it's a shoujo! with genshin men
inc. xiao, albedo, wanderer, lohen, kinich.
premise. you're a good student at tevyat high, with stellar grades and a good personality to boot. even whilst trying to strive for the best academically, you seem to get yourself in these insane situations?
notes. first post on tumblr aaagh insane!!! might do a pt2 if i get that far, reader inspired by typical shoujo protagonists, crabs hate reader in xiao's section, reader is class president, reader wears glasses in lohen's section, apologies for ooc w some, implied that zhongli is xiao's dad, zhongli as history teacher, minorly proofread sorry for mistakes!!!
xiao, episode one.
"look, guys, there's crabs over here!"
you'd forgotten how unnatural hu tao could be at times. usually, being placed as class president is a novelty students celebrate, but after being forced to organise the beach trip to 'release steam', you weren't so sure. it took half of your will to live to even get everyone's signatures and the rest of it was being expended on trying to stop the public from judging hu tao's shouting.
still, being president is a role you can't forgo, so your feet meet sand quicker than you'd like to admit. "hu tao, i'm glad your happy, but aren't those, like, dangerous?"
she laughed, throwing her red bucket in the air. "mmm, maybe! apparently they're a very good judge of character," she beamed, but her new 'friends' were far too close for your comfort, especially once the brown-coated crab on her palm made itself known.
ganyu had joined the fray too, shyly scooping up one of the smaller crabs from the bucket. "woah, they're actually quite friendly."
"since when were crabs ever known for being friendly?" you probed, crossing your arms. it wasn't exactly harmful for them to be playing with sea animals... but if one of the younger years stumbled upon this and got hurt, it was definitely you who'd be placed at fault.
you bit your lip. "okay, fine. i'll hold one, but if i say they're dangerous, your putting them back."
hu tao nodded eagerly, fishing another crab out of her tub, its back a dusty blue. she softly placed it into your hands, which you raised slightly to get a proper glance at its face. (okay, maybe this was pretty cute...)
"ow!" or not. you were quick to notice the stabbing pain through your finger, and the claw which had attached itself. you quickly screamed, closing your eyes and praying it would just leave of its own accord, but the annoying guy wouldn't let go. if you had another second of the thing clawing to your hand, you'd be sure to hit hu tao, but the pain soon calmed.
"hu tao, you should've known better. no one should be playing with the crabs round here." oh. you recognised that voice, mainly because you only heard it at school meetings. finally, you opened your eyes, meeting green hair and a crab now sitting calmly in xiao's palm.
she huffed. "okay, sorry! i didn't realise it'd be that mean..."
he just sighed softly. "we should probably go clean that cut," he'd noted, before pulling you away from the group. you'd only just noticed his hand had been holding your injured one.
it was a little bit shameful to have to tell your history teacher that you'd cut your hand open because of a crab. even worse, you knew he was related to xiao in some way. though, before you knew it, you were sat under a parasol whilst xiao opened the first aid kit.
the silence was loud, even for a busy beach. you coughed. "um, i'm sorry for this. i was just worried about the younger years getting scared, y'know, and... yeah."
you looked up. xiao was smiling slighty; you'd never seen him do that. "it's fine. i know hu tao has some rather outlandish habits."
you hummed. that was true. hu tao had been in your class for a few years now, and she hadn't changed. maybe you wish she had, because the antiseptic wipe stung more than you wanted it to.
"sorry about that. but, nearly done." his fingers soon went for the bandages, wrapping a few layers around your finger. he wasn't exactly harsh, more so firm in what he was doing. once he was done, he gave your hand a light pat, like signalling he had finished his job.
you nodded at his handiwork. "impressive. at least i know who to come to when i get attacked by sea creatures again."
xiao had managed to laugh at that. then you paused. didn't hu tao say crabs can read people? "wait... you held the crab just fine, right? it only bit me!" you then looked over at hu tao's station. there were at least more than ten now, stroking the back shell of the crab without question. you groaned. "what the hell?"
albedo, episode two.
it was embarrassing to admit, but you were pretty sure you've liked albedo since the first day you met him. it was the day of the dreaded maths exam, and you were seated next to him. he'd subtly slid his answers to your side. you were usually a dedicated student, but having a guy risk expulsion to help you on a test? husband material.
so, it was no surprise when you wrote him a letter of confession. it wasn't exactly easy: what return address could you put, locker 483? so you just put his initial on top and stuffed the letter in before school begun. you weren't sure of his exact locker, but you knew it was near one of the doors, so you slid it through the grooves of the appropriate locker and moved on.
you tried getting a peak of him at break; he was stood at his locker with one of his classmates, al-haitham. they were both looking down at something, presumably your letter, but ayaka dragged you away before you could even catch his reaction!
though, you'd imagined, no biggie. you had maths with him later on in the day, so the answer would be revealed then.
"hi, albedo," you smiled, already sat in your seat. you had been expecting 'letter' to be one of the first words mentioned, but...
"hi."
what? you looked over at him, to see him busying himself with whatever task maths had asked of him. you blanked; this is definitely not the way these confessions play out in anime. "you, er... read anything good lately?"
he hummed. "not really."
it felt like a sucker punch to the gut. had he just not read it? no, you were sure he did, you literally saw a peak of the letter when you walked by him earlier. maybe he didn't understand your intentions? but you made them perfectly clear...
the lesson passed by much slower than usual. you didn't attempt more conversation, and neither did he. in fact, you don't think he could've left the classroom faster. had you offended him that badly?
you were the last to walk out of the room, except your way was blocked.
"name."
"oh, al-haitham? what's up? i don't think i owe a library book..." you drifted off, looking back up at him.
he evaded your eye contact. "no, not that; i just wanted to apologise. about your letter. i'm sorry, i don't feel the same way."
you scoffed. "is this his way of shutting me down? wow."
al-haitham finally looked at you. "he? why are you referring to me in third person?"
the bell rang to officially signify students should be leaving now. "you? what are you on about? that letter was for albedo, but—“
"no. you put it in my locker."
your face dropped. "what?! that was for albedo. i even put an a on the front!" maybe that was a slight fault in your plan. albedo, al-haitham... you can see the mix-up now. "i'm so sorry, i have to go!"
if you were quick enough, you'd be sure to catch him. your feet pounded against the tiles of the hall in fast succession. was that the reason for his coldness before? even if not, you can't risk it; albedo would definitely avoid you if it was.
there was only one place he'd be. you slammed the lab door open, being met with his eyes staring dead into yours. "name?" it was still that cold tone, but he approached once he saw your panting figure.
"did something happen?"
"the letter's for you, not al-haitham! i didn't put your name on it because i knew my friends would tease me for it. but that was my mistake and i'm sorry, truly. if you like more not, that's up to you. but i couldn't stand you not knowing the truth."
albedo placed his lab goggles on the desk finally, walking over to you. "i see. i will admit, i was slightly surprised you'd asked al-haitham out for coffee. but to answer the question in your letter: yes, i'd love to go to that cafe with you."
wanderer, episode three.
valentines at tevyat high could rival any of the big holidays. huge banners of hearts laced the hallways, heartograms were available to send to that special someone; but most importantly, the chocolates.
you'd made a rather big batch. enough for your friends, your parents, even for your neighbour's little kid. you'd stared at the last pouchful, tackily decorated with a red bow and labelled 'wanderer'.
initially, he wasn't in your list of givees. he snuck his way in there like he snuck his way into both your mind and your heart. even so, when they lingered in your palm, you didn't exactly know what to say. happy valentines day seemed optimal, but you had no true reasoning for making them. you weren't particularly close, and...
a girl in the lower year approached him as you reeled, exclaiming a sweet cheer before skipping down the hallway. you'd managed to see the heart-shaped cardboard in his hand. there was no chance you could give them to him now, he'd just received them from another woman!
so, you'd agreed that lunchtime would be best. you spent four periods hyping yourself up. it's just chocolate, he'll appreciate the gesture, it's not like you've never spoke. still, to you, these were a statement. i choose you. or maybe not, considering this is only school, but still!
your hands held the pouch once again, feet finally moving towards his lunch table. there was sethos and cyno, all appreciative of the attention, but wanderer definitely had the most. two girls were at his shoulders, not to mention the pack that consumed his free space, all with chocolate in hand.
seriously? maybe this was a pointless endeavour. you wanted to give him a sweet treat, not contribute to his teeth rotting. the pouch found its way back into your bag once again with a heavy drop. you manoeuvered your way around their table, ignoring the glare directed straight into the back of your head. probably a love-struck girl angry that your in the general vicinity of her crush.
therefore, you couldn't help but wait to go home; the only obstacle was your last lesson. you’d gotten there pretty early, considering there was nothing (or rather, no one) to spend your time on in substitute.
you’d been focusing on your book when the door opened with a harsh whack to the wall. there was barely any time to look at who it was before the scraping of a chair filled the room: and then he was sat in front of you.
wanderer. with the most pissed off expression you’ve ever seen.
“have you been avoiding me?” his fists were tight against his chair.
you hesitated. “no… why would you think that?”
he grumbled, grabbing his bag and pulling out a sleek box. it must’ve been from a bakery or something, the golden logo reflecting against the light in the room. “i’ve been trying to give you these all day but you’ve left every time.”
“oh! oh. wait. valentines chocolates? for me?”
“don’t read into it. just have.” wanderer pushed them forward.
you smiled. “well, in that case…” you reached into your bag again, lifting out the red pouch. suddenly, it didn’t feel so scary as before.
he didn’t react outwardly, but his hands took the gift quickly. “are these homemade?”
“yeah. it was pretty hard.”
you didn’t miss the slight blush that graced his face.
lohen, episode four.
out of all the days your body chose to be sick, it had to be today. you were supposed to be going out with lohen today, but you had to cancel because you woke up with a striking headache. he'd left your message on seen, so it was a clear sign he was too mad to speak. would he forgive you if you just left him alone?
your chain of thought was interrupted by a knock on the door. before you could even answer the person, however, they quickly entered your room. blue hair and red eyes were your first clue (you hated figuring out who it was just off of colours, but your headache meant your glasses were a definite no-go). "how are you feeling?" and that was your second.
"lohen?" you mumbled, hands rummaging on the side desk. water, book, but no glasses... dammit. this wasn't how you wanted to present yourself to him.
he quickly walked over to the desk, grabbing the frames with adept ease. his hands hesitated, but eventually folded them open and placed them on the bridge of your nose. "there ya go. much better."
there were many questions you wanted to ask; how he got in, why he came in the first place, whether he was still mad. but your cough got you first, and lohen wasted no time in sitting on the edge of the bed. he rubbed your back whilst the fit pursued, then sighed. "you're really sick, huh?"
"what, are you saying you thought i was lying? is that why you came?"
he hummed. "well, no. but if you were lying, i'd be pretty impressed at how hard your trying to keep this facade up," instead, he raised his right arm, revealing a plastic bag.
lohen had actually bought some useful things for someone whose sick. a thermometer, painkillers, a flannel and some soup.
"wow, my knight in shining armour, thankyou."
"well, couldn't have my favourite class president dying, could i?" he'd taken the thermometer out of the packaging, placing it under your tongue. "plus, maybe i had ulterior motives. we were supposed to go out, and i kinda thought you'd bailed intentionally, so..."
you raised your brows. "and if i had?"
"you don't wanna know."
there was something about lohen that could be ridiculously unnerving. you never knew if it was the fact his eyes reminded you of a vampire, or hid oddly violent tendencies in and out of the classroom. now was one of those moments: his smirk, albiet cute, was not helping the chills running through your body.
the thermometer finally beeped, and you pulled it out. "39.3."
"celcius? wow, pres. impressive fever you've got there."
you scraped a laugh. "yeah. this is so boring, though. we were supposed to go out, and i was so excited! that pop up literally lasts two days..."
that was right: you and lohen had planned to go to a music pop-up, by your request. they were handing out the new cd by one of your favourite groups. lohen hadn't exactly remembered the name, 5wirl or something. still, you were clearly pretty bummed about missing it.
"well, you couldn't come see the fun, so i had to bring it to you." he reached further into his bag, holding two of the new cds. they both had tiny scratches on the covers (you daren't imagine how lohen resourced these) but they were still as good as you imagined.
"lohen, your clinically insane. this is... oh my god, it's like i'm dreaming!" you squealed.
he laughed loudly. "see? having a fever isn't so bad when you have someone who can grant your dreams for you."
"i'd call you a drama queen, but i'll let you have this one, since you've been so gracious."
that seemed to appease him enough. "so, the plan is i make your soup and we can listen to their new album together. how does that sound?"
you couldn't help but grin. "deal."
kinich, episode five.
as class president, you were usually in charge of most of the activities throughout the school year. however, the most important was always the summer festival. last year, the previous class president forgot to save enough funding for it so they cancelled... and got made fun of for ages after graduation. you could not let your legacy be the same!
and, for the most part, it had been going well. as a celebration for the students in the final year, there was music and food and dancing. you'd watched your friends enter before, who practically begged for you to join them, but the pressure was too much. what if someone got hurt, and they needed your help? nuh-uh. no leisure for today.
well, that was the idea. it was growing late at this point; nothing had gone wrong, really. you sat at the benches towards the beginning of the festive area, staring at the lights. it did truly seem beautiful... but, it wouldn't be wise to go.
"hey." he'd stood in front of you before you'd processed it. he was a close friend, considering he always gave you a hand whenever you struggled with the logistics of being class president. his garments tonight were definitely more relaxed compared to his usual school uniform.
"hi, kinich! just in time for the main event! so, the trail goes forward to food and mini games, and,"
"yes, i know."
you paused. "oh, right. what is it then? looking for someone?"
kinich looked around before his hand outstretched. "kind of. i think you should come look around with me."
"ah, i don't think it's for the best. i need to stay posted in case anyone needs me. i can enjoy from outside."
he tilted his head. "but you can properly appreciate the work you've put in when your actually in it. come in, if anything actually goes wrong, that's the teachers responsibility." he pondered for a moment. "take this as you repaying me for the favours from this year."
you couldn't deny that he had a valid point. anything seriously wrong could be tended to by the teachers, or any responsible adult for that matter. kinich had extended you much help this school year, to which you hadn't payed him back. plus, you also hadn't ate yet, and the food smelt so good... "fine. i accept. but if anyone asks, you dragged me away from my post."
and, archons, were you glad that he'd asked you. it was incredible. the lights glowed up in a warm yellow, illuminating the whole atmosphere, and you couldn't help but bask in the festivities. it felt like he prepared for this beforehand; he bought skewers before your stomach could rumble, joined in on crafts before you gave him puppy eyes, and even found the perfect spot to watch fireworks whilst you quickly caught up with friends. they had been gushing about how he'd asked you before any of his other friends, but that wasn't even confirmed, right?
you found your way back to him, where he greeted you with a small nod. "i, er, have to thank you for tonight. i mean, i wouldn't have even seen all these things if you hadn't have asked me to come with you. and for buying those skewers; i swear i'll pay you back!" that was most important. you remember mualani mentioning how kinich is with his money.
he shook his head, turning to look up at the sky in wait for the fireworks. "you don't need to pay me back. not with money, anyway."
you were about to probe him on what that meant, but the booming of fireworks soon caught your attention. they rippled in the sky in a gorgeous sparkle, and to be frank, you were too enamoured to notice kinich staring at you.
earlier, you had told him that fireworks must contain wishes of the people watching, which is why they burn so brightly. so, maybe the words diluting on his tongue could be conveyed through the display instead: that he didn't need any money, because you'd already paid him by just accompanying him tonight.