(Name): "when u die, can I have ur earrings?"
Izana: "I mean.., sure ig.."
(Name): "I hope u die soon, mf"
Izana: *actually dies*
(name): "DUDE, THAT WAS A JOKE"
What I understand from dialogues between Kaeya and Diluc
They are both idiots
im wheezing at xiao’s
— sending them the lyrics of troye sivan’s angel baby
featuring. thoma, kazuha, zhongli, itto, childe, xiao warnings. none! note. not an update but i wanted to try something hehe
— how to take care of xiao, a thread
featuring. xiao obviously warnings. mild angst
little drabble based on the scene where bosacius paints on alatus' (xiao's) face hehe
"who did this?" silence fell across the open space. all chatter died down as he stepped forward, glaring at each and every one of you gathered in a circle. golden eyes surveyed the area, lingering on each one for a second before his eyes narrowed and they fell upon you again.
"it was you, wasn't it?" alatus growled, holding up his hand to show smudged black ink. you bit your lip as you looked up to his face. a black circle surrounded his left eye and there were streaks across his left cheek.
"no! it wasn't me, i promise!" your voice sounded higher and you covered your mouth so as to not let him see the laughter that was bubbling up. it was no use. alatus lunged towards you as you scrambled backwards, laughter spilling out as he fell atop of you, his hands pinning you down as he scowled.
you could hear the others laughing at you and you couldn't help but join. "alatus, i swear, it wasn't me!" your faces were inches apart, and though he was glaring down at you, there was no hatred in those glowing golden eyes of his. he refused to move, even if he believed that it wasn't you, not wanting to push himself up and have to face the others who he was sure were already cooing at the position the two of you were in.
"i told you he would think it was them first." he hears bosacius snicker, so quietly he almost didn't hear it. "it was too easy for me." he narrows his eyes and turns his head slightly but his attention is brought back to you when you start laughing again and press your hands to his toned chest so you can sit back up. he lets you do so, waiting until bosacius opens his mouth again.
"aren't the two of you cute!" alatus ignores the heat on his cheeks as he pushes himself to stand and does his best to glare at the others. he knows there's no way for him to look intimidating with ink all over his face, but for the sake of his pride, he believes that he's scowling menacingly at them.
they're all struggling to hold in their laughter. indarias and bonanus lean in close together, whispering something he can't be bothered to hear. he knows its not them, they like to sit back and watch the trouble unfold. menogias is usually the level headed one, and though he too is trying to cover up his laughter, he wouldn't be the one to do this. which leaves bosacius, ever the troublemaker.
"it was you wasn't it." he directs his words at the purple yaksha, who sputters out nonsense. too easy.
"get back here!" even alatus can't stop the grin that begins to grow across his face. he'll deal with bosacius first, and then he'll come back to you.
reblogs and comments are greatly appreciated! <3 a/n: this popped in my head and i just had to write it lol
and when he leaves you in the dark. xiao x gn!reader. warnings: angst, xiao dies, 2.7 chasm update spoilers. wc: 1,906. semi proofread.
in each of xiao’s waking moments, he thinks of you.
he thinks of the sun rising in your eyes when you turn to look at him. he thinks of your smile brighter than the moonlight when you tell him about your day. he thinks of the warmth in your hands when you gently grab his own, tugging on him to lead the way.
and as his body grows weaker with each passing second from the fantastic compass, he thinks about you. as though his ears are filled with water, the loud yelling of yanfei and paimon is drowned away by his thoughts of you—it has always only been of you.
you always hated how self-sacrificial he was. your shoulders would slump when you’d hear him utter his thoughts and you’d angrily bite back your tears. you’d wrap your arms around his waist after and tell him it was all nonsense—that he still had you.
that should there come a day the stars will not align, xiao will still have you.
you would never miss the sudden look in his eyes, yet he smiles lightly and nods every time.
when the platform shatters and so does his mask, vanishing slowly as the strength in him dies a little more, xiao finally remembers what you had said to him before he left.
“come back home to me.”
you had been playing with his fingers when you spoke, not once looking up at him—missing the ghost of a smile on his lips. someone like you was too far for xiao to reach but still, he wallowed in your affection and surrendered himself fully.
you who has been blighted by someone like xiao, a demon who has slain thousands—mortals and gods alike. xiao wished back then that he had stayed away, kept to himself on the balcony of wangshu inn and never helped you with your problems.
for someone as awkward as him, xiao learned to breathe and love. love someone so different, someone who is not like him; and will never be like him. he learned to breathe you in as though you and he do not know where the two of you had begun and when you two had become whole.
“okay, i will,” xiao whispered that night. it was a promise to you and him—he’d come back home, safe and sound, to you.
then you looked up at him that time, smiling lightly as your eyes interlocked. you had noticed the fondness in his eyes, hand reaching up to cup his cheek. cute, you thought—but you’d never tell him that.
xiao supposes this would be the only time he has broken a promise to you. of the countless promises he had kept, this would be the only one he would have to break, whether he had a choice or not.
he staggers back, breath heavy and so is his body. they all look at him—yanfei, yelan, the traveler, paimon, and shinobu—with wide eyes as he stands weakly, eyes travelling towards the opening above them.
he would apologize if he could, take you once more into his arms and kiss your nose. he would apologize for everything he couldn’t have done with you and ask for your forgiveness. he knew you’d accept him as you always have.
xiao knows that his time is running out.
the color green engulfs his right hand as he balls it into a fist, knowing this would be his last act. heroic—he thinks, idiotic—you’d say.
“i like the color green,” you told him once on a stroll.
xiao paused in his steps, turning to look at you with a raised brow. “green?” he repeated.
“yeah, i like it,” you hummed. “everything about you is green—you’re green.”
he didn’t know what it meant during that time, only that he knew you liked it because of him. xiao took every chance to take home every colored green object in sight when he would go out.
he brought a four-leaf clover once, hoping that it would bring you any luck compared to being with him. xiao left it on your hands with a shy smile as you stared at it with a smile.
everything else followed after that. xiao would grab a jade stone should he see one, a beautiful water lily when he passes by the lake, a green flower when it blooms at night.
when the sunset came and you laid your head on his shoulder by a tree trunk, xiao hesitantly asked, “why the color green?”
you didn’t move from your position, instead, you took a look at the setting sun. “i just like it,” you answered. “but, if you really want to know…”
xiao gazed at you, watching the way your lips would move, nose scrunch up when you smiled, and eyebrows moving when you spoke. he then glanced at the sky and the setting sun—it was pink and purple, something you always loved to stare at, even more than you loved the color green, that he knew.
“does that answer your question?” xiao blinked. ah, he didn’t listen.
“it does,” he said, hand slowly reaching towards yours, intertwining it with his.
though he feels disappointed in himself for never hearing your answer, xiao realized there, you are more beautiful than the sun setting. should the sun itself disappear, xiao would follow you to the ends of the earth just to watch the sunset in your eyes.
this time, however, xiao understands why you like the color green—it symbolizes his protection. the color engulfs his companions, a bright light green that he knew would protect them and bring them to safety, and he knew that it would bring only them.
xiao watches as yelan reaches out to him, yelling something incoherent in his ears, then finally, they disappear and leave him on his own.
the platform below him cracks and xiao falls.
he wonders what you would have said to him should you know he sacrificed himself for others—only this time, he isn’t coming back. it was his job, his duty—it was bound to happen at one point. it was something you always refused to accept, xiao shouldn’t have to bear the burden of others.
“you first before others,” you said one time. “why should you put your life on the line for them?”
it was in the contract—he would have said. but xiao was bound by no contracts (at least anymore), only his morals and his guilt. his sins were far greater than any living adeptus and he must suffer for all eternity for what he has done.
but you show him that he doesn’t have to bear the burden of others, that like everyone else, xiao is loved. and he is loved deeply and greatly by none other than you.
to others love may be a burning fire of desire, to know all of your deepest secrets, or kissing below the shade of the trees in spring and waiting for the flowers to fall. but for you, you show xiao that love to you is simply him.
and xiao knows that you love him more than you do yourself.
it’s only that xiao knows in himself that you are the epitome of love itself—and he will love you even until death.
“what are you holding?” you came up to him on a cold night by the balcony. the wind blew and howled, you shivered slightly as you make do with your hands rubbing your arms for any source of warmth.
xiao turned to you, holding a crystal-fly in his right hand. “i thought it would suit you,” he murmured, reaching out to tuck the piece in your hair.
he gazed at you, a light smile on his lips as you touched the crystal-fly on your hair gently. xiao was right whenever it came to you—something he was always proud of, and the only thing he was proud of in himself.
“i love it,” you whispered.
“i love you,” xiao whispered back—barely audible but he knows you hear it, and wants only you to hear it.
[name], when tomorrow starts without me, i hope you feel relieved.
he has seen the mountains fall and the oceans rise, but xiao knows that he has loved only you, and forever will only be you.
but i hope you know that i will love you even if there are no clouds in the sky and the setting sun has become dull in your eyes.
and as he falls into his doom, xiao remembers your smile, the crinkle of your eyes, the laugh you let out when he takes you too seriously, the warmth of your hugs, and the love that you brought him.
“what’s your favorite flower?” he had asked suddenly.
you thought for a few seconds as you say, “oh, i don’t know.”
xiao frowned.
“but if there was a flower like you, i would choose that one,” is what you said after.
you gave him a bright smile, laughing at your own words—still, they were true. wrapping your arms around his neck, he staggered backwards, holding your waist to steady the both of you. should there be a garden full of flowers, you would choose xiao again and again.
“that’s nonsense,” xiao clicked his tongue.
“huh? hey! i thought it was cute!”
his eyes shoot open.
for once in his life, xiao reaches up towards the small light and wishes it would grab him just as how you pulled him out of his misery.
what would you think?
what would you say?
what would you do when the news comes to you?
as he falls, tears spring to his eyes as he remembers you. the only person in his life who had shown him love. the only person who had cried when he came home with blood on him. the only person who he knows would be devastated when you find out the truth about what had happened to him.
if only xiao had stayed far away from you, it wouldn’t have ended up like this—you would not have to cry for him.
until xiao’s final moments, he thinks about you.
--
“i’m sorry, xiao has died.”
the smile on your face fades, handpicked qingxins now lay by your feet as your hands drop to your sides. verr goldet stands in front of you, a solemn look on her face—you watch her lips move but you could barely hear what she says.
xiao has died.
xiao has died?
you open your mouth to thank her for bearing you the news, but it stays open. there was nothing to say. she watches as you tremble, the gloss in your eyes fading—a look she had first seen on xiao when you had not come for a week.
with a shaky voice, you reply, “okay… thank you.”
you should have seen it coming; that one day, xiao would not return safely in your arms. the longer you stand in front of verr goldet, the heavier your body becomes, dragging you down as if it wishes to bring you with xiao himself. for now, you will weep for your dead lover.
you hope that in xiao’s final moments, he knows that should he and you walk this world once again with no remnants of each other, you will find him again and again.
notes i thought about xiao finally resting but wipee go down with me he worries about leaving you alone so in his last final moments he's desperately trying to cling onto whatever faith he has left in himself to go back to you but <3 he can't tada hehe also i hope the transitions are understandable as you can see the reader isn't with xiao in the chasm, so all you saw are xiao's memories with you just loving him or as i like to call it his life flashing before he dies :p i wrote this in one day i can't believe but i had to edit it a lot because my metaphors didn't seem right, i am not an english major so i am horrible at this
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pairing: xiao x gn!reader
summary: past the eternal suffering and karmic debt, what does xiao truly wish for?
info/warnings: emo, good ending, 2.7 event spoilers (this literally follows the ending plotline), much introspection, hot garbage but i couldn’t stop myself, mentions of death, no other warnings
“I live and breathe you, i keep your love close to my chest, cradling it like a child for that is what it is, right? A fledgling bird in need of nurture and love. Your vulnerability is safe in my hands. If I can promise you anything, it’s that.”
Your words flicker through Xiao’s head in his film reel of memories as the decision become final.
With a conclusive burst of emerald light (pure, unmarred by darkness), he casts you one last glance. A weighted one, vested with all the things he wishes he could tell you, and your face contorts painfully as you shimmer and vanish, the call of his name stolen from your lips.
It’s with that, the platform collapses, and gravity asserts its control over Xiao, the light so hopefully close now constricting, a mirror image of his pupils as the darkness swaths him.
Keep reading
— you are the best thing that’s ever been mine —
you finally confess to xiao and give him comfort and reassurance. takes place right after the events of perilous trail, so spoilers if you haven’t played the quest yet!
gn! reader
genre: fluff, hurt, comfort, angst at the beginning.
warnings: spoilers for the recent event, xiao and reader have feelings for each other, love confessions, first kiss, i’m probably crying while writing this, it may be messy. i took inspiration from taylor swift’s mine and fly by sleeping with sirens. enjoy! (or join me in the crying about xiao club, that’s fine too).
“but when you find the thing that matters most may you never let it go”
— sleeping with sirens, fly
shadows all around, the feeling of flying upwards faster than light itself and your weapon swinging desperately at the ominous presences nearing your position. you should feel hopeful, right? thanks to yanfei’s intellect and reasoning, you’ve found a way out of the darkest depths of the chasm; yelan and xiao’s power has worked as expected on the fantastic compass and it’s propelling you skywards, toward a way out. but see, that’s exactly what’s nagging at you: xiao is using all of his strength and power to maintain the energy flow and his previous self-sacrificing way of thought, paired with the injuries he bore when he could finally reunite with your group, have been plaguing your subconscious with a sense of dread. as if on cue, at that moment, you observe xiao’s mask and the platform you’re standing on begin to shatter, his body sagging, he’s panting heavily, the current task he has at hand taking almost everything he has. yanfei is the first to speak “you can’t keep this up, it’s too much!” the yaksha averts his gaze, some crazy idea probably passing through his mind. fearing what he would be capable of doing next, you grab him by the shoulder, prompting him to focus his eyes on you: “xiao, listen to me! stop! you’re exhausted, we can figure this out, together, all of us!” the adeptus can’t bring himself to hold your gaze, not now, not when you, the person he most cares about, look on the verge of tears, not when what he’s about to do will probably be a goodbye he never imagined, nor wanted to have to witness. reacting quicker than wind, and before any of you have time to reach out for him, xiao has activated his anemo abilities and all of you are propelled to the end of the tunnel above, the platform shattering below him, leaving him to be swallowed into the darkest of nights. all you remember from that instant is your blurry vision, tears distorting a reality you can’t bear to accept, and then, not fully knowing if you’re imagining it, you think you can see a golden glow, a shooting star burning through this stygian apocalypse; and you pray to it, you pray to celestia and to all the archons who will listen to please, bring him back to me, please xiao come back safe.
a second it’s pitch black darkness, the next, sunlight is blinding your already distorted vision by the tears that won’t stop falling. you haven’t opened your eyes yet, you don’t want to see a world without xiao, the boy you’ve loved for so long, in it. in your numb state, you don’t realize the hand holding your shoulder delicately. it’s not until he calls your name softly, that you start getting out of your trance. “x-xiao? you are okay? you are here? is this real?” you manage to finally croak out, voice breaking, a rain of tears falling from your lashes into your cheeks. xiao wipes away a stray one, and reassures you “yes, [name] i’m here, we’re all fine, we all made it.” and with that, your knees almost give out, you cling to xiao and cry into his chest, breath coming in short, sobs shaking your whole body. “don’t do anything like this again please! why? why must you put yourself in danger like this? why were you so ready to sacrifice yourself? don’t you ever think about all the people who love and care about you?”
“who could ever love or care for someone like me?”
“i, for one, i love you xiao and i wouldn’t know what to do if anything had happened to you! i love you and i can’t bear the thought of you considering yourself a burden, when you are not! so please, please…” you can’t finish the sentence, a new wave of sobs leaving your throat. xiao guides your head to his chest, where you let out all the fear and stress of the past days. when your cries start to calm, he speaks: “i’m not sure i understand exactly this concept you mortals call love, but what i’m sure of is you are the person i care the most about in this world. and i will protect you, always.”
“but not at the cost of your own life, not now, not ever. you have to promise me.”
and when he looks into those eyes of yours, teary, that look up at him as if he was the infinite and held all the light and colors of every galaxy, he promises, and he knows that, even if you didn’t make a contract, he’ll hold to his word no matter what, because he could never bear the thought of crumbling the heart of the one most dear to him.
after accompanying xiao to the temple of pervases and say your farewells to the traveler and paimon, you notice the exhaustion of all the events on xiao’s face. “let’s get back to wangshu inn, you need rest.” you say, with a gentle smile, tugging at his hand. he looks at your intertwined fingers and silk flower pink blooms on his cheeks; he nods and follows you.
the walk back is mostly quiet, but it’s a comfortable kind of quiet. your hands never separating, his eyes on you when you point out a crystalfly, or a qingxin flower growing by a cliff. in this instant, and remembering the message from ushi that paimon relayed, a little smile graces xiao’s features. he doesn’t know how to describe the feeling exactly, since it’s something he doesn’t remember experiencing before, in his hundreds of years of lifetime, but he knows it’s warm, it surrounds him with a comforting light, and makes his heart beat faster, as if the usual melancholy and dissonant anguish was being replaced by a melody evoking carefree laughter in the air of a summer day, mingling with the sunbeams descending from a sky the color of fresh glaze lilies.
before arriving to the inn, your steps stop in an area surrounded by trees, the last light of day casting shadows in warm tones through their leaves. your connected hands prompt the adeptus to stop too. when he turns his head to look at you, his breath hitches: you’re smiling fondly at him, your eyes twin crescents, and under the mosaic of shadow branches, to him, you are ethereal, a deity who has placed their blessing upon him. “xiao,” your thumb brushing the back of his hand delicately, as if he was the finest of chinas “would you let me do something us mortals do to express love?” your tone a bit timid, as if afraid to disturb the peace of the moment. xiao nods, taking hold of your other hand too. “close your eyes” you whisper next to his ear, and the feeling of your breath on his skin causes butterflies to unleash in his stomach. and the fluttering of their wings only increases when he feels your lips pecking his. he stays still at first, not knowing exactly what he’s supposed to do, but he quickly follows your lead. it’s far from perfect, noses bumping into each other more than once, the giggles you let out making xiao’s heart fly, so bright it could replace the setting sun. when your mouths separate, foreheads resting together, your hands caressing his silky hair, his face flushed, yours feeling warm, the evening wind carries your voice once more “you’re the best that’s ever happened to me, xiao. i love you, i have for a long time and i always will.” and because you understand how hard for him it is to express his feelings through words, you settle for placing the softest kiss to his lips once again, and wrapping your arms around his form, your head in his shoulder. and it’s then, when you feel his head resting atop yours, dark emerald locks slightly tickling your cheek, his arms holding you a bit more tight, close to his chest, where his heart dances to the tune of a symphony composed of birds’ flight, starlight and blossoming flowers.
all works belong to kazu-sun 2022. any editing, modifying, reposting, plagiarizing, translating or claiming as yours is prohibited.
xiao x gn adeptus ! reader
warnings: crying ? lmao i guess, spoilers for 2.7 interlude quest, reader has a mini breakdown, terribly written probably, no pronouns used, slight angst ?
meilin’ s notes: my first time writing a full (kind of) fic ! hopefully i do gender neutral some justice since i’ve never written gn before, only fem ;v; lmk if theres anything i need to fix !
“why did you let him go?” you asked zhongli, who was gazing into the plains on the balcony of wangshu inn. “surely you know the dangers that lie in the chasm, rex lapis.”
zhongli’s silence irritated you, your heart beating painfully. just the thought of your companion entering unknown and highly dangerous lands made you feel anxious, and sick. of course you knew xiao was capable of holding his own, you knew of his strength. still, he made you worry everyday.
“xiao is more than capable of taking care of himself, [name].” zhongli finally replied.
“thousands of years worth of knowledge does not cancel out the fact that he is still prone to danger, sir” you argued back. “no matter what you tell me, i wont ever stop worrying for that boy-“
“of course you wont,” he said simply. “i wouldnt expect you to. but you must understand this, [name].”
he then turned to face you, amber orbs burning into your [color] irises.
“it all comes down to a matter of trust. have faith in xiao, im sure everything will be fine then.”
and even as he turned to leave, still your heart ached.
·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ✩ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙
throughout the entire day, you felt an unease in your chest, a terrible ache in your heart. it seemed to be worse than yesterday’s treatment.
your mind was plagued with thoughts of xiao and his safety, the chasm, the lying dangers awaiting him, and the worst possible scenario: his possible death.
the thought still terrified you. although you werent a part of the 5 yakshas, you still harbored a deep fondness for them. bosacius was like the older brother you’d never had, making flower crowns with indarias and menogias, sharing wisdom with menogias, and the peaceful days with xiao.
it was all so simple, but then their karmic debt had gotten the best of them. you’d watched, face screwed with pure terror as your dear friends lost their minds. you watched menogias slaughter bonanus, as indarias succumbed to her debt, xiao suffering screams ringing in your ears.
how useless you were then.
you had sworn to protect xiao after bosacius disappeared, promised to love and care for him. promised to do something because you couldnt before.
useless. useless. useless useless useless useless usele-
you were jerked out of your destructive thoughts when you felt a jerking pain on your hands. looking down, you saw you had bitten your nail down to the skin and hadnt noticed until it split open. you groaned, sticking the finger in your mouth to lick off the blood.
then, your heart lurched painfully. you gasped in pain, clutching your shirt near your heart.
nonononono-
i promised him. i promised to protect him.
another lurch, another gasp of pain. he was in danger. grave danger.
unable to stand idly any longer, you teleported to the chasm. as you did, the pain in your heart grew more intense.
“xiao!” you called out desperately. you could feel him, he was somewhere, why couldnt you see him?
“xiao!” you called again, this time a tear slipped out. then two, three, then a stream. your heart was in so much pain, your lungs felt like they were about to burst.
“XIAO.”
then a flash, and six figures materialized. hope flared in your chest. but as the figures became clearer, you realized none of them was the face of your beloved adeptus.
scrambling to them, you went to the closest person available.
“where is he, tell me now, where is he!?” you cried, more tears streaming down your face.
yelan examined your face, brow furrowed. biting her lip, she gently took your hand. then, shook her head.
the world stopped for a moment.
no…
yelan held your hand still as shinobu, the traveler, paimon and yanfei looked away in pity.
but then, a familiar presence erupted, golden energy started to swirl, and then a figure slowly started to materialize.
‘fret not child…under my watch will alatus remain alive.’
startled, you lifted your head to see if anyone else had heard the voice, but it seemed you were the only one. then, turning your head to the source, you gasped.
there he was.
xiao.
the pain in your heart and lungs finally settled, and you breathed easy again. releasing your hand from yelan’s, you quickly made your way to xiao, who was on his knees taking big gulps of air.
sensing your presence, xiao looked up only to yelp in surprise as you threw your body down on him, arms wrapped around his neck in a tight embrace as you pulled his head to your chest.
“you idiot!” you wailed, tears falling down your face as you held xiao tighter. “you big, stupid idiot! what were you thinking!? you almost- you could have…”
“i know…” he whispered softly, hands ghosting your hips, almost afraid to touch you.
“idiot, idiot idiot idiot-“ you cried, pouding your firsts on his back as you wept in his neck.
“i know. im sorry.” he whispered again, this time embracing you back.
yelan’s eyes softened at the scene. she motioned to the others, leading them away from you both.
“we ought to give them some space. im sure they have a few…things to talk about.
·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙ ✩ *̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙
meilin’ s notes: im well aware that while the travele and co. was trapped underneath the chasm, that the theory that time was at a pause in teyvat was made known but since zhongli broke that rule, i made it broken with the mc too. lemme know what you guys think ! i dont think i did too bad, but the first half was definitely not the best lol
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!
(should be no direct spoilers? interlude chapter act 2)
i think our hole friends should keep being friends when our lives are not in danger or else i will keep crying about it forever
hi lovely people its 4am and xiao is pesterin me so im makin it ur problem as well mwahmwah | pls dont pay attention to the spellin mistakes its 4am okay 😔😔😔 | college au!!
boyfriend!xiao who drives you to and from college on his motorcycle everyday, thankful to the fact that you can't see his cheeks turning red and ears flushing because of the way you cling to him, a small smile gracing his face when you claw at his waist when he speeds up (something he does on purpose just to have you cling to him).
boyfriend!xiao who brings you your lunch everyday, kissing your forehead softly before stepping out of the cafetaria, leaving you to deal with the teasing of your friends (that you successfully flee from after bribing them with free drinks).
boyfriend!xiao who worries about the fact that his piercings might hurt you when he kisses you and, even when you reassure him that it's not as painful as he thinks, he removes them once you're back in your shared apartment so he can kiss you without any worries.
boyfriend!xiao who despite his fear of hurting with his piercings, can't seem to stop biting you whenever he can; you'd often find yourself blankly staring at the marks he left on your shoulders and neck and cheeks, wondering how foundation could hide your boyfriend's cannibalist habits.
boyfriend!xiao who looks all tough on the outside with his leather jackets and dark clothes, with his expensive motorcycle and his piercings and the red rimming his eyes but happens to be the softest and most caring person you'd ever got to meet.
boyfriend!xiao who teaches you how to skate, using it as an opportunity to have you cling to him, his hands resting on your hips to "stabilize" you while your hands gripped his shoulders as he screamed internally at how adorable and squishable you are (he eventually bit your cheeks to death that hu tao was worried when she noticed the bandaids on your face).
boyfriend!xiao who loves you to the moon and back and who says the cringiest, cheesiest things ever, but he doesn't care because if it's for you, then nothing else matters.
reblogs are highly appreciated!
yours truly, (part one). / sincerely, (part two).
premise: as a friend of the most attractive students in school, you're more than used to acting as the middleman between them and the people vying for their affection, often tasked with delivering presents or handing out their love letters. however, when you chance upon a small bouquet of flowers on your desk without a note indicating the sender or who you're meant to give it to, you start to wonder if this one's supposed to be yours.
includes: childe, xiao, diluc, kazuha, albedo, thoma & gorou !
a/n: hahaha why is this so long... anyways this is a college au + reverse harem of some sorts. enjoy. i really don't want this one to flop so likes and reblogs are appreciated thx
“Do you think it's a prank?”
“Why is that the first thing that pops into your mind?” Keqing sighs as she fixes her makeup in front of a compact mirror, smacking her lips to spread the color evenly. “You're really cute, [Name]. why wouldn't someone like you by now?”
Your face burns at the offhand comment. “You're only saying that because we're friends.”
Ayaka giggles, twirling a lock of your hair with her finger. “Of course not. You're very adorable! If anything, it'd be more surprising if nobody likes you.”
“Who do you think it's from, though?” Ganyu quietly asks from beside you, observing the handful of carnations laying on your desk. Scanning the students currently present in the room, she thoughtfully adds, “maybe someone on the shyer side since they couldn't give it to you directly?”
“Or someone who did it to be romantic,” Kokomi suggests, scrutinizing the flowers with keen eyes. “That's quite nice of them.”
You hummed in contemplation, trying to figure out who placed it on your table. “Are you sure it's not a prank... or a mistake? You all sit beside me, so maybe they mistook my seat for yours-”
“You're the only one who faithfully sits there, [Name]. We don't even have assigned seats so most of us sits wherever,” Keqing clarifies, staring at you with a disapproving look. “Don't deny it. You know it's yours.”
“But I can't think of anyone who would like me!” you exclaim in defeat. “I am curious about who gave it, though... I should try to find out who it is...”
“More importantly...” Ganyu smiles at you, noticing the blush dusting your cheeks. “Who do you want it to be?”
childe:
in all honesty, he's your first guess.
not because you think he likes you or anything! he's just a huge flirt.
at the beginning of the school year, you hardly got along. you know he's a friendly guy, but it's in the way that... intimidated you. he's part of the “mood maker” clique, attracting attention wherever he goes, and you're not sure if you could handle his energy...
you preferred to stay away from the spotlight though that's a bit hypocritical considering you're friends with the prettiest group of girls in your year, and he relished in it. you didn't know if you could get along.
you didn't become friends until you were assigned partners for a project that meant a lot for your grade, and you vowed to yourself if you couldn't be close to him, you should at least be close enough to work together without trouble.
in the end, you surprisingly hit it off, childe easing the awkward air between you with jokes and random stories to tell about his weird friends. your friendship didn't end when the project did, and you continued to hang out outside of school. you're sure he didn't approach you to get closer to your friends, either; though you had some doubts at first, he was nothing alike with the jerks who tried to use you.
you're no stranger to the pranks he pulled, nor were you unaware of his flirty nature; he occasionally entertained the lot who fancied him when he attended drinking parties. so it made perfect sense if it was childe who gave those flowers, along with the gifts that followed after. it would just be him messing around again, right? oh, definitely! it wouldn't be the first time he spent his money in reckless abandon, bragging that he has the cash to spare for it.
but unexpectedly when you bring up the topic, his expression darkens, showing no sign of joking around. he looks a little shocked, too, to know someone was pursuing you.
“it's not from me,” he admits, gently taking your hand. “but it's true that i like you.”
xiao:
xiao is one of the people you deliver presents to lol
due to his intimidating disposition (and the endless amount of nasty rumors swirling about him, thanks to said intimidating disposition), hardly anybody would dare to approach him, daunted by the perpetual scowl etched on his face. he remains as eye candy, but an entity no one could reach.
you avoided him at first, too. his face is admirable, you can say that much, but you've become somewhat desensitized from having been surrounded by pretty faces 24/7 so you can't really say it's anything new... and yes, you are scared of him to a certain degree. you could never guess what he's thinking.
you weren't sure if he's as scary as people make him out to be though, since people tend to exaggerate gossip for the sake of shock value. he once defended a middle schooler from high school delinquents (through persuasion and not with fists), but the story somehow twisted into another tale entirely detailing how xiao had brutally wiped the floor with their faces and painted the concrete floor with blood...
but as intimidating as he might seem, you don't think he's that kind of character. if you overlook his piercing glare and sharp tongue, he's quite decent.
... you thought that way until you caught him tailing you on your way home.
he crept up behind you, maintaining a natural distance, but after numerous twists and turns in hopes of leading him away, he had yet to cease heading towards your direction. you wouldn't be so suspicious if you hadn't purposely gone in circles around town, leading back to where you came from — which meant he didn't have a particular destination in mind, and fully intended on being hot on your tail.
tired of having bated breath waiting for his next move, you gathered all your courage and confronted him directly, cornering him to the nearest wall to assert dominance. xiao seemed startled by your forwardness, and you took his moment of vulnerability as an opportunity to interrogate him.
unexpectedly, he sheepishly confesses, “i'm not a stalker, i got worried since you're going home this late. haven't you heard about the crime rate these days...”
from there on, you suppose you could say you understood him better. though he's snappy and stern, he's not that terrifying, even sweet at times. when you become proper friends (and you stop suspecting him as your stalker), he saves you a seat next to him, or brings you coffee that you like when he notices you're sleepy in class.
it wasn't long until everybody came to know you were friends and a girl finally — you guessed it — asked you to send a love letter to xiao in her stead.
when you gave it to xiao, he was unusually flustered, flushed pink to the tips of his ears. his expression falls flat once you tell him it's from someone else, badly containing the disappointment to show on his face.
nevertheless, you continue to be friends, and xiao has learned not to expect much from you.
he's the earliest to arrive in class, so you ask him if he'd seen the person who gave you flowers. with a cold, hard look, he says no.
he's acting kind of weird, isn't he...
diluc:
the barista in the coffee shop near your university that has to put up with so much bullshit flirting everyday.
he has to reject people in a roundabout way, and you know he hates it, but of course he has to provide great customer service if he still wants customers right... directly breaking their hearts would only make problems.
but he takes no shit from rude customers.
no, you weren't one of them. in fact, diluc quite liked you a bit. first of all, you don't have any romantic interest for the staff, you genuinely enjoy his drinks (he knows because your face is like an open book), and you mind your own business. he tolerates you enough that he can make small talk with you and it doesn't upset him in the slightest.
so it really ticked him off when some idiot was bothering you in the cafe, starting an argument over a trivial matter that shouldn't be fussed over.
in normal circumstances, diluc would've done the usual protocol — reason with the angry customer, offer free products, and let them leave the premises peacefully. but the moment he saw the man grab your shoulders and you winced in pain as a result, he didn't even have to think of what to do next.
cold coffee rained down on the ill-mannered man's head, evoking a surprised scream out of him. his fingers left your body in favor of patting away the sticky liquid from his clothes, and you stared blankly at the seething figure behind him.
“your order,” diluc announced, his voice tinted with rage. then he pretended to remember something, looking at the empty cup in his hand. “oh, i apologize. you ordered it hot, didn't you?” he forced a smile on his face. “would you like me to brew another one for you?”
the man erupted to a new screaming fit, but he was promptly dragged aside. diluc immediately questioned if you were hurt anywhere, his voice a total 180 from before and turning into a soft tone you nearly didn't recognize.
“that stunt you pulled...” you nervously said. “will you be okay...? won't you get, er, dismissed because of it?”
“...you don't know i own this place?”
“???”
in any case, you've become good friends ever since that incident. so when your secret admirer gives you your customized drink from diluc's shop (that even xiao doesn't know the recipe of!), you ask him if there's a customer who ordered your exact drink that morning.
strangely enough, he changes the subject.
“he only gave you coffee?” diluc wrinkles his nose. “he's not fit for you.”
he proceeds to shove you a plate of pancakes for breakfast and won't let you talk about that topic again.
kazuha:
the soft-spoken boy working part-time as a florist. as one would expect, his good-looking features attracted customers left and right, just like how a flower allures bees with its colorful petals and sweet nectar.
he studies in a different university from you, but it's relatively close by and you run into each other a lot. you could say you're pretty good friends; you exchanged contact information and text every other day, phone each other up to have a meal together whenever you're both free, and hang out over the weekend.
he stirred up some drama with you once. on a rainy day, he invited you to eat lunch together, but you've forgotten to take an umbrella before leaving for school so you told him you'd be a little late 'cause you had to run to the convenience store first. however, he told you not to worry about it and abruptly ended the call.
fast forward to the afternoon: the glass doors to leave the corridors had a few people lurking by, covering what was beyond. you cocked up an eyebrow in question, confused over what was all the fuss, but then you see that familiar pale hair streaked with bright red.
kazuha stood innocently by the school gates, a crimson umbrella in hand, and a small bouquet in the other. he checked his wristwatch every few minutes, seeming to be waiting for someone. he completely ignored the gawking stares pinned on his frame, busying himself by humming a quiet tune.
you hesitantly pushed open the doors, approaching him with wary steps. he immediately perked up once noticing you, beaming brightly to greet you with enthusiasm. he offered you the bouquet, telling you it's nothing more than a small gift the owner had let him craft for free (who mistakenly thought kazuha had a lover, since he was always on his phone texting someone).
you might have known the reasons behind the present, but nobody else did. and what general implications could gifting a bouquet of flowers have?
thus, the school's online forum exploded with questions, asking for the identity of the pretty boy standing by their university, and the lucky person he'd given flowers to.
needless to say it was hard to convince your friends that no, he isn't your boyfriend.
but that was another issue! the issue NOW is the other bouquet you received, much more recent in nature. after suspecting childe, your next thought was to ask kazuha if he had any buyers who purchased the same flowers you had.
his lips twitch for a moment, faintly looking displeased. but he flashes a flawless, award-winning customer service smile, covering his initial expression easily.
“no such customer ordered for those flowers that day. but i am curious about this matter... could you humor me and explain more in detail, by any chance?”
albedo:
the med student fawned over by students and teachers alike. he's simply brilliant, idolized by the entire student body. though he's mainly studying science, he's been praised for his art as well, his paintings hung in the art room proudly.
you're not very familiar with him, only knowing him through hearsay. you don't know what he looks like, so you've never confirmed for yourself if he's as beautiful everyone says he is.
he's well-known but you haven't heard anything bad about him, which is an impressive feat. his name is only ever mentioned in concert with endless compliments.
you meet him by chance in exam season. unsurprisingly, the library is filled to the brim, tables stacked high with books and each chair occupied by agitated students sipping energy drinks and coffee to stay functional. amidst all the chaos, one student remains radiant and carefree, leisurely flicking pages through his notes. he's situated by a corner table, unbothered by the mindless zombies despite having plenty of free seats beside him and everyone else is squished together like canned tuna.
and you, carrying binders, books and stationery, are visibly desperate for a place to rest. his eyes leave the words in his notes briefly, beckoning you to come closer. and you, still unaware of his identity, gladly plop on a chair and heave your heavy supplies atop the table. it shakes for a moment as it bears the new weight, rattling his items, and the zombies gape at you in question. ironically, the person you've been bothering is not offended at all.
you sneak glances at him when you need to freshen your eyes from studying, nauseated by the letters that never seem to come to an end no matter how many paragraphs you've read. you're at awe by his fair skin, not a single blemish in sight, and he doesn't even have dark circles under his eyes. truly mysterious. either he has a magical skincare routine or he's not human. if anything, you'd think he just came from a relaxing vacation, not in the middle of hell week.
you snap out of your trance, and you scold yourself for being bewitched. you have more pressing concerns, and so you grill more information into your brain, oblivious to the turquoise eyes that begin to stare at you.
the next encounter comes when exams are finally over, and you celebrate by buying the pricey food set in the cafeteria. the crunch of golden breading is rewarding for your taste buds and you shovel more food towards your mouth, minding your own business.
the seat next to you is pulled back, and you pause from chewing. it's that guy again, his refined beauty easy for you to recognize. he places his tray on the table, smiling amiably as he asks if it's fine with you should he sit there. you nod, but there's plenty of vacant tables around. it's also pretty weird that he sat next to you, not across...
well, strange as it is, that's how you befriend albedo. you've yet to learn why he came on so strong, almost aggressive. like he really wanted to talk to you. but whatever.
the more you learn about him, the more his image of “golden boy” withers away. picture of elegance? the standard of sophistication? sure. but this guy doesn't hesitate to do the weirdest shit sometimes.
he doesn't fear anything. he puts anything edible in his mouth. one school trip to the countryside taught you a few things. if he's offered fried bugs, he'll eat it. if he's given frog legs, he'll eat it. he doesn't care. he'll eat seemingly anything. because of this, you worry his admirers will put something strange in the food they give him, but that possibility doesn't cross his mind at all. (well. not that he eats it. he rejects gifts most of the time. exceptions are when they come from you.)
you're starting to think he really doesn't fear anything. when you start to scream in fright like a headless chicken while watching a horror movie, he calmly studies the anatomy of whatever horrifying creature is on screen, questioning their ability to walk when half of their body is split apart. why is he questioning horror movie logic. “ghosts are supposed to be transparent and can pass through walls, how come she can grab the main character's hair and drag him to the incinerator?” “albedo, please.” (he comforts you when you get scared, hiding your face in his shoulder as he wraps his arms around you. he softly whispers in your ear to tell you when the scary parts are over.)
he's also an overprotective older brother. for good reason, actually. his little sister, albeit cute and outwardly harmless, is an explosive child who likes to make trouble. if he takes his eyes off her for more than two minutes, she will undoubtedly set fire to his little garden.
she's the reason why he's so observant. he can tell you trimmed your hair because he's all too used to klee chopping off her own hair with craft scissors. he also notices when you feel a bit under the weather. klee is the type to hide her sickness so she could play outside, and albedo would often have to forcibly tuck her back to bed. you're no different. he will, quite literally, drag you to your house and make you rest.
but aside from being a pain in the ass, his observation skills can help you — surely albedo can make a few guesses for your secret admirer's identity?
albedo blinks at you, uncharacteristically silent. he purses his lips, and gives you a small smile. he asks a few unassuming questions, things like what traces your secret left behind, or if they'd sent a love letter and he'd check the penmanship to see if he found it familiar.
he's not the most eager to help, you know that, but you're still slightly disappointed when he says, “sorry, i can't help you with something like that. it'd be better if you figured it out yourself.”
thoma:
the cute neighbor living in the apartment next door. just like kazuha, he studies in a different university, but you run into each other a lot because... well. obviously.
you find him rather silly. he'd signed the lease not knowing pets weren't allowed in the premises, and tearfully waved taroumaru goodbye when he moved in. to cope, he started staying at the park near the apartment building, playing with the dogs there and getting hit on by their owners in the process, but let's not talk about that.
despite being a newcomer, he fit right in with the tenants. he made effort to learn everyone's names and chatted with them whenever presented a chance, thus winning their favor. it isn't a strange sight to see him with middle-aged ladies and looking at home, listening earnestly to their complaints about their husbands or rowdy children. (his hard work pays off when they give him their special recipes and inform him of supermarket deals lol)
he seems to get along well with old men too, invited to their drinking parties. except thoma isn't good at rejecting alcohol from older adults, so when you save him from such situation — pulling him away from the old men prying into his love life, because surely a good kid like him would have someone to love him dearly — he's become eternally grateful.
he's honestly too good for his own good.
exhibit a: thoma is prone to cooking too much food for one person to eat in one sitting, so he tends to invite you to eat his hotpot with him or bring you packaged food you can easily pop into a microwave. after your one act of goodwill, he's become strangely attached to you, pronouncing you best buds. he then admits he used to live with a larger group of people (hence his cooking habits), and he's thankful for your company. (you'd argue you're getting the better end of the deal, receiving free food like this)
exhibit b: he's always available to help you in your troubles. need a hand with heavy groceries? he's on his way! ran out of soy sauce? just wait a bit, he's gonna grab some from the cupboard! forgot your key inside your apartment? then stay at his place for the meantime before the locksmith comes! your shower isn't working well?... he promises he won't peek in the bathroom, so feel free to take a bath h a h a h a. need someone's opinion on what outfit to wear for a date? sure, he's- wait.
YOU'RE GOING ON A DATE?
his face twists weirdly as you showcase two different shirts, asking which one he likes better. you raise an eyebrow when he doesn't dare to utter a single word. “are they both bad?”
he blinks rapidly, then shakes his head laughing. he half-heartedly points to the shirt in your left hand, but you can tell he doesn't really think much of it. he excuses himself fairly quickly, saying he had chores to do, and scurried back to his own home.
(you were only going to a date with ayaka's older brother because she insisted you both needed a love life, but it's not like you actually feel anything for him.)
it doesn't end there. thoma acts weird sometimes. he's strangely cold when he sees you inviting kazuha to your apartment to hang out. he also stiffens when he spots xiao walking you home.
but by far, he acted the weirdest when your phone number called him, but when he answered, he heard a different voice respond.
it's childe, whom you went drinking with. he doesn't know where you live, and you're not nearly sober enough to return home on your own, and it's not like you'll agree to staying over childe's house. you also refuse telling him your address, so childe is left with no choices but to call for someone he knows.
he uses your fingerprint to unlock the password in your phone, heading straight for your contact list, and dialed thoma.
it doesn't take long for thoma to arrive where you are, panting after running for a while, and childe is almost impressed. thoma hoists you up and you obediently wrap your arms around him.
“sorry for the trouble. [name]'s dead drunk as you can see,” childe comments, chuckling to himself. thoma doesn't look amused and replies with, “it's no trouble at all. i'd be glad to help [name] anytime.”
then in a way that almost seems possessive, thoma leaves childe behind.
so now when you arrive home, bouquet in your arms, red dusting your features, thoma is displeased once more.
(yet he is envious of those who can freely profess their affections, because he's certain if he were to ever admit his feelings to you, things can never be the same.)
gorou:
you first suspected childe because you thought the bouquet of flowers was a joke, but if it wasn't and it was real with the intentions of sweeping you off your feet...
then you might have another suspect in mind.
gorou is... a funny guy. can you put it like that? you don't know what to think of him. he's nice, you already know that very well, kokomi's good friends with him and told you a few stories about him, all of which are sweet and amusing. your first impression of him was that of a pure-hearted boy that can do no wrong.
he's younger than you by a year, and kokomi was fairly excited when she first told you he would be attending the same university soon. she promised to introduce you to him in hopes you'd be friends as well.
and okay, you could get behind that. there's nothing wrong with meeting new people. gorou sounded like a great guy too, and it'd be nice to take care of someone younger. you've been coddled by your seniors the past year as a freshman, and you thought it would only be right if you did the same to the new batch of students.
so you attended the welcoming party kokomi dragged you into. it was just a small gathering to get the freshmen familiarize themselves with older students, and she told you you'd get to meet gorou there, her eyes carefully scanning the crowd in pursuit of a specific face.
just as you were reminiscing over the past where your sadistic seniors encouraged you to drink a lot in the last welcoming party, shuddering in fright, kokomi tapped your shoulder and gestured to the brown haired boy standing before you.
it must be him. per courtesy, your lips curled into a practiced smile, exuding an amicable air. kokomi briefly exchanged a few words with him, but it looked like she was doing all the talking, the male frozen in spot as if he'd seen something strange.
he stared at you blankly, eyes slightly widened, and you slowly became unnerved with his vacant gaze, your smile faltering. you made eye contact with kokomi, silently questioning her, but she gave a subtle shrug of her shoulders, also confused by his behavior.
then, completely out of everyone's expectations, he'd dropped to the floor.
gorou had knelt on the ground with one steady knee, solemn in his endeavors. in an instant, your hand was seized, fingers enclosed in his warm palm. his piercing stare was impassioned, sincere at its core. heat shot up to the tips of your ears.
“marry me!”
his voice resounded in the entire room, earning unwanted attention. the chatter halted immediately, all eyes dedicated to the spectacle that was the both of you, and your mind began to spin, cold sweat dripping down your forehead.
your voice was caught in your throat, not knowing what to say, and all you could formulate was a garbled string of incoherent mess. undeterred, the grasp on your hand was unrelenting, gorou committed through this act until the very end.
everyone was thinking the same thing: we haven't even started drinking yet, but this little guy is drunk already??
shameless. crazy. a head with loose screws. you're probably the only one who'd describe gorou that way.
but what kind of sane man would say that upon first meeting???
kokomi quickly tried to mediate the situation for him, pulling him away and patting his back to knock him out of his dazed stupor, and pushed you to the farthest corner.
she vouched for him when she saw your puzzled expression, thinking of him as a weirdo, and she insisted he's normally not that odd. she swears he was never interested in dating before, and she isn't sure what changed for him to... propose... all of a sudden... to you, who he'd barely seen for ten seconds, no less.
naturally, it feels strange for you to see him. after that disastrous encounter, gorou — who did feel embarrassment for what he did, horrified at his own impulsiveness — tried to make amends, backtracking steps (he skipped way too many and immediately went to propose lol) and treating you normally like a friend of a friend, slowly trying to make the atmosphere between you casual instead of a freezing blizzard that kills off the amicable mood.
in spite of all that, however, you do feel as if his feelings are actually genuine. he can be clumsy, and incredibly so, you don't know who else could propose to another person within a span of a minute meeting them for the first time, but he means well! you started off on the wrong foot, and maybe this bouquet of flowers is him trying to curry your favor... or something...
yet all he gives is a disbelieving look, and that's enough to provide a clear answer: it's not from him, and he's upset.
it,, probably wasn't a good idea to ask someone who likes you about another person who likes you.
but if it isn't him, who else could it be?!
drop your guesses in the comments but im pretty sure it's already obvious lol
xiao forgot to cook the rice
you wear another man’s clothes
f!reader┆canon┆wc. 1k┆navi┆like or reblog┆
ayato [綾人]
he wasn’t a jealous man, but it’d be a tremendous lie if he said he didn’t experience it. his jealousy didn’t stem from insecurity or low-self esteem. his tendency to get jealous was sowed in petty, childish annoyance over anything else
jealous? debatable. possessive? of course. the need or obligation to uphold a facade around others made it a fun challenge. it forced him to act sneakier than a fox when it came to showing his true feelings and intentions
he was so smug about it. sure, you didn’t know he was behind it but he didn’t mind. the reactions people had towards you compensated for it
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No thoughts head empty only rubedo and reader living that ✨cottagecore✨ life away from the cult like I've read in some sagau fics-- which leads to incidents like these happening:
Y'all should make sure to plug yall noses or Rubedo will be worried sick 👃 cuz that won't be the last time something like this will happen
Should I draw those too tho-
fuck
With: Xiao
Words: 2,4k
Warnings: Slight angst, hurt but Comfort and fluff
Note: Saw the trailer for 2.7, I just know it’s gonna hurt a lot :D
“You can’t keep doing this, Xiao.”
The adeptus furrows his brown in confusion, clearly not following your sudden trace of thoughts.
“You know I can handle myself just fine, right?”
“I do,” he answers honestly and examines you closely. “Where are you going with this?”
You weaver a little at Xiao’s eyes on you. Suddenly more nervous than you thought you would be.
“Y/N?”
You clear your throat. “It’s just, lately I’ve been getting the feeling, that you might became a little too… over cautious? Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate your help and your concern, but…”
He tilts his head. “But…?”
“But I won’t break that easily,” you continue. “I am quite capable of fighting and defending myself.” You are careful to choose the right words; to get your point straight, but without hurting him in the process.
Xiao is a proud being. His status as the “vigilant yaksha” vests him a thankless task of constant alertness and conflicts. To the people of Liyue he always sees himself as a mere weapon. Thus, it was only plausible to him to keep the status up when ever it concerns you.
But it was frustrating for you, that he couldn’t realise that he was not some weapon in your eyes, that he was so much more. It has always given him a hard time understanding that.
Now Xiao turns completely to you, giving you his undivided attention. “Why are you bringing these conclusions up? Is something the matter?”
You sight mildly, somehow unsure on how to word your issue correctly. So, you begin by going to the most recent incident. “Just earlier, my commission to return the stolen boxes from some treasure hoarders. But just as lately every camp I walk on, it was entirely empty of humans. But all their riches and other stuff was left behind, including my assigned items.”
Xiao crosses his arms in defence, looking away. “Treasure hoarders are dangerous. Not highly intelligent mortals, but they manage to do great damage when in groups.”
“And I can handle them. You know. You saw!” you exclaim in protest.
“I admit, I was helping you out. To keep you out of trouble. Of harm’s way.” Xiao is still not looking at you.
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The poor unsuspecting Albedo, Xingqiu, Aether, and Venti of vigil!mc's hidden strength (wait does Ayaka already know about Mc's strength?). Just imagine they got attacked (Ayato is also with them) by like an abyss mage or something like that, and mc just straight up made that abyss mage fly up to the stars. Ayato is now even more terrified of her strength, and is actually thanking Ei that he somehow survived mc's strength and/or mc didn't punch him to hard
And another one has entirely left my inbox! Boy it was difficult to draw tons of characters in one setting ghgh but it's good practice so!
ONWARDS- (read: left-right, up-down)
Betting that if little Kazuha could read all the Ayato & Vigil!MC asks sent to you, he'd either be fighting everyone physically or sulking in a corner.
Or both. In that order JAHSHSJAAJMA
FINALLY GOT TO DRAW IT AFTER 181823018301 WEEKS GHGGHGHHG, THIS WAS FUN LOL thank you kindly for the inspo countess :weary:
i didn’t wanna add this to the previous ask i sent, so here it is:
vigil!mc is totally one of those passive aggressive people who argue in a calm, low voice and perfect grammar and punctuation and everything. sometimes she doesn’t even need to utter a word, her aura and the soft smile on her face is enough to send people into a stuttering mess as they run away.
really good negotiator too. she’s learnt how to bargain and haggle from watching and.. eavesdropping on her parents’ negotiation meetings.
Even kazuha, her precious little brother who she ooves to death and wouldn’t ever harm, fears her at times. when he was younger, he’d do something that would very much upset his sibling, and when she turns around at him with a close-eyed smile, he literally prays to every god and archon out there to have mercy on him. (places a bouquet on her bedroom desk later on with a note reading: “sorry nee-san (◞‸◟) - kazuha”. (open the door and you’d be greeted by puppy dog eyes and a pout on a really cute little boy sitting by the door.)
-🦧
After 0192301301 weeks this ask has finally gotten free from my inbox.
That is so canon in the Vigil universe I'm not even kidding-
Also, I shucking had to draw it—
“sorry nee-san (◞‸◟) - kazuha”. this is the shucking reason why.
now INTO THE CHILDHOOD MEMORY WE GO-
(tap for better quality- hdasdhada)
"MY LITTLE BROTHER CAN'T BE THIS CUTE" - Vigil!MC to a young, panicking Kazuha.
His reaction to being called gēgē by a child.
Kazuha, Thoma, Gorou ver.
Itto, Scaramouche ver.
Requested by @lunavixia.
A/N: It feels a little out of place for a tsukumogami to be picked up by an adeptus, so the reader is an actual human child in Xiao’s version.
Xiao | Female reader | Scenario
“(Y/n), please don’t run! You might trip and hurt yourself!” Chongyun cried as he reached out for the young girl’s figure bolting away in the distance. Once she had disappeared beyond the gate beside Wangshu Inn, the exorcist fell on all fours in despair as scenarios of his possible doom by a certain yaksha’s hands flashed through his mind. “Adeptus Xiao will no doubt have my head if he finds even the tiniest scratch on her-!”
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hello! i saw your post about your requests being open for a certain time so i took the chance >< i absolutely love your works and i tend to binge or reread them whenever i have the time to do so :DDD i would like to request something with kaeya and diluc with a reader who is their youngest sibling? they witnessed the boys’ fight after the death of crepus and after the whole incident they try so hard to have the boys be on good terms again bcuz they promised crepus to look after them in his stead? but after every failed attempt which made the brothers distant even more, the reader just breaks down when they think they're alone? how would diluc and kaeya react when they hear their youngest sibling's cries? :’D hoping this is okay to work with! and i hope you're having a wonderful day! :3
Platonic relationship! This is definitely something I need practice writing about. My first instinct is to turn away from this but I just really want to improve my writing overall so I shall do it.
Thanks for this anon! Since you didn't specify the age nor the gender I shall go along with my own.
Characters: Younger Diluc, Younger Kaeya, sibling gn!reader
Warnings: angst with a bit of comfort, not proofread, Kaeya and Diluc being mean to each other
It happened when you were 8.
The image of a happy family fell apart.
Although you were not all related by blood, it had always been warm and safe. Diluc and Kaeya fought, sure, but it wasn’t like how it is now. Back then they fought because they pushed each other to always do better. Now, they fought because there was so much resentment in their hearts.
It was hard on you too, Crepus’ death. Whoever said that children wouldn’t understand death as much as adults did were wrong. You understood every bit of it, maybe even more than they did. Crepus would never come back, you would never see him again, would never relive those moments where he would read to you at night or run around playing hide and seek out in the vineyard.
People didn’t understand that Crepus was not the only person you lost that night.
Diluc and Kaeya slipped away too.
Gone were the days where Kaeya and Diluc would walk around Mondstadt with you. Or the days where they pranked you, hiding behind trees and waiting to see when you’d notice they were gone. They never ate together with you anymore. Didn’t sit by the fireplace talking about the books you all read.
“Diluc?” You peered around the door of his study. Previously Crepus’. Now Diluc’s. Your eye is the only visible thing from the desk. “...Can you...read with me before I sleep?” You asked cautiously. There was no real reason to be afraid of Diluc. He was still your brother, and he was still kind and nice towards you but lately...lately he just wasn’t the same.
Diluc’s eyes softened and his lips turned up into a small smile before retreating away from his desk and meeting you at the door. “Come on,” he tapped your back and you scurried towards your room happily...only for him to find out that Kaeya was there too.
The two of them used to make such good sound effects for the stories you read together. You just thought...it would still be possible, once in a while. But Diluc doesn’t even enter your room. He stays at the door and stares at Kaeya, almost glares at him. Kaeya is silent, but stares back.
Perhaps it was too early to do this, but you were hopeful.
They tried, they really did. At your prompting, Diluc finally walked in and sat down on another free chair as Kaeya started the story with you listening intently. Diluc admitted that it was easier to be in the same room as Kaeya while watching your eyes light up... but they were at each other’s throats after a moment.
“...Are you going to let me read or are you going to do the whole thing?” Diluc asked, to which Kaeya stopped and glanced at the red-head.
“Oh, you wanted to read? I just had the impression that you didn’t want to be here. You don’t have to force yourself, Master Diluc,”
They went back and forth, with Diluc saying that they were supposed to do it together, but Kaeya was obviously not the best at following instructions. Kaeya countered, spitefully stating “Of course I have to follow your instructions, you’re the man of the house now, I forgot,”
It didn’t end well. It never ended well. Neither did your attempt at getting the two of them to bake together with you. Nor your attempt to at least just have a meal together.
So when your ninth birthday came around, you were hopeful. Adelinde prepared the cake, everyone gathered round the dining table as the candles were lit. Kaeya was there, but Diluc was a little late, having some business to attend to in Mondstadt. Still, he appeared when all your candles were lit, just as everyone was ready to sing the song.
“Nice of you to finally show up,” Kaeya said.
Diluc’s eyes darted towards him, eyes cold. “I wasn’t expecting you to be here either. I didn’t know you were invited,”
Kaeya let out a breathy laugh. “I can’t even see my own family now?”
“...We aren’t a family,” Diluc said it before he could think, but he meant it. He meant every bit of it. His resentment towards Kaeya still raw, still fresh and still rampant.
The candles on your cake continued to burn as they started going at each other. They brought up things that shouldn’t have been brought up while arguing, including Crepus’ death.
You sat on the chair and watched the two of them. Watched as the maids tried to dissuade them from fighting. Watched as your candles burned lower, and watched as the candles became blurrier.
Everyone was here. And yet you felt so, so alone.
It was Adelinde that noticed the tears just pooling out of your eyes, you yourself hadn’t noticed it yet. Fat, wet tears uncontrollably trailing down to your chin and towards your folded hands atop the table. Your sniffles barely audible over the arguing.
“Young Y/N,” Adelinde knelt down next to your chair and you jolted up, aware of your surroundings. “A-Adelinde,” your voice breaks, and you hiccup, the sound finally breaking through the argument and forcing Kaeya and Diluc to turn their heads towards you.
“I-I don’t--hic--I don’t have anyone,”
Not father.
“No one,”
Not Kaeya.
“I don’t have anyone anymore,” your eyes shut tight, and you push against the table, your chair dragging noisily across the floor.
Not Diluc.
“Y/N!” A chorus of Adelinde, Kaeya and Diluc’s voices followed as you threw yourself off the chair and up to your room. Kaeya’s the first one after you, then Diluc... leaving the maids to clean up the party that hadn’t even started.
“Y/N? Hey, you didn’t even blow your candles yet,” Kaeya softly turned the knob to your door, realizing that you had locked it and he instinctively presses his ear onto the wooden surface. “...Y/N, do you want me to bring the cake up?”
Diluc only watched. He was in a small trance. Recalling your words at the table and the way your face contorted into such a painful expression. Somewhere in all of this...he had somehow forgotten that you were just a child. Forgotten that he still had a duty to you, as your brother. Forgotten that you still needed them, just as much as they needed you, yet hadn’t realized it in a while.
For the first time in such a long time, Diluc placed a hand on Kaeya’s shoulder, and spoke with you through the door. He had to step up, or they’d both lose you. “Y/N, Kaeya and I...we’re going to bring your cake and gifts up and we’ll wait out here, okay?”
Still no answer, and Diluc was getting mildly anxious if you were okay in there. “We can open presents together and you can pick which one you like better,” Kaeya stills as well. Just wanting some indication that you were there, and wanting to be forgiven.
The two of them hear a small murmur from inside, causing them to both lean in closer. “Can you say that again?” Diluc probes gently and your voice comes out clearer.
“I-If I do that, you’ll end up fighting again, I don’t want to choose gifts,” your sniffles are clear as day and it hurt that they were the reason for it.
“...Well...I guess we might end up fighting but that’s...that’s cause we’re brothers,” Diluc nearly falters, he feels as if his throat is about to close up too. “And we’ll always want to be the better brother for you,”
Kaeya steps back just as the door rattles open and little old you peers up at the two of them, eyes red and cheeks tear-stained. Kaeya bites the inside of his lip to keep from breaking his expression. “...We’ll have my party in my room?” You ask them hopefully, and the two of them break into a small smile.
“Yeah, that’s fine, I’ll go get your gifts and cake. Kaeya’ll stay here,” Diluc turns to return downstairs. Possibly to get away from all the emotions he was feelings at the moment, possibly to hide the tear he might have shed. You’ll never know.
Kaeya leaves the door open and brings his arms out, which you instantly fall into. He closes his eyes and sighs. “...Sorry, little one... Let’s try again, okay?” And as Diluc enters the room, cake and gifts in tow, he looks at the sight and can’t help thinking that he still had something to fight for.
It might take a while to heal the still open wounds...but at least for today, it’d be like it had always been. At least for today, he’d agree on a silent truce with Kaeya, and they’ll try harder after that.
For today, and for you, they’ll strive to make the word family warm and safe again.
https://ko-fi.com/primofate
https://primofate.tumblr.com/post/653296890583154688/masterlist-for-mobile-version-main-links
where various genshin men attempt to win over your heart through several steps of courting.
pairings: albedo x reader, ayato x reader, diluc x reader, kaeya x reader, thoma x reader, xiao x reader, zhongli x reader. (separately)
genre: fluff
warnings: none
updates: once a week
steps
the beginning: love at first sight
STEP ONE: “flowers for the lady?”
STEP TWO: “hm, what a pretty gift…”
STEP THREE: “a love letter? for me?”
STEP FOUR: “you want to go on a date…with me?!”
STEP FIVE: “how sweet of you”
STEP SIX: “care to take me home?”
the end: the confession
send an ask to be added to my taglist! please refrain from copying or plagiarizing my work.
<3
Okay but can u imagine the househusband AU with Scaramouche? Fits the bill of “last person to be a housemaker”. People in the neighbourhood thinking is-is s/onokay? Are they being blackmailed? People doubting his ability to be a househusband and Scaramouche just being all competitive like “You dare doubt me?!” Cant be aggressive to get his way no more so he has to rely on his two faced behaviour a lot. Scares people with his smile.
Soft only for s/o? Yes but not the way u think.
S/o rushing to go to work. He’d be all menacing like “Oy, you forgot to give me my goodbye kiss”.
No one was allowed to make a mistake back when he was in the gang but imagine past members seeing s/o ruin the kitchen to make him a dish and he just gushes and eats with with a smile.
content: spoilers in scaramouche’s real name, mentions of death, mentions of violence, fluff/no-angst
post-script: no but like, im super obsessed with this ask tysm for providing this brainrot to me anon 😍😍😍😍
taglist: @genshingirlsgobrr
the way of the househusband masterlist
when scaramouche thought of retiring from his crime life after he finally fulfilled his revenge against a certain woman who became the very reason why he’s a part of the yakuza, he instantly rejected it. why should he retire when he has so much power anyway?
you, apparently.
just the thought of being able to spend with you for the rest of his life was only but a dream, and now? now that scaramouche can do whatever he wants, – whether it’d be being able to make his organization more powerful, be more feared by people in his city, or even become the most powerful yakuza boss – he chose to be with you, the person who’s been with him for so many years.
i don’t really think scaramouche would gracefully announce that he’s retiring, especially when the police and the last of his rivals’ organization are still after his head, so he decided to fake his own death to make things more easierz
which led him to where he is now, running away from his crime life after faking his own death as the both of you move to a small town where no one can find you.
despite being considered as dead by the police, scaramouche still decided to change his name into his old one for the sake of not being caught.
he was reluctant about becoming a househusband when you first suggested it to him at first, but after having no other choices to pick, he decided to become one — an amazing one, in fact.
you never expected your lover, who’s definitely the last person everyone expected to be a good househusband, to be so great at it. like? you’ve never seen your man cleaning or cooking at all.
whether it’d be cleaning up every single thing that exists in your home, cooking dishes and make them look like they came from a 5 star restaurant, and even managing to win almost 80% of the neighborhood’s hearts by his “sweet” attitude — everything he does is scarily on par with househusband!thoma.
scaramouche would be lying if he said he wasn’t proud of himself –
except being able to win 80% of the neighborhood’s hearts, he absolutely seethes the fact alone.
the man always scowls to himself before going out from his beloved home and put on his fake happy-go-lucky charade, hoping that no one has to come up to him so that he wouldn’t have to fake his tone as well.
given that scaramouche has been a yakuza boss for practically most of his life, he wasn’t used to not become aggressive to get something he wants on his underlings – causing him to use his happy charade once more just to get it, especially when it comes to getting discounts for items (which usually works).
it’s true that none of the neighborhood weren’t convinced by his happy-go-lucky attitude, until there were incidents where the man did a lot of good things, such as saving a kid from being in a car accident for instance, and made most of the neighborhood believing that the househusband is a good guy.
in reality, all those “good deeds” were just scaramouche trying to win a bet from you that he can make the whole neighborhood believe his fake attitude.
if it weren’t for a certain nosy neighbor who had accidentally caught him saying a colorful language while trying to open the front door of your shared home with the house key, the whole neighborhood would’ve been convinced by his fake charade.
the 20% of the neighborhood are just the neighbors who gossip a lot, and boy it was hellfire when they find out that scaramouche is not who he seems to be.
you were surprised to say the least when donna suddenly came up to you with a concerned look on her face, asking if you’re being abused by your lover or not.
despite reassuring donna that you‘re not being abused by scaramouche, the woman reluctantly didn’t speak further about the topic and left, leaving you alone in front of your home in confusion.
although your beloved husband’s attitude outside is fake, his attitude in your shared home is genuine.
but not in a way you’d think.
“oi, where’s my goodbye kiss?”
“you’re coming home late? you better be careful while you’re on your way back here 😡😡”
“what? that was your favorite food? i don’t know what you’re talking about.” deep down he knows.
he’s an affectionate menace as he always has been. unlike the way he treated others, he treats you far better than he ever did with anyone else. his underlings from his organization can see that clearly.
his secretary can see the way his dark expression suddenly changed when the secretary brought in his lunch that you made after finding out that he doesn’t eat a lot, his security guard can see the way scaramouche often checks up on his phone to see a notification from “❤️” — just seeing their boss being so in love with you made them want to thank you for being a part of his life.
you’ll never know it but his subordinates always thanked you mentally for saving their lives from his wrath whenever you called him out of nowhere, causing him to be in a good mood again afterwards.
ever since scaramouche became a househusband, you were never late from your work at all. everyday, your lover would wake you up early and make sure you have time to get ready and eat breakfast with him – he’s basically your human alarm now.
i could honestly see scaramouche calling you during your lunch break so that the both of you can eat meals together while talking through your phones, a habit that‘s been happening even back when he was a yakuza boss.
he’d also do something such as cooking a meal just to try and sleep like in one of the new episodes of the way of the househusband, causing you to sometimes wake up if the smell is super strong.
he’d also sometimes have cats follow him whenever he comes out, not noticing the furbabies following his trail as he gets weirded out by people staring at him while passing by. by the time he realized the reason, he didn’t seem to pay mind to them.
sometimes, you’d see a few cats eating food in a large bowl in front of your home.
given that scaramouche faked his “death”, there was no one in his organization who knew the truth.
besides the woman who unintentionally caught him in a grocery store.
“who knew la signora would fake her death by burning the place.” scaramouche said with a smirk as the two retired yakuza bosses stood across from each other in the grocery store.
“it’s rosalynne now.” la signora said, rolling her eyes. “and watch your mouth. at least i didn’t fake my own death the way you did it, the cops wouldn’t have stopped the bounty on you if it weren’t for dottore giving them a fake body.”
the man shrugs the woman off. “forget that, will you? and why are you even here in the first place? i thought you’d go for mondstadt.”
“i was, but this is my lover’s hometown.” la signora explained, grabbing one of the food cans from the aisle next to her. “and you? what brings you and your spouse here?”
“it’s our only option since my spouse isn’t too fond of staying in another country.” scaramouche replied, looking around his surroundings in hopes of finding your figure.
his actions didn’t go unnoticed by the woman, who chuckles in amusement. “i found it hard to believe that the balladeer would be smitten by a person until now. how long have you been together?”
“…five years. you?”
before la signora could respond, scaramouche immediately heard the familiar sounds of your footsteps followed by you appearing in his view.
“i finally found the stupid noodles, you had no idea how long it took me to find it.” you comment, placing the noodles inside the cart.
the woman watched as scaramouche got distracted by you, amused by the way the man stares at you with a soft expression, something she never got to see back when they were both in the yakuza life.
she could see why he faked his death as well.
Jean and the smolnemos🍃
Congrats, master Jean, for being tall.
,,,btw heizou's like an unexpected pleasant breeze and i truly hope he's a jolly little brat
Beidou, introducing kazuha to the crew for the first time or something idk i haven’t played his story yet :
Insta loved this so here u go genshins of tumblr
trouble in paradise?
in which you and your rival co-actor were partnered up for your chemistry on-screen…and now that you’ve realized it, it’s proven to become more of a challenge not to fall for each other. (or : short dialogues shared)
character/s: albedo, ayato, childe, kazuha, scaramouche, xiao
a/n: hehe hi @sohyuki
childe.
getting interviewed about dating rumors,
“is it true that the both of you really aren’t together?”
it takes every fiber in you to not choke or spit out the water in your mouth, as you (shakily) set down the previously offered water bottle with a hasty and composed smile. “again, neither of us are interested in dating each other. we do admit that we have an…amiable relationship as co-actors, but definitely nothing more or less than that.”
yeah right, you can feel your inner voice openly chide as your eyes flit towards childe’s in masked panic. however, all you witness from your co-actor is his irritatingly polite smile, and a seemingly unfazed demeanor despite the intrusive and bothersome question.
“i don’t know, i think we look pretty good together.” he grins in a boyish manner, his slender fingers somehow finding its way to tease a lock of your hair within his grasp. you can feel a blush creep upon your cheeks at the unexpected remark, and you fight the urge to cuss him out in the middle of national television. not when your interviewer was clearly gushing at the sight of you two, and the glint of mischief in his ocean blue eyes almost dare to taunt you in his twisted idea of a challenge.
“it’s a shame,” you seethe through gritted teeth and a forced smile, discreetly unlacing his fingers from your freshly styled bed of hair. “that we’re just friends who aren’t attracted to each other.”
“says who?” you hear him pipe jokingly from beside you, and you swear your head whips back to him faster than lightning, a bewildered look evident in your eyes. “for all we know, i could have been secretly in love with you for the last few months.”
“ha ha, really funny.” you swallow the words as his fingers casually bump against yours, the warm sensation of it rendered as something foreign in your brain. it takes a moment to also register that his face was now inches from yours, a playful smirk on his face as he revels in the sight of your disbelief.
“funny, huh? care to find out whether it’s true, then?”
your tomato-hued face was the one thing childe took pride in, before the director giddily shouted ‘cut!’, and the interview was finally over.
the next day, your names were in bold headlines — and to much of your evident disappointment, even more rumors of the both of you “dating” were scattered all over the gushing press and intrigued audience.
xiao.
photographing for a magazine cover,
“how much longer do you have to touch me?”
“you think i appreciate this any more than you do?” he sneers, amber irises recoiling quickly in disgust at the sight of you. “stop moving and let’s get this over with.”
“that’s great, you two look perfect!” the photographer praises in evident enthusiasm from behind. “could you bring the lady a little closer to your chest?”
a squeak comes out of you when you feel your co-actor obey the order, much to his utter dismay. “you keep writhing. could you tone that down for a fucking second?”
“well in case you haven’t noticed, i’m not exactly the most comfortable with—!” your words catch in your throat when xiao slyly angles his head down to a patch of skin on your neck. you can hear his breath hitch and your pulse quicken at the little gesture, his seething words suddenly coming out clearer than ever against your flushed complexion.
“neither am i. now you’d better shut up, before i make you.”
“that pose is perfect! adjust your expressions — yes, keep it like that for a bit longer!”
it almost hurts to keep your breathing controlled, but it’s all you can do to calm the thrumming of your heart, as your conflicted eyes meet his indecipherable irises boring straight back into yours.
“…fine. dickwad.”
“incessant bitch.”
scaramouche.
bickering after a kissing scene,
“oi, someone get me some mouthwash.” you hear your co-actor grumble in disgust, while hastily wiping his lips with the back of his hand.
“a mint for me.” you scoff in return, only rolling your eyes when he turns to you with a death glare that seemed to harbor a shred of disbelief. “what? you taste like shit.”
“yeah, because i kissed shit.”
your scowl deepens at his words, and it takes the director’s exhausted command to split the sparking tension apart between you two. a part of you felt bad, considering this had already become some sort of “normal” routine ever since he scouted the both of you to play the main roles in a romantic film. but could he blame the both of you for getting pissed off after having to repeat that damned kissing scene for several takes?
“the good news is,” the director inhales a hefty breath. “that’s the last kissing scene you have to do together.”
“well, i wouldn’t intend to kiss her ever again.” scaramouche snorts. “she’s one hell of a shitty kisser.”
“oh like you were any better, dipshit.”
“you really wanna go at it right now?” his eyes flicker over to yours in a fit of darkness.
“what, you’re gonna prove me wrong or something?”
“maybe i will.” he growls in irritation, before violently snatching your wrist and dragging you with him to retreat inside his trailer, as you both quietly bicker amongst yourselves…but nevertheless, strangely don’t seem to be recoiling away from each other at the notion of kissing again.
“but, we have another scene to film in seven minutes—”
“any of you step inside that trailer and i’ll beat your ass up.” he threatens for the last time, a mysterious glint in his eyes as he lazily glances over his shoulder to meet the rest of the production crew’s astonished gazes. “we’ll come out when we’re finished with our business.”
kaedehara kazuha.
walking on the red carpet,
“y/n, over here!”
the flashing of crowded camera lights momentarily blind you with their intense illumination, but you work up a smile for the audience anyway. it’s been thirty minutes since you’ve found yourself posing for the cameras, however now you wanted nothing more than to sit down and tend to the blisters that were beginning to sting at your feet from your heels.
you take a few steps toward the venue, ever so slightly swaying in your stance as you grit your teeth and endure the sudden bursts of pain. if you could just walk a bit quicker to reach the confines of the marbled threshold that awaits…
but the deafening shout of the final group of photographers snap you out from your daze, glancing over your shoulder as they excitedly beckon you over to take the last batch of photos before entering inside.
you shift in your steps…albeit a little too hurriedly, as your feet begin to wobble and you feel yourself about to fall down —
only to be (unwillingly) caught by none other than your unfazed co-actor. his hands slip around your waist to securely straighten your body, and you can’t help but gape in astonishment at the uncharacteristic yet gentlemanly gesture.
“love, you look like an idiot staring at me.”
your eyebrows furrow at the slightly rude comment, annoyed at how his averted eyes never seem to meet yours. “i think i had it under control.” you mutter beneath your breath, forcing a smile for the cameras and gushing photographers, as his thumb lazily traces circles on your waist in a form of reassurance.
“you can bicker all you want later, when we reach the entrance.” he smirks in amusement, before nonchalantly resting his head on your shoulder to pose differently for the pictures, his intrusive breath tickling your ears. “just smile and look pretty, love. like always.”
it’s frustrating to fight the blush that settles on your cheeks as he puts on a facade and eventually guides you inside with that fucking knowing grin.
albedo.
attending a costume fitting,
“stand still.” you hear him mutter in a low breath, as he wraps the measuring tape around the curve of your waist.
you let out a dry scoff. “who let you do this?”
“it’s not that difficult of a task,” albedo replies, peering down at the red number on the white band. “so i offered to help out.”
“well make it quick,” you clear your throat, cocking your head to the side in attempts to hide the flush on your cheeks. “it’s been fifteen minutes. i’m starving.”
“are you?” he hums, never raising his teal irises to meet yours in turn. “or are you just scared?”
you frown at the boy. “why would i be scared?”
albedo tugs lightly on the measuring tape around your body, causing you to tumble forward and closer to his face. your eyes jolt wide open at the close proximity, and the forbidden thumping in your heart grows worse at the clearer sight of him.
“a-albedo?” you blurt out, shifting your eyes somewhere else to avoid his piercing gaze. “what the hell are you doing?” you peek over his shoulder at the wide open door. “what if someone sees us?”
a corner of his lip tugs upward in an attractive manner. “ah, is that why?” followed by a teasing chuckle. “you’re scared i might do something to you.”
“jeez, i’m not afraid—” you bite your tongue hastily in aggression, when he suddenly tilts his head to inch closer towards your lips.
“it’s in your eyes right now,” he remarks in a low voice, noting the way your breath remains caught in your throat. “you’re scared i’ll end up kissing you.”
you swallow thickly in the haze of his pervading cologne, unable to say anything to refute his words. because yeah, maybe he was right. maybe you were scared about the centimeter distance. maybe you were scared that your rival co-actor might press his soft mouth against yours without acting. maybe you were scared about what that would mean in your career and competitive relationship.
bringing your hands down to his, you pry his grasp off the tape around your waist. “well, you got what you needed. i’m leaving.”
as you hurriedly make your way towards the exit of the room, albedo stays behind to fill out the last measurement required on the sheet of paper, before eventually allowing a begrudging sigh to escape from between his pressed lips.
“ah…for a second, i almost wanted to kiss her.”
ayato.
helping with your make-up,
“why does he have to do this again?” you groan in your seat, jutting out a finger at the boy setting down another cosmetic near a station organized by the wide mirror.
“‘cause i know how to do it well.” ayato smiles, but there’s something close to a mischievous intent masked behind blue-grey irises.
you glare over at the director, who ended up shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. “just a few more minutes and it’s over. you’re getting paid to put up with him anyway.”
“god knows i wish i wasn’t,” you scoff, about to bury your face in your hands, before suddenly remembering you were already caked with make-up.
“one last touch,” you hear him hum, watching as he swipes his finger across a light pink tint before reluctantly bringing his hand closer to your face.
you can’t even protest as he brushes the pigment softly against the plush of your lips, the rest of his fingers cupping your cheek in a gentle manner. ayato strokes the shade once, twice, and perhaps once more for an extra measure — before suddenly pausing in his movements.
you wonder what he’s busy gawking at, and then it belatedly hits you — he’s staring at your mouth.
“ahem,” you aggressively clear your throat, snapping him out of his temporary daze.
“ah, it’s done.” ayato instantly comments, and it irks you to see how he doesn’t even seem bothered that you had clearly caught him admiring your lips back there.
“weirdo.” you grumble, pushing yourself off the seat to scrutinize the boy’s finished work in the mirror. “hm, i suppose it’s…not bad.”
your hesitant comment causes his eyes to shift from the cosmetics, towards the sight of your reflection in the mirror.
“well, would you look at that,” he grins cockily, ignoring the way his heart subconsciously races a tad too quickly at the pleasant view of you.
“i finally made you pretty.”