Hello Hello!! I'm Also The One Who Asked For Trey's And I Wanna Let You Know That You Can Take Your Time,

Hello hello!! I'm also the one who asked for Trey's and I wanna let you know that you can take your time, no rush!!! I greatly enjoy your works (the recent Azul's one is AMAZING I LOVE IT SO MUCH), I'd inhale any of your writings even if they're not my favs it's just that goood 😭💕

Hope you're doing great!!

Thank you!! You’re too kind! 😭❤️

*Saves a screenshot of this ask in a folder, to remember the reason why I write*

Your request is next on my list and I hope it will not disappoint you!

I wish you all the best!

Pomegranate Rule || Idia Shroud x Reader

Obligatory pair work with someone you like very much on a school project and have a chance to fall for each other more? - cliché.

The difference with Idia was that he kidnapped his project partner.

Idia leaned out from behind the column, whispering words of encouragement and summoning up the plan of this meeting he compiled at yesterday’s evening. He practised this conversation all night in front of the mirror, but as soon as he gained confidence, he forgot the text and desperately searched for the next line in the script.

There was a faint blush on his pale cheeks. Not from the sun, not from the fatigue, but nervousness. He hadn't left his room for someone in a long time, and what he was about to do required from him new social skills...

…to ask you to be his project partner, that’s it.

Ortho stood right next to Idia, leaning out from behind his older brother's silhouette and shifting his gaze once at the courtyard, once at him.

Idia cuffed his fingers on the sleeves of the sweatshirt.

Ortho's presence helped him a lot to keep on the promise he made to himself: today he will actually talk to you not on the phone, but face-to-face and suggest that you could do Sir Crewel’s project together.

He knew that you didn’t have a pair, since Grim went off where he could bug Adeuce combo, and even if he didn’t, you two would be counted as one student. But, to at least make some progress, you were picking up leaves you suspected to be just right for the experiment.

With each bush, you were getting closer and closer to the column behind which Idia was hiding, and he knew that if he won’t hurry with his proposal, someone will enter the square, dispatch the last pieces of Idia's courage and disperse you, and take you away.

For example someone like Epel and Jack, who have just entered the courtyard using the entrance on the opposite side.

This coincidence seemed to Idia to be as unfortunate as if all the forces of the world wanted to stop him from what he was planning and yet to validate his theory that it was not worth ever leave his room. On the other hand, since he was already here, and it took him a good few dozen attempts to motivate himself, he could not lose this unstarted game.

Idia, in an act of desperation, rushed towards you, hoping that the first-graders would not notice you.

You both keel over into the bushes as Jack and Epel headed towards you.

"Jack Howl, Epel Felmier!" Ortho greeted them, distracting all possible attention from the bushes that had just been approached by two people, both unaware of what was going on. "How is your project going? What topic did you choose?”

"Ortho-kun! What are you doing here?” Epel replied, coming closer to the young Shroud.

As Ortho distracted them with a conversation, Idia had an intimidating thought: what would happen if they saw your two in the bushes? He was madly blushing at the scenarios that created in his head. He put his hand on your lips—he was afraid that you would say anything that would attract unwanted attention—he slipped with you through the empty corridors to the dorm of Ignihyde.

…He forgot to explain what he was doing, and it likely looked like him committing a crime, but nothing will happen if he explains everything in his room, right...?

You were able to ask Idia what was he doing, once he closed the doors. Till then, on every question you asked he hissed “Sheesh! Do you want us to be found?!” and “P-please! Let us get to headquarters where I will… explain the mission…”.

Soon enough, you found yourself in his room; electronics was the main source of light, and the screens glowed bright blue around them. Although you didn't see any exposed windows or lamps lit to illuminate the room, everything was clearly visible.

There was a mess there, a mixture of the cardboard disorder that prevails after moving a house and the chaos of a man whose constantly working on something, desk always cluttered with papers, pens and documents.

You were sure you would stand on some lost Lego block or pin if you put your foot behind the bed where Idia has set you down.

“So, Idia,” you started. “…What exactly I am doing in your room?”

"Uh, well...” he stuttered, trying to remember the speech from yesterday's practices. “I wish I would know what you're doing here... I mean- I know why I brought you here. I wanted to ask you something. Ask, yes.”

"Ask? About what?” you didn't mention that you can ask outside of your own room, and you wasn’t going to correct that.

Idia tried to explain the whole situation. He skipped the preparation process, his speeches and ideas, he didn’t even mention the project, so all he said was hard-to-understand, abstract justification from the current situation.

He said, at least, that he came up with the idea to take you somewhere further away, where there were no people, as first-grades entered the courtyard.

“So I'm here by accident?" you asked after listening to Idia, slightly cocking your head at the side. “I don't understand…”

“It was an accident. A bit,” he wanted to loudly groan at his helplessness but finally bit his tongue. “I didn't want you here. I mean, I wanted to, but I didn't plan on it. I mean- Aah, it’s so hard to explain!”

You waited in silence, only nodding, letting him take his time.

"Sorry, I just... I feel weird talking to you...” Idia admitted, lowering his head.

The definition of Idia’s "weirdness" was different from yours.

When you heard that he was calling you strange, you felt a pang in your heart. Really? After so many months of acquaintance and quite frequent texting on the phone, when finally there was one of those few moments when you could talk face-to-face, he says it's awkward?

The "weirdness" of that feeling in Idia was something he could not explain easily: the joy of talking to you, anxiety that he would say something wrong, an uncertainty that you would change your mind and stop talking to him, excitement because he knew how interesting person you are and the frustration for every accurate, teasing comment…

"Oh, I see," you tried not to sound depressing. "So let me leave.”

"No, wait, that's not what I meant..!”

Oh, no. Idia’ plan went downhill again.

Idia jumped to a drawer and started looking for something in it, digging through notebooks, cables and lost items.

“...Don't worry, Idia, we can end this conversation on the phone... or something.”

“No, no, no, wait, please!” discreetly took out a round metal box before he dashed to you, blocking the only way out, heavy equipment surrounding you that now seemed to be an impassable wall.

"Uh?"

He took the hard candy from the container he took from the shelf, though he did it so subtly, forcing himself to stare at you and keep your gaze from tearing away from him, so you couldn’t notice candy in his hand.

They were pomegranate drops that had been presented to him as a funny joke from a student who knew that a box, just like its contents, was enchanted by Vil's unique magic: whoever tasted them will not be able to move more than twenty meters from the place the fruit drop was eaten.

Haha, because you know, the members of Ignihyde don't go outside and won't even notice they were cursed.

Idia was sure that even Vil did not know that the candies had fallen into his hands.

"Huh? What are you-“

As soon as you opened your mouth, Idia pressed fruit drop up to your lips and covered them with his hand, in case you tried to spit it out. His movements became very mechanical and heavy, probably most of his muscles were strained. Because of that, you also couldn't push him away.

He only stepped out of your way you once swallowed the candy.

And so you were bound by a spell that you discovered the moment Idia let you towards the door. You stopped more than a meter from them, unable to even grasp the doorknob.

You swung your hand a few times as if not believing that none of your movements was moving you forward.

“Idia. I know we should talk, but by cutting me off from the door?”

Surprise with this solution, Idia's embarrassed smile, dripping sweat from the stress he felt, and a sudden dose of delicious sugar made you burst into laughter.

“This. Is. Great.” You accented each word, becoming more and more amused with each one as if you had just heard the best joke of the era. “Is it the fault of those drops?”

Idia, surprised by your reaction, finally relaxed. Your sudden, inexplicable outburst, hearty laugh calmed him down a lot. He even came to the conclusion that he really likes the way you laugh.

Ortho soon entered the room. You two shortened the story and explained that you probably have to stay here for the night.

"Oh, so nii-san finally asked you to do a project with him?"

“Project...?” you repeated. Then you turned your head to Idia and smirked at him. “So that was what it was for?”

He answered you with a shrug as if last day Idia didn’t have any thoughts screaming “Project!” and that followed by “[Name]!”.

However, Ortho said it for him.

Idia, of course, tried to stop him, but Ortho knew how much time his brother spent just planning to talk to you. A wave of shame flooded Idia as you listened to Ortho's words with interest. And maybe with a pinch of delight spilling over your heart—Idia did so much for you! You could feel the flush on your face and a smile spread across your lips every time you heard about Idia's efforts.

Soon after, after the excitement of this conversation had died down and you thanked Idia for his planning efforts, a package of cookies and biscuits was opened. You couldn't go to the cafeteria to eat anything, and even ordinary snacks from school vending machines taste better in pleasant company, right?

“We haven't had many opportunities to talk like that, have we?"

You took a sip of the warm tea Idia had made—it was incredibly bitter but chilled enough not to burn your tongue—and watched the screen where Idia was working.

He pushed himself away from writing some codes with some slowness, but he didn't look at you.

“You're right...”

After a pause, he started speaking again, this time in a whisper, but you heard him very clearly.

"I've always admired you, [Name]-shi..." he said, pressing his knees against his chest. “Talking to so many different people and solving their problems... I often find it tedious and self-righteous to interfere in the affairs of others, however…. Everything you do always ends well. I-I couldn't do that.”

“I should be saying it!” You said after a moment of silence as if you were processing words you completely didn't suspect him of. “You deal with electronics like a professional. Wait, you are the professional! How many programming languages have you already mastered? How many devices have you already created? You have a wonderful talent and... even your brother little is proof of it.”

You both looked at Ortho connected to specialized equipment. "CHARGING" was displayed on the screen, and by minutes the numbers were close to 100%.

Idia didn't smile at your words—instead he seemed incredibly focused. With each passing second, he had a more and more sincere expression of pleasant frustration, which was also reflected in his long hair behind which he tried to hide his face.

He couldn't even answer and just nodded.

"And... I have to confess to something," you began after another minute of pleasant silence, which you felt sorry to interrupt. "If you previously seemed quite average to me, maybe even a little pale-faced, now I know that you are special."

These words were already his limit. He couldn't take his eyes off you, forgot how to breathe, forgot how to blink, and his lungs refused to cooperate.

His heart crashed for good after your next words.

"So... if you please," you got up and smiled at him. “Idia Shroud, will you do me this honour and become my project partner?”

"The curse already faded.”

You could reach the door and go to the farthest corners of the room. You could leave.

The project has been completed. With the light help of Ortho, who also wanted to contribute to the project, by two in the morning, you finished doing experiments, writing out data, conclusions and completing them with graphic documentation.

And then you played games for the next three hours; each game was digital and very engaging—it wasn't for Ortho, you and Idia wouldn't fall asleep even for a minute. Even when you went to bed—and there was a whole five-minute debate about where you were going to sleep—you talked in whispers about everything and nothing until one of you fell asleep.

Even if the attachment to Vil's magic was gone, you couldn't deny that you became attached to a certain blue-haired boy who followed the last lines of your conclusions with his golden eyes.

It was really fun.

He and Ortho probably would have done this project faster, but the collaboration of the three—you, Ortho and Idia—seemed so pleasant that if he could, he would do it once again. Even if that meant another research about hyper-difficult projects Crewel liked to torture his students with.

"I will come again," you said as suddenly as if you were reading his mind. He flinched at those words, and your tone of voice changed to a more biting tone. “You don't have to kidnap me this time.”

"I d-didn't..." he tried to deny but was stuck on the next words. “...Really? Will you really come here?”

“Your charm bound me more than candy, I can promise you,” you gave him one last smile before you closed the door behind you and rushed through the corridor with a strange, blissful feeling, looking forward to your next project.

So did he.

Target: Tartaglia „Childe”

No. 11 of the Eleven Harbingers of the Fatui

A small knife flew towards a boy with hair in the color of ginger.

Surely the blade would have hit his scalp, between amber curls, if the boy hadn’t turned around and sprang it with his weapon.

“Good morning, [Name]” he raised his eyes to see a small—or at least in the presence of the surrounding wooden beams and marble columns—silhouette crouching almost under the ceiling.

"Hello, hello," you replied, jumping off the raise. You neatly landed next to him and smiled broadly. "I can see that you are still in good condition.”

"To your misfortune," he shrugged, but also smiled.

Your afternoons usually followed this pattern: you break into Fatui's base, attack Childe, he avoids every hit, and later, as if nothing ever happened, you both go into conversations about everything and nothing. Sometimes you do a little sparring for skill.

Days like these had been going on months, but apart from your two, no one knew about them.

Not that you wanted to tell someone.

[First Name] [Surname], was a hair to a small outlaw-military organization. The organization disagreed with Fatui's actions and pursued its own policies to oppose the removal of Gnosis from the seven Archons.

The problem is that your family business employed no more than half of the employees compared to Fatui. Although every person who joined your organization was trained (in combat – like you or even in law or speaking), every day you have been overwhelmed by another load of tasks to be done since there were no people to fulfill all the missions.

One of them, which began exactly two months ago, was a task to murder Tartaglia.

You knew it wasn't going to be easy.

You also knew he was probably much stronger than you.

But you tried anyway – in the name of your honor and for your family.

You couldn't admit that you can't kill him. And it was no longer about the skills themselves.

Every day you spent with him, made you feel frustrated, excited, and full of butterflies in your stomach. Each day, whenever some feelings were growing up in your body, you wanted to find out why you felt that way. Why only with him?

Your work should have never allowed you to let your personal feelings into your thoughts.

You were a spy! A killer! How dare you think in such a girlish way since you have such a tainted innocence card?

"[Name],” your parents called you to the office. Ever since they founded this organization, your relationship has been more like an employee-employer than a daughter-parents. "We decided to change your mission.”

"Is... is it because I did not get rid of him?” you asked. Your hands started to shake, even when you clenched your hands on your shirt. "Give me some more time, I promise I'll eliminate him!"

Father shook his head.

"We've already lost too much time," he said. "We'll get rid of Fatui later. If we get as many allies as possible now, we can actually gain an advantage” with his right hand, he moved the some paper towards you, and even without reading, you could tell it was someone's data. "We want you to improve your relationship with this man. Try to convince him to sign with us.”

You nodded wordlessly.

You knew you should have killed Childe beforehand.

Maybe then you wouldn't feel that today was your last, relatively friendly, encounter.

‎‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

Childe turned around again.

For several days now, he has been constantly checking if anyone was following him. But he no longer felt this familiar, playful sight.

And that was the problem.

He didn't want anything other than for you to jump out and try to take his life. Of course, he wouldn't get hurt, but he'd watch you start pouting that in this four-day break for attacking him, he didn't forget your tactics.

Then he would smile, pat you on the shoulder and say that "the loser is not forever a loser, but in your case, it is" and allow you to lightly hit him with your elbow. He didn't even realize how much he enjoyed your meetings until you stopped appearing.

"Have you seen how cute she is?" he heard whispers from excited teenagers. Both were dressed in floral outfits and held small, elegant handbags in their hands.

Ah, yes.

There was a holiday in Liyue, right? On the occasion of the new year?

Tartaglia found himself in the main square, not noticing all the stalls surrounding him and the floating lanterns and aromas of Liyueian dishes. Most of the passers-by wore elegant robes in warm colors, but in their normal attire did not stand out from the crowd.

"Yes!" her dark-haired friend replied. "Do you think we can get the same hairstyle as hers?"

Childe lurched when he finally took his eyes off the cobblestone path and looked ahead. His heart stood when he recognized you.

You were standing next to a man, dressed in a kimono-inspired by lilies – light blue, made of delicate material, which sleeves flowed down your shoulders. You had your hair tied up in a high bun, and through it came a gold, decorative hairpin, the ending of which resembled a flower. Light make-up and long earrings further completed your outfit. It flashed under the light of all the lanterns as if you were their beloved person on this festival.

Tartaglia knew you were beautiful.

He always met you in dark, practical, and comfortable clothes that would not get anyone's attention. Even in them, he thought that you would be able to outdo many beauties.

And now, in such a beautiful outfit, you were standing there, attracting eyes of passing constants... in front of him... and with a man putting his hand around your waist.

He frowned when he took a step (or at least wanted himself to look confident since his mind was surrounded by doubts) he moved towards you.

"Good evening, [Name]," his voice didn’t betray the nervousness as you turned harshly towards him. "I did not think we'd meet here.”

"Ah, good evening... Tartaglia," you replied, breaking eye contact with him. One more second and you'd forget your name and how you breathe.

"Is this your friend?" asked the man standing next to you. You nodded as he turned to Childe. "Excuse me, but tonight I will kidnap her from your company," he laughed at his own joke.

"Kidnap?" Tartaglia repeated, smiling friendly. "I'm sorry to say that, but you don't know anything about kidnappings.”

As soon as he said it, he grabbed your wrist and snatched you from the man's embrace. You collided with Childe's torso before he took you in his arms and rushed into one of the side streets. You were all confused when people started talking louder about the call of the guard. Childe slipped through a few less crowded streets as you tried to punish himself with his strong embrace, only seeing a rapidly changing floor in front of his eyes.

"Let me go! "You hit him with your foot and tried to push him away with all your might. "Childe, leave me!"

"Hehe," he laughed bitterly. "And why is it? It's a penalty for running away from our daily workout.”

"This is the end of our training!” you swung your knee again, but after this attempt, you gave up. "I couldn't get rid of you, so now I have to do something else.”

"And that's something to do with that man, right?" he was silent. "Believe me or not, I definitely preferred that mission with my assassination. At least then I could see you every day.”

…

"I... I also liked these days," you admitted. You sighed loudly, feeling the smell of the forest. This meant that Childe had already took you out of Liyue and you two were far from the city. "But... I can't object to my parents, so—”

“As I said before," he interrupted you, and a mysterious flash came in his eyes. He smiled at you as if ensuring that everything would be fine. "This is a kidnapping.”

I love your writing so much and I need to thank you. Your "how to win the heart of" series actually helped me accept my crush on someone close to me and to build up the courage to confess. We are now a couple. Thank you a lot. I hope you do well in life.

Ohh—! Congratulations! I'm glad I could be a help (even if it was a type of passive help, haha!)

And, also thank you for sending this message—reading it was a striking experience in a very positive way. Very wholesome. Thank you!!

I wish you a great life!

I saw this post and I was wondering if you write Malleus' too, is okay for you to make that?

How to win a heart of Malleus Draconia?

a/n: I started posting my writings here because I want to improve my English — so I technically wouldn't make this request. But! Someone on Wattpad (where I take requests) asked for the same thing, so I rolled up my sleeves and wrote this guide today in both languages. Enjoy~

1. Don't be afraid of him.

It is said that the first impression is the most important.

So when you first saw this guy walking through the corridor of Diasomnia, it was hard for you to get rid of that view from your head.

Illuminated both by the green magic flames set in the lobby, as well as by the moon, which eventually managed to break through the dark clouds and with a bright glow appear in the windows of the dormitory, he seemed... lonely and beautiful.

You shuddered as you took a step down the hallway and the dark-haired man turned to you. He measured you with his emerald eyes. And then you recognized him; all the conversations about the mysterious and fearsome Malleus Draconia flew through your head.

Everything told you to rush towards the hallway and run as far as possible, but a piece of you found it inappropriate. Or rather, no one would want to chase everyone away from themself... right?

When you realized you were looking at him for a while, you took a deep breath and nod slightly.

"Good evening, Draconia-san," you said quickly. After a while you added, "The moon is beautiful today, don't you think?”

 2. Smile a lot.

Today was a really wonderful day: the test was postponed, your favorite dish was given in the canteen, and for some reason, the last two lessons were canceled – your class had to make just a quick note about a topic and it took less than fifteen minutes.

"Something happened?" Malleus asked, seeing how almost in the jumps you walk past him. When you looked at him, he added, "You smile a lot.”

"I can stop smiling if you want," you made a sad face, but after a while, the corners of your mouth began to tremble uncontrollably and twisted up again. "Oops, I can’t. Today... it was such a good day... that I think I'm slowly using my life's happiness.”

"I didn't say that smiling is bad," he said. "You look so much better when you smile.”

"Oh," you sighed with apparent surprise. "Is it a compliment?"

"It’s rather a fact..?"

 3. From time to time visit him during club activities.

"Is this a class of the ‘Gargoyle research society club’?” with a deaf knock you opened the door. Malleus turned to you, making a break from browsing through the materials gathered in the library about the history of each of the gargoyles on the school grounds. And there were a lot of them.

"Yes," he replied briefly, getting up. "Do you need something, [Name]?"

"Not at all, my club don’t have a meeting today," you said, closing the door behind you.

You looked around: the room was as clean as ever, except for one desk, where were laid several huge volumes about statues in NRC.

“Are you here alone?” You said before you thought. You lowered your eyes to see Malleus nodding unconcerned slightly. You blinked several times trying to think of what else you could say. "This room... could be a secret base," that was the first thing that came to your mind. Malleus turned his head to one side, uncertain of your response.

“A secret base..? Why?”

"I have no idea," you admitted quickly. "But the very existence of a mysterious point is interesting, isn't it? Doing normal things, such as watching movies or just talking, seems more interesting in places like this,” After a moment of silence, you sighed. "You know what, this idea with the base is stupid”

"We can try," he replied with serious tone. You raised your eyes to see how he looked around the room. "But you'll just have to explain this idea to me in more detail. We can also tell Lilia, Silver and Sebek about it...” he smiled as if seeing your five together in his thoughts was a pleasure. "It will be surely... fun.”

 4. Get yourself a Tamagotchi.

"Look!" you spin a new key chain on your finger. You finally stopped and showed it to Malleus. "Now they are matching!”

A small electronic toy, in a dark green screen that, when it flashed, showed a virtual, pixelated animal. You were impressed with how good quality it was made, especially since you only gave the Shroud brothers a sketch of a toy that Malleus owned.

Your keychain was exactly the same, just a different color and with another pet.

Malleus pulled out his own device and put it on the table. He pressed one of the buttons and a small pet appeared on the keychain – a dragon.

"They can now be friends," you brought your toy closer to so-called Gao-Gao Dragon-kun.

"Do you think so?" He asked in a very surprised tone, but it sounded as if in a moment he were about to burst out with an inexplicably joyful and surprised laugh.

"Of course. Everyone needs a decent friend, no?”

 5. Gain the trust of Lilia, Silver and Sebek.

Lilia, one of Malleus' closest people. It is much more likely that you will meet him before Malleus. He will be very proud when he learns that Malleus has found a friend. If you become a taster of Lilia, in terms of his pastries, he will 100% like you, and at 20% you will leave the kitchen alive and well.

Silver, who has mastered the art of sleeping in any conditions. It's easy to get him into your plans, although with the craziest ones he will hesitate. Rather well-disposed towards everyone, he can cover for you when you are not in class— but he usually inadvertently falls asleep and both of you often have penal assignments after school.

Sebek, faithful to Malleus, if he doesn't like you, you won't have too many opportunities to stay by Malleus's side without a thunderous glances at you. He will recognize you if you will listen carefully to his monologues about his master and as a sign of your friendship, he will teach you by heart of all the titles and achievements of Malleus so far.

With this trio by your side, you can get a lot further than you might have imagined...

 6. Be a master in hide and seek.

You’d give your right arm that your breath was too loud.

You pressed your hands to your mouth as you crouched in the corner of the room.

From whose voices you already heard, you knew that Lilia had already found Sebek. This meant that you or Silver would still be helping cook dinner since Malleus didn’t come at the start of the game.

This may seem silly, but the ability to play classic games was one of the elements of the art of survival in Diasomnia.

It was thanks to games like ‘stone-paper-scissors’, hide and seek or tag that household chores fell on the shoulders of the losers. Lilia loved the idea, and there was always a proud smile on his lips when he saw his beloved children play together.

You heard the steps behind you and shivered.

Very slowly you turned around and looked up to see Malleus standing over you and wondering what you were doing, crouching in the darkest corner of the room.

Puns were also included in the survival pack.

Fearing that Lilia would hear your whisper, you put your finger on your mouth, asking him not to say a word. You put a begging eye into it – all but not cooking with Lilia. Not again.

Malleus nodded, recognizing the gravity of the situation, although he smiled.

Really, no one would want Malleus to be an enemy.

Or at least in such a situation.

 7. Do not hesitate to ask him for help with learning.

"In theory, you should focus on the space around you," Malleus pulled a wand in front of him. It flashed, and almost at the same time, a thin but incredibly strong protective barrier was created around him. “Weaker spells can be reflected. In turn, the stronger ones are better to block”

You nodded understandingly.

Defensive magic was not something easy to understand. Most depended on the person against whom the counter spell was being prepared. And there are countless people who walk on this Earth and want to start fights.

"Unique spells block or avoid physically," he continued. You nodded at every subsequent sentence, slowly feeling like all the lessons are eventually gaining transparency. “Using unique magic against unique magic, the stronger will win, both will lead to explosions or completely reduce.

He looked at you when you wrote down the last sentence in your notebook.

"I sincerely hope that you will only need this information in class," he said with a sigh. "If you need help, call me. I will come. I promise.”

 8. Sometimes be persuaded to wear extravagant clothes.

"Do you really think it suits me?" you turned around, looking at yourself from every possible angle in the mirror.

You were going to the theater in a few classes to see some era-related play that you've been discussing now in history lessons. Everyone, respecting the reputation, actions and achievements of theatre, dressed in their best clothes.

Malleus stood next to you.

He was already wearing a black and white outfit with green accessories. They all worked so well together and fitted him like a glove that you were sure that the whole outfit was made especially for him.

"Yes," he replied. "Everything you put on today suited you very well.”

Once again, with critical eyesight, you looked at the outfit, face and hair, before you quickly turned off the lights in the room and closed the door behind you.

Then you smiled at Malleus.

"We can go now," you said. You made your way through the portal to the main NRC building. "And... thank you for your help.

"My pleasure," he said. Under no circumstances was it just a polite formula. He really loved looking at you.

 9. Invite him to your birthday/party.

"Another break from school soon, huh?" — you muttered, leaning against the railing.

You took a deep breath and let the fresh, pleasant air refresh you.

"Are you going to home, [Name]?" Malleus asked. Green lights were still flying around him, so you guessed he’d just appeared here.

"I haven't decided yet," you sighed. "It would be nice to go home, but the break won't be very long... Ah, that's right!” you straightened up and turned to him. "How about spending another break together? As soon as I can, I will contact my family... although I cannot promise anything.”

Though he did not show it, Malleus' heart beat a little faster.

Spend free time? With someone? With someone he likes?

"Of course," he sounded less calm than he thought. He wasn’t often invited anywhere, even for the things he should have been on, so there was a lot of excitement growing in his body. "I don't see anything against it.”

 10. From "The Great Malleus Draconia-sama" to "Love".

"Ah, The Great Malleus-sama!" you sighed theatrically, taking from him a box of chocolates with a joyful smile. You could promise that because of this dark-haired boy here, you slowly become pampered. "Thank you for your generosity!”

Malleus frowned.

"The Great Malleus-sama"..?” he pondered, putting his fingers to his chin. "Did Sebek told you again to call me with this title?"

"No," you laughed softly at his reaction. "I did it out of curiosity. Maybe I could call you some cute nickname, hmm?" you smiled mischievously.

"For example?"

"By adding ‘-chan’ to your name?” you turned on your phone and typed something related to the nicknames. You started reading suggestions and struggled to hold back from laughing. ” ’Sunshine’, ‘star’, ‘flower’, ‘sweetheart’, ‘love’...

"I like the last one," he said, and the invisible force stung you to the ground.

"Would you like me to call you like that? Out of curiosity or out of love?" You laughed, but your cheeks were all red with blushes.

He smiled sincerely at your reaction.

"Hmm, I wonder..?"

Heart Competition 💕

It is the fifth pint of beer, and there is no sign that it is the last one.

Kaeya stares at the beer, its golden surface waves slightly. His hand is trembling as if the weight of the drink was too much for him. In the reflection of the glass vessel, he sees his face;  eyebrows furrowed by grief or anger – he hasn't figured it out yet – and corners of his mouth twitching, once up, to keep an impression of happy guest, once down, when his muscles refused to obey him.

Being out of control of his own body made him also incapable of flirting, the art he practised years in the bar, that some could assume that Kaeya did it mostly to get on Diluc's nerves.

Oh, right. Diluc Ragnvindr, the star of today's event.

Through a glass pint, half-filled with alcohol, Kaeya sees the distorted silhouettes of the bride and groom, in honor of which this whole party was held.

Loud, quite unexpectedly large for the groom's tastes, the event was a mixture of attempts to make the lady in the veil the happiest woman in the world, but with some balance. This party was also a sign that Diluc won't even consider future marriage offers, having such a sweet wife on his side.

[Name].

[Name] Ragnvindr, from today.

A girl who came to Mondstadt a few years ago and stole the attention of a Cavalry Captain at the first meeting.

At first, it was just another entertainment; he flirted with you, being so natural in this as if it was his personal dialect he used everyday. Well, it wasn't far from wrong. After few minutes the blush couldn't leave your cheeks, leaving your face painted with a rich strawberry scent. He teased you even more until you realised you are too engaged in conversation and cocked your head at the side, trying to hide a blush behind your hair.

And then something went wrong.

You've spent too much time together, and each moment made Kaeya fall in love with you. He didn't know, he doesn't know yet, but his heart started to be blind and slowly started heading towards you every time you smiled at him.

One day he noticed that his heart no longer belonged to him.

If he could turn back time, he would surely try not to fall in love with you. Or he would do everything not to let you meet his not-really-encouraging-to-spend-time-with-and-vice-versa sworn brother.

Really, he could give up taking you to the tavern when he knew that his red-haired relative was right there. At that point, he just felt the need to show you to everyone and wordlessly inform them "she is precious to me, and I will defend her with all my might."

Apparently, Diluc didn't notice the aura of his intentions because he was genuinely interested in a person who would stand up with his brother's quirks („These are secrets," Kaeya corrects every time someone points it out) and without a shadow of a doubt could talk about his disadvantages as advantages.

"You have quite an interesting way of looking at the world," Diluc admitted at one of your random meetings. They happened often; you two even started suspecting each other of tracking each other, but then accepted the fact that whenever any of you will be in a flower shop or going to the library, you will meet the other one on your way there.

"Or I'm pushy because I'm looking for the other bottom in everything," you said, smiling. Diluc also almost smiled in response. "You too, are completely different from Kaeya's descriptions.”

"And... what did he say about me?"

"I'm sorry, but if I told you, you probably would never sell him any alcohol again."

"There, who are you talking about, you two?" Kaeya appeared behind you.

He approached, behaving rather carelessly, though he felt like some invisible force was tightening on his throat. You two looked so good together that with every memory of your view, the needle of jealousy and desperation was sewing through his heart.

And what bothered him the most was the fact that Diluc seemed to like you very much.

Of course, he wanted you two to have a good relationship, but the fact that you spent a lot of time together was very, very, very difficult for him.

Kaeya takes another sip of beer, which this time seems extremely bitter on his tongue. He winces slightly but takes another swallow.

He must have delayed his love confession too much.

A day, no, a few hours would be enough, and everything could've been different. If it weren't for that one evening, when Kaeya decided that he must tell you about his feelings, he would definitely be better without your announcement that you would like him to help you figure out how to confess your love to Diluc.

The heart you've taken from him was broken into pieces. It being overwhelmingly delicate in your hands, was most likely destroyed inadvertently.

...And so, he helped you with your love confession.

After all, he lived with this guy for several years and knew more or less his preferences. Probably, even without his help, Diluc would have accepted your feelings without batting an eye. Kaeya spent a lot of his time watching redhead, and he could tell that these frequent glances towards yourself weren't only a coincidence.

"Only you seem alone in such a grand crowd," says Venti, who sat next to him. Like many other guests, he wears an elegant white shirt with frilly sleeves and black trousers. There is some blush on his cheeks, but even after drinking since the start of the wedding reception, he still manages to look serious.

They haven't talked very often, but as many times they sat together in the tavern and found good drinking companions in each other, they weren't as much of strangers as many could suppose.

"I am being happy for the bride and the groom from a distance," Kaeya replies with harshness in his voice that makes it sound like a growl.

Such a quick excuse could not deceive a poet as skilled in heartbreaking stories as Venti. "I know how losing someone hurts."

Kaeya doesn't ask what he meant. In his head one moment was still playing on repeat; the one when he took you to the altar. He really didn't feel anything, when he was leading you to the groom, who wasn't paying attention to anything but you.

The moment you let go of Kaeya's hand and walked the next steps in that white snow and princess-like gown was the most striking one. With every tap of your heels against the floor, the distance between you two was growing wider.

Kaeya looks at Venti, who rises from his seat and pats him on the shoulder before walking away. He could swear he saw him mouthing “good luck” before disappearing between guests.

It didn't take a minute before you appeared next to Kaeya with a beaming smile on your face.

"Are you having fun?" You ask, and he forces himself to send you a smile, even though for a moment the corners of his mouth trembled uncontrollably.

"Of course," he replies with an eagerness that he tries to raise in himself.

He starts to look for a topic that isn't going to betray his cloudy head. At least not now, when everyone should rejoice for the sake of a new relationship.

His gaze falls on a glass of white wine, which you held in your hands.

"Ah, right," you pick up his gaze. "Diluc chose these wine because he said you somehow recommend that one. He also said they are good for toast."

"Oh? Why don't we raise a toast [Name]?" Kaeya replies, pouring the wine into his glass. He turns to you, now stiffly holding crystal vessel uncomfortably between his fingers.

"What will we raise it for?"

Kaeya cocks his head lightly as if he's trying to come up with a good reason. His gaze wanders to your face, and then he swiftly looks away.

Of course, he knew what he should say in this situation and accept that fact, he wanted to do away with.

"Toast for," He raises a glass, you echo him. A few other guests start to lift their glasses as well. "The bride and her life alongside the man who won the heart competition."