this is what it feels like
warning: sfw, fluff, comfort | seeing them after a long time apart
includes: Albedo, Childe, Diluc, Thoma, Zhongli, Xiao
character x gn reader | anthology | short read
You could feel your heart, how it thrummed in your chest and fluttered slightly when you picked up the pace. The closer you got to your destination, the more painful the waiting became. You wanted to be there, wanted to see him with eyes you swore were growing cloudy and getting more challenging to keep clear.
You were ready, so you practically ran.
Albedo
Sounds of whirring machines spilled into the hallway. They mingled with the swift, drumming pace of your footsteps. A voice, his voice, slipped through the cracks in the door and you pushed forward, ignoring the kind strangers who greeted you.
There was only one thing - one person - on your mind.
Albedo.
"It may be that a miscalculation occurred; I would recommend we review more closely the --" Alebeo paused mid-sentence and lifted his head from the bent-back notebook he was previously reviewing. The student who was sitting in the chair next to him saw you as soon as you stepped through the door. They glanced at Albedo and tried to hide their smile.
Albedo twisted and your eyes met.
"Hi," you said with a small wave. Panting, focused on the man you'd dreamed about seeing for days. Now that you were here, however, it was hard to move again. Was it appropriate for you to be here, had you interrupted something important?
You let your one-track mind get the better of you again.
Albedo let the notebook slide into the ready hands of his student. His gaze locked, taking all of you in.
You laughed, relieved, "I'm home," you professed with a smile and opened your arms as Albedo left his work behind to greet you with a wanting embrace.
--
Childe
You better return to me - I promise
The promise you made over a week ago swirled in your mind. You'd let the scene play out so much that it was starting to twist and distort into fallacies and imaginations untrue to the source. However, nothing dared warp the feeling of his lips when he pressed them to your cheek and whispered, 'Don't make me wait long.' Those recollections lived on in destitute moments just before bed and the bittersweet seconds of rising from it.
But, now. Now the boat was pulling into port and you could hardly contain your excitement.
Would he be there? Would he be the first thing you see when you docked?
You were desperate, hopeful, but most of all, you were tired of feeling lonely.
The dock appeared slowly. You scanned the sturdy boards for him and rushed to the other side of the bow to get another view. No matter how hard you looked, you couldn't find him. You jerked forward as the boat docked and wasted no time making it to the pier below.
With your bag slung over your shoulder, you ran into the thick of the crowd. Eyes scanning, head on a swivel as you searched for him. People glanced your way but kept on. One woman looked at you with knowing eyes - eyes that lamented, 'You're looking for your lover too, aren't you?'
You turned to look down the stone harbor but couldn't see him. Disheartened, you let your bag fall to your side.
Then, like the whistling wind of the sea, you heard your name. Snapping your head to the left, you saw a man standing at the top of the stone hill, chest heaving, shoulders rising and falling, and eyes zeroed in on you.
"Ajax!" You called back, dropping your bag where it was and rushing up the hill to meet him. He did the same, and as you ran toward each other, you crashed into him like a wave. Childe hoisted you in the air. The momentum carried the two of you toward the water, but he never let you go. "I've returned. As promised," you told him, tears bubbling up in your eyes so you hid your face against his shoulder.
"So you did," he replied, kissing the top of your head and tightening his hold on you as if his hands were making their own vows to never let you go again.
--
Diluc
It had been weeks since the two of you had seen each other. Weeks since you had woken up next to him or found him lost in thought in his study. Countless hours had gone by since you heard his voice or felt the warmth of his touch. You were desperate for it but also nervous to accept it again.
Distance was meant to make the heart grow stronger, right?
As you paced back and forth across the floor, you were starting to regret your decision to hide in the upper room of Angel's Share. Charle's assured you he'd send Diluc your way, but what if they got busy, what if Diluc realized he needed to walk back to the Winery? You should have gone to the estate instead of concocting some elaborate surprise - especially when you were terrible at them.
Shaking your head, you made for the door. Unable to keep the antsy tingling of your nerves from taking over, but the moment you grabbed the doorknob, heavy footfalls made you freeze and you were just fast enough to stumble back when the door swung open with immense force.
Your alarm was replaced by overflowing elation at the sight that greeted you. Diluc's hand gripped the doorknob, his eyes held pools of desperation as they looked at you, as they searched your face, pleading to reassure him that you were, in fact, not a dream.
"I'm home-" you started but he cut you off by pulling you into a suffocating hug. His body leaned into yours, his palm cupped the back of your head and his other gripped the back of your clothes. You returned the hug with just as much fervor.
Pulling back, you pressed your hands against his cheeks and found his lips like one finds a flicker of light in utter darkness. You heard the sound of the door slam shut but didn't care to pull away enough to look. Diluc's fingers tugged at your hair while he kissed you with famished lips.
"I hate when you leave," he professed when he let you finally catch your breath, his eyes heavy, lost in you.
"I'm not fond of it either," you admitted and let your fingers rest against his chin. "Did Charles tell you I was back?"
Diluc shook his head, his lips brushing over yours and placing several more heated kisses against them, "I heard you."
Furrowing your brows, you pulled away even though he tried to chase you, "Up here? That could have been anyone," you chuckled.
"No one else's footsteps sound like my dreams," he explained and you answered him with a trembling lip and a warm, forever, embrace.
--
Thoma
It had been nearly two weeks since you'd been near Thoma. Since you'd received the comfort he was so keen on giving. Since he reminded you of the qualities you forgot when he wasn't around. Since you could caress his face and have him touch yours.
Each night was more challenging. Sending letters was too slow. Hearing updates from others felt impersonal. You wanted to see him, wanted to hold him, wanted to hear him. So, you picked up the pace and apologized to the attendants you waved off so you wouldn't get distracted.
Your chest tightened the moment you saw him. Even when you tugged at your clothes to create space, it wasn't enough to alleviate the pressure building inside your ribcage. Your heart ached. Involuntary tears ran down your cheeks. Taking a step toward him, the wooden boards beneath you creaked and, though it was small, quiet, impossible to detect even for you, Thoma stopped what he was doing and turned toward the noise.
Confusion shifted to disbelief until realization set in and the pounding sound of his footsteps made their way toward you.
Thoma wrung his hands on the towel tucked into his pants so that when he made it to you and slid his arms under you to lift you into the air before letting you fall toward him, against him, in his arms that felt so much like home, he made sure his hands were clean and void of any stain that could tarnish you.
"I missed you," he proclaimed, one hand flush against the back of your head while the other kept you as close as it could.
"I missed you more," you admitted and held onto him with no intent of letting go.
--
Zhongli
You pressed a finger to your lips to hush the receptionist whose eyes lit up at the sight of you. "He's in his office," they whispered with a smile. You nodded and crept further into the parlor. The halls were coated in familiar scents. Scents you associated with the resigned archon who walked them every day.
When you got to the door, you lifted your hand to knock, hesitated, then let your knuckle rap against the door one, two, three times.
"Enter," the voice on the other side said, so you did. "I have yet to sign off on the procession request. The contract is of issue, which I will review with careful consideration ..." Zhongli explained, and you stifled a laugh.
He was turned away from you. His elegant chair turned to face the window. A steaming cup of tea had been left abandoned on his desk - a clear sign he was lost in thought.
When you were close enough, you slid your hands around his face to cover his eyes. Without missing a beat, Zhongli said your name, ruining the surprise.
"How did you know it was me?" you asked as he twisted in his chair to take your hands in his and hold them tenderly against his lips.
"I would recognize the sound of your footsteps even if time had taken all my senses," he professed as if it were a simple fact, as he kissed the tips of your fingers in adoration. When he looked at your face you were trying your best to keep your eyes upward to stop the tears that fell because of him.
Because of the love of him.
"I missed you dearly," he added, his thumb caressing your cheek to wipe away the warm tears.
"I missed you. So much," you mirrored and wrapped your arms around his shoulders even as he rose to his full height to draw you nearer to him.
--
Xiao
The marshland smelled just the way you remembered, the clinging warmth of it lingered on your skin. After being on the dry, salt-biting sea for so long you could feel yourself reacclimating to the climate.
It had been weeks since you last saw him.
You almost couldn't stand it.
The tower that was Wangshu Inn lingered in the distance but no matter how close you got to it, the further away it seemed. You were frustrated, anxious, ready to climb to the top and wrap your arms around the man who invaded your thoughts more often than you thought possible.
You imagined him, remembered the comfort of him, could recall the lingering presence of him - like something familiar was hovering in the edges of your view, but you could never quite place it. He was always there - or, at least, the intensity of your love for him felt that way.
"Almost there," you promised as you climbed one of the red bridges above the streams surrounding the marsh.
"Took you long enough," a voice answered, making you spin on your toes to see its owner.
Xiao stood at the bottom of the bridge, arms crossed, eyes falling to the ground while you stared at him in disbelief.
Was it really him, or was it another figment of your desperate imagination?
When his eyes met yours, you knew. You knew it was real, and so you ran to him. Xiao caught you like wind rushing through his hair, and you slid your fingers across his back to remind your hands what he felt like.
"Aren't you going to say it?" he asked, gruff and close as he pressed his forehead against your neck.
"Say wh--? Oh, sorry," you laughed, overwhelmed with love and joy, "I'm home."
"Welcome home."
--