Liyue-harbour - Garden Of Avalon

𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚

kirishima natsuya 

“do you like anyone?”

you froze and stopped writing. the question was sudden, and the most surprising thing about it was the person who asked you. your gaze remained at the assignment on the table and you blinked a few times, baffled at the male sitting across you.

you couldn’t believe it! the kirishima natsuya, soufukan’s big-shot swim captain and ace swimmer,  questioning if you had a crush on anyone. the very same person who said that he did not want any sort of distraction—a relationship, a crush, or anything that could sabotage his swimming.

out of all the teasing, pranks and flirting that happened between the two of you, this one start up was the least you had expected to spill from his mouth. the tranquility of your breathing was the only vague response you could offer, but he remained silent, patiently waiting for you to voice your thoughts.

having known natsuya since elementary school, you found it odd. why now, out of all the time and many years that he could’ve asked you? why wait till this year, this particular moment? however, his attitude today was different from the usual. he had nothing installed for you and neither did he tease you. nao had also been distancing himself from the two of you today. your lips curling into a small smile. taking this golden opportunity, you decided to give him a taste of his own medicine. pointing your pen to him, you break the silence.

“pfft, since when did you take any interest in me, natsuya? besides, aren’t you always talking about ikuya and swimming?” you question as you waved the writing instrument in your hand while processing his inquiry on you as a joke. to emphasise your apprehension to his words, you cringed in disgust but it only took a little to notice the mischievous glint in your eyes.

“y/n, that wasn’t an answer” he deadpanned, “although you are right about the part where i’m always talking about ikuya and swimming….” the browned haired boy slammed both his hands on the table lightly, shocking you. natsuya rarely gets agitated and so instead of feeling guilty or taken aback at his sudden uproar, the smile on your lips only grew wider as you leaned back on your chair.

“don’t go all defensive now, what you asked counts as an interest, natsuya~” looking at his beet red face, you point it out, a layer of jest in your words.

“damn it,” running his fingers through his hair with a sigh “just answer the question.”

as you had predicted, his patience was running thin. however, you felt like teasing him more. it was as if you and natsuya had switched minds today. although you wanted to continue teasing him, you felt bad and decided to let him off the hook. tilting your head to the side and putting a finger to your chin, pretending to be in deep thought. from your peripheral vision, you could see him swallow and chew his lip anxiously. finally, the unspoken mutual feeling between you both was about to be revealed.

“i do…” a flicker of hope crossed natsuya’s line of sight, and your attention was at the right amount to take in this sight. seeing it was enough for your smile to widen. however on how fast the hope in his eyes showed, the faster it faded as soon as your news sinks into him, losing the chance to process what you meant exactly. “and i think that he likes me too.”

𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘! 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧

✦ 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘧𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘴𝘶𝘺𝘢

✦ 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗯𝗼𝘆𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘧𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘴𝘶𝘺𝘢

Kaveh x GN!Reader

word count: 0.5k

warnings: just fluff; discussion of leaked character details

summary: doing your lover's hair for him is a perfect opportunity to sneak kisses

WOOO long awaited kaveh brainworms let's goooo!!! keeping it utc for leak info purposes though <33 also we still don't know much abt kaveh, so he may be ooc here by the time that he's fully released

Kaveh sits so perfectly still for you as your fingertips weave through his hair, taking a small section near his crown and separating it further into three locks to braid. The way the blond strands flow between your fingers reminds you of silk, soft to the touch and with an air of luxury to it. 

You hum quietly as you work, crossing the hair over one another and deftly working it down to the tips. When you’re done, securing the end with a little elastic tie you’d kept wrapped around your wrist, you hold your hand out around him for the rest of his accessories. 

The pins he passes you are almost excessive in nature; but Kaveh insists they’re necessary, so you slide them in as neatly as you can manage. A few get crossed over in an attempt to bring some visual appeal to them and finally you step back, nodding at your masterpiece. 

“You’re very good at that,” Kaveh remarks, admiring your handiwork in the little mirror you’ve held up for him. “I should ask you to do this more often.”

“I’m not finished yet,” you say, reaching to take a teal feather from his dresser. 

It’s a bold offset from the red that takes up the vast majority of his ensemble, but it is balanced so perfectly with the small accents from his belt and cape that it draws the entire look to completion. And against the light blond of his hair, it is utterly captivating. Like a crowning jewel, adorning your perfect prince.  

You balance on your toes to gingerly tuck the quill of the feather behind Kaveh’s braid, smoothing out a few wayward strands as you go. His hands find your waist on instinct, fingers pressing firmly against the skin that has been exposed from the rising hemline of your shirt. 

“I’m not finished yet,” he echoes, breath fanning your cheeks as he leans in close. 

Kaveh teases you for a moment; soft, plush lips hanging just out of reach as he edges closer to you, then retreats, then repeats the process. And just when you’re about to give in and sneak a kiss from him yourself, he strikes. Steals the air from your lungs like a phantom thief, gentle and fleeting, leaving you breathless and unsteady on your feet when he suddenly pulls back and straightens himself up again. 

“Unfair,” you pout, reaching to kiss him again. He grasps your wrists gently, maneuvers you out of the way with the grace of a ballet dancer. Dizzy from the spin, you huff and fold your arms at him.

Kaveh says your name with a sigh, poorly concealing the smile that creeps through his visage. “I’m supposed to be having an important meeting about my latest design, you know.”

You step forwards with an innocent smile, a devilish gleam in your eyes. Your arms extend to slip across his shoulders, linking behind his neck, as you place a small kiss to the end of his nose. 

“You can be a few minutes late, right?”

taglist: @x-zho @irethepotato @pochipop @applejuiceistired @falling4fandoms (please send an ask/dm to be added/removed from the taglist, or check my pinned for a google form <33)

a cunning contract (ayato)

2.2k words, Modern Teyvat + Demon AU, slight humor/slice of life urban fantasy

tw: demons (custom-built fantasy ones, not meant to refer to any particular folklore irl), implications / mentions of reader having some financial difficulties, slight mention reader neglecting their health for academics, blood mention, mention of reader getting death threats... i swear this is still a comedy just wanna be careful

Out of all the iterations of Teyvat, there is one where you exist. In your Teyvat, seven nations are ruled not by Archons, but by humans. Vision-bearers are little more than mythology. The elemental power structure that ruled every other Teyvat exists here as this Teyvat's spiritual underbelly. A Vision is not a gift from the gods, but is the heart of every demon's power.

Tonight, it is quiet. Students of the Akademiya tend to stay up late to study, but even this hour is too late for them. You're the only one awake in the dorm building – of this, you are confident that you don't bother hiding the materials laid before you.

A pattern drawn in chalk. A bag of various materials. Three circles to place them in. Which materials you place would determine — if successful — what you summon.

You check the time. The moon is about to reach its peak; there is no time to waste. You pick out the core material, an ancient gem, then the satellite three. 

You were very careful with the entire process, even going so far as to decorate your room in relaxing, light blue finery – well, as much finery as an Akademiya student can afford on loan. After all, you wanted nothing but the best for the demon known as Kamisato.

You gulp. There are stories, mostly from your Inazuman colleagues, about Kamisato: a gentle demon with a smile as pure as springwater and eyes like the reflection of the moon. A demon proficient in arts, culture, and Inazuman history will be invaluable to your thesis on the genealogy of Inazuman nobility. You can only hope that the tea you've prepared would compensate for the demon's work… even if it is store-bought boba tea from a buy-one take-one discount.

Before you can take it back, you place the three materials around the circle, then recite the ancient language that you've so closely studied in the months leading up to this moment.

"...come forth, Grus Nivis!"

The room trembles. Blue mist swirls up from the circle and envelops you, so thick that you can't even see the ends of your narrow dormitory. It is cold, just as you were warned, and while the air isn't icy, the dread that fills you chills your blood.

Despite the cold, you make sure to keep your head bowed in respect, even as you feel the presence of the demon materializing before you.

With a solemn voice, you say, "Greetings, Grus Nivis. Thank you for hearing out my humble request."

The demon remains silent, but you feel urged to continue.

"Ancient records note you as a master of Inazuman culture," you explain. "Your grace lets you dance across a pond's surface without even a ripple. Your beauty outshines the sparkling snow and stars. You are peerless in the arts and a guardian of festivities. Kamisato Ayaka, I humbly request–"

"Oh, dear…" The demon cuts in. "You seem to have been expecting someone other than me."

"Huh?" You look up on instinct. "Wait, you are–"

You were expecting a demon maiden: the Crane Princess, with hair of summer skies and the beauty of fresh snow. The gentle Kamisato Ayaka, a lady from days of Inazuman past that had transformed into a demon from her desire to share the joys of the Inazuman festivals.

This demon before you… is not Kamisato Ayaka. He is as tall and slender as the lilies with the elegance of the mountain stream. He is dressed in fine white and purple silks and has the bearing of a prince. His keen, unreadable gaze rests on you.

Your mouth dries. You tremble. "Who… who are you?"

The demon smiles: pretty, yes, but eerie too.

"You may know me as Cypressus Custos."

Fear rushes through your veins. You've been warned numerous times by your colleagues against contacting Cypressus Custos. No demon has been more cunning and ruthlessly charming as him, except maybe Divina Vulpes, and he is known to have left broken kingdoms in his wake.

"I- I don't understand," you say. "I was trying to summon Grus Nivis. I did everything right. How–"

The demon shakes his head, his smile never fading. "Ah, ah, ah. Look at your circle again."

You dare to look away from him and glance down at your circle. Sakura blossoms, shivada jade, and repudiation dew, just as the book said.

As if he can tell what you're thinking, he says, "That is lazurite, bloodling. And my dear sister Ayaka prefers machine parts to repudiation dew, though I know not what she uses those things for."

You curse. Maybe those all-nighters are affecting you more than you think. But you realize something about what the demon just said.

"Did… did you just call me a 'bloodling'?"

He waves it off. "You mortal creatures are uniquely dependent on flesh. Not like us demons that exist outside the material realm."

"I have a name, you know." You glare up at the demon. "It's–"

You bite your tongue. Never give your name to a demon.

There's a cunning glint in his eyes just as you silence yourself. He rests an elegant finger on his chin. He was definitely tricking you into giving him your name.

You shake your head. "Whatever, demon, you can call me a bloodling."

This time, it's his turn to frown. "Did I not tell you that I am called Cypressus Custos?"

"Unlike your sister's, your name is a mouthful. I'm not using that."

He laughs; sparkling and bright, but chilling all the same. "I suppose it's fair. The human languages have evolved too quickly from the Original Tongue. Very well, allow me to reintroduce myself."

He gives a flourishing bow. "I am the one they call Cypressus Custos, demon of Azure Elegance. My whispers have ruined the greatest of humans. I can make a feather bring a palace to ruin. In my waking life, I was Kamisato Ayato of Inazuma, Yashiro Lord and master of the Shuumatsuban. You may call me 'Ayato.'"

When he straightens up, he regards you with a foxlike smirk. "What shall it be, bloodling? Do you wish to ruin the tyrants of your age? Or relish above your peers as you puppeteer their every move, clashing them against each other until you stand alone at the top? I assure you, even the heavens have crumbled at my touch. Or do you have more typical desires, like wealth and beauty?"

He briefly glances you over. "Though I believe that you are already wealthy in good looks."

You sigh as you rub the exhaustion out of your eyes. Great, so other than being a dangerously cunning demon, he's also chatty.

"Just… can you help me with my paper?"

For once, Ayato is thrown for a loop. He blinks.

"Excuse me?" He asks.

"It's on analyzing the genealogical background of the current Inazuman prime minister and the underlying aristocracy that plagues our democratic government as a possible reflection of the overarching oligarchy. I've gotten death threats already and people are calling my research 'unpatriotic,' but I'm more afraid of my thesis advisor than them or an actual demon."

Without thinking, you hand him a manuscript of your work so far, and to his credit, Ayato looks it over as you elaborate on the details of your thesis.

"If you refer to this related study, for example, this scholar argues that historical nepotism carries on in our government because of the concept of family alliances that remains strong in Inazuma. I personally disagree with that explanation, but many other studies have argued for the same result, just with slightly different angles."

Ayato hums. "The argument has its merits, but it doesn't quite capture my personal experience with Inazuman politics."

You nod enthusiastically. "Exactly! Every single article has something right, but the topic is sorely lacking in a comprehensive analysis that brings all those somethings together. But because of the Tenshukaku Fire after the third civil war–"

"Most knowledge on medieval Inazuman politics was lost," Ayato fills in.

"Which is why I need you–"

"To be your source?" 

You pause. "No, I can't have just one source. But I need your help in pointing me towards multiple sources. You've watched Inazuma for a long time. Surely you know where everything goes."

"I am a demon, you know. I could simply grant you infinite knowledge, or call down a revelation from Celestia."

"Divine knowledge isn't peer-reviewed."

Ayato looks at your manuscript for a long and silent minute, his expression unreadable. He sips the boba tea you got him with little more than a pleased hum.

You almost forget that you're talking to a demon until you notice the Hydro sigil in his irises. Then you wonder why you can see his irises, and you realize that he's sitting on the floor with you, close enough that you can smell his camellia perfume.

You're smart enough to admit that Ayato is beautiful, even for a demon that is, as a species, expected to attract foolish mortals to their doom. The beauty mark is cute. So is the stubborn lock of hair that hangs over his face. Not to mention that you've always secretly adored the unusual hair colors that demons can wear.

At last, Ayato stops reading and turns to you. "Many have attempted to summon me. The few that I bothered with always asked for the very luxuries that I offered you: grand requests, burning with ambition, but I always made fools of them in the end. Never have I heard such a request as foolishly plain as yours before."

You wince. It's not as if you intended to call upon the wrong demon. Grus Nivis wouldn't have treated you like this. She'd be cuter, too.

He flashes you a razor-sharp smile. "Very well. Here is my offer: I will work with you by directing you towards sources that I find most helpful for this specific paper. Our contract ends when your paper is published, a process that I will do my utmost to make as swift as possible while improving the quality of your work. I will not harm you, so long as you do not knowingly attempt to harm me. I will not attempt to deceive or lie to you, and present only what I believe to be the truth."

A sparkle of light appears in his hands, which forms into a flowing contract. You take the contract and inspect it closely for any tricks, and find none.

"Oh," Ayato interrupts you. "One more thing. I would like more of this strange tea."

He wiggles the empty boba cup in his hand. Well, it only costs ten Mora – not like you'll tell the ex-aristocrat demon.

"Sure. Do I sign this with my blood or…?"

"If you can't sign with blood, red pen is fine."

You take out your red Stobilo pen and screw your eyes shut. To think that you'll cast your lot with a demon over a thesis, of all things.

You force yourself to sign the contract, then it disappears with a flash of light.

Ayato claps his hands together once. "And that is that. I look forward to working with you, strange bloodling."

He is smiling, as always, but there's something less demonic about his expression now. Undeniably mischievous, but without the foreboding and otherworldly malice. You might dare see him as just a weird human.

Even without signing your name in blood, you start to feel woozy. "Uh… sure. I'll just go now. Are… are you using demon magic on me?"

"No."

"Are you lying?" You need to lie down.

"I am sworn to not lie. I believe, however, that you are in sore need of sleep. There's dust collecting on your… bed."

He says the last word with pity and sighs. 

"Allow me." He snaps his fingers. 

Suddenly, your bedsheets are perfectly-arranged and clean. When you look around, you realize that the rest of your room is completely tidy.

You turn back to Ayato, who looks a little too pleased with himself.

"Thoma has taught me well. I should even be able to cook you dinner now," he says.

"Demons can cook?"

"Have you not heard of Trulla, or Mao Xiangling? My servant, Thoma, can also cook wonderful dishes from the human realm. He has been teaching my sister and I how to cook."

Something tells you that if there's anything else you shouldn't trust Ayato with, it's the kitchen. But you shrug anyways.

"Suit yourself."

You climb into bed, starting to ignore the fact that a reputably dangerous demon is in your home, and snuggle into the magically-laundered sheets. There's a faint floral scent to the pillows that lull you further into sleep. Somewhere across your tiny dormitory, Ayato is poking through your pitiful fridge for anything other than energy drinks and snacks.

Sometimes, you hear him snap his fingers. You'll later learn that Ayato has taken the liberty of stocking your fridge with impossibly expensive ingredients. You will also come to learn how to quickly consume five bottles of top-shelf rice wine, and how to dress up "to intimidate your rivals," as Ayato helpfully suggests. Soon, you will embark on an academic adventure across Teyvat, tracing back long-gone years of Inazuman history alongside a mischeivous and frustratingly charming demon.

For now, however, you've got a couple weeks' worth of sleep to catch up on. You hear Ayato humming a gentle melody that evokes the cry of a heron ringing across the mountains. It's an unusually sweet song coming from someone like him, and it finally pulls you off to the land of dreams.

Notes:

1. The demon names are just the constellation names. A quick rundown: Grus Nivis is Ayaka, Cypressus Custos is Ayato, Divina Vulpes is Yae Miko, and Trulla is Xiangling (according to the Wiki, her full name is Mao Xiangling).

2. Modern times in an alternate Teyvat, or at least, modern enough to have a fridge. I personally imagined that your dormitory still has some medieval fantasy Sumeru vibes because the Akademiya is fancy, but you also have some beat-up secondhand electronics. Even the Stobilo pen is my Teyvat-knockoff Stabilo.

3. You can either interpret Reader as genuinely having a bit of a difficulty with money or just really frugal. I've met both kinds of people in real life.

4. Yeah, the summoning materials are just the ascension mats. How Reader acquired those materials in a supposedly modern Teyvat? I'll leave that to your interpretation.

5. If I follow through with sequels (not for Ayato, but just expanding the AU concept), then I'll inject some worldbuilding for this AU.

6. Ayato was humming the Ayaka/Kamisato estate theme.

Winter night’s lazzo lives on repeat in my neurons

𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗡 𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗔𝗖𝗧 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧

✦ 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘧𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘪𝘧

✦ 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘧𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘦 / 𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘢

✦ 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗲, 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗮! 𝘧𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘢

✦ 𝟳𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝘧𝘵 𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘵𝘰