The Fandom: Omg Kenma Is Sooo Baby We Have To Protect Him

this is how chapter 159 went right

Genshin men bus and fieldtrip hcs

Pairings: Childe, Itto, Scaramouche, Kaeya, Ayato, Thoma, Albedo, Xiao, Diluc, Zhongli x reader

Synopsis: Going on a fieldtrip with the genshin men and classroom dynamics

Tags: fluff

a/n: tried to do a different hcs format (paragraph forms) but I ended up rewriting this because it didn't feel right. exam week so updates will be quite slowww.

Childe

noisy clown #1

obviously seated at the back of the bus with his friends so you try to avoid them as much as possible

pretty close with him actually ever since you two became seatmates. already labeled as best seatmate in your mind from the numerous laughter sessions you've experienced beside him

from the 'bond' you two formed, he submits to you almost immediately making you feel like a girlboss

just throw him a look, he shuts up. scold him, he shuts up. feels like a dog on a leash and you're secretly loving it

tries his best to crack jokes on the bus loudly (much to the dismay of the officers) so you could laugh at him

and when you do, his day is completed and he feels like he won the lottery

glances at you facing the window because the backseats of the bus is elevated and smiles unconsciously until he gets hit by Itto

buys random snacks, souvenirs and whatever cute thing he can find to give to you

when a bad weather happens during the fieldtrip, he covers you with an umbrella and goes back to the bus together

pls he feels like it's a movie when you two shared an umbrella under the rain (forgot he left his friends stranded because their screams were muted to him)

"thank you, wait here I'll get some of our classmates umbrellas." you say as you enter the bus and he waits at the door. you can't help but smile and shake your head, feeling giddy at the rain scenario.

Itto

noisy clown #2, class clown and the ultimate chatterbox

you don't know if you want to rip your ears out or stapler his mouth

talks really loud, he doesn't know how to whisper! laughs like there's no tomorrow and everyone has to hear how happy he is

teases you from time to time because you're smaller than him and he's the tallest in the class

gets the butterflies when you poke his stomach in revenge. the first time you did it your finger bent from the rock hard abs and you were flustered.

yes he's the kind of guy who has open polo/open blazer inside the classroom

had the audacity to take off his shirt during field trip break time and you couldn't take your eyes off him because he just looks too good. you're with the females that time and it kind of irks you when they're giggling and talking about Itto

approaches you casually during walks and chats with you, he's surprisingly bearable to be with! that was until he points out random things in the museum that looks like a dick and you wanna cry because his sentence echoed in the quiet place making everyone look behind at the two of you

you're confused af when you settle down on the bus, because he's seating right next to you and you ask your friend with a questioning glance and she just nods

Itto proceeds to tease and ship classmates in the bus and you can't help but smile and laugh

deadass ships himself with you but the class laughter dies down because they would not believe you would go out with him

if it was you, you would be embarrassed and hurt from the jabs of your classmates about how you're out of someone's league. Itto being Itto just laughs it off but you know he's still human so you speak up for him.

"I kinda like Itto, maybe I'll give him a chance." you retort at an insult and the whole bus roars and howls in "OHHHHHHHH"

Scaramouche

part of the noisy squad but always gets teased by his friends because he's the only short one in the friend group

you sometimes stare at him and picture a chihuahua because he looks like that when he fights back on exclaims about his height

Scaramouche was about to go inside the bus but he bumped into Childe who suddenly turned around, blocking the doorway

"Dude, what the fuck is your problem?" Scaramouche tries to push Childe but the ginger doesn't budge.

"Scara bro, you should be left the elementary students are staying." "You fucker!" Childe immediately dashes inside the bus and Scaramouche chases after him while the officers settled at the front yells.

that one time where you two were the only ones doing a group activity in a seven member group, streams of insults and curses came out of his mouth for making you two suffer, especially you.

hates seeing you having a hard time and always helps you quietly

so when he sees you fanning yourself from the heat and the strenuous activity, he immediately buys chilled water bottles for you and him (so you can drink water together)

your heart can't help but skip a beat and mutter a shy thanks to him in which he replies with a shy "you're welcome" making you smile

you two talk while taking a rest until his friends ruin the moment and you feel Scaramouche burning up

you don't how his friends suddenly backed out and said they were gonna buy water bottles themselves.

"goodluck with your date" Childe doesn't miss the chance to tease him and you look over to Scaramouche to see his ears heated red.

Kaeya

the school playboy who has a new girlfriend each week but as months go by, his antics toned down for some reason

has already slid in your dms a few times but you don't entertain a guy with a reputation like him

never really got to know him except that he's friends with the noisy group, his brother is the vice president and he's a pretty chill dude

"coincidentally" gets on the same team with you in the group games and carries the team from being athletic

you're so embarrassed falling behind and struggling to go up the spider net until his hands rests on your ass and pushes you up

you could only croak and crawl on the next with shaking legs to the next set of obstacles

actively participating in the games that got everyone a question mark above their heads because he's known for skipping training

flexes his arms, ass, muscles during games and your cheeks heat up because why does it feel on purpose?

your gaze hovers to his friends and brother who has weirded out and disgusted looks on their faces as they watch him. then your gaze lands on female classmates who are glued to the motion of Kaeya's body

"nice one (y/n)!" Kaeya jogs over to you, skin shining in sweat, hair sticking to his forehead. how could someone look so good sweating? he has a hand raised asking for a high five from you.

you jump a little to catch his hand and Kaeya smiles sweetly at you. maybe you could give this guy a chance...he's pretty decent.

Ayato

poor Ayato (he's rich) who's part of the officers but his heart belongs with his friends and is always separated from them because of his duties

leaks some supposed to be classified information to his friends like schedules, events, plans, etc.

unfortunately for him, he's seated at the front with his fellow officers and often looks back to his friends having fun at the back and them waving mockingly at him

he's like a child who has been told to go sleep in the afternoon instead of playing with his friends

Ayato looks back for the hundredth time with a pout wanting to join his friends who are now sharing chips at the back

destiny or whatever you can call it; you two catch each other's gaze when he pouts and his lips instantly straighten and his face turns from puppy to daddy with his gaze that makes you so uncomfortable you turn away

you're laughing so hard inside because you just caught him looking like that but you hide your mouth from anyone in case he's still looking at your expression

yes he's still looking at you until Diluc snatches him back to seat properly

dude fell in love with you but doesn't interact during fieldtrip because he's so bothered at the fact you saw him acting like a child. he's so stressed.

after gaining some balls to talk to you, he approaches you asking you to be his partner in math class while shamelessly promoting his math skills. "let's be partners, I'm very good at math!"

you actually become close with him on the duration of this partnership by frequenting his house and that his family knows about you now

Ayato texts you goodnight while laying down and you send a goodnight back to him. He clutches his phone, looking at the chat full of hearts despite being just friends.

Thoma

the classroom crush, no the campus crush who has female juniors asking for him during class breaks to give a gift

also friends with Childe, Itto, Scaramouche, Kaeya, Ayato but you always find it unbelievable because he's so different and responsible!

if his friends are walking the hallways being rowdy, he's at the back walking very chill and apologizing to passerby

the mom of the friend group and the whole class. a very reliable guy which earned him the respect of your classmates.

he's leading the barbecue preparations for lunch with some female classmates who's also skilled in cooking. when the meat were done, you shyly asked your friend to get some for both of you

Thoma unexpectedly gives you special treatment by giving a large portion of meat, side dishes and some grilled veggie skewers

"thank you Thoma!" "you're welcome, come to me if you want some more." He smiles at you and you giggle as he winks secretly at you. let's pretend you weren't going feral inside at that moment.

a male classmate who once asked Thoma for on how to get 'bitches' sees this and exclaims. "I thought bros before hoes!"

everybody freezes at the sudden tension and murderous aura coming from Thoma's back as he faces the guy who insulted you.

the usual sweet guy has now changed in a matter of seconds, his friends also stop eating to look at the scene

"she's not a hoe. maybe you don't get bitches because you treat women like that." He spats out with malice and you blush, butterflies forming in your stomach after him defending you

he's angrily tossing meat into the grill but quickly calms down as he sees you enjoying his food with your friends

Albedo

the class representative in each and every art competition

really aloof so you don't bother to talk to despite him being attractive, just a few secret glances here and there

you always see him have a sketchbook in hand, even during this fieldtrip he brought it. he must really enjoy drawing for him to have an attachment

surprisingly, Albedo left the sketchbook on the table while going to the restroom. curiosity filled you and now you're flipping the pages slowly; taking in the marvelous art made by your classmate, only for it to get snatched out of your hand by a breathless, flushed Albedo.

"Y-you cannot see that." he says tone a little cold and you mutter an apology as you continue to eat in silence. how dumb could you be? of course he's gonna get uncomfortable from his privacy being disturbed

a few pages more and you'll see yourself on the sketchbook *sighs*

your mind is extremely bothered from a classmate harboring ill feelings towards you until albedo notices your expressions and assures you it's okay

you're so wrong, because albedo has the fattest crush on you!

he only thought he was attached to you because you looked beautiful in his eyes and that he liked you to be his subject. but as time goes by, his pages are now filled with sketches of you and often getting frustrated when a mistake stains your beauty

afraid of you finding out about it because he feels like he's a creep

well, the universe had other plans because you caught him sketching you in class and he almost jumped out of his skin

"is that me?" you point at the woman looking to the side with some trees as background. "yeah" albedo wants to take his little sister, go out of the country, change names and never look back because his world was crumbling down as soon as you found out

"I like it." silence fills in between as albedo falls down the chair and you scramble to help him

Kazuha

kazuha the quiet kid who's insanely good at literature and is a genius

often seen all by himself or with his friend Xiao but mostly alone

gives you papers before you even ask for one and it always ended up with your heart jumping and beating

the next stop was a newly built planetarium and it was evident everybody was excited for this place

surprise surprise you're seated with Kazuha and just the way he turns his head to face you makes your legs feel wobbly

the show starts and the chairs recline for people to lie down while watching the playing video on the ceiling

"this feels so romantic" you freeze as you heard your seatmate speak and it was none other than Kazuha. you're screaming inside while you bit your lip to hold it all back in because he's right about this being romantic

"yeah, it's like stargazing." "do you like stargazing?"

you let out a little "mhm" as you continue to watch the video and let your mind wander off, stomaching all the information relayed through the speakers

you always thought Kazuha was this shy, timid kid but that assumption was thrown out the window the moment he dared to hold your hand

you're trying so hard not to squirm in your sit from the jitters you got! you try to calm you and your heart down but as you're finally getting better, your head feels lightheaded as shivers travel throughout your body as his fingers play with yours

what is he doing to you???

Kazuha was just testing if you liked him! he looks over to you and his smile signifies his test was successful

you're leaving the planetarium awfully close with each other much to the confusion of others

Xiao

lol this is the shy, timid kid

super cold and aloof, avoids Childe's group at any cost

you had a few interactions with him in class but all of those were just short and silent works

sits in class with earphones in both ears, taking them off when a teacher comes in

you're heading to the café with your classmates scattered on the food hall as everyone decided to have a snack break

you were surprised to see Xiao dressed in a leather jacket, headphones resting on his neck; buying at this pastel cutesy place that had a stark contrast on his outfit

the urge to get close with him took over you as you quickly fell in line before somebody could take the place

"hi Xiao" he paused taking money out of the wallet and slowly looks at your beaming face. you look to the cashier's hand and saw two packs of almond tofu. Xiao realizes you're looking at his order and pays, walking fast away from you

you frown and order with a pout, trying not to dwell on it too much. the food's gonna make you feel better anyway

you're exiting the shop and then froze as you caught Xiao waiting. he's leaning his head back against the post and straightens his posture right away when he sees you

nevertheless, you smile and approach him while Xiao feels cornered

"how about we eat we together?" you ask him and Xiao stiffly follows you as you two sit down beside each other. chatting, making small talk feels so surreal to him especially that the girl he had his eyes on was doing this with him

Diluc

the strict vice president of the class but turns soft when you appease him??

another campus crush who often gets called to other classes because someone wants to see him

returns with a sour look on his face and mumbles "what a waste of time"

no.1 Kaeya and friends hater

he looks so stressed even more so than the president who always has a calm look on his face

when students enter the bus, he's doing a headcount and checks if everybody is settled down

turns out you're missing and panics swells deep inside him. "Zhongli! (y/n)'s missing!" he reports to Zhongli who almost spits out the hot tea in his mouth

"who's missing?" you beam at him as you pant before you climb the bus. to your surprise, Diluc stops you from going back to your seat and asks "where have you been?"

"I was at the restroom" he sighs and tries to calm himself down until he sees the plastic you've been hiding behind you. uh oh looks like you're caught.

"grape juice!" you hand him the cool refreshment before he could complain and you scurry back to your seat

he looks at the drink with a note sticked into it "don't be too stressed vice prez :(( <3"

his gaze travels to where you are but you're staring at the window, refusing to look at him so he sits down and takes out his phone

"thanks" he types and a smile forms on his lips, Ayato who's curious leans over to peek just in time Diluc sneers and elbows him

Zhongli

the president of the class who's very laidback and chill

feels so ahead of everyone and so mature, naturally the father of the class

some girls were giggling calling him "daddy" and you can't help but let a chuckle out of your lips

you can't forget that one encounter when you thought you bumped into a teacher who was Zhongli

he was wearing an eyeglass and an outfit so formal you could mistake him as a young teacher. "I'm sorry sir!" you bow down and repeatedly apologize but then stop as you heard the laugh that made your breath hitch

"it's okay, I'm a student like you." Zhongli says with a bright smile, hands on his pockets, and the afternoon sun shining over him

"oh" that was the only thing you could mutter before embarrassment fills your whole being

he's the one who announces the itinerary, makes sure everything goes according to plan and checks if everyone's feeling okay and no one's sick

very worried about everyone's wellbeing *cough* especially yours

he's the one Kaeya asked to put you two in the same team and Zhongli finally understood Diluc's distaste for this bastard

agrees to Kaeya and joins in your team but the previous teams had an injured person so he had to take care of said person begrudgingly

never got to interact with you the whole day so he's upset. not until you thank him for today

"thank you for today, we really enjoyed the trip." Zhongli nods and acknowledges your thanks, then a clever idea popped into his mind. he clears his throat and prevents you from walking away.

"hey do you mind if you go to dinner with me? we didn't really get to be with each other this day, and I want to spend time with you."

ah goddamn this hurts

Somewhere you can’t follow (3) - Genshin Angst [Modern AU]

Summary: You’ve always been there for him but he’s always still loved his ex. You finally had enough and did what you thought was best for you. You left.

Characters: Xiao, fem!reader

Warnings: crazy ex gf vibes, no comfort, pure angst, he basically goes back to his ex, cheating-ish (he thinks of you while he’s with his ex), I went overboard with this one…idk how. 

Other works in this series: (Diluc, Itto, Thoma) (Kaeya, Scaramouche)

Personal favourite line in this work: It was as if you wanted to keep it as evidence that he cared. Something to secretly squeal about at night when you replay the memory. Now just something to remind you that you were a complete daydreaming fool.

Word count: 2955

Xiao

He used to date someone who only dated him for the clout. You didn’t know if he realized it, but Xiao was a smart guy, he must have had some sort of idea…and yet, they continued that way for months, until the girl broke it off and Xiao was thrown aside. 

Keep reading

Baji: End my suffering.

Chifuyu: No.

Baji: Is this the reason I exist? Was I born just to do this? There must be more important things.

Baji: People spend their whole lives trying to find the meaning of life and fail. So why shouldn't I just enjoy the journey?

Baji: Doing only one thing for my whole life. That's not the way someone should live.

Baji: The thrill you get in a fight, when you punch someone. The adrenaline.

Baji: The little moments you spend with friends.

Baji: Riding my motorcycle at midnight.

Baji: Sharing peyoung yakisoba with you.

Baji: That's how I want to spend my life. Not like this.

Baji: Chifuyu, let's run away!

Mitsuya: What's going on?

Chifuyu: He's being a dramatic bitch. I'm helping him with math homework.

— Love Rivalry (Kaveh x reader)

PAIRING kaveh x gn!reader (ft. alhaitham)

GENRE social media au, college au

SYPNOSIS You’ve been rejected by your academic rival, alhaitham, without even confessing or having feelings for him. You decided to go to a party to fix your damaged ego, so why are you suddenly making out with his roommate?

TAGS attempt in comedy, fluff, slight angst, misunderstandings, fast burn ish, implied sexual content (no smut)

WARNINGS might be ooc, written before kaveh’s official release, cw images of cats

STATUS ongoing! (11/16/22)

main m.list

profiles: (reader’s) peak mental illness | (kaveh’s) most wanted

00. prologue (🌻)

ACT I — delusional

01. confession

02. brutal

03: rumors

04. beer

05. rejection

06. one word

07. stream

08. cheating lover

09. real talk

10. plan

ACT II — scandal

11. lost (🌻)

12. scandal (🌻)

— to be added

note: im back with smau cause writing sucks

taglist close!

@dee-zbignuts @lxry-chxn @ducq @nikkicola @artssleepy @arraxthatsonjah @scarasaver @i-x4o @matenlau @soohasoya @yae-raidenmyloves @aixaingela @09yyeol @nebulaera @bokutetsumu @kairxse @victoria1676 @thenightsflower @ti-lsy @alizaneth @abvolat @carnnieval @ultimate-imagines @ventisoba @skimm0nzz @slvdsjjk @httpmitsuya @unit-008 @ruisann

-- this is my first time doing a taglist so pls send an ask or comment if it isn't working thank you

— Love Rivalry (kaveh x reader)

PAIRING kaveh x gn!reader (ft. alhaitham)

GENRE social media au, college au

SYNOPSIS You’ve been rejected by your academic rival, alhaitham, without even confessing or having feelings for him. You decided to go to a party to fix your damaged ego, so why are you suddenly making out with his roommate?

TAGS attempt in comedy, fluff, angst, drama, jealousy, misunderstandings, fast burn ish, implied sexual content (no smut)

WARNINGS might be ooc, written before kaveh’s official release, unrealistic depiction of college, cw images of cats, alcohol, kys/kms jokes

STATUS ongoing! (11/16/22)

main m.list

profiles: (reader’s) peak mental illness | (kaveh’s) most wanted

00. prologue (🌻)

ACT I — delusional

01. confession

02. brutal

03: rumors

04. beer

05. rejection

06. one word

07. stream

08. cheating lover

09. real talk

10. plan

ACT II — scandal

11. lost (🌻)

12. scandal (🌻)

13. operation kidnap and runaway

14. stage 1 (🌻)

15. uh oh

16. gamble (🌻)

17. you won

18. balcony (🌻)

19. number

20. RIB

— bonus. redacted

ACT III — presentation

21. D-day

22. malewife

23. nike

24. run away with me? (🌻)

25. kdrama

26. speed run

27. stood me up (🌻)

28. mistake (🌻)

29. "damsel in distress"

30. thank you

— bonus. roommate (🌻)

ACT IV — disaster

31. he's back

32. new member

33.  bromance (lets make out platonically)

34. make it up to him

35. snitch ass childe

36. i gotchu

37. green looks better on you (🌻)

38. is it alright if i continue this?

39. scara vs ayato

40. tba

— bonus. tba

ACT V — can i call you mine?

— to be added

note: im back with smau cause writing sucks

taglist closed!

@dee-zbignuts @lxry-chxn @ducq @nikkicola @artssleepy @arraxthatsonjah @kunihaver @i-x4o @soohasoya @yae-raidenmyloves @aixaingela @09yyeol @nebulaera @bokutetsumu @kairxse @victoria1676 @thenightsflower @ti-lsy @alizaneth @abvolat @carnnieval @ultimate-imagines @ventisoba @skimm0nzz @slvdsjjk @succutie @empathum @saoiirsee @disa-ster @httpmitsuya @kunikuzushiit @semi-orangeapple @goodthingimsam @strawberry1894 @meep13r @leeyanyanyaaan @heart-cream @crueldinasty @justonemoreroz @boordbokee @moraxsimp69 @kkiryu @r4yyyyy @tartagli-yuh @raideneiari @kaekazuha04 @dazaiscum @mayasshitposts @kunikuzi @ruisann (taglist full)

-- this is my first time doing a taglist so pls send an ask or comment if it isn't working thank you

“ GENSHIN IMPACT !! ” 🏷️— SNEZHNAYA DOES NOT BELIEVE IN TEARS (CHILDE X READER).

＃CHARACTERS! — CHILDE.

＃CONTENT WARNING(S)! — ANGST.

＃MASTERLIST! — HERE.

＃ALT ACCOUNTS! — @yyolkchi (spam/sketch posting account!) & @ddollipop (mature fic account!)

＃A/N! — INSPIRED BY THE OFFICIAL RELEASE OF THE HARBINGER DESIGNS, SOMEONE CONVINCE ME NOT TO SIMP FOR PANTALONE, HELP ME.

Snezhnaya isn't always so bitter and cold.

Sure, the winter is unrelenting, the snow piles high, up and above the heads of small children who know of nothing else outside the nation's borders, —but there's warmth to be found in this icy place. Warmth comes and goes like the frosty winds that sweep across the land. It's fleeting, and painfully unreliable, but perhaps the worst part of it all is that you reach for it every single time it comes back around, no matter how long it's been without a single flickering flame off in the distance to let you know it hasn't been extinguished.

Childe comes and goes as he pleases. He's a Fatui Harbinger first, and your lover second. You know that to be the case, even when he denies it, even when he insists to you that he does what he does in order to build a better life, —for himself first, then his family and you, because you've "always been included in that from the day I fell in love with you." Family. It's nice to think about, but it's hard to imagine that Childe sees you so fondly when he hardly ever sees you at all these days. His visits have gotten shorter, only lasting a week at most, and they're now few and far between. His travels have gotten longer, and he comes back with more injuries than he ever has before.

But you can't seem to let him go, no matter what he does, no matter what he says, no matter how many times he disappears into the distance and leaves you hanging by a thread for days, weeks, months. . . You wait. You turn down the men that only swing by the confectionery shop you work at to flirt with you while they mindlessly order small boxes of chocolates or fudge. You go home to an empty bed, saving his side just in case he crawls in through the window again in the dead of night. You hold that shirt of his that he left at your apartment not-so-accidentally half a year ago to the lower half of your face, breathing in whatever's left of his scent after all this time. It's fading, just like he is. . . But you won't wash it, nor will you wash yourself clean of him. The ties between him and you have turned into iron chains. Sometimes, they curl around your neck and pull taut until you're sputtering, falling to your knees on the floor next to his side of the bed.

You weep. You worry. You drive yourself mad wondering if he's okay, if he's injured, if he's doing alright. And then he waltzes his way back in like he never left, —and you should be angry. You should probably hate him by now after all the sleepless nights and harrowing days he's put you through, but the moment he returns with that arrogant laugh and that cocky smile, you've already lost the fight. He opens his arms and you've slotted yourself between them before you have half the mind to stop yourself, letting him hold you even though he doesn't deserve to. The thick fur of his coat tickles your neck, then weighs heavily on your spine when he sheds it like an unneeded extra layer of skin and places it around your shoulders.

Now's the time when you should shove it off, look him dead in those ocean blue eyes and tell him that you're tired of this, —that it's all too much, and you deserve better. But when he's here, he's the best man you could ever ask for. He's doting, even when his body aches and it's hard for him to move around properly. He understands when you crack under the pressure, letting you cry on his shoulder as he rubs little circles into your skin by the fire. It crackles, and your heart sings for him. Childe is all you've ever wanted. For so many years, you've watched him grow and change, becoming the person he is today who is many things: some good, some bad. But the bitter truth remains that you are an affair, second to his job that he works for tirelessly. As long as he's a Harbinger, the only place you'll ever have is as a homewrecker.

Here you are though. . . Again.

"Easy," he requests, voice strained from the pulse of his aching ribs, "—I missed you too."

"It's been two months since I last saw you, Childe," you comment, sounding much more bitter than you'd intended. "No letters, no nothing, and I. . . I was scared something had happened. Something bad."

Guilt floods through his veins. He hadn't even realized it had been quite that long. His tireless work which often requires an intense amount of traveling is known to easily allow him to lose track of time. Still, he knows he should have sent someone to give you a message somewhere in between his camp setups. He should have done more to ensure that you weren't losing sleep over him.

"I'm sorry," he relents, voice thick with melancholy. "Time gets away from me on jobs. That's not an excuse, though. I need to be more mindful of your feelings, and I'll work on that."

You hate this. When he has time to spare for you, the last thing you want to do is spend it talking about all the ways he's made you worry or feel small unwittingly. In a way, you feel equally responsible for your own feelings. He never misrepresented himself to you after all. . . You knew what you were getting yourself into, and you jumped headfirst into the fire. Because Childe, above all things, is warm. 

"We can talk about it later," you mumble against the skin of his neck.

Later will likely never come, but you're keen on overlooking that. For now, at least. Until he leaves once more in a few days time, and you're forced to reconcile with loneliness again. And so the cycle will begin; he leaves, and you tell yourself this is the last time. When he comes back, you'll pull yourself free of his grasp: the one that's ice cold sometimes, but still manages to nip at your moth-eaten, frostbitten heart. But then the next time comes around, and you find yourself in his embrace again.

"People are starting to stare."

They're common folk from the looks of it, just regular citizens of Snezhnaya, same as you. Even so, it's impossible to know when someone may be working as an informant. Childe's head on a platter is worth at least a couple hundred million Mora. . .

"You're pretty," Childe notes, a playful smile pulling at the corners of his lips, "they can't help themselves."

That's far removed from the reality of the situation, but his comment still makes you giggle. The truth is that Childe is somewhat of a Snezhnayan celebrity; much as all the Harbingers are. They rule with an iron fist over a great deal of politics, trade, travel, economic systems, and social functionality. The Harbingers are well respected, but also immeasurably feared. That is the real reason all the people have begun to throw glances your way. You're with Childe.

"Hardly," you brush the comment off, stifling a giggle.

"Hardly?" Childe parrots, "—Don't be so modest. You're the most beautiful person in Snezhnaya. In all of Teyvat, even. And trust me, I've probably seen every inch of this world. Parts of other worlds too, and none of it compares to you."

He means it. Not just outerly, though he does think your physical beauty is utterly unmatched, —but internally. When he's down and wondering if he should even bother to pull himself back up, he thinks of you, and you give him the strength he needs to move forward. He thinks of your smile, the way your eyes reflect starlight, the way your bleeding heart welcomes him and gives him shelter. When he sleeps beside you, he likes to imagine that he's sunken into your being, and that you've sunken into him. He sleeps behind your ribcage, right next to your beating heart, and you sleep next to his.

"You're laying it on thick tonight," you comment.

His compliments pile up like the snow at your feet, and you know what that means.

"You're not staying for long, are you?"

The glimmer in his eyes dies out a little as his face falls, and you wish you hadn't said anything. It's too late now though.

". . . Things haven't been easy since Rosalyne's death," he says. "Her work has been mitigated to the rest of us, and I've been given the tasks that require the most travel, since I'm the one who leaves Snezhnaya the most."

He's avoiding the question, and you sigh; warm breath hitting the cold air in a little cloud of vapor.

"You'll be gone by morning then?" You ask.

Childe opens his mouth to speak, but you already know the answer, so he purses his lips together a few seconds later. There's no point in rubbing salt in the wound.

"Let's go," you prompt, pulling him by the hand. "It's freezing, and you don't have a coat anymore."

"I don't really need one," he assures you, "I was born and raised here in Snezhnaya, after all. I'm more than used to the weather."

You just want to get inside. Both because your fingers have started to go numb, and because you know Childe has injuries that you're keen on looking after before the sun rises and daybreak comes. By then, he'll be gone again, and you'll be left to wait for him once more.

The way snow crunches under his feet is an almost comforting sound. It's been a while since you've heard it. There's a certain something to every little thing he does, —as if the world all but bends for his will and the universe seeks to bow at his feet. He's the only man alive you'd wait this long for.

He squeezes your hand as if to say "I'm sorry."

And you squeeze his in return to let him know that it's okay, —everything is fine— even though it isn't. It never really has been. But when this coat is draped over your shoulders, his fingers have laced with yours, and he's pulling you close to keep you warm, it's easy to convince yourself that maybe one day everything won't be so bad. He'll find a way to make things better for everyone: himself, his family, you. . . He'll find a way to ease the sting that comes when you wake up in the morning and he's not there.

He'll hold you to sleep, then pull away at the first sign of sunrise. Just like the icy winds of Snezhnaya, he'll come and go with the breeze.

They're bitter. They hurt. But they dry your tears when they swoop in from the north, and sometimes, they carry Childe's heartbeat along with them.

The thick blanket of snow along the ground glitters in the humble moonlight. Childe's hand is placed at the small of your back, matching the curve. And somehow, it's comforting in ways any apology he could ever give never would be. Once again, you're being swept away; washed out into his sea. You're drowning in him.

"I love you," he whispers, for your ears only.

Like it's just between the two of you, —some deep, dark secret, or something precious he hopes you'll only ever need to hear from him.

You'll think about that secret, that precious whisper, come morning when Childe sneaks away at the first sign of daylight. Maybe if you're lucky, you'll catch a glimpse of his footprints before the new snowfall rains down from the heavens and buries them, erasing all traces that he was ever even here in the first place.

"I love you too," you answer honestly.

It's all you have the will to say

But sometimes, I wish I didn't.

𓂃 xiao + idiot in love .

xiao hates you. he's completely sure of it.

you make his heart race, his palms turn sweaty whenever you're seated right beside him— and that's a huge problem because you're his seatmate for the entire school year.

his stomach twists and turns when you smile, and his breathing constricts everytime he gets a sniff of your hair whenever you take a closer look at his notes.

you always smelled like strawberries, sweet and pungent, just the way he likes.

yeah, xiao was definitely sure that he despises your entire being. 

"how do you know if you like someone?"

kazuha perks up from the question. he looks at the boy sitting beside him, raising an eyebrow and the slight upward quirk to his lips doesn't go unnoticed.

the blond was sure that more unusual things have happened to him in the past, like how he discovered that all cats run away from itto. however, xiao asking him this question is becoming remarkable on its own.

"what are you looking at?" the other boy growls at him. 

kazuha rolls his eyes playfully. he had almost forgotten how defensive his friend could be. "are we talking about y/n?" the blond prods— he knows that only one person could have caused this.

"w-what?! no! why would you even think that?! i can't stand them." 

see? defensive.

"besides, i was asking for a friend."

kazuha had to stop himself from bursting into laughter. instead, he opts to deadpanly say, "sure."

the kaedehara descent hums, thinking to himself. he had to be careful on what he says next as it will either give xiao a push or lead the other to even more confusion.

"you feel happy when you see them?"

the other rejoices inside. 

xiao, although he'd never admit it to kazuha, is thinking about you. don't get him wrong— he doesn't doubt that his feelings for you are 100% less than platonic— however,  an upperclassman, one he looks up to the most, asked him to reconsider his thoughts on his feelings.

(he remembers the golden eyes that pierced through his soul earlier, "are you sure of that, xiao? hate is a strong word." a rich deep voice says.)

he's sure that whenever he sees you, he doesn't feel happy. the opposite happens actually— he feels nervous and jittery when you enter the room and he finds this extremely out of character for him. and that's one of the reasons why he's with kazuha right now (of course aside from consulting the blond); he tries to hide from you to gain a sense of normalcy even if it was temporary.

"although, despite feeling happy with them, you try to avoid them too." kazuha adds, still deep in thought. "maybe because you feel shy?"

xiao grimaces. he is never shy.

"or maybe you're scared that you'll potentially embarrass yourself? either way, you always try to put some distance between the two of you."

the dark haired man becomes more confused than ever! he came here to make things clear (not that he needed to because he's certain what he feels for you is less than platonic, remember?), and yet kazuha is no help at all.

"you're not helping."

"how did you know? did your friend tell you just now?"

"what—? oh, no. this isn't the answer that my friend is looking for."

kazuha snorts, knowing that whatever xiao told him was a lie. leaning forward, he tries to find more about the never ending saga of xiao's feelings, "what's your friend looking for then?"

"well," your seatmate shrugs, thinking. "my friend told me his heart races whenever he sees this person and his hands get really sweaty. and then their stomach turns and they find themself short in breath whenever this person is around— that's disgust right?"

kazuha's jaw dropped on the floor; he hadn't expected it to be this bad for archon's sake. 

"i mean, that's how i feel whenever i see a broccoli or whatever." 

the blond finally loses it; he starts uncontrollably laughing. did he just compare you to a green vegetable? kazuha had to inhale sharply to attempt to hold in his laughter, feeling the glare that was being sent his way.

"you—" xiao starts to threaten, however he is cut off short when the door to the class opens, revealing the last person he wanted to see now. 

you enter the room, looking for a certain dark haired gremlin you had as a seatmate. there is less than five minutes before lunch break ends and you were starting to get worried without xiao sitting beside you. so, after asking a lot of people if they had seen him (god was he hard to find, it was as if he was avoiding you), you find yourself staring at the man of the hour, beside a very purple kazuha.

(why is he holding his breath?)

"xiao! classes are about to start soon." 

"y-yeah, i'll be right there." he stutters, and you definitely saw him kicking his blond friend under the table when kazuha attempted to speak. you eye them both suspiciously before quickly noticing xiao's reddened cheeks.

(with his green undertones on his hair, he certainly looked like a poorly decorated christmas tree.)

you take a step closer to the pair before putting the back of your palm on your seatmate's forehead. "you seem fine, you don't have a fever."

kazuha on the side audibly gasps.

if xiao didn't feel hot earlier, he's certain he is now. heat rises and covers his entire face and he sees your eyebrows furrow. without giving you a chance to speak, xiao practically shoves you away (rude), before disappearing behind the doors.

you turn to the blond left behind, "what's up with him?"

kazuha shrugs, as if teasing, "i don't know. what's up between you two?

♥︎ please do not repost or translate without my permission . reblogs are heavily appreciated!

dedicated to my friend @eufrsr who's finally a xiao haver!

Yeosang: Wooyoung and I have been friends for as long as I can remember and during difficult times thinking about our friendship gives me strength.

Yeosang: Because it reminds me that if I was able to survive all of the shit he made me put up with, I will be able to survive this too.