No One But You | Dehya x Reader | SAGAU
A/N: Your girl just got Dehya yesterday, and just had to write a fic in celebration. This is my first angst. Be nice you goofy goobers
P.S.: ...I ran out of Sand Grease Pupas :(
Genre: Fluff, Angst
Reader: Gender Neutral
Warnings: Angsty
SAGAU!!!
Summary: Dehya fears that you won't want to pull for her after the leaks and kit reviews. You prove her wrong.
The city spoke in hushed whispers upon her arrival. The whispers ranged from pure disgust to pity. To Dehya, it all felt horrible.
"There she is!"
"Didn't you hear? Her kit was leaked."
"Pathetic."
"What will the players think about this?"
Of course she'd also known the moment her kit dropped. She herself felt anger towards the developers for the way she'd been wronged. What she didn't expect, however, was for everyone else to find out about it. "Tsk…" Despite the backlash, the flame mane managed to keep herself together.
That only lasted so long.
Each day felt worse. She continued with her mercenary duties as normal, but at the end of each day, she felt herself break more and more.
It began to affect her battle performance as well, something that did not go unnoticed by her fellow mercenaries.
And then her banner dropped. She had high hopes that you'd pull for her regardless of the things you'd heard. As she sat on her bed, she thought back to all the things you'd said.
From the moment she was leaked, you were ecstatic.
"She's so pretty!"
Dehya smiled to herself at the fond memory.
"Do we know her name yet?" You asked your friend, your primary source of information. "They're saying her name is 'Dehya.'" Your friend responded.
"Dehya…." What a pretty name, you'd thought to yourself.
You were joyful the moment her npc version appeared in the game. Her lines were the only dialogue you didn't skip.
From that day forward, you told yourself you'd pull for her. You took in all the information about her that you could. You sat through the debates on whether she'd be a 4 star or a 5 star. It didn't matter to you, all you knew was that she was going to be yours.
That didn't mean you weren't overjoyed when it was confirmed she was a 5 star. "Ha! I told you so!" You teased your friend, who playfully rolled their eyes. "Fine, you win. It's going to be harder to get her now, I hope you know that." You shrugged it off. "I don't care how many wishes it takes. She will be mine."
And then came the day everything began crumbling down.
"Credible leakers have confirmed that Dehya will be on the standard banner!"
She heard the audio all the way from another app on your phone. What would you think of this?
"It can't be that bad. Besides, I wouldn't mind losing my 50/50 to Dehya." You reasoned.
Dehya breathed a sigh of relief. She knew you mained one of the standard characters already, but she didn't know how you'd feel about her now.
And it only got worse from there. The talk of the city began. It was nothing all that bad, at first, just a few apologies here and there.
"I'm sorry, Dehya. But look on the bright side…"
"Poor girl."
"Standard…she's going to be weak."
To her, it didn't matter. All she cared about was your opinion on her. However, the comments made her wonder if you'd be swayed.
What if she decides I'm not good enough? If I don't do enough damage, she might choose someone else over me…" She shook the nasty thoughts out of her head. No. I know my creator. They would never.
Dehya suddenly snapped back to the present. She was now laying down, curled into her blankets. She felt her eyes moisten. No. I'm stronger than this. I can't let the creator down. She sat up once more, staring into the mirror across from her bed. Weak. Pathetic.
They can say all they want. I might be physically weaker than the others, but I won't let them break down my mental state too.
From that day forward, she made it a habit to train harder. To compliment you more. To give you a reason to consider her.
"Look, she just winked!" You exclaimed, pointing at her. "What? She didn't wink for me though?" Your friend, who was doing the same quest, showed you their screen. "Mm…must be a bug." They concluded.
But You knew better.
And then the day of the livestream arrived. You preferred not to believe leaked banners, as you'd been fooled before. And alas, the banners were different from the leaked ones.
"Phase One will be…Cyno and Dehya!"
You were quiet. Too quiet. Dehya began to worry. She knew that her kit was nothing compared to Cyno's.
"Phase Two will be…Shenhe and Ayaka!" The video announced. "Haha, good thing I don't need either of them." You said, continuing the video.
Dehya continued to listen in on the rest of the video, but her mind became clouded halfway through. You never said anything about Cyno. She bit her lip as she pondered, the video quickly becoming background noise to her thoughts.
You never said you didn't want Cyno.
…And you never said you wanted me.
She clicked her tongue in frustration. Was she still not enough? She had to ensure that you still wanted her.
So she amped up her efforts.
She sent you mail. She never put her name on it. That would seem too desperate, she thought. On the day that her banner dropped, she mailed you 600 primos under the guise of maintenance. Attached to the 'maintenance rewards' were little trinkets, some that she thought would remind you of her.
To her delight, the developers decided to hand out 1 intertwined fate per archon quest. "If we do the math…that's 21, excluding the newest quest." She said to herself. "Plus what I sent…"
Unfortunately, your luck did not cooperate. Out of all of the pulls, your best item was a Bennett constellation.
"Bummer. Oh well." You closed the game, much to Dehya's distress. She still hoped that the day would come.
But then the whispers began again, this time while she was sitting outside the local tavern.
"Didn't you hear? The creator's considering pulling for Cyno instead!"
"He's the better option anyway, at least he can deal damage." One snickered.
She put down her glass, and breathed out a deep sigh before jumping when she felt a touch on her shoulder.
"Don't listen to them. I know she wants you more than anything." A familiar voice spoke. Dehya turned her head to be faced with the one and only General Mahamatra Cyno. She laughed bitterly. "Easy for you to say, General. This patch is in your favor."
Cyno crossed his arms, staring down at Dehya. "I mean it. Don't let it bother you."
"Yeah. Whatever." She smiled lightly. Despite their current rivalry between banners, Cyno was never hostile towards her. "It doesn't bother me any."
…I'll try to keep that in mind.
She waited. She waited for days, and she was starting to lose hope. She'd heard you talking to your friend again.
"My feed is full of Dehya showcases now. She doesn't hit very high damage at all." You'd said.
Ouch.
"I suggest that you consider pulling for Cyno or waiting for a good banner to roll around."
"Hmm."
By then, she'd tuned out. It's fine. Life goes on after all.
And there she stood. She felt the tears falling down her cheeks as she made no attempt to wipe them.
"Archons…now my makeup is messed up." She weeped to herself.
And then she fell to her knees.
But then she felt a warmth surging around her. She opened her eyes, immediately covering her eyes to prevent being blinded by the light.
Wh…what's going on?!
She heard your voice in the distance.
"OH MY GOD OH MY GOD! IT'S GOLD!" You squealed, watching the screen intensely.
There's no way…
Dehya felt as though she was flying. Her eyes widened as she finally broke through her dark thoughts.
You wanted her?
You actually wanted her.
Her splash art displayed on your screen as you shrieked with joy.
"Dehya! You're finally home!"
—
A little while later, after you fell asleep, the game transferred your body into Teyvat. This had happened on many different occasions at random. You weren't afraid anymore.
After searching for some time, you found Dehya standing by herself. She wasn't hiding her tears any longer. You quietly stood behind her, not wanting to scare her.
You should've known that a mercenary's senses were stronger than that. She sensed your power.
"I heard it all, you know." She stared down, willing herself to stay strong. "The things they said about me. Normally, I wouldn't care, but…" She balled up her fists, taking a deep breath before shakily exhaling.
"...You don't hate me?" She asked, slowly turning to face you, while still holding her head down. You softly cupped her cheek, lifting it up. Her eyes were glossy, and her cheeks were stained with tear streaks. You smiled affectionately, staring directly into her sapphire eyes. "I could never hate you, my dear." You pulled her into a tight hug. After a few heartbeats, she finally laid her head on your shoulder.
"I…never wanted anyone to see me like this." She sniffled, briefly lifting her head up and wiping away her tears, further smudging her eyeliner. "Especially not you." I look pathetic.
You shushed her softly. "Lovely, it's okay to cry. It doesn't make you weak." You hugged her harder.
Damn, she has some back muscles. No, no, not the time.
"Even after everything they said? You still wanted me?" Why didn't you listen to them? They were right.
"I've never cared all that much about the 'meta'."
You rubbed soothing circles into her back as you spoke quietly. "When I saw you for the first time. I knew I knew I had to have you."
"But what about what your friend said? They were right, Y'know. There are better options than me." You scoffed, smiling. "Don't worry about them. They're just a goofball. Dehya chuckled to herself before taking a long breath in. You pulled back from the hug, still holding her by the shoulders. For a moment, you two stared into each other's eyes. Dehya wished it would have lasted a little longer. "Chin up, Flame Mane. You and I have much to do together." You squeezed her shoulders.
She's so happy you didn't give up on her.
—
Bonus:
You were now playing from your computer. You were testing out your new main Dehya’s damage. After all of your combined hard work, she was finally level 90 and triple crowned.
"Wow…that IS some mid damage."
"HEY!" She bit back playfully.
"I'm joking, I'm joking! You did well for your first showcase. How about we grab some food to celebrate?"
"Haha. Sounds good, my stomach is hitting my backbone!" Dehya jested.
"Have you ever had sticky honey roast before? It's pretty good." You suggested.
"Hm, never heard of it. I'll bite."
Dehya looked on towards Sumeru City. Let's continue our adventure tomorrow, creator. You and I have a long road ahead of us.
—