―synopsis: so maybe you were doing things only best friends weren't supposed to ft. diluc, xiao, thoma, zhongli
―warnings: modern!au, romantic tension, mutual pining, mentions of unrequited love and jealousy(thoma), consumption of alcohol and slightly suggestive(zhongli)
—note: i had my sister give the names of four genshin men, hence the current lineup
— diluc
the tension that danced along your fingertips every time both of you even came close to brushing against each other’s hands never ceased to make your face feel warm each time it happened. there was just something about the closeness between you two that was enough to let the side of your palms stumble against the others' and the way your fingers inched ever so closely. you didn’t know if it was ever on purpose, or if he even noticed the implications that he was doing something that crossed the boundaries of anything platonic.
still, you’d never felt more anxious and invigorated in your entire life than when you danced across that line of being friends and lovers.
like now, as you shared a blanket on a movie night, it was no different. your arms were pressed against each other by the time the credits started rolling, but none of you paid enough attention to even switch to another one or do something else than sit there with your best friend. because right underneath the cottony fabric, your pinkies linked for the first time. oh god, you thought as your heart rate sped up by the minute. in the dim lighting, you could only roughly make out the red tinting diluc's ears, and you could do nothing but accept the shift in your relationship.
it only got more intense as you managed to lock eyes with him, and you swore his crimson irises made roses of the same shade bloom in your lungs. then you glanced at his lips, just a quick look. and it hit you square in the face:
yeah, best friends didn't hold hands and think about kissing one another.
— xiao
your friends always wondered why you never dated xiao, your roommate and longtime friend; and time and time again, you've explained to them that he was your best friend before redirecting the conversation to someone else's love life. that was most definitely just a coverup for the fact that you've been crushing on him for the longest time.
your feelings for him only amplified when he showed up while you were on an outing with the aforementioned friends. he'd appeared on his motorbike, leather jacket and all, as he parked upfront of the cafe you decided to go to. your friends spotted him first, nudging you the minute he took his helmet off to reveal his handsome face. you’d stumbled out the door to greet him.
“what are you doing here?” you asked, flustered at his sudden arrival. as always, his countenance was blank and perhaps mildly passive-aggressive to any bystander; however, you could tell that there was no aggression behind his eyes. your gaze drifted from his face to his hand which held a paper bag.
"the forecast said it might rain. you said you'd be here with your friends, and i came to drop this off just in case." he handed it to you gently. as you looked inside, you could spot an umbrella and one of his jackets. instantly, you felt a flutter in your gut. your heart palpitated the moment after; whether it was from the fact that he cared or he was willing to lend you his clothes, you didn't know.
nonetheless, you thanked him for his kindness. "thank you so much, xiao. you didn't have to do this, you know?" the male shook his head from side to side, dismissing you.
"no need to thank me. it'd be unfortunate if you ever got sick." as monotone as it might have sounded, you knew that xiao meant what he said. there's a lilt in his voice, one only you seem to have noticed, that betrayed all the softness he truly had in his body.
before your interaction came to an end and you both said your intentions to see each other later, you had tapped his shoulder just as he readied to put his helmet back on. you're not quite sure was possessed you at the moment, but you planted a kiss on his cheek before dashing back into the cafe where your friends would surely interrogate you and leaving xiao to watch your form withdrawing.
as he gently pressed his fingers towards the patch of skin your lips had grazed and his stomach swirled with something completely foreign to him, there was one thing on his mind.
best friends don't give each other butterflies.
— thoma
there was an icky green feeling that was instilled in you whenever people ogled at your best friend. it was no secret that the blond was attractive. with such a sweet personality and a house-husband aura, it shouldn't have been surprised when he started being chatted up on one of your grocery outings (thoma's idea after he figured you weren't going out as much as you should. you guys did it every week since then).
still, you could do nothing but hold your tongue. you were just his best friend after all, and there was no way he would be interested in you. you didn't even know his type, the more you thought about it. you shook your head, brushing off your feelings in favor of getting back to your task at hand.
you could only huff as you eyed the cereal box on the top shelf. normally, thoma would be the one to grab it for you, but he was clearly busy with other endeavors which left you to do it yourself. you looked around, wondering if there were any staff that could help you reach it. luck was definitely not on your side as you found the whole aisle empty with the exception of you. with a heavy heart, you decided to hop around until you could reach it. amidst your (failing) efforts, a kind stranger had reached up and handed you the box. you thanked them, flustered and scratching at your neck at how embarrassing it might have been to picture yourself jumping around the grocery to reach a simple cereal box.
this would not go unnoticed by thoma, not when he finally rounded the corner to see you acting shy. a strange sight and perhaps an unwelcomed one by the way he found his eyebrows furrowed and gaze hard on the floor the moment the two of you made it back to your apartment.
"who was that?" he inquired as you fixed up your pantry with thoma passing you each product. you hummed in response, curious at who he could've been referring to. "the one that you were with when you got the cereal."
just as you slid your favorite biscuits into the cabinet, you raised a brow before turning towards thoma who leaned against the island counter. you couldn't help but catch his aggravated expression. "dunno. they just helped me get the box. why?"
"you know you could've just called me over."
"you were busy talking. i didn't want to disturb you. did it bother you?"
it did. it really did if thoma was honest. there was something about the way that you didn't ask him to help when you knew he'd always put you first that just rubbed him the wrong way. even more so when you relied on a stranger that was too close for comfort, to thoma at least. he looked at the same cereal box from earlier that glared at him from just across the kitchen island; he shrugged. "you guys just looked kind of close there is all."
you tilted your head, "were you jealous?"
ok, best friends don't get jealous.
— zhongli
you didn't think the alcohol would be so strong. then again, what did you expect when it came from childe of all people? maybe it was your fault for trusting the ginger when he said that it was just mild and the fact that you didn't take into account that mild in snezhnaya meant "definitely-going-to-make-you-wasted-five shots-later" in liyue.
so there you were with your longtime friend, zhongli, absolutely drunk out of your mind in your apartment. maybe a bottle later and a drunken confession later, and you found yourself in your best friend's lap with your hands around his neck, his breath hot on your skin. you didn't exactly know what lead you two to that moment, but breaking whatever tension you had between you two when you were sober had been way overdue.
a blush had spread on his cheeks, whether it was from your compromising position or the alcohol— you couldn't really tell. his hands clenched by his sides, fingers digging into the skin of his palm as he balled them into fists. your hands, however, had long found their way to the sides of his neck until they had situated their place to caress his jaw.
"zhongli," his name came out as breathy from your mouth, "kiss me."
ever the gentleman he was (even while under the influence of a great amount of alcohol), he declined. "you're not sober."
you whined, and zhongli had never felt his body heat up so much. his adam's apple bobbed as you pressed yourself even more against him; by this time, zhongli had managed to snake his hands up to your wrist to keep you from getting any closer and effectively keeping you roughly an inch or two away from his lips. your struggling came right afterward, your body trying to wiggle against his grip.
"if i let you, you'll hate me tomorrow."
a huff passed your lips, brows still furrowed and a pout on your lips. your body momentarily halts as your eyes trailed from his mouth up to his eyes. his eyes of gold that looked at you pleadingly, almost paralleling your own desires for your companion. your front teeth nibbled on your bottom lip.
"no, i won't, and you know it too, zhongli. how long are we going to keep doing this until we finally cave?" you really did have a point, but perhaps that was just the liquid courage that finally made zhongli relent to the fact that there was indeed something between the two of you. something he'd turned a blind eye to because out of everyone in his life, you're the one person he'd never want to lose. he never wanted to risk your presence over something as foolish as his feelings for you.
so he stared back at you silently, heart threatening to give out when you eventually started to tear up from his lack of response. at that moment, panic overtook him for the first time in a long time; zhongli has never made you cry before— not even accidentally or indirectly. he's seen you cry, but he's never seen you cry because of him.
before he knew it, his body moved on his own purely out of instinct to what he thought could console you. the next thing he knew, his lips were on yours with all the grace of two drunk idiots in love, and your hands had found purchase on his shoulders once his hands migrated to your hips. just like that, something finally clicked in his brain after years of choosing to ignore it: you definitely weren't just friends.
