Hello!

sincerely,

yours truly (part one). / sincerely (part two).

premise: your diligent efforts to uncover the identity of your secret admirer had ultimately amounted to nothing. in fact, your investigations only raised more questions — your companions' strange behaviors and shifty-eyed gazes hadn't completely escaped from your awareness, not to mention you've become... privy to some of their affections...

and what is the last thing you need while trying to search for one person who liked you? more people to like you, of course!

but that is exactly what you receive. (goddamn it all.)

includes: zhongli, kaeya, scaramouche, itto & the real secret admirer !

note: oh god i have done it. it's even longer than the other one but since this is the 10k celebration fic, it's only rightfully so! i hope you enjoy this... likes and reblogs are appreciated <33 please read the first part if you haven't already!

zhongli:

all things considered, zhongli is an unrelated figure to your personal issues, not particularly concerned with such trifling matters. you lived worlds apart, and he's generally preoccupied by his own studies anyway, too absorbed in his thesis to mind who has a crush on who and whatnot.

yet it seems as if fate is intent on pulling you two together whether you like it or not.

you belong in different majors, your lecture halls on opposite sides of campus, and he's an upperclassman. not to mention the upperclassman everyone looks up to, the senior equivalent of albedo. though he holds an air of benevolence and warmth, he's unapproachable in the way nobody would dare impose themselves in fear of bothering him with their presence.

professors only speak of his name in accordance with endless words of praise, and legend has it that any paper he proofreads is guaranteed to receive a high grade... not that anyone could confirm it, since nobody has been gifted that luxury.

except for you, of course, living the y/n life — you'd been slaving away on your assignments per usual at diluc's cafe when, in a moment of misfortune, zhongli had crashed into a waiter and spilled his coffee on your papers, soaking pale sheets in brown splatters and smudging the inked sentences you'd painstakingly written for the past hour.

if only your laptop hadn't run out of battery, you wouldn't have resorted to drafting with pen and paper. or you could have done your work in a later date instead of being productive for nothing. fuck.

witnessing your expression crumpled to disbelief and misery, zhongli apologized through offering his assistance in doing your assignment with you. and oh boy, he did it well. it was better than what you could've ever done, the insight he provided beyond profound. he was humble even as you showered him with compliments, still looking quite apologetic for the fiasco he caused.

and. right. it could've ended there. after that occasion, you would wave at him if you passed by each other at the hallways, but that's where the extent of your relationship ended, a pair of underclassman and upperclassman who'd known each other once.

but of course it's never that easy.

he pops up when you least expect it, running into you frequently even though the rumors articulated “you'd hardly get a glimpse of him since he's busy all the time” clearly. and he's acquainted with people you know well, just that you never paid attention to it; keqing seems to respect him a lot, so does xiao, ganyu perks up whenever he's brought up in conversations, and childe sticks to him when given the opportunity. perhaps it was only a matter of time that you begin a friendship with him as well...

but what's up with these horribly timed drama tropes you keep experiencing with him?!

bumping into him and dropping your books to the floor so he offers to walk you to the library, locked into a room when a professor asks you to collect materials for class with him and the door has a faulty knob, getting photographed by a student while you study in the same table and everyone assumes you're dating,,

you've been seeing far too much of him.

everyone's patience has been wearing thin. xiao tries his best to keep his annoyance at bay but fails. childe has resorted to bribing zhongli for free lunch to lead him away from you. albedo straight up drags you to the opposite direction whenever he spots zhongli within vicinity.

but it's like there's a force of nature compelling you to stick right back to him.

hosting events for college fests had never been your kind of thing, but attention follows you if you're acquainted with famous people, and keqing was unwilling to be an emcee if she didn't have a friend alongside her to act as a second host. of course, that meant everyone was deadset on dragging you with her.

you're not very keen on standing on a stage to face the whole school like a kid participating in a talent show, but you've never been good at saying “no” to your friends.

hence why you find yourself clutching on a microphone now, blinded by bright stage lights. you would much prefer if you were part of the audience. or if you were in ayaka's place instead, holding up cue cards behind the curtains.

there's some kind of beauty pageant going on, a popularity contest for the prettiest people in uni. votes are collected via online polls, and you're tasked to reveal the top 10. you don't doubt for a second your friends will all join you on stage eventually, and you've already asked ganyu to drag xiao up the platform if he tries to escape. sweeping off a piece of confetti by your shoulder, you flip open the folden paper in your hand and announce the winning names.

zhongli steps up as one of the candidates for first place and you faintly hear gasps of awe and high pitched squeals.

you nod at him in acknowledgement, and he returns the gesture in kind. you head on over to hand him a mic of his own, keqing busying herself by doing the same job for other contestants, and...

in your carelessness, distracted by fumbling with the paper in your hand to hide it back inside your pocket, you trip over an electrical cord.

you've been waiting the entire night for the time where you'll eventually embarrass yourself in front of a crowd. perhaps a voice crack in what's supposed to be a tense situation, a stutter in your words, falling off a stage even, but here it is, even more horrifying than what you could've imagined.

squeezing your eyes shut instinctively, you brace yourself for the hard surface to tumble onto. instead, what meets you is something squishy, someone's hands gripping around your shoulders, and-

FUCK. you banged your knees on the ground.

the first thing to pop in your mind is a myriad of swears that could stun a sailor.

the second is the oddly plush surface your lips had landed on.

the third is the sight of widened golden eyes. they look very familiar. but you'd rather not think about who they belong to.

the ugly screech of the microphone dropping to the floor is drowned out by gasps, yelling, and the scandalized choke of keqing behind you. xiao — who did end up being a contender for the stupid popularity contest and is standing only a few meters away, makes an alarming noise that could trigger a person's fight or flight reaction.

you hastily attempt to rise to your feet, but the floor is slippery what the actual fuck, and zhongli, oh for fuck's sake, innocent and oblivious zhongli grabs your hips to keep you steady.

.....of course the accidental kiss and caught in a compromising position tropes were going to happen eventually.

kaeya:

“it's from me.”

your gaze travels from the fresh, new bouquet of flowers emitting a sweet fragrance lying in your arms, and the face of the man currently standing before you, lips curled in what seems to be a supposedly reassuring smile.

“you mean... this and the carnations last time?”

his lips are still firmly quirking upwards, admirably patient in spite of reiterating the same phrase over and over again whenever probed with your repetitive questions.

still, he doesn't quite give off the impression of someone deeply infatuated.

and okay, not to be narcissistic, but you expected a secret admirer to... well, admire you more, yet this person looks as nonchalant as ever.

and he doesn't look like the type to profess love through subtle means. at all.

you'll be blunt. you've heard of kaeya. who hasn't? whether it be of mischief, or something more scandalous in nature, he's more or less always involved with trouble, gossip about him traveling fast. it may be an insane prank in the boys' dormitory or someone he bedded (who's supposedly out of everyone's league, yet fell for his charms so easily), you hear of his name quite often.

it's just that you didn't expect you'd associate yourself with him...

and if you have at least two brain cells to rub together, you can easily piece together the conclusion: this guy is definitely talking out of his ass.

nobody has ever heard of kaeya pining over someone so badly that he personally sent bouquets and other small gifts to appease them, admiring them from the shadows. it's so clearly not his style. if he likes someone, he'd flirt with them a bit and cleverly worm his way into their heart, and absolutely not give away presents expecting nothing in return.

but if he's not your secret admirer, then for what reason is he pretending like he is?

you want to seek the truth, and playing along for the meantime sounds like the best option. and this may draw out the real secret admirer, the sly part of you voices internally.

thinking it'll be rude to turn him down publicly (since of course he initiated this exchange in the middle of a crowd, and that only gives you more reason to doubt him), you decide to see how things go first.

if anything, this whole “wooing” business with kaeya seems like it's done out of spite. does he have a bone to pick with you? or he made one of those stupid “it'll only take a week for you to fall for me” bets with his friends? hopefully not, because that's terribly out of trend.

your indifferent responses do nothing to deter him from sticking to you like glue though, doing this and that to earn your favor. he's... not doing anything wrong, actually. if you didn't know any better, you'd think he's like any other eager guy who wants to receive your love.

he does a great job of remembering what things you like and dislike, making a habit of inviting you out for a meal in your favorite restaurants every now and then or taking note of what movies you're looking forward to so you could watch it in the cinema together.

... it feels more like hanging out with normal friends now.

kaeya eases into the idea of that notion, too, insisting on meeting you outside of his shady “i'm your secret admirer” business. it doesn't take too long until you begin to reach out to him as well, inviting him to go shopping with you to look at jewelry together (and dear lord, does kaeya know how to accessorize) or giving him a ticket to the amusement park when kokomi bails on you. (“so i' m just a rebound? a back-up plan?” kaeya arches a questioning brow, acting deeply hurt to provoke a reaction. you smack his shoulder and he laughs in mirth.)

(he definitely tries for the “let's go to the haunted house so you can cling to me when you're scared” cliche but fails. why does he feel disappointed though...)

if given more time, maybe the time would come where you'll both just shrug off the secret admirer thing and continue on normally as friends. it'll be the last thing on your minds, a joke that never had a punchline. just some prank kaeya didn't see through the end.

but then it resurfaces when kaeya had already given you your daily dose of coffee — yes, he somehow knows the secret recipe you like, something you plan to ask him about later — but another cup is waiting at your desk, its once warm temperature turning lukewarm.

you inspect it, judging for yourself, and you confirm it's the same recipe you like.

so this one is from the real secret admirer then, the one who's still hiding in the shadows. that, or this recipe is just popular.

the people residing in the same room as you observe the scene with interest, because apparently your romance drama became a spectator sport, stares pinned in kaeya's direction.

you knew he was a fraud from the very start, but others do not, and he's not sure what to say.

someone else makes the excuse for him. “do you have another person who likes you, [name]?” amber asks innocently, essentially saving kaeya's ass without her realizing it. you let your gaze shift from her to kaeya.

“...maybe.” you place the two cups of coffee side-by-side, feigning nonchalance.

if the real secret admirer found out that someone's pretending to be him, this must be his way of saying kaeya's a fraud in front of everyone. after all, if he was actually the secret admirer, there'd be no need for kaeya to give you another cup when he'd already placed one on top of your desk.

and a couple of people already know who the real one is, anyway. xiao just doesn't want to tell you.

kaeya sends what seems to be a longing gaze your way but ends up turning away to head to his own classroom. he'd only offered to walk you towards yours, and you didn't share classes. it gives you more time to ponder how to confront him.

you didn't have to. he explained things himself.

it comes in the time you least expect, a peaceful lunch like any other. he suddenly arrived at your table, tray in hand, and sat opposite of you. “it's not me,” is the first thing he says, no context at all. he admits the obvious truth and you shovel more food in your mouth in your hopes of hiding how curious you are for what else he has to say.

“but i know who's been giving you flowers... and the coffee. also the chocolate the other day. i helped him pick out the presents, actually.” and that's where you choke because that's not what you were expecting at all.

“he was considering sending a love letter, but i told him you'd recognize his handwriting because you know him very well. and he refused to give a printed letter because he thought it was 'lacking' and you deserved better than that.” he scoffed at the thought. “and that's cute of him. endearing, if you will. but he seriously pissed me off last month and i wanted to mess with him a bit.”

“so you... tried to date the person he likes?” your expression sours. that's a dick move. he immediately shakes his head, as if to say perish the thought.

“not that. i knew for a fact you wouldn't like me anyway. i was just teasing him,” kaeya huffs. “and he got angry at me. well, it's a justified reaction. but i didn't plan on keeping up the charade for long. i only wanted to fool around for a few days.”

“and then?”

“...i missed the timing to pass it off as a joke. then we started to hang out like friends. but i assured him that you didn't actually think i was the real secret admirer, so he forgave me as long as i... do some work for him.”

oh. he's right about that though. and that also explains why kaeya looked so tired recently, helping out a friend with his project as a sincere apology.

“does he plan on revealing his identity anytime soon?” you can't help but ask, your eager eyes betraying the nonchalance in your voice. kaeya sighs at that, leaning back on his chair and crossing his arms.

“i've been trying to convince him to. it's exhausting to look at him flailing about like an idiot. he talks about you all the time.” he frowns at the way your cheeks color. “you should try luring him out.”

you tilt your head in question. to show his point, he reaches out his arm, grabbing your hand. you let him do as he pleases, even as he brings the spoonful of your meal to his lips, and takes a bite out of it.

distantly, you hear a metal clatter against the floor and a voice cry out in surprise. you turn your head towards the noise, and you see—

the hell. it's just bennett tripping.

... but it's not like bennett dropped a metal utensil or anything. he is the one who cried out, though.

“wrong direction, sweetheart. you were supposed to look at the right. what a shame, you didn't see him picking up his fork like a fool.” kaeya laughs, releasing your hand from his grip.

he seems strangely reluctant in doing so, but you decide not to look further into it.

scaramouche:

at best, he is an unwilling spectator.

emphasis on “unwilling” because he truly does not wish to see you. like at all. you're pretty sure he hates your guts, but he'd amassed a lifetime's worth of misfortune and keeps seeing you... and the guys around you.

it's safe to say if your love life was turned into a k-drama, he'd probably seen the entire series.

he'd walked in on you when childe confessed he likes you, purple eyes narrowed into a sharp glare before he turned on his heel and left the room. he'd seen the way xiao looks at you, starstruck and excruciatingly fond, because of course scaramouche sat beside him in class (long, long ago they settled a mutual agreement to not speak to each other unless necessary, even if they hadn't verbally discussed it). he'd seen you at diluc's cafe, too, when diluc poured coffee at the angry customer. scaramouche's clothes were stained, as he was the customer sitting beside your table.

he'd seen you with kazuha when kazuha came to pick you up in the rain. he'd seen albedo draw sketches of you in the corner of his notes. he'd seen thoma with you while out for grocery shopping. he'd seen gorou follow after you not unlike a loyal puppy.

he's, reasonably, tired of seeing your stupid face and your stupid harem and he hates you.

by the looks of it, none of your friends like him. especially mona. she had a few arguments with him already. they didn't mix well, and scaramouche liked poking fun of the astrology she loved, a firm disbeliever of such things. “how is my birthday supposed to dictate my personality? or my relationship status? is this fortune-telling? tell me, then. what's my lucky color for the day-” and he only shut up when mona landed a clean kick to his shin.

...yeah. he's kind of an asshole. the type to scowl 24/7, glare at you for no reason, and bump into you without apologizing. then when you do try to make small talk to alleviate the awkward atmosphere, he scoffs and pointedly ignores you.

but you can't blame him for finding you and... the guys following you irritating. you imagine it must be an eyesore for outsiders. there's already quite a bit of rumors about you going around seducing men (and women, you add, because apparently you can't be friends with pretty girls without having those kinds of intentions... and yoimiya and ayaka could be somewhat touchy) and rumors are almost always wildly changed with each pass of gossip from one person to another.

of course your friends don't believe it one bit and are ready 24/7 to defend your honor, but scaramouche is very obviously not your friend, and he may regard you with something less than pleasing.

it's only understandable you're caught by surprise when you chance upon him picking a fight with people badmouthing you, shoving a boy to the wall with brute force you wouldn't expect from someone his size. (you berate yourself for making fun of his height in this kind of situation.)

“shut the fuck up,” scaramouche drawls out, fisting the boy's shirt collar. “your voice is grating to the ears. surely, you have better things to do than yap nonsensical bullshit out in the open?”

“what's your fucking problem?!” the guy responds, panicking within his grip. “it's not like we were talking about you! don't think so highly of yourself!”

that prompts a scoff from him, and he tightens his hold on the boy's collar. he immediately shuts his mouth, thinking it better not to retaliate. scaramouche's glare promises something beyond simple violence if he continued to act prideful.

somwhat satisfied by the fear glistening in the guy's eyes, scaramouche finally releases him. “scram.”

the group runs off, and you quickly duck behind a wall to hide from his sight as he walks away. you're not sure what to feel, conflicted by his usual prick demeanor and shockingly kind(?) actions behind the scenes.

unfortunately, your confusion reflects directly on your face. after a handful of times catching you staring at him, he finally snaps, “what do you want.”

your expression twists into something complex, and scaramouche's frown deepens. “uh... no, it's nothing, really...”

“you've been looking at me all day. do you take me for a fool?”

your face sours. so much for planning to thank him. maybe he didn't stand up for you and actually just found the noisy gossiping annoying enough to choke a guy and pin him to the wall. if it's scaramouche, it isn't too far-fetched at all.

and what were you going to say to him, anyway? it's not like he explicitly stated he did it for you. it would be beyond mortifying if you thanked him for it and he clarified that little detail, thinking you were stuck-up enough to assume the world revolves around you.

... no, that's too much overthinking, isn't it...

“well?” scaramouche impatiently taps his foot, raising an eyebrow expectantly. you hold back a defeated sigh and decide to stay put.

“sorry if i made you uncomfortable. i was, um, looking at...” who does he sit with again? “xiao!” you mentally apologize to your friend, using his name as an excuse.

impossibly, he becomes more irate than before, his taps ceasing into a calm quiet. the silence pierces more than the tense conversation prior.

without another word, he walks away.

...well. okay. that was safely evaded.

life continues on per usual. you don't interact for the next week, and you want to leave it at that.

except your life is a joke. a romantic comedy you never wanted to be a part of.

...you're assigned to a group project. with him. with childe too, no less. the childe who confessed his love to you not too long ago and you still have problems wrapping your head around it, not sure how to talk with him like you did before.

amidst this drama, scaramouche is stuck smack dab between you. he's unquestionably furious.

he's present when childe looks at you in the same excruciating way xiao does. he's present when childe tries to make jokes to ease off the tension, and it doesn't work in the slightest. he's present in the lingering gazes, awkward pauses when you graze fingers as you hand materials to each other, and reluctant conversations that never last any longer than seven clipped sentences.

scaramouche feels wronged. had he committed a war crime in his past life to deserve this despair?

and you. you just want to get this over with. collect information, make a powerpoint, and present in front of the whole class. easier said than done.

the three of you together doesn't sit right with you, but left with only two isn't any better either. childe and scaramouche don't get along if you leave them long enough for an argument to brew. scaramouche hates you and doesn't fill the silence when childe leaves for a bathroom break. childe tries too hard to talk when scaramouche leaves for a coffee break.

when the first day of working together ends, you nearly cry tears of joy.

“i can walk you home,” childe offers out of goodwill. it's certainly not because he has other intentions in mind, he's just concerned since it is pretty late.

“we take the same bus,” scaramouche speaks, for the first time joining your conversation. “we can go together.”

childe smiles in relief, lifting a hand to ruffle your hair. then he stills. old habits die hard. damn.

for his sake, you don't comment on it. you walk out of the library, scaramouche in tow.

the stroll to the empty bus stop isn't a comfortable one, but at the very least, you're accompanied by an acquaintance and you don't have to feel anxious being alone. you take a seat as you wait but scaramouche chooses to remain standing, placing a fair amount of distance between you.

“...you haven't made up?”

his voice is small, almost swallowed by the howling winds. you're surprised he wants to talk about it, but you laugh. “we didn't fight or anything.”

“fighting would've been better,” he replies. “an apology could still repair your relationship. but there's nothing you can do if you don't see him that way, and he can't see you as a friend.”

you look down at your feet, heels resting firmly against the pavement. “yes... it's tricky. i don't know how to act around him. i don't want to hurt him, but... maybe not rejecting him is painful, too.”

“then turn him down properly.”

“it's not that easy...”

“would you rather him still have hopes for a chance with you and eventually get disappointed instead of dealing with it once and for all?”

he makes an excellent point. it's reasonable enough... but you don't know how to bring it up with childe. not now. not yet. you'll have to think about it properly, the way to reject him with the least amount of discomfort from his side.

“receiving relationship advice from you... if someone told me this would happen today, i'd think they've gone mad.” you chuckle. “do you deal with friends whining about hardships like these often?”

“apparently, they think of me — someone who has no interest in dating — as the perfect person to consult for relationship problems.”

“hm? you don't date? do you like anyone, at least?”

he gives you a look. it's perfectly blank, devoid of his usual arrogance or irritation. you blink at him, the pause in the conversation stretching too long to be comfortable.

“you could say that. but i don't... try things i know won't work out.”

“...like?”

he rolls his eyes. “think about it this way.” he removes his hands from his pockets, approaching your seated figure. he comes startlingly close, mere centimeters away, and his fingers curl around your wrist. your lips part and close, and you wonder if he's trying to kiss your knuckles-

“if i told you now that i like you, with this many people who like you too, there's no way i'd win, is there?”

it's an example, you tell yourself. you asked him a question and he answered it.

“...so the one you like is popular...”

but his gaze looking directly into your eyes is too earnest, too honest. sincere. light reflects against the violet pools, a turbulent storm clouding within.

you neither nod nor shake your head. the bus arrives and you scramble to get on it.

scaramouche pulls you by the wrist when you nearly trip over the small set of stairs, leading you to a pair of seats. if you have something to be grateful for, it's that he doesn't try to talk anymore, using the pair of headphones resting by his neck for the rest of the ride.

itto:

itto barges into your life in a whirlwind of chaos.

it comes in the form of a stray volleyball plummeting towards your back, and the sheer force behind it knocks the wind out of your lungs. your knees buckle and you kneel on the floor, heaving violent gasps of air. the searing pain makes you wonder if you broke your spine.

distantly, a screech bellows from the court. a figure almost flies past the gymnasium's doors to check on your condition. “are you okay?!” it's gorou, you realize, his eyes blown wide with panic.

you don't want to worry him and say you feel as if you've permanently shattered a bone, but your back hurts like a bitch and you tell him so, “fuck me with a hammer, did a bowling ball crash into me or something?”

he ignores your interesting choice of words and answers, “my friends and i were playing volleyball, i'm so sorry! we didn't see you there at all!”

you steer your sight to the gymnasium entrance and oh my god. the doors aren't especially massive, and one of them is even closed, so what are the chances you walk past the small space and precisely get slammed by a stray ball? it's gotta be lower than a five star drop in gacha.

“can you stand?” gorou holds up a hand for you to take but you really can't move away from your fetal position without an explosion of ache jolting through your body. he's three seconds away from offering to carry you when someone else beats him to it.

“did you get hurt?!” a blur of white hair passes through your eyes, and you blink up at an unfamiliar man. gorou's friend, you're guessing, most likely the one who injured you too — that powerful force from the volleyball could only come from someone like him. tall, athletic, muscular. he's ripped. shredded. probably tore your muscle fibers too.

you don't let the pain cloud your mind. he didn't mean to kill you, you remind yourself. you stretch your lips into a smile, but it may just look like a grimace.

however, with a gentleness you didn't expect from him, he carefully hoists you on his back. oh. he's strong. and really warm.

...sticky with sweat too, but you'll try not to mind it too much...

“i'll carry you to the infirmary!”

your brain clears up from the haze of agony. “...wait, you don't have to-” before you get another word in, he rushes to the clinic, and you bypass many, many people. you settle for hiding your face as best as you can.

after proper treatment, he gives you a serious apology. you learn his name is itto, and you instantly recognize him. you've heard of the name itto before, that one popular student on a sports scholarship for basketball, but he's known more for goofing off with other sports teams. he's broken a lot of windows when he played baseball... and probably also broke bones of other people when he roughhoused too much on the soccer field. it's just that he's insanely talented, enough for most people to overlook his troublesome tendencies.

anyhow, famous or infamous, you can't tell yet. but he's very much willing to make up for your injury.

a free meal would honestly suffice just fine, but even after that, he insists on following you around, offering his assistance whenever needed. and, well. you have no problems with having an extra hand to help when you need to carry heavy equipment.

then he learns about the whole secret admirer thing and he proposes he'll help you lure him out.

“and how do you intend to do that...?” you inquire just as you enter the lecture hall, itto trailing after you and setting your bag on the table. his face splits into a grin and you have a vague idea of what he plans on doing.

he wraps an arm around your shoulders and tugs you close to his chest.

several things happen at once. a huff leaves xiao's mouth involuntarily. the crack of pencil lead breaking into pieces sounds from beside him, scaramouche holding the pen in his hand with too much force. the laughter ringing seconds prior comes to a halt, childe's face no longer displaying a bright smile.

itto blinks, retracting his arm. he didn't expect this outcome. “you have really overprotective friends, [name].”

as one would expect, you never got the results you want because too much people react to his provocations. it's tricky to pinpoint which one of them exactly is your secret admirer when they all like you the same. (this whole situation is truly absurd. it's not that you fed all these guys love potions by accident, right?)

itto doesn't dare upsetting gorou with this though, but with anyone else, it's free game. he begins calling you the most ridiculous pet names he could come up with, in the wrong place and in the wrong time.

my precious cupcake. my sweetest honeybun. little ducky. snugglepuff. they send shivers down your spine. (albedo is noted to be most affected when itto does this. it's not hard to imagine his brain cells frying when itto shamelessly calls you by such awful names.)

but then it becomes a habit. he's not doing it ironically anymore. his mouth had become accustomed to addressing you in manners only lovers do. more often than not, your friends would be caught by surprise when he wholeheartedly calls out “babe” to earn your attention and you turn towards him as if it's like the most natural thing in the world.

the cherry on top is when you attend one of his games for the basketball team.

it's not like you wore his varsity jacket to rub into everyone's faces the fact that you're dating. nor did you wear a cheerleader outfit of some sorts to show your passionate support as his significant other. you'd only come with gorou and kokomi, waving the banner the three of you made into the air as you were seated in the stands along the sides of the court.

when they won the finals, people on your side all rejoiced, flocking over to the team to praise them and offer their congratulations. thinking it would be better to stand by instead of joining the sweaty crowd, you stood aside with kokomi while gorou insisted on diving headfirst to the sea of people.

then a tall head approaches from afar. white hair, bright eyes, and a similarly blinding smile. “[name]!”

you didn't expect him to come to you. well. spares you the effort then. you throw a towel around his neck. “you're drenched in sweat. please don't touch me.”

he frowns. “not even a congratulatory hug?”

“not when you're this gross.”

at least that wasn't a stern no. itto grins. “wasn't i great out there?” he cards his fingers into his hair, fishing for compliments. you thought he had enough of those from the crowd currently swarming him. “i did a ton of 3 pointers. you saw me, right?”

“would you be disappointed if i said i was on my phone the whole time?”

immediately, his face twists into an offended look. of course that was a lie. you laugh and lean on the tips of your toes to reach his hair, ruffling it into a mess. “kidding. you were amazing, babe.”

that moment, you hadn't seen his expression clearly, occupied with patting his head. perhaps you hadn't even realized what you called him.

but to everyone around you, they could see it, plain to the eye — the shock in his gaze, the small twitch of his lips, the rise of his brows. then his cheeks flush a lovely color as he stares at you under his lashes with a hesitance as one would look at the sun, longing to admire its radiance yet afraid to be scorched by its brilliant rays.

he takes the leap anyways, staring at you as long as he wanted.

a lovestruck fool, keen to your touch.

your secret admirer.

relatively speaking, it's an ordinary day so far.

or as ordinary as it can be with a life as silly as yours. the past few weeks didn't feel real. you wish they weren't. everything has become too complicated. everyone kept on acting suspiciously and skirting around you, avoiding eye contact only to observe you from behind.

your day starts out seeing thoma when you open your front door, both of you telling each other good morning. you pass by kazuha having breakfast at a fast food joint. then you run into itto first thing in the morning, where he gladly helps in carrying a 3d model of your project into class. kaeya swings by to bring you coffee since you didn't get a chance to visit diluc's cafe, not having the extra hand to carry among the pile you already have. you make your daily greetings, saying hi to your friends and annoying xiao, as you always do. you nod towards scaramouche, and you even had enough courage to say hi first to childe too. when walking to another lecture hall, you happen to meet albedo, gorou and zhongli in separate times.

then at lunch time, when you briefly leave your belongings alone for a moment, someone leaves a packet of candies stuffed into your bag.

a sticky note is stuck on the surface, “please meet me at the physics classroom at 6 p.m.” scrawled in black ink.

the penmanship is good. it twists in elegant curls at the edges, brush strokes light and even.

you're able to recognize it at first glance, just as kaeya has told you.

you've seen it enough times to burn it in your brain. you've rigorously studied notes with that same handwriting, after all.

at 5:56, you stand in front of the classroom doors. in different circumstances, you'd have second thoughts before blindly following somebody's orders but you know who it's from, and it is decidedly not a murderer out to get you.

you collect an intake of breath, and twist the doorknob.

the last traces of sunlight bathe the room in a heavenly glow, a haze of aureate like shimmering flecks of gold. the billowing curtains hide the figure standing by the windowsill, the gentle breeze caressing your cheeks as you squint in its direction.

the figure moves of their accord, the sound of a book snapping shut following their actions.

albedo walks out, a serene smile displaying on his sun-kissed face.

“...hey.”

your heartbeat pounds in your ears. though you expected his appearance, it does nothing to dull your surprise.

“it's you.”

albedo had always admired you in quiet adoration.

he can't provide a clear explanation why his gaze is naturally drawn to you, turquoise eyes sweeping by your countenance before he realizes it. but it started out simple, as everything does: a curiosity piqued, when he heard of a person tagging along the supposedly unapproachable girls in school.

gossip comes and goes every season, and albedo knew it will pass soon. it's only a matter of time before they cling to another topic to babble about. most likely something kaeya did again, because he chases after trouble like a dog with a bone.

rumors are nasty. they paint you in malicious light, a person seeking attention among the most eye-catching lot. you wished you were on the same league as them, they said. you were only after the benefits of acquainting with those girls, they said.

but you were special on your own.

the way you carried yourself with confidence, against the judgmental stares and muddled opinions. the way you hadn't cared about what other people said, because you knew best about the situation and you were different from what they made you out to be. the way you genuinely loved your friends, sincerely wishing them happiness and doing everything you can to put a smile on their faces.

you were dazzling.

your laughter rang like bells in his ears, your grin a delight to see. your voice was melodious as you prattled on about the latest film you watched, or as you hummed a song with headphones covering your ears. your colorful expressions were amusing, a reflection of the feelings in your heart.

as the professor drones out during lessons, albedo finds himself distracted by his daydreams. what if he stood beside you? what if he could partake in conversations, not only able to hear your voice but you'd also hear his? what if he was the one faced with your smile, the reason of your smile, the one who made you feel such joy?

what if you permitted him to go further? to brush hands with you, to intertwine your fingers in simple intimacy, to curl his arms around your waist in a loose embrace, to press a kiss on the corner of your lips-

his ears burned in humiliation. what on earth was he thinking?

but forget “seeking attention from others,” it didn't even seem like you were interested in dating.

you showed indifference towards the idea, avoiding mixers and drinking parties. you also turned down quite a few dates. not to mention albedo wasn't even friends with you. he wasn't even sure if you knew of his name.

then you showed up at the library, and for the first time, albedo was thankful for the privilege nobody bothered his table, so you could sit alone together.

you became friends after his (despairingly embarrassing) insistent attempts to acquaint himself with you.

and he files away the little details, storing the small things about you in the corner of his mind. what you like, what you dislike. what days were you free, what things you prefer over the other.

it's a happiness he relishes in, the comfort of your friendship. but his greedy little heart yearns for more, for what you cannot give.

he tries anyway.

he's running out of time. you're always surrounded by people, whether you realize it or not. but he considers himself a selfish person. he doesn't want you to be taken away.

he may lose you entirely if he does it wrong.

but you're already here, eyes gleaming, lips pressed in a nervous tight line. the red dusting your cheeks leaves some hope for him, so he musters up his courage and simplifies the storm of feelings that eats away his heart each day:

“i like you, [name].”

---

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* YOU HAVE RECEIVED A LETTER, LET’S SEE WHAT’S INSIDE! *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

salutations: NEMESIS (part three of my SAGAU fic)

content: spoilers of mondstadt - inazuma archon quests, yandere content (?), heavy religious themes, god!reader, violence, angst/no-comfort, imposter!au, mentions of injuries and gore

penpals: @creation-magician , @creatorofstars , @victoria1676 , @I-chaan, @pyromaniam , @sweet-seraphim , @h3apm3ch4n151m , @heehoe, @moon--kitty, @yukete , @ognenniyvolk , @strawberrychan0 , @sarahyumiko2 , @o-zqq, @saving-for-xiao , @korou164, @dontmindmeherevibing, @lovearchon , @04mitsuba50, @shrynkk , @izumiii-san , @scrumptioussongobservation, @megsthings, @migirizuki , @ashphorny, @zexeq

note: it’s finally here !!! as always, thank you again for liking my other sagau fics :>>> enjoy my fellow comrades !

part one | part two | beloved creator masterlist ! | teyvat’s penpal service !

before the news of an imposter has been spread across the continent, everyone in teyvat was celebrating the arrival of the divine creator.

as the most devoted acolyte, zhongli had to see for himself if the news was true — so when he finds out that the divinity decided to visit the city of prosperity, he had to make sure to be the first person to welcome the creator.

so why does he feel… hesitant?

“...zhongli, is that you?” the divine creator asks with a sweet smile, eyes brightening at the sight of the consultant. “my, my, you’ve grown so well!” they exclaimed, cupping his cheek with their hand, paying no mind to the way he stares at the assumed “creator” in confusion.

“..your grace?” he calls out.

they giggled. “of course it’s me! you know me don’t you, my sweet rex lapis?”

he noticed how so many people were watching them, whispering words of devotion and gratitude that their grace had finally decided to appear in teyvat once more – and that the consultant of the wangsheng funeral turned out to be their supposedly dead archon as well.

with how.. familiar the creator is, how could he not believe that this isn’t his divine creator?

despite doubts still sprouting in his stomach, the retired archon slowly puts one knee on the ground, bowing down to the creator, who smiles menacingly kindly.

“your grace, i welcome you to liyue harbor.”

with how… considerate the creator is, how could he not believe that his grace is afraid of their own creations?

despite doubts still residing in his stomach, the retired archon slowly brings out his polearm, shoulders tensed from the sudden command of his creator, who's barking orders about getting rid of those disgusting hilichurls as they hid themselves behind his back.

“your grace, i’ll make sure they will be dealt with swiftly.”

with how… perfect the creator is, how could he not believe that his beloved divinity doesn’t want imperfections?

despite doubts growing stronger than ever, the retired archon summons his adepti in the raiden shogun’s residence as servants try to fulfill every single order from the now angered creator.

“your… grace, i’ll do my best to kill the imposter for you.”

now, zhongli could only watch as his city crumbled from his yet another mistake.

“it’s such a shame that you’re no longer considered as one of their acolytes now,” childe says with a fake sigh, hiding his grin at the sight of the retired archon’s terrified look on his face. “but i suppose that’s what you get for letting our divine creator suffer from your people and believe that ridiculous imposter that fooled you all. who knew the so-called most devoted acolyte would dare to try and kill the creator with his own hands?”

zhongli quickly looks at childe, eyebrows furrowed. “you’re a foolish man for believing an imposter like them, would you like me to remind you that the real creator is here?”

the harbinger looked unphased, his lips twitching upward. “the real creator? you mean the same creator who doesn’t do anything at all but lay down on the most comfortable sheets inazuma has to offer? the same creator who abuses servants and doesn’t bat an eye on those who beg for blessings? i’m done pretending that there’s nothing wrong with them–”

“the creator has their reasons–”

“despite seeing so many signs, you still refuse to believe that you’ve been fooled.” childe snarls. “and here i thought you’d know better.”

childe then glances at where osial is, chuckling to himself at the sight of ningguang and the qixing trying everything they can to take down osial once more. if only they knew that the overlord of the vortex’s wife is currently on her way too..

“tell me, morax. have you seen your so-called creator bleed?”

“maybe i can forgive you and your pathetic city… when you’re on your knees and beg like the filthy dog you are.” you said with a grin.

ei trembles, slowly going down on her knees and lays her head down on the cold ground.

“forgive me, your grace, for i have sinned.” she whispers, closing her eyes in dread. “i was blinded in fury for not seeing you as who you are, i was foolish for believing in an imposter who claims to be the creator, and i was cruel for trying to execute you in front of my people’s eyes.”

you stared down at the trembling archon with narrowed eyes.

“how pathetic,” you spat out. “how pathetic of you to assume that i’d forgive you so easily after your worthless begging.”

ei lets out a shaky breath, her head still lowered to the cement floor. she doesn’t care about the fact that some of her people are watching, all she cares about is you accepting her even if forgiveness is out of her reach.

“show me where that imposter resides.” you demanded.

you didn’t have to ask twice.

the woman looks up, pointing at her residence without maintaining eye contact with you. “they’re in my palace. they’re unaware of your arrival, your gra–”

without letting the archon finish, you started walking towards the tenshukaku with the golden wolflord following behind, summoning more rifthound skulls to ambush more of inazuma city’s citizens along its way.

every step you take brought more memories of what you did in the electro nation. memories of you helping out yoimiya bringing fireworks as you try to keep your hood up, memories of you chasing after thoma after he declares that whoever’s the last one will pay next dinner, memories of you being found out after a shogunate removes your hoodie, and memories of the raiden shogun ready to execute you with everyone watching in glee.

you did not forget the memory of spotting a person watching by the entrance of the tenshukaku, grinning as they wear your face.

as soon as you found yourself standing in front of the palace, you gripped your sword tighter.

“leave me be,” you said to the golden wolflord. “you may continue helping your rifthounds, but refrain from killing anyone. i prefer to handle the imposter myself.”

the nameless king bows for a moment before taking his leave, ready to cause more destruction to the people of inazuma city alongside its archon.

you slowly touched the doors of the palace, taking a deep breath. this is it, this is your chance to finally bring justice and ki—

“hm, i’m impressed that you’ve made it this far.”

without hesitation, you immediately turned around and pointed your sword at the person talking behind you, eyebrows now furrowed at the sight of a copy version of you grinning menacingly.

“it really was interesting to see those archons being so… desperate for their creator’s attention to the point where they’re all willing to kill someone. you should use that as your potential – if you can kill me, that is.” they said with a hum, unphased by the fact that your sword is close to their neck.

“you really are underestimating me.” you retorted, your other hand that wasn’t holding your sword clenches into a fist. “all the more reasons to kill you, i suppose.”

the imposter continues to grin, summoning their own sword as well before pointing it at your neck. “i’m sure celestia would love to see you once i’m done with you, your grace.”

you copied their expression, eyes glowing more golden than before.

“if i were you, i’d pick an archon and start praying, sweet copycat.”

it only took an hour before the destruction finally stopped.

it only took one single sound before every single creature stopped ambushing the cities of their land, slowly returning to their abodes and areas alike as the citizens watched in confusion and relief.

it only took one strong strike until the battle between creators had ended.

much to your surprise, the imposter wasn’t harder to fight than you expected. although there was a lot of damage taken in the tenshukaku, it ended where you hoped it would be; with the imposter beneath you scared and helpless.

“impossible,” they murmured, dropping their ruined sword in defeat. “how? celestia said i’ll be able to live! they said i will be able to rule the world! THEY SAID I’LL BE JUST AS STRONG AS YOU AND—!”

“how pitiful,” you commented, copying their grin that was once held before the intense fight. “it’s a shame that you oh-so desperately accepted such a false offer. do you even remember what you look like before, copycat?”

the imposter didn’t respond, looking around the place in panic as they mumbled out hushed whispers of repeated words.

you then gripped their face, causing them to yelp in pain. “now that you’re done playing as me, what should your punishment be?” you ask, raising your sword as they cry.

“should i just feed you to the golden wolflord? cut your head off and show it to inazuma that you don’t bleed gold? or perhaps go for a more violent method and make sure death goes slowly for you?” the imposter shudders in response, still unable to respond.

you rolled your eyes. they were so confident that you wouldn’t be able to kill them off, yet here they are.

“very well then,” you then let go of their face, fixing your grip on your sword. “i’ll just stab you to death instead.”

without letting the imposter try and protest, you instantly stabbed them straight in their heart, causing them to gasp out and held onto your sword in hopes of removing it.

“this is what you get for pretending to be me.” you said, pulling your sword away from the imposter’s body.

just when they thought it’s over, you proceeded to stab them at the same spot again. “this is what you get for ordering everyone to chase after me - even when i didn’t do anything wrong.”

another stab. “this is what you get for taunting me and watch me almost get killed.” another stab. “this is what you get for thinking that you won’t face the consequences.” another stab.

you continued to tell everything the imposter did as you stab them again and again, ignoring the way their blood splatters your armor and the way they try to stop you from your endless stabbing.

it ended a few moments later as they slowly fall limp, causing you to stop yourself from stabbing them once more as you watch them pass away.

finally.

finally you’re free.

you slowly stood up from the ground, ripping your sword off from the imposter’s corpse as you look at the destruction you’ve caused.

you can only hope that the creatures you’ve grown to care for aren’t doing too much destruction on the cities.

you then noticed the electro archon standing nearby, still refusing to maintain eye contact with you. “… your grace, i’ll make sure your room is—”

“i have no reason to live with people who have done nothing but try to kill me as if i’ve done something wrong.” you interrupted in a monotone voice, ignoring the way the woman looks heartbroken from your response. “i’m sure you and others can understand.”

the woman tries to come up towards you and protest, only to stop when you backed away.

“please let me go.” you took a deep breath, now realizing the injuries that the imposter slashed on you. “i just want to go back to my home..”

ei quickly noticed your now weakened state, causing her to now look at you with worry and panic. “your grace, i need to take you to the healers—!”

“don’t try to touch me.” you strictly said, focusing on your breathing. “i’m… i don’t need your help.”

the archon felt helpless, watching as you call out the golden wolflord, causing a brown portal to appear, followed by the giant wolf coming out from it to retrieve you.

“your grace, please…” ei begs. “stay with us - let us make up for everything. we were all fooled by the imposter—”

“what’s there to make up for?” you ask, keeping your sword away. “how could i forgive you after everything that happened? how could i forgive you after everything you and your people did to me? i didn’t even do anything wrong, i just wanted to—”

suddenly, you started coughing out golden blood, causing the archon to immediately come up to you alongside the nameless king - who snarls at the woman coming towards you.

you stopped her from coming towards you, shooting her a glare.

“send the other archons my warning. if they ever - or if anyone tries to find my location, i’ll make sure they’ll be punished and will send every single monsters to them.”

you then hold onto the wolf. “consider this as a goodbye, raiden shogun.”

---

Too much angst? Okay imagine Darling first arriving in Teyvat and the sheer happiness they experienced in meeting their favorite characters. The whole cult is so happy to finally meet them but wait! We can’t just greet them willy nilly, so every nation just puts up a HUGE welcoming festival. Every Archon and government are amped up to one up the other in wowing darling when they enter their nation the first time. Everyone is so happy to finally have darling in Teyvat. Brainrot over ☺️

@weirdsht 👀 hope you don't mind anon but I'll have to do this too in three parts 😭

Everybody in Teyvat expected their day to go as it always has done; Flora will send the Traveller to get her some freshly picked flowers, Xiangling will be out and about with Chongyun and Xingqiu for ingredients, Thoma will do his usual housekeeping and attend to Ayaka— just their everyday routines, for eveyone.

At least, that had been the plan if it weren't for a certain, sudden shower of stars that engulfed the entirety of Teyvat's sky. Of course, this has people talking— but what can the rest of the nations do but wait when the stars— or meteorites, perhaps?— seem to be aimed at Mondstadt?

But not even the Mondstadtians, with Jean herself at the front of the investigative group, could have anticipated that they'd find you, their God and Creator, face first against the grounds of the tree in Windrise, near the statue of Barbatos.

And it is you; Jean can feel it in her very bones, can feel the way every part of her body almost unconsciously recognises you— and so can the rest of the group, even those with no vision or who are particularly religious.

Gently, lovingly, reverently, you are carried by the Dandelion Knight herself back to Mondstadt to be tended to, and despite her orders of secrecy it doesn’t take long before the entire city is abuzz and excited— you're here! Their God, their very Creator is with them and decided to visit Mondstadt first! Is it not a cause for them to celebrate, then?

And so while the city begins to celebrate, bright banners strewn over buildings, fresh flowers hung everywhere, you are in the Favonius HQ, surrounded by nearly everyone— all so happy and excited to meet you, to greet you, and even more so once you actually wake up.

You are understandably scared and confused at first and they of courser rush to comfort you— do you happen to be cold, your grace? Are you injured, your grace? Are you hungry, your grace? Would you like new clothes, your grace?— until you are calmer and now even smiling as brightly as them.

And when they hear you say that you've always wanted to meet them, too, well nobody blames them for beaming, no?

And then you say you want to explore Mondstadt, and who are they to stop you when you want to and when the whole city has prepared a big festival for you?

While the Knights quickly start clearing their schedule, it is Venti who first takes you to tour the whole city— seeing you so excited and happy to meet his people, to interact and talk with them has him with a spring in his step, even more so when said people are all too glad and happy to tell you whatever you ask them. And so when you've turned your back on him for a few seconds, he quickly gets a cecilia flower crown from Flora which he gifts you.

Seeing you wear it with pride and kiss his cheek in thanks is a memory he will cherish forever in his heart.

Klee and Diona then join you, Klee excitedly taking your hand in hers after Diona shyly gives you a delicious drink she prepared just for you and dragging you to where Bennett and Razor are all the while telling you about the new bombs Albedo helped her make. Bennett is a shy, stuttering mess that doesn't even get the chance to warn you of his bad luck before you're pulling him and Razor to a hug, the latter a bit confused but not saying anything because he can tell through every single one of his senses that you lupical, that you are friend.

And after that is when you meet Amber and Eula— Eula who's so stiff despite Amber telling her that you aren't the God she's expecting, Eula who tries to drop into a kneel before you stop her and instead also take her to a hug and tell her that she's even prettier than you thought. Amber has a Baron Bunny in her hand, which she gives to you with a bright blush but a happy grin when you laugh and thank her.

Then comes Jean and Lisa, both bearing plates of food for you. Jean is also cautious like Eula, but it is easier to put her at ease after you tell her that the city is a thousand times even better than you imagined and yes, everyone has been so wonderfully nice to you. Lisa is only chuckling into her hand, though you are not blind to a the happy little smile she gets when you link your hands with her and Jean and thank them for the delicious food.

The three of you walk around the city again, and your eyes are still bright with wonder when you notice Angel's Share and ask to go there.

Diluc is of course the first to notice you, followed by Kaeya who has a little smirk that tells you exactly that he's been pestering Diluc at work again. Although you yourself don't notice it, they both brighten up as do all those at the tavern upon your entrance.

You don't known whether Diluc would've been as stiff with you as Eula and Jean were, because it doesn't take seconds before Kaeya is starting again except this time he's pulling you into the banter— and it is banter, because despite their words there's amusement and fondness in the two brother's eyes while they pester one another and tell you to ignore the other.

And then later it is Venti who comes and take you from there, citing that there is still so much you must see! And he is not lying— there's a dance going on in the plaza with Barbara singing, who waves at you with the joy of the sun itself.

When he sees that you are hesitant to join the dance, he only shakes his head when you tell him that you don’t know the steps; this is the City of Freedom, nobody will be bothered by you not knowing the steps, your grace!

Still, Venti takes your hands in his and teaches you the steps, until you are passable enough not to step on his feet every so often. Venti himself doesn't care; he's more focused on the bright gleam in your eyes and the fact that the winds are literally singing with your laughs.

Even now, it's still hard for him to think that his beloved God is actually here— but he does not dare complain. This is a dream come true for him, he will not ruin it in any way.

(And unbeknownst to him, this is a dream come true for you, as well.)

---

Written in the Stars

a/n | what if you consulted mona after she saved you from your first encounter with scaramouche? i had to do a bit of research into astrology and tarot cards for this one, so i hope it’s correct!! this has been an idea in my drafts for a while, and somehow in the past few hours i wrote way more than i intended lol. (art credits: @/Fauzan Nata on artstation).

warnings | none

genre | slice of life

word count | 1k

pairing | scaramouche x reader

⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩

After your initial encounter with the deadly Harbinger Scaramouche, there’s no doubt you joined your astrologer friend Mona afterward as she tried to piece together the stars of the harbinger’s constellation. Imagine the dimly lit room of her cobblestone cottage in Mondstadt, illuminated by the swirling aura of hydro elemental energy as Mona turns the gears of her astrological map.

Scaramouche was such a unique, foreign name to your lips. His entire demeanor was unlike anything you had encountered thus far—a beautiful ornamental hat of scarlet red and deep midnight adorning his indigo hair, white and lavender tassels blowing gently in the wind, sleeves embroidered delicately with cool hues, and that gorgeous veil that trailed his form.

Every time Mona thought she was making a breakthrough, she sighs in increasing frustration as none of it made any sense.

Eventually, you both settled on doing a Tarot reading of your fortune in relation to this dangerous harbinger who nearly took your life. Perhaps at the very least, Mona could offer her expert astrological advice with a quick reading of the Major Arcana cards as you continue on your journey.

Carefully, Mona reveals your cards one by one: Justice reversed, The Lovers, The Moon, The World, and The Tower. As each card is flipped, you are too distracted by the beautiful design on the cards to see how Mona’s face falls into an abyss of conflicted feelings.

She clears her throat, attempting to maintain her professionalism, and reads your cards to you.

“Justice reversed indicates what is happening at this moment. The true meaning of these events is yet to be revealed. There is no way to fully understand the situation without patience. So, you should be open to hearing other’s perspectives.”

You nod to encourage her to move forward, not necessarily impressed by the vague interpretation that your first card provided.

“Next is The Lovers, which can guide you through this predicament with ease. This card has many sides to it. Some believe it represents the difficulties or the aura of romance. The Lovers means you should choose your own path to happiness. Make compromises and avoid choices you don’t want to make.”

“Hm, that’s odd. So you’re saying the cards think there’s romance involved?” you query with a look of disbelief. “Surely not. He tried to kill us!”

Mona shook her head. “I simply interpret the connotations of the cards. It is up to you to decide what to take to heart.”

“Moving on,” she says hesitantly, eyeing you, “The Moon will show you what is to be learned from your encounter with Scaramouche. Typically this card is associated with dreams and visions, yet we cannot always control the outcome. It advises you to trust yourself and your instincts, but don’t try to defy your destiny. Take things as they come.”

“The next card shows what is leaving you at this time. The World refers to wisdom and how your motivations are in line with the divine powers. Even if you fail, all will be made right. In this case, you will no longer have this blessing within you.”

You frown, “The favor of the Archons is leaving me? I’m not even sure how many of them even know my name, Mona.”

The young astrologer folds her arms, cupping her chin between her thumb and index fingers. “It could be the Archons. It could be Celestia. It could be the will of the universe. Regardless, (Y/N), I think The World is telling you tread carefully. The choices you make could be permanent, irreversible, and perhaps even draw the ire of fate.”

“The final card foretells the near future. It is The Tower, which describes revolution and chaos. It will be brief and instantaneous, but forever change your path moving forward. Expect drastic transformation.”

Your mind is a mess trying to make sense of Mona’s reading. A million questions and mixed emotions bubble inside you, nearly making you nauseated. You swallow thickly and ask Mona what all of this actually means.

“Simply put, (Y/N), the cards were able to determine that your connection with Scaramouche is nowhere near its end. In fact, many of the cards indicate dramatic change in your relationship, which will challenge your integrity and test your friendships. They recommend sticking to what you feel is right and true to yourself,” she summarizes succinctly, shuffling away her cards in an organized fashion. “But…”

You give her a look. Mona has that familiar intonation in her voice, a teasing, playful air with a dangerous edge ready to poke and prod you endlessly. You’re absolutely clueless to the intricacies of her astrological studies, so Mona basically has you wrapped around her pretty little finger with every mystical prediction and calculation she makes. She loves to take advantage of your cluelessness too often.

“But what?” you reply, slightly annoyed. “What’s that expression for? Mona, you know I rely on you for this kind of stuff! Just tell me.”

She laughs, stowing away her cards and astrological instruments, before turning to you. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think the dramatic change the cards were alluding to is of the romantic type.”

Jaw immediately dropping, you flipped out, jolting out of your chair. “Mona Megistus!”

“Yes, that’s my name,” she smugly responds, watching you unfurl into a flustered mess. “Don’t wear it out, now.”

“You’re crazy! I think the cards are lying,” you stutter out incredulously, pointing toward the innocent box they sat in on her shelf.

Mona simply hums in laughter. “You’re the one who picked the cards! While I am deeply troubled by the idea of this Fatui man being in love with you, if fate ordains it then so it shall be.”

“This is ridiculous,” you huff, red in the face from your outburst and from pure embarrassment. “Lemme try again and I’m sure I’ll pick different cards.”

“What’s done is done, (Y/N),” Mona giggles, shaking her head at you. “Anyway, you can repay me for my services with lunch from Good Hunter~”

You were never quite sure if Mona was being truthful or teasing, but decided to drop it to go have lunch with her in downtown Mondstadt—completely unaware of the Fatui agents scattered throughout the city, silently keeping an eye on you at the request of a particular Sixth Harbinger.

check out my masterlist if you enjoyed, please & thank you

---

yours truly,

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

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Deluge. Yan Scaramouche x F Reader

Warnings: Yandere themes, unhealthy relationships, pregnancy mentions and not SFW themes. Word count: 3.5k.

The strum of a koto beneath your fingertips fills the atmosphere with a serene serenade.

Each deliberate pluck and twang resonates throughout the lonely courtyard as if it were a theatre with you upon the stage, performing to an absent audience. The ballad you lace together blends into the billowing breeze. Over the looming eaves, through the barren tree branches, and into clouds weighed down by future precipitation.

You’d like to think your playing will become one with the atmosphere, traveling further than you ever could. That with each raindrop, if one were to listen close enough, they’d hear the string’s gentle vibrato and be compelled to search for you. All you’d need to do is wait patiently and continue strumming your koto, guiding them to you with various melodies. They’d be strong, noble of heart, and selfless in their endeavors to free you from your picturesque prison. What a perfect, idyllic ending that’d make — just like the fairytales you read growing up where the princess is rescued by her prince.

Keep reading

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▨ Back to You ▨

Word Count: 745 Pairing: Kim Taehyung x Reader Warnings: None Genre: Fluff/Angst

His lips trailed down your neck sending lazy sparks of pleasure across your shoulders.

“I cannot believe we’ve been together for three years and yet… you still blush when I compliment you.”

“I can’t help it,” you sighed, “I look in the mirror, and I see … flaws. Things I wish were smaller or fuller-”

You pressed a soft kiss over his heart.

“But then you look at me and talk about me like… like I’m better than your wildest dreams.” You shook your head, covering your face reflexively.

“How could I not blush?”

Tae grinned.

His fingers traced subtle patterns up and down your back.

“I like it,” he chuckled, “it’s adorable, and,” his arms tightened slightly around your waist, “I can’t help looking at you that way.”

Silence stretched comfortably between you. They were only a few more hours before his flight.

“It’s amazing,” you whispered after a long moment. “It’s… overwhelming and reassuring and sometimes it’s hard to believe it’s for me.”

Your body pressed intimately to his. You could feel him smiling.

“You know,” he brushed another kiss across your forehead, “as much as it hurts to leave, there’s something truly wonderful about coming home to you.”

“I wish you didn’t have to go,” you whispered again.

Tae sighed and drew you tightly against his chest.

“I always find my way back.”

But he hadn’t.

He hadn’t come back.

Not this time.

Keep reading

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hiiii!!! may i request fragrant mashed potatoes + sweet madame + mint jelly and pop’s teas + dango milk + ketchup <3 maybe like back when he was still kunikuzushi, he had a lover, and before joining the fatui he promised to return to them? tyy!!

‿୨♡୧‿︵ BON APETIT MY FELLOW CUSTOMER ! ︵‿୨♡୧‿

name of order: we’ll meet again

date: scaramouche (w/ gn!reader)

receipt: fragrant mashed potatoes (scaramouche) + sweet madame (reunion) + mint jelly and pop’s teas (fluff with comfort) + dango milk (normal/normal au) + ketchup (hc scenario/bulleted form)

spices: spoilers to inazuma archon quest, spoilers to scaramouche’s real name, fluff/comfort, mentions of fighting, reader can shapeshift into a fox like yae, and this fic takes place during the 2.2 event (except scaramouche doesnt show up in the actual event)

ingredients: he promised that he’ll come back to you as soon when he grows powerful enough. he just didn’t think he’ll meet you this way.

chef’s note: wahh this is such a cute idea !! tysm anon for requesting, i hope this is to your liking <<3

there was once a time when scaramouche went by another name.

kunikuzushi was a name that’s nothing but a reminder of a harbinger’s past. a reminder of a mere prototype puppet who was kicked out by the raiden shogun herself, a “wandering eccentric“ who goes by no name until an act of revenge against a certain blacksmith,

and a lover of a certain inazuman who resides in tatarasuna, working under the guuji of the grand narukami shrine.

scaramouche could only wonder aimlessly if you were still waiting for him after so many years. are you still working for the grand narukami shrine? are you still as kind as he used to know you before when he first met you? do you even remember him if you ever see him?

the harbinger could only cover his face with his hat in shame. shamed that he never got the chance to come back again after so many years even when he vowed to return just for you.

the vow still stands in his empty chest that holds no heart, but would you say the same?

“fear not, dear kunikuzushi.” you said reassuringly, patting the man’s head with a smile. “no matter how time has long passed, i will always be here in inazuma waiting for you.”

you then gave him a large hat, something that he swears to himself to cherish. “take this as my farewell gift. if you ever miss me as much as i will be to you in the near future, you could always wear this hat and remember me.”

will you ever know how he rarely removes the very hat that you gave him?

you hoped he did.

you hoped, just like how a loved one does when a soldier goes to a war, that your dearest kunikuzushi is alright. you hoped, just like how a lover does when they think about their spouse, that he is happy as he could ever be even if you’re not the reason. you hoped, just like how a lover does when they’re away from their spouse, that he still thinks about you just as much as you do with him.

you just keep hoping and hoping as years go by, often visiting the place where you bid him farewell whenever you have the chance, only to sigh in dismay when you couldn’t see kunikuzushi anywhere.

“i suspect that i might find you here,” yae miko spoke up, walking towards you with a small smile on her face. “i was looking for you around the shrine for a task. is something on your mind?”

you slowly look away from the view of your old home that’s now ruined by the harsh thunderstorms in the past, looking at the guuji with a reassuring smile. “i’m just checking up on my old home as the usual, i apologize for not coming back sooner and worry you.” you replied.

“no need for the apologies. it’s not like this is your first time getting away and get distracted.” the woman reassures you with a chuckle.

there was no single soul who’s aware of your relationship with the lone puppet that the raiden shogun discarded except yae miko. although the woman isn’t quite fond of how you’re often distracted unlike before, she couldn’t blame you.

it’s just a shame that the fatui found him, the woman knows fully well that he won’t be able to come back to inazuma anytime soon but didn’t see the point in telling you, not wanting to destroy that hopeful look plastered on your face that she had grown used to see everyday.

“may i ask what task would you like me to fulfill, lady yae?” you ask.

“i’m afraid it’s not like any other tasks i’ve given you,” she warns, crossing her arms with an apologetic smile. “i need you to keep an eye on a certain harbinger that’s been lurking around the land. he’s a tall ginger-haired man with a hydro vision.”

you felt yourself stiffen at the mention of harbinger. “…does this harbinger have something to do with… kuni?” you ask hesitantly.

the woman shrugs in response. “unfortunatley i’m not exactly sure of the purpose of the harbinger’s visit to inazuma, but i suspect it has something to do with kunikuzushi and the electro gnosis – which is why i need you to keep an eye on him for now and see if he’s going to cause trouble.”

your heart leaped at the guuji mentioning your lover’s name. does this mean he hasn’t left the nation?

”i.. i’ll see what i can do, lady yae.“ you spoke, bowing your head to the woman before rushing down from the mountain, leaving yae miko alone with herself.

“..i could only hope to ei that you’ll manage to encounter kunikuzushi, y/n.” the woman mumbled, sighing before walking away towards her shrine.

—

it took you an hour to finally find the harbinger that yae described.

sure, it was a hassle, but after exploring and asking certain adventurers exploring, you manage to find the harbinger that’s been lurking around narukami island.

you stood behind one of the sakura trees disguised as a fox, watching the eleventh harbinger walking out from the place where the traveler and his friends ran in, causing your eyebrows to furrow. why did he come out from it alone? did he lay harm on the traveler?

“where could he be?” childe mumbles with a sigh, scratching the back of his neck as he walks around the area. “he better owe me a thrilling battle by the time i catch that man.”

could he be talking about kunikuzushi, you wonder?

you slowly sneak around the harbinger, curious with the harbinger’s words. surely if the ginger is looking for your lover, then that means he could still be here and hasn’t left the island with the gnosis, right?

you stopped pacing when you realized something.

if… kuni is actually here, then why didn’t he come visit you?

you could feel your blood running cold from that thought alone, mouth slightly open in shocked. surely kuni would actually come to you when he had the chance..? but then again, he didn’t even show himself when he came here for the raiden shogun’s gnosis.

“oh? i haven’t seen a fox like you in the wilderness before..” childe spoke up, looking down at you with a curious look on his face. “you must be a rare breed. you don’t look like those foxes from that village nearby.”

you paid no mind to how the harbinger now stands in front of you, frozen from the thoughts that suddenly made your heart dropped in dread. if kunikuzushi is in inazuma right now, where could he be? why didn’t he come visit you like he promised? did he.. forget about you?

“unless…” childe then smiles menacingly. “you could be one of those beings that can shapeshift.”

the harbinger’s words were enough for you to finally cut yourself off from your thoughts, immediately stepping away from the man as he summons his blades. you should’ve paid more attention to your mission! yae would’ve been disappointed if she finds out that you got carried away by your dumb thoughts!

before things could escalate even more, the harbinger suddenly drops his weapons.

you watched in confusion at the sight of childe letting out a gasp, clenching his teeth at the sudden overwhelming pain inside his body.

“don’t you dare lay a hand on them.”

your breath hitched at the sound of his voice.

…kunikuzushi?

you immediately felt alarmed from the purple smoke surrounding both you and childe — who’s now on his knees to the cold ground trying to breathe. “is this… is this one of your stupid— stupid traps, balladeer?” he asks, clutching his chest.

without hesitation, you turn around and see your lover in all his glory, standing a few steps away from you as he glares at the fallen harbinger.

“and here i thought i was better off with leaving you alone and fool you about my whereabouts,” he spoke to childe, clenching his fists. “but you just had to try and fight my lover.”

“and here i thought… i thought the ferocious balladeer wouldn’t have someone to call a lover.” the eleventh harbinger retorts with a smirk, only to gasp out for air when scaramouche suddenly makes the air around him more venomous.

“come, y/n,” he calls out to you in a soft tone- something that took you by surprise because of his sudden change of tone. “let’s get out of here before that rascal gets his hands on us.”

he didn’t have to ask twice.

—

“are you out of your mind? why the hell did you go to that harbinger of all people?! he could’ve killed you if it weren’t for me intervening!” he scolds you as the both of you stay in a camp that’s far away from where childe was, both of you were panting in exhaustion from running away.

“i apologize.. but please believe me when i say i didn’t mean to have my cover get revealed.” you said, not bothering to change your fox form. “i just.. got distracted by my thoughts.”

he furrows his eyebrows. “and what could possibly got you distracted?!”

“..i.. i was wondering why you didn’t visit me when you came here for.. the gnosis.” you hesitantly explained, looking away from your lover’s strong gaze in shame. “i just.. i just felt confused a-and maybe hurt that you probably didn’t want to see me after so many years.”

the both of you fell silent.

scaramouche stares deeply at your fox form, feeling conflicted.

“…change back to your normal form.” he commands, causing you to frown in confusion. what is he planning to do, exactly?

nevertheless, you followed your lover’s command and instantly changed back into your human form once more, still looking down at the ground with a frown plastered on your face.

your eyes widens when you felt arms wrapped around your body into a hug.

“you idiot,” he whispered. “you have no idea how much i’ve wanted to do this ever since i saw you in the place where i left.”

your breath hitches from his words. he… he saw you? he’s been visiting the place as well?

you quickly hug your lover back as well, lips quivering. “why didn’t you come to me if you saw me then? did you.. did you not want to see me ye—”

“god no,” scaramouche interrupts, clinging onto you tighter than before. “don’t you dare think that i’d hate to see you or forgot about you! i just didn’t know if you wanted to see me…”

you let out a laugh, realizing that the both of you were thinking the same thing. “of course i wanted to see you for so long dummy..”

the both of you stayed in the position for a while, enjoying each other’s warmth for as long as you’ve desired after so many years of being separated.

“i miss you.” you both said to each other at the same time out loud.

---

#heart in paradise, body in abyss

synopsis: you may be kind enough to forgive but never to forget. those who would've cherished you the most know it, perhaps too well.

warnings: yandere content, yandere cult stuff, mentions of harassment and violence, mentions of death; impostor is referred with fem!pronouns but does not mirror reader’s gender

note: @nicebonescomrade's villain au that @mikachuchu brought to my attention :)) i'm not too proud of it, but i hope it's good lkasngldfag

“you will never know kindness, not even in death will you find peace."

perhaps, it's true that you'll never know kindness. you’ll never feel it on your skin when the breeze of mondstadt tickles your cheeks. you’ll never see it on the kind faces of the citizens of liyue. you’ll never hear it from the gentle pluck of a zither. you’ll never envision it when the stars align once more in place long forgotten.

maybe that is what fate has decided as your body caved into the pain, and the tests of your strength has failed you. your legs had long gone numb, your arms just the same. it’s such a nice place to rest, you think. if only it could stay that way for you, letting yourself fall into the solitude of nature once for all; you’d never have to run until your lungs have pit, never had to starve in the midst of being hunted down.

you no longer recall whatever fault it is they decided you committed, only offensive enough to invoke the wrath of those you loved once upon a time. it leaves a bitter taste in your mouth, knowing that the era of your laughter has long passed. instead, it has been replace of an age where the reign of such a tyrannical ruler clawed at you.

the swift rustle of grass keeps you wide awake, even when the call of death coaxes you to finally close your eyes and rest your weary soul. the sickening high-pitched laugh of teyvat’s beloved deity rings in your ear that you’ve come to akin to the annoying buzz of a mosquito. you wheeze painfully on the forest opening, accepting your fate.

your gaze remains on the cloudless sky before you, too painful to move even a single muscle of your body. you don’t even care to identify which characters on your past roster that she brought with her.

“given up, i see.” her tone is obnoxious, yet you can only imagine of shutting her up; you’re too powerless to ever go up against the characters you oh, so tirelessly built for months on end. how ironic that they’d kill you with the weapons that you provided for them.

“can you hurry it up? i’m tired enough as it is. i don’t even want to deal with you anymore.” you’re able to pick up all kinds of sounds after that, a few growls and clicks of tongues. nothing you aren’t used to before.

“be more respectful to her grace, scum—” you faintly hear the voice of scaramouche as footsteps indicate someone has moved closer— “you’re lucky that our beloved god has shown you kindness. if it weren’t for her, we would’ve killed you where you stood.”

you almost want to double over.

“kindness?” you wheeze painfully. “what do you know about kindness?”

“mercy.” zhongli retorts from afar. “it’ll be the only kindness you’ve been shown, yet you don’t even deserve it.”

despite the ache that roots itself deep within your bones, you force yourself to smile. a cloud drifts right in front of you, and you wonder what it’d be like if you were one. at least, you’d be able to live in bliss, no longer paranoid if you’ll live to see the next day.

“i suppose offering a little more wouldn’t hurt,” their god exclaims and puffs out their chest in pride, “say your last words. it’s the least i can give for such a pitiful creature.”

“last words, huh?” you hum. there’s nothing in particular in your head. you’ve long since been abandoned by the ones you’ve cared for the most, so who’d even be kind enough to give you a eulogy? you can no longer dwell on the pain, to spout out curses in your last moments. instead, you reminisce on the times of joy.

the grass underneath you caresses your skin as you sink further into the earth, back into the soil from whence you came. "i knew kindness once— offered it, even. i always thought that teyvat was a beautiful place, but i underestimated just how cruel it would be."

"the merriment of mondstadt's windblume festival, the lights of liyue's lantern rite, the fireworks of inazuma's summer festival— i'll never forget them. the adventures we went on, and the time i spent with you all are things i cherish the most." you smile. "maybe somewhere in my heart, i can find it to forgive you. i'm just thankful for the good memories."

as soon as that is said, your face falls once more, and the grin on your lips drop into a frown. "but i'll never forget what you've all done to me."

liquid gold drips down your nose, and you can just imagine the horrified looks on their faces now that the truth has come out. you, their true god, would die of the injuries inflicted by your very own acolytes; it'd make such a good drama, you muse. you've lost enough feeling in your body that you fail to register the desperate hands that run up and down your limbs in hopes of soothing the pain that pulsates underneath your skin.

a shriek rings in the air, and you're mildly surprised it isn't yours. you find yourself crowded by all kinds of bodies, but you can't force yourself to care. if you die here, at least you were kind enough to show them the truth— even if it meant leaving them to blame themselves for teyvat's downfall.

---

wounded

gyeong-su x gn!reader | 1.1k words

genre: slight angst, comfort, established relationship

warnings: swearing, canon-divergence, mentions of murder, kissing, blood, and aouad stuff.

synopsis: you were quietly looking around the room as everyone rushed to check on why gyeongsu wouldn't leave the recording room. you watched, keeping a close eye on nayeon. and right on time, you caught her red-handed.

author's note: you're welcome y'all /hj i need more gyeongsu gifs also

“Why won’t he come out of here? This stubborn idiot.”

You slowly stood up as everyone rushed over the glass window of the recording room while Mrs. Park walked in. They were all talking about why he wouldn’t leave and such things. Namra stayed on her seat, a bit further away from the others, and Nayeon unexpectedly walked over to the glass window with them. You took slow steps to follow behind her.

After everything the girl had put Gyeongsu through, you thought it’d be best to keep an eye on her. You didn’t know what she was capable of doing, how far she was willing to go, but you knew if anyone was more stubborn than Gyeongsu, it was her. And that scared you. If she was so stubborn and stuck on the idea of your boyfriend being infected, who knew what she would do to prove she was right?

Your hand grabbed onto her wrist harshly, holding it in place. She stilled in her movement completely and slowly looked up to meet your gaze. You looked calm, despite how hard your grasp on her arm was. You stared at her silently and lowered her arm. Down and away from the broken broom. “What are you doing?”

“Just… Just cleaning… the…”

Your gaze must’ve been too hard for her to hold, from how frantically she averted her eyes from your face. She paused to swallow thickly, as if searching for a credible answer to your question. She’d been caught off guard. Dare you say, caught red-handed.

“Cleaning what?” you asked quietly, purposefully getting closer to her face so only she would hear, “A zombie’s blood off a wooden stick? Are you planning to kill someone?”

Her eyes widened and she pushed you off, but your hand was still too tight on her wrist for her to shake it off. She desperately tried to move her arm, in vain. You heard the door of the recording room open and understood why she was so distressed at the idea of not being able to move away. She yelled out in frustration with a last, harsh attempt at getting her wrist out of your hand.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Let me go.” she said loudly; loudly enough to attract everyone’s attention. Even from the recording room, Gyeongsu seemed to have noticed the commotion. You scoffed with a smirk as Mrs. Park hurried over.

“[name], what are you doing? Let go of her wrist!” she exclaimed, hand moving to grab your hand before you spoke up.

“Maybe if she admits to attempted murder on her classmate.” you said steadily, eyes never leaving hers. She looked furious, irritated at being caught doing whatever it was she was attempting to do while everyone had their backs turned. But you didn’t relent. “So? Do you mind talking or should I do it for you?”

“That’s– You can’t accuse someone of attempted murder, [name], that’s far from being something to take lightly! I know things are very stressful for you and everyone else but it would be unfair to–”

“To let her try and kill Gyeongsu just because she can’t stand being wrong.” you cut her off, turning to look at her over your shoulder. “Right, teach’?”

She seemingly stumbled over her own words, before shaking her head. “Nayeon-ah. What does this mean?”

“Nothing! I wasn’t doing anything and this fucker just grabbed my fucking wrist!”

“They didn’t do it for no reason. Use your heads, for once.” Cheongsan chimed in, stepping closer. He furrowed his eyebrows and pointed to the girl’s hand. “She’s holding something.”

“My handkerchief.” Nayeon said, before scoffing and holding her head high, “What? I can’t have a handkerchief anymore? The fuck is wrong with all of you?”

“Nayeon-ah. Please hand it over.” the teacher said, extending her hand. Nayeon hesitated, and then looked at you coldly. You raised your eyebrows and moved her hand up for her.

“Do be careful with it, teach.” you said calmly, chuckling, “There’s zombie blood on this. Don’t touch it if your hands are injured.”

She made a confused face but grabbed the handkerchief. Her eyes widened as she inspected it, and glanced over the broken wooden stick they’d used to kill a zombie just earlier. The gears seemingly turned inside her head along your other classmates’ until they understood.

“This is a murder weapon, practically.” you said, nodding towards the piece of fabric. You tightened your hold on Nayeon’s arm and held it up as a harsh reminder of the predicament she put herself in and smiled. “And this is a murderer.”

You loosened your grasp on her wrist and she easily shook your hand off. You folded your hands behind your back and stepped aside, before turning around to face the rest of the group. You wore a calm smile on your face as you waited.

“What do we do?”

The teacher sighed and stepped forward. “Lee Nayeon. Were you really going to use this on Gyeongsu’s wound?”

“No! What do you think?!”

“Nayeon. Be honest. Please.”

“No, I… I just… I was just…”

“There’s no reason for you to be cleaning a fucking zombie-blood-stained wooden stick we used to kill a zombie, you fucking stuck-up bitch.” Jimin scoffed.

“Jimin, languag– Ah, nevermind, Just… Just quiet down. Nayeon, please just tell us the truth.”

“I… I just wanted to… Fuck, I just... I wanted... To make you all think that I was right when I said he was infected, I just–”

You walked past her, purposefully shoving her shoulder as you headed to the recording room. You opened the door and stepped in quietly, before closing it behind you. Gyeongsu was leaning against the table, staring at the room as he seemingly tried to understand what was going on. He turned to you the moment you stepped in and lightened up. “Hey. What’s going on out there? This girl being annoying again?”

You walked over to the chair he’d previously been sitting on and intertwined both your hands over the table. There was an odd silence for a few seconds before you slapped your hands on your face and screamed a muffled yell of frustration. You then put your hands back on the table and breathed calmly, acting as if nothing happened. Gyeongsu stared at you with wide eyes, obviously concerned.

“Are you okay…?”

To be honest, you were the one who wanted to murder someone. It took everything in you not to completely lash out, grab that bitch by her hair and hang her head over the edge of the window. It was so hard to keep your hand from twisting her arm until it ached. It was so hard not to punch her so she’d shut the fuck up. But you had to keep calm, because if you were too hysterical, they wouldn’t listen to you. Nevertheless it was unfair. She deserved to at least be punched. She tried to kill someone.

She tried to kill the person you’re dating, at that.

“Yes. Now that I’ve managed to stop her, I’m quite fine.” you said, smiling as you looked at him. “Now, you owe me one. Nayeon was trying to kill you.”

His eyes widened even more and he ran over to where you were sitting. “What?! What do you mean?”

You nodded towards the glass window of the recording room and Gyeongsu followed your gaze. Nayeon was crying and Namra was talking to her, seemingly annoyed while the other girl stammered over what she tried to say. Cheongsan rushed towards her before anyone could stop him and pushed her so harshly she almost fell. Suhyeok held him back, and you chuckled a bit. It looked like she was still trying to explain herself, before the teacher pulled her aside to another corner of the room and sat her down with her. You scoffed. “She was wiping blood from zombies on a handkerchief. She was planning to put it on your scratch.”

The boy instinctively looked down at the wound at the mention of it and frowned, scoffing. He wrapped his hand around it as if the blood was actually about to touch his wound, and you put your hand on his as an attempt at comforting him.

“Honestly I talked to her and everyone like I was certain that’s what she planned, but part of me was scared I was actually completely wrong. Then everyone would hate me, or something. But there was no reason for her to be wiping that blood that seemed as… Terribly logical as the one I came up with. Turns out I was right.”

Gyeongsu fell down on what he expected to be the chair but ended up falling on the floor. You laughed despite everything and held out your hand. He scoffed a chuckle and grabbed it as you got up to give him the chair back. You sat on the table instead and exhaled.

“So I almost just got killed.” he said, nodding to himself like he couldn’t realize it. You pursed your lips and sighed, looking down.

“Yup.” you said, “You did.”

He ran his hands over his face before holding them up on the top of his head. From the looks of it, it looked like he wanted to punch her very much, too. Understandably so. But he only gulped and nodded, before taking a deep breath.

He looked up at you and grabbed your hand. “Thanks.”

You smiled. “Why, of course. Now I’m counting on you to save me if I need it at some point, okay?” you said with a grin, trying to lighten the atmosphere. He waved his hand in dismissal, pulling off that overly-confident smile of his.

“Obviously!” he scoffed, before grabbing your chin to bring you down to his level. He had a small smile on his lips when he kissed the corner of your lips.

“Who do you take me for?” then he smiled fondly and kissed you properly.

And you grinned. You knew both of you were dead scared, despite your attitudes. It was frightening to think that if you hadn’t noticed, Gyeongsu might’ve just turned into a zombie as well. So when you pulled away you immediately wrapped your arms around him as tightly as you could, and he exhaled and reciprocated the hug just as tightly. You both needed it. You could feel it.

This was nice-- Better. You felt relieved. Finally.

---