) : this was drafted before Mika appearance and during Kaveh first appearance (so no Mehrak)! So thats why he isnt here,and im already drained to add him
Kaeya {Pavo Ocellus//Peacock}
My my, a pretty bird isn't he? Your charismatic neighbour who would greet you with that bright smile of his.
He is that one neighbour who is always curious about your activity but won't pester you much if you refuse to answer, respecting your boundaries.
Checking up on you seems to be his favourite thing, he will briefly visit your humble hut near the lake and offers you some fruits or veggies he brought on his way home. Whenever you decline he somehow always gets an urgent call and can't bring all the groceries he had bought. Well, since he is already at your house, why don't you just accept these fresh fruits he so dearly brought to you?
If he is stopping by your nest, he often lazes around your house whilst chatting about his daily life and you just listened to him while munching on snacks he brought to you. If you are swimming, he will sit by the dock under a shade, leaving you to enjoy what you like the most. Beside, he is also enjoying seeing what he likes the most
One of the things he often gives you is little trinkets...well...the only kind of trinket he gave you is a peacock feather in a resin. It could be a bookmark, a keychain, or a small wall decoration. Since the rarely have time to hang out with you, he needs to make sure part of him will always be with you.
Peacock does value their beauty to attract their female counterpart, but for you? He would gladly be featherless with no second thoughts.
Diluc {Noctua/Great Horned Owl}
A magnificent fancy owl, isn't he? An admirable owl in its prime age running such a huge wine tycoon. Compared to the other houses in the neighbourhood, his is the biggest.
You often see him around but never interact until you bring your swimming class to collaborate with Dawn Winery. There, you saw him personally bring the crates of grape juices for your students. You both start a small conversation, and after that day you often see him on your way to work. He will pull over by your side and insist on driving you there.
His wings span is HUGE. When the sun's heat stings your skin, he will use his wings as your umbrella. What a gentleman indeed.
For some odd reason, he is active during the day and awake at night. How did he get enough proper sleep? You are not sure yourself. Another owl trait of his is his quiet steps or walk, you are always startled whenever he greets you at the swimming centre to bring grape juices for your students, and your wings spread to smack him in the face. After that incident, he always makes sure to approach you from the front.
Other than acts of service, his language is also gift-giving. At first, it was some raw meat to cook or a perfectly cooked steak you can eat, but after learning about the swan's diet, Diluc changed it into grapes and grape juices from his winery. Let's just say sometimes your nest smells like his wine.....like part of him.
Somehow this owl makes sour expressions whenever he sees peacock trinkets around your house after you confirmed Diluc where are those gifts from, he started giving you a quill pen with a feather interestingly similar to his.
Xiao {Alatus Nemeseos/Black-Tail Jade Finch}
Hm? Are you worried about your nest's safety at night? Afraid to go home by yourself when it is late? Suddenly crave eating in the middle of the night? No need to be worried about that anymore! This finch right here, Xiao, is ready to be your bodyguard.
You rarely chat with him, considering he is an introverted bird and prefers to stay in his nest. Other than seeing him dropping off and picking up his little sister, Qiqi at the swimming centre, you guys only meet in public places like parks or convenience stores, where it always started with a curt nod from him and an acknowledgement smile from you. Other than that, you guys don't talk much. However, if you guys do meet in public coincidentally at night, he often 'offers' you to walk back to your nest.
If you count 'waiting for you in front of the convenience store and walking side-by-side with you with no talking' as an offer.
Although his wings and bird's form looks small and cute, he is the most resilient and intimidating among your avian neighbour. Once you saw him decked a man thrice his size because -according to Xiao- 'He looked at you funny'.
He will not hesitate to guard you to your nest, no matter how often you tell him you don't want to bother him, he will just quip back "-and you prefer to get hunted by those bad birds?". As much as your interaction with him is awkward, you always offer tea whenever both of you arrive at the door. But he just refuses politely and 'scurry away'.
Although, he doesn't underestimate you. Once he saw you, the delicate swan became a vicious eagle to protect your swimming students.
Well, now he ought to see you protecting their child together- huh? No that's too far, he is thinking too far. He can just settle with protecting your nest and accompanying you on walks.
Ayaka {Grus Nivis/Snow Crane}
(Note : Ayaka's ability to walk on water refers to her Alt Sprint and how cranes mostly spend their time in shallow water)
Oh my! Look at her beautiful snow-like wings. Such a delicate bird and a classy one too. As a Kamisato, her giant nest (estate) where she lives with her brother is standing proudly on top of a man-made island above the lake with lilypads and lotus blooming here and there. The estate is so beautiful, you are drawn to the magnificent estate to take photos, especially the lotus lake, your swan instinct just brought your feet there.
You purposely approach the lake behind the estate. Avoided the guards so you can have a peaceful time. There, you saw her. The famous snow crane lady Kamisato Ayaka..she seems like dancing? You were mesmerized for a bit by her delicate moves, her flowy hair spinning around her like snow ribbon, and her blue ey- wait what?! She saw you, her wide blue eyes can tell she didn't expect an audience. You awkwardly make a thumbs-up and clap a little. Your wings cover your body whilst you run away from the spot.
You were just swimming around the lake near your nest, the swan blood in you just loves water so much. When you raise up above the water, you find yourself surrounded by beautiful lotus and lilypads floating around your lake, you turned around to see the snow crane above the water, smiling softly at you.
After that lilypad meeting, you both often meet behind your house -something about her feeling more comfortable to become a regular snow crane. She never hated the life of royal birds but living freely without rules to follow seems fascinating to her. So, you showed her your humble nest and how you teach little birds to swim. In return, she integrated you into her life; introducing you to her charming brother -Ayato- and the nice housekeeper Thoma, serving dishes that fit to swan's diet whenever you visit, and often a bundle of Otogi sticks or some fragrant oil from Otogi given to you before you leave-as decoration for your house she suggests and to make your nest smells more like hers.
Layla {Luscinia/Nightingale}
Poor little one, this small bird often crashes by your nest to nap or rest. Her eye bags get darker every time you see her. The least you can do is offer her warm milk to drink before she naps.
Well, you two have been close since you both were still little chicks. At this point, your nest is hers and hers is yours. Her wings feather is everywhere at your nest, from how often she is having a 'sleepover'-which is mostly you pushing her to get enough rest. She even has her own little corner in your nest, where her work drafts and papers are scattered around.
Speaking of sleeping, Layla, you know has an alternate personality that manifests from her when she is in deep sleep. This persona is energetic and determined, if Layla forgot to drink the milk you gave her before sleeping the nighttime Layla will drink it before she does her work. This Layla is very bold and affectionate to you, talkative too! Often she asks your opinion about her paper, and although you don't much about her study, you gave her the encouragement she needed.
Nightime Layla often asks for your blessing every time she is about to sleepwalk go outside. You often give her hugs and cheek kisses as a blessing. Once you gave her a mini dreamcatcher keychain with your feather on it, saying she could always ask for a new feather if the old one snapped, was dirty, or was missing...and she does. She keeps asking for another of your feather because somehow she lost it.
However, what you don't know is, she always keeps the keychain in pristine condition, she just likes to collect parts of you as a good luck charm!
Well....this often leads to Daytime Layla waking up to swan feathers in her closet and her desk drawer. She was confused but not thinking much of it. Instead, she uses the feathers to fill up her pillow fillings or quill.
Ah, somehow she always dreamt of you with this special pillow of hers. Hmm..can't have that..she misses you, welp! Time for another sleepover at your nest!
Al Haitham {Vulture Volans/White Backed Vulture}
So apparently, vultures often spread their wings wide to dry up their wings..and you learnt how wide vultures' wings are. How do you know? Well, this neighbour of yours, whose backyard is coincidentally facing the lake of your nest, often sunbathes his wings there near the lake whilst reading a book.
So, imagine your fear when a buff tall man of a carnivore bird with a stoic face just spreads his wings for an hour, sitting by the lake. You both just nod to each other in acknowledgement while you shake in fear, deciding not to swim that day.
You can tell he has a roommate, judging by the bickering noises and how there are extra shed feathers that aren't his. It is too soft and delicate to be Vultures. You wanted to bring it up to him as a worried neighbour, but you decided it will only make you a nosy one so you keep quiet, and keep greeting with nodding when you both meet by the lake.
Well, either he has sharp eyes or you are too obvious. One day he gave you some fruits and veggies along with small fish. You could tell he searched swan's diet, considering vulture's diet are all meat. "I apologize for any disturbance we may cause, my roommate and I are not on good terms as you can hear." his eyes glanced towards his nest. You waved your hand dismissively clearly not wanting to make things awkward, so you offered him to eat the stuff he gave to you together on your dock.
Well, his logical and rationality views on everything aside, his company is enjoyable. He is open to any perspective, even yours who isn't a scholar. He never belittles you if you awkwardly ask about some terms he had mentioned, you can see his eyes light up a bit as he enlightens you in detail to you, yet he also makes sure it isn't overwhelming.
Apparently, he prefers a quiet environment and so do you as a mute swan. You both often spend quality time together as neighbours with him reading books and sunbathing at your dock whilst you swim or float around on the lake.
Well, isn't this the domestic life he dreamt of?
Kaveh {Paradisaea/Paradise Bird}
Well, this is the bird that the vulture keeps talking about, though you didn't expect it is a bird known for its artistic side.
Paradise birds are known to be delicate and magnificent birds, the male all dance and sing and are pretty. Well, this one...surely a unique one. You first saw him when he stumped out Al-Haitham's nest all pent-up and angry, even his wings are all puffed out. You both had eye contact, his red orbs widen to see you so as to not make anything worse you swam away.
The next day, while you relax by the dock eating some fruits, you saw him carrying some wood and building materials into the nest. Whilst he is putting down the materials his eyes caught on your form, sitting by your dock with your cheeks puffed full of food. He smiled and waved then make a small jog towards you.
He introduced himself and apologize in advance if any of his model-building activity bothered you. You waved him off saying you spend your time teaching swimming to kids anyway. After giving him some of the fruits you eat, he excused himself and walks back towards Al Haitham's house //creak// well..until he stepped on a board on your dock that is loose. His architect side just crouches down and examines your dock, then offers you a free repair of your dock, oh he doesn't take no for his service alright.
Well, now there he is, on your dock doing a repairman job. Every time you want to help, he just told you to sit down all pretty. Just a feast for his eyes.
It is not just the dock he fixed. Even the decoration of your nest-exterior or interior- he gives suggestions and recommendations. Hell, he goes as far as making some bookshelves for you. In return, you listened to his rants about his roommate and offered him food since both of you has similar diet. Sometimes Al Haitham or Layla join in with the two of you.
Isn't he a creative man? he is able to turn the shed feathers into a dreamcatcher, keychain, and even earrings. Your white feathers and his brown-to-goldish one really give an elegant aesthetic. The thing you didn't know is that he has another pair of earrings from your feathers. He doesn't want to wear it since he will not hear the end of it from Al Haitham, plus it may make you uncomfortable although you have shown appreciation to all his crafts, even the small little things he made to your nests.
Well, for now, Kaveh can only help you with decorating your nest, next time, he will make sure to build a nest fit for you both together.
Fischl {Corvus/Raven}
(Note: I wrote this with platonic implications in my head, I am 22 and writing romantic stuff for her feels illegal to me// Oz and Fischl is like apes to human (totally different but has similarity))
Quite the eccentric one, isn't she? Mysterious, all-dark, and how she talks are all out of your dictionary, no worries, her loyal friend, Oz, is your saviour in communicating with her.
You knew her from your fellow swimming teacher, Mona, which Fischl often picks up after work. Whilst waiting for Mona packing up, you hit a conversation with her..which was...unique you can say. She spoke so politely and formally that you didn't know how to respond. Oz was there to translate her words (or simplify) and even then with him, you can //barely// hold onto a conversation with her.
Although she likes speaking in another' language' when you talk to her, her quirky personality and roleplaying with Oz always brighten up your day. Even if Mona can't clock in for the day, Fischl still go there to visit you. You often stay behind to make sure all kids got picked up by their parents and then enjoy the pool all by yourself, usually Fischl would take off her shoes and dangles her feet in the water whilst chatting with Oz and you.
Do you know how ravens remember the faces of people who feed them? Yeah, Fischl often payback your good deed 10 times bigger than what you have done. Like how you offered her some of your fist-sized bread whilst waiting for Mona and the next time you guys meet she gave you a whole-ass pie in return.
Her raven traits also showed up in her collecting shiny trinkets. The urge to hoard shiny things seems to override everything in her brain. She would stop and impulsively walk towards any shiny stuff she see and buy it, sometimes she and Oz would chatter about the trinkets collection with you-from delighted caw to sad croak from not being able to own any valuable stuff she saw.
You once asked her 'what's the best thing you have ever lied your eyes on?". Her light green eyes widened at your question, her hand went up to her chin and she thinks-even Oz made the same gesture, eye closed and humming. Fischl then answered, "Too precious that if I tell you, I'm afraid I will lose them." You giggled, amazed at her mystic answer. You express your curiosity to one day be able to see the thing she is talking about.
Must be so valuable and precious that she won't show it to you, huh? Well, it's not like she won't...But how does she show you to yourself?
The entire staff at the new school you work at consistently attempt at getting you and another rather aloof teacher, Kuni, together after witnessing you interact quite often. The catch is that you both are married, and none of the staff have figured it out, yet.
scaramouche x g!n reader
established relationship, married, modern teacher au
2.7k words
a/n: sorry if it clogs up ur feed 😭 everytime i do the keep reading thing it crashes for me so, transferred from ao3 so if there’s any weird typos lmk
It took about three weeks at your new job for you to notice something was going on with your co-workers, and your students as well to top it off. It was as if they were all in on some inside joke you weren’t a part of, or perhaps the center of it. But that might just be your own insecurities about being the newest teacher at this school.
You had recently been laid off as a literature teacher after working at the same high school for a few years due to lack of budget to support the creative arts.
So, instead of educating high schoolers, you deemed it would be much better to teach a group of younger kids, much easier and stress free. After a couple of weeks you had gotten a job as the Art teacher at the very school your husband worked at thanks to his recommendation. Everyone there was very accepting of you and you felt right at home, for a while at least.
It was much different then being a literature professor for older kids, now you got to do finger painting for a living. And even though your English degree was collecting dust, (you shed a tear at this every night), you were actually enjoying your time teaching for once. Little children were much more bearable than high schoolers. There were no love triangles you had to deal with, kids giving handjobs under the desks, or getting paper planes thrown at you. The most drama that ever happened in your elementary classes was when Timmie wouldn’t share the red crayons with anyone.
Well, you were enjoying it. Past tense.
Ever since you ended up catching teachers and students halting their whispers when you walked by you’ve been rather uneasy.
You brought it up to Kuni during dinner one night and the other male merely shrugged, but that one was on you though. Kuni didn’t interact with any of his co-workers unless he absolutely had to. It was a surprise he was a favorite teacher among the students, unbeknownst to you it was because the children found the male handsome and his teaching style atrocious.
You were surprised to learn none of your co-workers had even held a coherent conversation with Kuni, despite him working there for much of his career. So when Venti, one of the school’s music teachers, let out a gasp at seeing Kuni sitting beside you in the staff room, he was taken aback. Kuni never went out of his way to make new friends, it seems he was content with the little to no socializing he did in college and called it a day.
“So, what’s your secret?” Venti sang, sidling up next to you as he poured himself a cup of coffee, “How’d you get the ever so stoic Kuni to talk to you for longer than a minute?”
“What are you on about?” you chuckled, taking a tentative sip of the hot beverage, you didn’t want to burn your tongue again, it had ruined your entire week last time, “I just talk?”
Venti and you quickly clicked upon your moving careers, there was something calming about the constant chitter chatter that left his mouth. Although, it was also a little annoying at times. Like right now.
“Last time I did that he just glared at me,” Venti dramatically sighed, “Maybe he has his eyes on you.”
“Ooh, are we talking about KuniYn?” Lisa grinned, the actual English teacher, walking into the staff room.
“What the hell is KuniYn?” you questioned, growing uncomfortable, why was everyone obsessing over you and Kuni? Was this their way of welcoming you?
“I’m going to exit this conversation now,” you mumbled, turning around when you bumped into the other half of said conversation.
And to your horror, a little splash of his coffee landed on the other male.
A collective gasp was heard from the staff room, preparing themselves for the ever so aloof male to lash out. Last time Bennett spilled his drink on Kuni the dark-haired male had the entire staff shaking in their seats.
“Careful,” Kuni mumbled, catching his arm on your shoulder to steady you before making his way past you to make himself a cup of coffee, not batting an eye as he grabbed a napkin and dabbed at it to lessen the soak.
“Fuck, sorry,” you immediately apologized, grabbing the napkin from Kuni and placing your mug down, “Do you want my jacket?”
“It’s fine,” Kuni assured, picking up your mug and handing it back to you before grabbing his own mug that was now full and leaving the room, but not before patting your waist fondly on his way out.
You made sure to pointedly ignore Venti and Lisa’s loud snickers as you hurriedly left the room.
______ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐
Everyone’s intentions became clear when you overheard your own students conversing about you. The utter betrayal.
You were running a little late to your class that afternoon after a lively student had spilled glitter on you earlier that morning, you spent a good five minutes scrubbing it off your hands in the staff bathroom before making your way back to class. You had left your classroom door ajar in a hurry to leave, which made it easy for you to eavesdrop on your students when you heard Kuni’s name spoken for the nth time that day.
“I saw them eating lunch in Sir Kuni’s room the other day when I went to get my backpack!” Luo insisted, a lollipop hanging halfway out of her mouth as the group that had gathered around her table eagerly nodded along to her story, “I think they like-like each other!”
“Like-like?” Qiqi drawled out, tapping her chin, “That’s very serious.“
“We should make them be a couple!” Klee giggled, clapping her hands, “Teacher Y/n is very nice! Mister Kuni is too strict for them but it’s okay.”
So this was what your coworkers were giggling about, they thought that you and Kuni were pining for each other. Which wasn’t necessarily untrue, but had Kuni really not mentioned being married even once?
Truth be told, you never wore your ring to school, you didn’t want any paint or glitter to get stuck between the diamonds and have to pay to get it cleaned, but did Kuni really leave his ring at home too? Seems even Mathematics teachers were prone to disasters via children.
“Alright, back to your respected tables, please,” you greeted as you made your way back into class, ignoring the exuberant glances the children gave you. “Valentines is coming up this week, how about we make little cards for your friends?”
“Or boyfriends,” Klee giggled behind her hands as the class shrieked in laughter. You merely patted her on the head and sighed. Today was going to be quite the long day.
______ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐
“—I say we send Y/n a Valentine in Kuni’s name, we all know he won’t do it himself!” Venti rebuked, pointing an accusatory finger at Hutao.
“Shouldn’t we give him the benefit of the doubt!” Hutao huffed in response, “They’re clearly into one another.”
“You got it all wrong, Y/n will make the first move and we should allow them to do so,” Xingqiu, the school’s librarian, drawled, tapping his finger on his chin. “I believe they will ask Kuni out on Valentine’s!”
“Are you guys chatting about me again?” you deadpanned, already backing out of the room, but your back ran into something, or rather someone.
“Clumsy as always,” Kuni murmured, placing a hand on your waist and gently pushing you out of the way, “What are you idiots looking at?” he questioned, glaring at Venti who was stifling a laugh.
“You never come in here, I should be interrogating you!” Xiangling defended, hands on her hips.
“Lunch,” Kuni dryly stated, reverting back to his one word answers, and handed a bag to you, “You said you were craving Chinese earlier.”
The familiar smell of fried rice wafted through the room as you peered inside the bag, “You remembered? Thank you.”
Kuni hummed, turning to leave the staff room and hermit himself in his classroom once again.
The moment he left all hell broke loose.
“SEE! I knew Kuni would make a move!”
“But it’s not Valentine’s yet! Y/n still has a chance!"
“We should just lock them up at this rate, this is getting frustrating.”
You clutched the bag tightly and walked out the room, ignoring the shouts questioning the nature of you and Kuni’s relationship that your coworkers shot behind you.
______ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐
“Kuni?” you called out, knocking on the door as you opened it, which took away the action’s purpose but you were impatient.
Said male looked up from where he was typing and gave you a glance before averting his eyes back, humming to show he was listening.
“Have you eaten yet?” you asked, shutting the door behind you as you pulled up one of the students’ chairs to sit beside Kuni, leaning back into it as Kuni gestured to his half finished take out box.
“Everyone thinks you and I have a crush on each other,” you blurted, leaning your chin on your palm as you watched Kuni work, watching how his nimble fingers came to a stop at your words.
“A crush?” Kuni repeated, turning to face you, “What? That’s childish.”
“They don’t know we’re married!” you huffed, “Did you not tell them? Where’s your ring?”
“It never came up,” Kuni mused, “Last time I wore my ring I took it off to help a teacher out and when I came back the brats were tossing it, so I started leaving it at home.”
“Oh, it seems they’ve never seen us with our rings,” you frowned, causing Kuni to spin on his chair to face you, an amused smile on his face.
“They just can’t believe I managed to make you mine,” Kuni shrugged, chuckling at the immediate shove you sent to his shoulder.
“Stop trying to be corny,” you smiled, reaching out to tug on his dress shirt and yank him closer.
Without a second of hesitation, your guys’ lips interlocked as if it were second nature. The familiarity behind Kuni’s every touch was still as refreshing as it was years ago when you both first met.
The moment was interrupted with a gasp from afar, and both of you pulled apart to see who had walked in on them, exhaling a sigh of relief to see it wasn’t one of the students. But perhaps this was worse.
Kazuha was staring with a flushed face before he realized he had come over for a specific reason and walked up to Kuni’s desk, dropping a file onto it which led Kuni to groan and sadly flip through it.
“So how long have you two been together?” Kazuha drawled, leaning forward as Kuni shot him a glare. Despite being one of the few people Kuni actually sort of talked to, it seems even Kazuha hadn’t known of their relationship status.
“Since graduating college, married now,” you answered, earning a smile from Kazuha as he nodded, turning to make his leave.
“I’m so winning this bet–”
“What bet? KAZUHA GET BACK HERE! WHAT BET?!”
______ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐
Valentine’s day had finally decided to make an appearance, and the school would not let it pass by without a proper send off. The hallways were adorned with pink ribbons and little drawings the kids made, along with the occasional love is love poster and rainbow flag. There were streamers hanging on every doorway, and you couldn’t count how many kids you had to help untangle themselves after getting stuck.
At least it looked pretty.
“I tried to get them to sing Bad Romance, can you believe they’ve never heard of it?”
“Venti, they are children,” Kazuha mused, shaking his head as he unwrapped one of the many chocolates they had lying around for Valentines.
“As their other music teacher you should add it into the curriculum,” Venti huffed, perking up as you entered the room, “There they are!”
“Me?” you repeated, about to take a seat next to them when Xingqiu pointed to the large basket of flowers sitting on the table, “Looks like someone has an admirer,” you added, peering into the basket.
“It arrived this morning, the card says it’s addressed to you? But there’s no sender,” Xingqiu mused.
“Coward,” Lisa reprimanded, “How will I get my daily dose of drama if I don’t know who it’s from?”
“I can infer,” you laughed, tugging on the card, “Probably my husband,” you thought aloud as you read the writing, a smile growing on your face. You were so absorbed in the note that you didn’t notice the staff room grow quiet.
“Hold up, you’re married?!” Venti shrieked, getting up from his seat, “No way.”
“Is that unbelievable?” you frowned, holding up your left hand, “Been married for six years now.”
“Oh my god, we’ve been trying to set you up this entire time!” Xiangling cried out, covering her mouth, “This is so embarrassing! I didn’t know you had someone at home!”
“I’m surprised you guys didn’t know,” you sheepishly laughed, twirling one of the flowers from the basket between your fingers, “You guys have met him before.”
Kazuha snickered behind his chocolate bar as the other staff looked at him.
“So THAT’s why you made a bet saying Y/n married to someone, I thought you just had a gambling addiction,” Xiangling scoffed, hitting Kazuha on the shoulder as he cackled.
“Pay up,” Kazuha grinned as you shook your head.
“Can’t believe you all made a bet and tried to set me up,” you mumbled.
“Yikes, I told Kuni I would get him a date tonight with you offhandedly,” Lisa admitted, looking ashamed as the door to the staff door opened.
Kuni stepped in, but instead of letting him pass by unnoticed as usual you tugged on his sleeve, shooting him a soft smile.
“Thank you for the basket, Kuni,” you thanked, caressing the other male’s arm to show your affection. Neither of you were big on pda, it was a lot for you both to even hug in public. Mostly due to Kuni’s awkwardness with it, but he made up for it by showing affection behind closed doors.
Kuni merely hummed, awkwardly shuffling his feet, you felt a little bad about putting him on the spot but you wanted to show off your husband for once!
“Pause,” Venti stated, pointing between the two of them, “No fucking way.”
“I just lost so much money,” Lisa groaned, sucking her teeth and already pulling out her wallet as Kazuha gleefully counted his bills.
“I’m still processing,” Xingqiu murmured, staring between the two of them, “What, when, and where?”
“I don’t know what you mean by what, we started dating in senior year of highschool, and got married in the town Kuni grew up,” you answered, firmly grasping Kuni’s arm so as to not let him escape. He was already trying to run off.
“I owe Kazuha money?” Albedo questioned as he overheard the conversation walking into the staff room, “No way was his hypothesis correct.”
“Suck my dick,” Kazuha grinned, opening his palm as Albedo sighed and slapped a twenty on it, rolling his eyes as the other male gloated.
“You guys are so fucking annoying,” Kuni complained, but his threat didn’t look at all intimidating as you was pinching his cheek, “Do you really have nothing else to do then try to set me up? No wonder the education system is shit.”
“I’m surprised you even managed to score someone,” Venti giggled, dodging the box of candy Kuni picked up and tossed at him.
“I still have more game than all of you, where’s your partner?” Kuni countered.
“The audacity,” Albedo murmured as Venti huffed in response, the staff room bursting into laughter.
“Guess we need a new project,” Venti grieved, scanning the room till his eyes landed upon Kazuha, “I guess I’ll set you up with someone.”
“You’re gonna what?!” Kazuha exclaimed, his face aghast as the staff immediately started listing off potential candidates
You laughed as he watched Kazuha practically run away from Venti, who was interrogating him on which teachers he found the most attractive.
Your new co-workers were a bit crazy, but you wouldn’t have it any other way.
Since you want us to feed you, I shall give you some food for thought! How about our lovely PLANTs with reader that somehow has some paint nymph friends? Cute little ones~
I like the idea of Vash maybe being able to create miniature nymphs and them just finding and attaching to the reader so let's write that real quick. Set in Trigun Stampede because I feel like it fits better.
CREATION, IT'S ALL IN THE IMAGINATION --- Vash the Stampede
SUMMARY: Your new little friends came from somewhere completely unexpected. Who would have thought.
⸝⸝⸝⸝⸝
Nymphs, tiny plants that follow you around like the plague. You don't mind, they're very small and cute. Looking at them reminds you of a rather close friend of yours, Vash. They're kind and sweet like him and they both love to follow you around like lost puppies. Speaking of puppies, Nick's confident that you smuggled in a pet of some kind and are feeding it behind their backs, in its entirety it isn't a lie. You sneak food and water behind everyone's backs for your three little friends, they absolutely love you for it.
Sitting behind the truck at night, you'll lift a crumb to the one on your shoulder while the other two stand in the palm of your hand drinking from the small cap you filled for them. They can't speak but each bows their head in appreciation before they start climbing all around your body. Usually your arms up is the playing ground. As they climb around you, their hands and feet feel like rain on your skin. They're gentle not to pull or pinch wherever they go and as long as they do that they stay mostly out of sight.
When they first came to you it was out of the blue. You were asleep in the backseat between Vash and Nick. Your head had simply rolled around on your shoulders before you eventually leaned into Vash's shoulder. Enough time passed and your hair began to move and tug out of nowhere. Confused and worried that it might be a bug, you swiped at the top of your head. When your hand rested back in your lap a soft pinch tinged your skin. Opening your eyes, you couldn't believe what you were seeing. There poking at your hand was a tiny person, all around them flowed a makeshift skirt from... Flower petals? She had the intricate patterns of a plant all along her skin and she stood there looking up at you in awe.
With wide eves you scooped her carefully into your other hand and told her to settle in the pocket of your shirt. And then the fun began.
"Move it dick head." You shoved Nick's limp body.
He groaned awake, anger stirring on his face. "Move or I'm gonna piss on you hurry and open the door."
He stared at you in anger before the realization hit him. "Don't piss on me!" He pushed the door open and grabbed your arm to shove you out. Scrambling over his lap, you managed to land safely on the ground outside as the door shut behind you. You bounced back up to your feet.
"Are you okay?" You opened the pocket to peek in. At the very bottom, the small plant had curled into a protective ball to keep from moving about too much. Hearing your voice she slowly unfolded to peek her head out and look around. As you walked around to the end of the truck's trailer, you smiled and offered her a hand to step out onto. Gracefully pulling her self up, she turns to face you with a bow. All of this started the routine of climbing on to the top of the truck in the late hours of the night.
The same event happened two more times and now you took care of all three without the other knowing. Seeing yourself as the kind of person to care for something wasn't in the realm of possibility until these plants came around. Caring for each one brought you joy in this desolate land, watching them interact and care for each other while they come to you for their care is amazing to watch. Just the fact that they are their own being is amazing enough, but to be the one to handle and care for them is even better.
The cold air breezes past you and a chill runs through you. You're completely bare to the wind on top of the truck without a coat, but you sudden through the cold with a smile while you watch the plants eat and drink in front of you. Suddenly, one of the truck's doors opens and closes softly. Out climbs Vash who quickly glances around in search of you. Quickly gathering the nymphs you hide them on the other side of you to turn and face Vash.
"Up here." You call him. He turns to look up at you with mild surprise before he softly frowns. "You aren't cold up there?" Grabbing the rail on top he uses it to pull himself up and sit beside you.
"I am very cold." You chuckle nervously with a sheepish smile. Suddenly, on your leg there's a light tug that pulls your attention. Climbing up your leg is the smallest of the plants, she looks determined to see what's going on. Lifting your hand, you subtly swipe her back next to her companions before you look back to Vash. He looks at you strangely before he slips off his coat and wraps it around you.
"There. That should help." He offers you a kind smile. A floral smell surrounds you as it drapes around your shoulders bringing with it warmth. With your heart fluttering in your chest, you smile at Vash.
"You didn't- Ow!" A sharp sting jolt your leg. looking down, one of the nymphs has fully climbed up your leg and into View. Your throat squeezes with panic as you look back to Vash with wide eyes. Seeing the small plant emerge from your side, he grins and extends a hand to her. "That's where you've been." As his hand reaches her, she breaks out into a run and hugs his thumb.
"What? You know about them?" You stammer.
Watching the other two climb up and onto his hand, he carefully pulls them back towards himself. "Yeah." His finger tip carefully brushes over each of their heads with ease. "I kinda...made them."
Your eyes grow even wider as you watch the tip of his finger light up with the glow of a plant every time he pats the nymphs. He smiles fondly at each of them. The more you look, the more it starts to make sense. Each one of them shares a striking resemblance to Vash himself and his personality. It's no wonder you took to them so quickly. They're parts of him and that's why.
"It's not surprising that they went to you instead of staying with me." Vash lifts his gaze to meet yours. "They can feel my emotions for you, so..."
You pick your dry lips. "So you're a plant and they trust me because you trust me?" None of this is making much sense though some parts of it have become clear as just this simple interaction. They clearly know him, there's no doubt about it.
He scratches the back of his neck. "Yeah. I am a plant and I do trust you, it's just... Trust isn't enough to make them leave me for someone else." His face flushes bright red. "They like you because I like you, I have feelings for you. So you're kind of like another parent for them."
Heat blooms in your cheeks and your heart races in your chest. This is the most honest and gentle you've ever seen vash, he's never treated a situation like this lightly before. At least that's how it feels to you. "You... Have feelings for me?"
Vash nods. "I have for a while now. It's strange that this is how you have to find out." He looks back down to the three plants in his hand. Strange is definitely a way to describe it but it's cute and endearing in a way. It makes your heart swoon in response. The smile that spreads on your face can't be helped now.
Leaning your head on his shoulder, he looks at you. "This is such a sweet moment Vash." Looking down at the nymphs you place your hand under his and smile at them. "I think it's amazing you can even create these things. They're so... alive."
Looking at you, Vash can feel his chest grow warm. You hold so much sentiment and care for his creations and you completely disregard him being a plant. If anything you just told him he was wonderful. Just seeing you treat them with such fondness and warmth makes him fall even more for you and your beautiful soul.
"So you don't care that I'm a plant? It's not weird to you?"
Your face softens when you look up at him. In your eyes the glow of the worms shines above, casting a soft bloom that cascades along your skin like a waterfall. "To be able to create life is a beautiful thing, Vash. You are a beautiful person. And these guys reflect that." Gingerly your hand grabs his free hand. "You being a plant only makes this so much more amazing to me. I think it's wonderful what you can do."
A blush creeps up Vash's face again. "It's not that special, really." Leaning closer you nudge him. "Give yourself some credit where it's due Vash."
He looks back down at the plants in his hand. "Sure. I guess I am pretty cool."
Could we get some headcanons for vash, nick, and knives and what pet names they use for their s/o and how they would use them? Like in what situations they would use them? And what their s/o would call them in return?
Thank you 🫶🏻
the boys & their nicknames for their significant other
word count; 896
warnings; none, this is just some sweet stuff to alleviate the constant trauma our boys (and subsequently, we enjoyers) go through
note; i am such a damn sucker for cute nicknames, so this request was super fun to write!! tysm for requesting, i truly appreciate it <3 so sorry for the lack of things, covid has been kicking my butt lately on top of college ;-;
VASH
mayfly + lovebug
to make up for the lack of pda, vash makes sure you know how he cares by the way he calls for you
as soon as it starts, your real name is out the window and you're only to be called by the pet name he bestowed on you
you love the way it rolls off his tongue, like it was meant for you
started as a private thing as vash prefers to keep his love life under wraps but eventually became something he was proud to use in public amongst those he trusted
"good morning, mayfly."
you stretched the sleep out of your joints, blinking to adjust to the bright sunlight. vash had himself propped up on his forearms, twirling your hair around his fingers gently.
"sleep well?" he asked as you turned on your side to face him. he leaned forward and kissed your forehead as you nodded. "good. we don't have to leave for another hour or so, wanna snuggle?"
you responded by pulling him closer to you, burying your face in his chest. he wrapped his arms around you, his fingers lazily drawing shapes into your back.
"how'd you sleep, lovebug?" you murmured, voice still heavy with sleep.
vash grinned. "lovebug, hm? that's new."
you shrugged and readjusted, looking up at him. "well i thought with mayfly i needed to come up with something similar."
"fair enough, i like it." vash chuckled. "very creative. i slept okay, had a weird dream though."
"is that so? tell me all about it."
WOLFWOOD
my star + handsome
you never took wolfwood to take to romance or any of the cheesy aspects of being in a relationship
however, being a man who wasn't given any real love growing up, he craved it more than anything
of course, he'd never show it to the other three, so things like nicknames were saved solely for time between the two of you
you savored those times, enjoying the softer side of the undertaker
he would tell you how there were billions of stars in the sky yet only you were his, the brightest and most dazzling in his eyes
you pounded on the bathroom door, fed up. "c'mon, princess, i'm sure you look amazing now open the damn door!"
the door swung open and nicholas, hair still wet and messy, gave you the coldest stare behind his sunglasses.
"the hell did you just call me?" he asked, blocking you from moving past him. "no, no, no. you've never called me any sort of name before and now you just -"
"i'll keep calling you it if you don't let me use the damn bathroom," you snapped back, grabbing his arm and literally pulling him out of the bathroom. "thank you!"
coming out of the bathroom after finishing your business, you held back a laugh when you found nicholas sitting on the edge of the bed with his lips pressed into a tight frown. you flopped on the bed next to him, pulling him down with you.
"oh my gosh." you laughed as he turned away from you with a small 'hmph'. "c'mere, handsome."
instantly, he melted into your embrace, clearly much more pleased with the new nickname.
"that's better," he murmured.
"you're such a big softie," you chided playfully, brushing his hair from his face. "never change, okay?"
"yes, my star."
KNIVES
sunshine + sweetheart
if you thought it would take knives forever to even acknowledge the feelings you two shared, just imagine how long it took for him to take up on any sort of romantic gesture
you were at the helm in this voyage, showing him acts of affection first to egg him on
quickly you both learned he wasn't the biggest on physical touch but definitely enjoyed the whole concept of nicknames, something that made you stand above the rest even more to him
despite that, he found himself fighting on what he thought would fit you perfectly
you had cycled through the generic ones (babe, baby, etc.) but decided that sweetheart was the winner the way a goofy, almost childlike smile appeared on his face when you called him it the first time
knives refused any help on coming up with your nickname, demanding he figure it out himself
"i've got it!"
your head snapped up from your book as the piano playing suddenly ceased and knives stood, knocking the bench over at his abrupt movement.
"are you alright, sweetheart?" you asked, pushing yourself up out of your chair and heading towards him. he met you halfway, taking your hands in his excitedly. "what's going on in that head of yours?"
"you're my sunshine, (name)."
he had said it so happily, staring right in your eyes as he declared his newly thought of nickname. you felt your heart race at the simple gesture and the look on his face, basking in the joy that radiated off of him.
"i love it." your hands moved from his up to cradle his face. "what made you think of sunshine?"
knives leaned into your hand, proud of himself. "you just. . .you light up my life. you're so warm and caring, it's like you're if sunshine was a human."
your heart swelled at his kind words, this soft and sweet side of knives - albeit rare - was something you treasured and would always hold close to your heart.
