Second part of me being self indulgent! This time with guys!
This is kinda fun to do so if you'd like something like this with a character you like inbox is always open!
How would they act when they're in love? (Kaeya, Baizhu, Itto, Alhaitham, Ifa)
Reader is: gender neutral
A constant contradiction.
There is a lot he had to unpack. Maybe a little bit too much. It was overwhelming to a point where he suspected that he had it bad for you, more so than he thought.
You were close, that was for sure. He trusted you more than himself sometimes. Whatever was between you two felt far more vulnerable than he was comfortable with.
One thing you can expect for certain is that he's going to pretend a lot. Pretend he doesn't care, pretend he's not taking you seriously. Just anything to not allow himself get too attached.
He'd joke around, acting like a dramatic lover. Declaring how much he had missed you even if you talked an hour ago. Another times he'd find himself jealous whenever someone was getting too close to you- but he knew not to cause a scene.
Yet he'd distance himself from you. Despite yearning for you he didn't exactly indulge the thought of you being actually close. He wasn't sure what was holding him back. Maybe the voice in the back of his head telling him that you're better off without him, or maybe something else he wasn't aware of.
Still, no matter the nature of your relationship you made him happy. So even if sometimes he acted odd at the end of the day you felt how much he cared.
He always paid great attention to everything you said and some of his small gestures were incredibly romantic, but he'd purposefully ruin the moment when he'd be losing his ground and falling for you even deeper. Not until he was sure he'd be right to chase after it all.
Making excuses to see you.
Baizhu was never one to focus too much on relationships. He was constantly busy so it made sense he didn't search for a partner.
Lucky- or unlucky depending on how you look at it- for him, you found him first. And you were a constant reminder that he does actually crave a bit of romance every once in a while.
With his teasing nature your casual conversations were mixed with slight comments that were awfully easy to overlook. That was just how he wanted to play it. He got some thoughts out of his system and that was enough to share his affections, for now.
When you're away he sometimes he wonders how your day went, sometimes though when his mind was still at work mode he wondered if you were in good health and thinking if he should check on you when he has time.
Soon he found himself turning those thoughts into reality. Not often enough that he wasn't at the pharmacy when he was needed, but he would often excuse small visits.
Slowly it looked like he was nagging... But at some point his excuses were so ridiculous you knew that he just wanted to spend time with you so you enabled that to some degree. He made sure to respect the boundaries you've set.
This whole situation was ridiculous to Changsheng and the second you were out of earshot she'd complain about whatever you two had going on. Pointing out everything he said and explaining to him in detail how him thinking you'd fall for any of these lies were a direct insult to your intelligence- he laughed her complaints off and moved on like she hasn't spoken a word.
His brain is the last to catch up...
Itto never gave much thought to what exactly he thinks about you. When you met things just clicked and he didn't question how great you'd get along.
Relationship with you- as a great buddy of course- just felt natural. So it wasn't any weird that he felt like time with you was ever so more special.
It also wasn't weird at all that he wanted to impress you, nor that every time you needed help he'd move the mountains if you needed it- he'd do it for all his friends!
His heart raced when you called him cool, he couldn't stand being away from you, and when your hand did as like as brush against his, it felt like his face was at a competition with his horns as to what's more red.
What it would get for him to notice... Was if he got teased by the boys about his obvious crushing. Without thinking he'd confirm it, cause why wouldn't he love someone so great!?
And that flustered moment was when everything clicked. After his realization he felt like everything suddenly started making sense.
From that point on he'd instead try to figure out a great grand gesture he could do for you to express his feelings. But while he was thinking about it he changed the tracks a little and thought more what YOU would like, not what he feels like would be cool to do for the sake of it.
It's a natural part of human experience.
He never thought much about romance. It wasn't like he was completely uninterested, but he always knew he wasn't going to chase looking for it like some people might.
His happiness never depended on wether or not someone would return his affections, thought of being rejected wasn't something he was afraid of either.
Although... Some of his views on the matter changed once he slowly started to realize that he might be interested in you. He definitely would be disappointed if you were not to return his feelings, but it wouldn't be the end of the world either.
Looking forward to spending time with anyone wasn't something he'd expect to be feeling so strongly. Luckily the new development was hardly a nuisance to him.
He had plenty of free time, so adjusting his schedule to yours was reasonable. Even just to share a quick meal together, or a small conversation about your day.
Usually he found smalltalk bothersome, but it coming from you felt more interesting. Probably because the topics you chose were usually of his interest as well.
Yet in the end he didn't make big deal out of his feelings for you. To him it was a simple case of asking you out officially. Time or place didn't matter to him as much as the message he had, so he wouldn't be wasting much time before making his move even if it would lack romantic atmosphere.
A recharge he desperately needed.
Ever since the war came to an end, his workload sure was doubled, sometimes feels like it tripled even. As a caring friend, you checked on him everyday. Sometimes bringing him some food or snacks, and other times just offering some human company (no offense to Cacucu).
He wasn't much the kind of person to neglect himself like that. But after everything that happened he just wanted to make sure people and saurians don't grin and bear it. So of course he couldn't ignore those in need.
You lost the count of how many times you heard "You're a lifesaver bro" or something among those lines. It was true too, you were his hero every day.
Okay... Maybe it was more than that. He knew that he liked you. With the way Cacucu sometimes was laughing he suspected his saurian companion knew too.
So he wouldn't be surprised if you knew too. He wasn't ashamed of it so it's not like he'd freak out. Okay, maybe a little bit. But that's because you're a great bro-
And here was his main issue. He'd normally approach you and maybe ask you out but he wanted to avoid calling you in that dude-bro language in that context.
In the end he would be sometimes a little awkward around you, but that would be just because he'd try to get these words out of his vocabulary when addressing you. So each time he called you that way, he decided to let his confession wait for a better day...
