Genshin Men In A Royalty Au

— genshin men in a royalty au

INCLUDES : ayato ; childe ; dainsleif ; diluc ; kaeya

A/N : just some massive brainrot on royalty aus bc i love them so much and hhjhsdl

reader is gender neutral w/ you/your pronouns !!

likes & REBLOGS are appreciated if u enjoyed this !! <33

— imagine you’re in a royalty-esque au, but as like,,,, the personal guard for crown prince!diluc, who sometimes tends to take the title of “personal” a little too seriously at times (which includes, but is most definitely not limited to, keeping you in close company, even when your presence is by no means mandatory). but in spite of his sometimes overbearing need for you to be there beside him, you don’t mind his nuanced insistence; after all, it’s your sworn duty to look out for and protect the future king of mondstadt, right?

being brought up as the future heir to the throne isn’t as romanticised as he’s read his people make it out to be. constantly living on edge, wondering if there’s an assassination attempt waiting for him at the turn of a corner, anticipating a poisoned beverage from an opposer… all of these things are never depicted, and the loneliness that he’s forced to accommodate to certainly isn’t mentioned either. so when you’re hand-picked by his father as his personal guard, he’s even more agitated. it’s the perfect way to get close and get rid of him, right? but contrary to his inner fears, you never did anything of the sort, you merely trained and tended to his needs as you were instructed to. he was still skeptical, though that all changed when an assassination attempt occurred on the night he was to turn eighteen. he didn’t know how you had arrived so quickly, but in that moment all he could focus on was how ethereal the moonlight trickling in through his window made you appear. and it was after that incident he began to open up to you more, and the true nature of his feelings began to bubble within.

but if there’s one thing diluc makes sure to show in front of you it’s the countless marriage proposals he rejects, even going as far as burning the letters in a way he prays gets his message to you across. but no matter how many times he does so, you always regard him in neutrality — as though him openly rejecting marital opportunities from foreign lands had nothing to do with you. is it so hard to believe he would choose your hand to delicately hold and kiss instead? the notion pains him greatly. do you not see the way he stares so longingly? so desperately? so hopelessly??

— but even that righteous motive of protecting your homeland and future ruler takes unprecedented swerves, what with the way second prince!kaeya always seems to appear in front of you, regardless of the task you’re in the middle of. sometimes you wonder whether he just lurks around the areas you tend to frequent within the palace grounds, as him not being sighted for a day is more of a rarity than you would like (though begrudgingly you can’t deny the way his presence brings you a peace of mind within the typically monotonous days, even if his constant teasing gradually becomes more and more genuine when they most definitely shouldn’t).

though his illegitimate birth status may have been swept under the rug from the larger part of the population, it was by no means a privy matter to the old nobles of the court. kaeya had faced countless scorn and disdain, and he had expected the same disgusted look from you when you first met. but you did nothing of the sort. you merely regarded him with his royal status and paid no heed to his unbefitting background, even when he knew damn well you’re aware of it. but you carried on, minding your own business, performing your knightly duties while he couldn’t help but be drawn closer, and closer, and closer. so close he couldn’t bear to back away. and thus he began memorising your most frequented spots, betting on the odds that would allow him to encounter and approach you in a way more natural than just summoning you out of the blue.

his feelings hit him deep in the gut, the realisation of his curiosity-turned-infatuation catching him like a deer in headlights. he knows it’s forbidden — that he should crush these fleeting feelings stemmed from the sheer indifference you displayed at his birth status. he knows he should spare himself the heartache early on, so why is he showing you his secret spot in the back of the gardens? why does he insistently take the time to prepare snacks that caters to your taste when he knows you have a particularly grueling training that afternoon? just why… why does his heart seem to only grow fonder for you as the days pass, no matter whether it’s spent with you or not? deep inside kaeya knows his heart will beat so lovingly for you and you only, even if you love another.

— royal guard commander!dainsleif who always assigns you to go on patrols with him when organising the groups, regardless of whether the high frequency of it all begins to draw suspicion from his subordinates, especially when he still persists even after you’ve been promoted to be the crown prince’s personal guard. sure, you respect the man — in fact, you very well look up to him! — and you don’t mind going on patrols with him, but you’re pretty sure you’re not the only “tolerable” knight in the royal guards… (his subordinates never voice the blatantly obvious reason aloud though; not even when they’re frozen in place at their commander’s uncharacteristically soft demeanour and honey-dripping gaze when in your presence, his usual blunt and nonchalant self nowhere to be seen. well, all but a close knight by the name halfdan, at least).

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Old tweets from 2020 that show how diluven was practically inevitable for me.

II. In which Diluc finds himself grappling with fatherhood

tags: Diluc Ragnvindr/Reader, tooth-rotting fluff, kidfic, implied pregnancy

although no pronouns are used, this drabble centers around implied pregnancy

word count: 1077

A shrill, whining cry sounds from the bassinet across the room. You move immediately, struggling to push yourself up.

Diluc curses. “Liebling, please. Let me tend to him until you’re well again.”

You shoot him a vicious look. He tries not to dwell on it, tries to remind himself you’re still in considerable pain and have a long road to recovery. It was a tumultuous birth. He’s— he tries not to think of how things could’ve ended, had the right doctors not been there. There’s few times when Diluc is truly grateful for his wealth, but this is one of them.

He pulls off his gloves, setting them aside. His son wails, wriggling in the bassinet, but once more, Diluc hesitates. Clean. He needs to clean his hands first.

Diluc takes care to scrub every inch of his hands. He hears you sigh behind him. “Prinz, you cleaned your hands just a few minutes ago. I’m sure you’re well sterilized.”

He turns, frowning. “I’ve touched things since then. Need I remind you the doctor said—“

“‘The doctor said to take care to have clean hands when touching the baby,’” you mock, huffing. Diluc’s frown only deepens. You’re in pain. He needs to be sympathetic and sensitive to your emotions, especially now.

The process of picking up the baby is a challenge in and of itself. He slides a hand under his little head, making sure to support his neck as he lifts his son. The doctor had shown him how to lift an infant multiple times at Diluc’s behest. Even so, there’s an unfamiliar anxiousness in his chest, a pounding in his heart that doesn’t cease until his child rests firmly against his chest.

He’s so— so small. Diluc had stared in wonder at his little figure for hours, enamored by his tiny fingers and scrunching nose. He had cried, too, of course. The doctor had the decency to step out to fetch clean water just as the floodgates opened.

Holding his son in his arms for the first time brought an unfathomable wholeness to Diluc. It felt like all the scattered pieces of himself suddenly realigned, falling into place. Where they had always belonged.

“Good baby,” he murmurs, patting the infant’s back gently.

The walk from the bassinet back to the bed feels like miles. Diluc is careful with every step, wary of any potential missteps that could cause him to jolt too suddenly.

By the time he reaches your side, you’ve managed to wrangle yourself into a sitting position, much to Diluc’s dismay.

You seem to know, at least, that Diluc wants to take care of everything. Of you. Of your newborn son. The problem lies in the fact that there’s only one of him.

Again, he’s gentle laying the baby down in your arms. “I’ll feed him, Liebe. Just… please don’t get up while I fetch the bottle.”

You stick your tongue out at him, soothing a hand over the fussing newborn’s stomach. “Hurry, or I’ll feed him myself.”

Diluc retrieves one of the prepared bottles from the cooler nestled by the changing table. It was Albedo’s invention, really, and although his generosity surprised Diluc because of how unacquainted they are, Albedo calmly explained that it was Kaeya, in all his enthusiasm, that had requested the device.

Maybe uncle would be the right term now. He hasn’t the mind to think about it, not when his brother still shows up every day pestering Diluc to let him see his new nephew.

There is a proper order to these things, after all, and Diluc doesn’t want to let Kaeya anywhere near you or the baby until you’re fully recovered. He can very well see the baby through a window when the time comes.

He sneaks a glance at you as he warms the bottle in his hand, flitting elemental energy carefully around the outside of the glass. You’re speaking quietly to the baby, but it’s the expression on your face that makes Diluc’s heart soar. Gentle, unadulterated love, is what it is. It’s what he feels for you both in turn.

Perhaps he really doesn’t deserve any of this. For a moment there’s an ugly, horrid blossom of doubt in Diluc’s heart.

Shit. He’s heated the bottle too much, now.

He curses, testing the milk on the inside of his wrist. You seem to know what’s wrong immediately.

“It’s alright, Diluc,” you soothe, “Just come here while it cools.”

As always, you peer right into his heart. He settles next to you, careful not to disturb the still fussy baby. You let out a soft laugh. “Cautious as always, hm?”

Diluc reaches out a hand, rubbing his son’s cheek with his knuckle. “He’s so small. I’m worried he’ll break if I’m not careful.”

You whack at his shoulder with your free hand. Gods, even though you’re unwell, you’re still ridiculously strong. “Oi, stop with that talk. We’re married. We have a new baby. Isn’t this supposed to be one of the happiest times of our lives? Let’s just bask in the afterglow of it.”

It’s—

It’s quite the image, you two. A child who is so obviously Diluc’s, fiery red hair just beginning to curl. And you’re still glowing, so pleased with yourself despite what you’ve gone through. Diluc is just. So undeserving of this. Of you. This kind of happy ending was never meant for him.

The baby’s rhythmic, pleading cries start up again, as if he’s suddenly been made aware of his hunger once more. Diluc jumps at the sound, startled.

You say nothing, only give him a meaningful eyebrow raise. You know what to do, you oaf. Well. He is the one who has a dozen books on child rearing scattered around his office, after all.

He’s careful. So careful. You help lift the baby into his arms, settling his little head in the crook of Diluc’s elbow. His son really does most of the work for drinking. Diluc only has to hold the bottle, angle just as the doctor showed him, and his son finally settles down, content to just eat.

Diluc feels a little foolish for finding something like this so incredibly wonderful. But it is. His child suckles happily in his arms, feels safe, even, and that alone quells so many of the worries brewing within his heart. You’re right, as always. There’s no reason not to bask in the afterglow.

Read on AO3

Father of mine Take me back to the day Yeah, when I was still your golden boy Back before you went away

( art by McKenna Harris /  “A Father’s Kiss” by Christopher Bursk / “Father of Mine” by Everclear) (thanks @maskwasii​ for showing me the song!)

and when he leaves you in the dark. xiao x gn!reader. warnings: angst, xiao dies, 2.7 chasm update spoilers. wc: 1,906. semi proofread.

in each of xiao’s waking moments, he thinks of you.

he thinks of the sun rising in your eyes when you turn to look at him. he thinks of your smile brighter than the moonlight when you tell him about your day. he thinks of the warmth in your hands when you gently grab his own, tugging on him to lead the way.

and as his body grows weaker with each passing second from the fantastic compass, he thinks about you. as though his ears are filled with water, the loud yelling of yanfei and paimon is drowned away by his thoughts of you—it has always only been of you.

you always hated how self-sacrificial he was. your shoulders would slump when you’d hear him utter his thoughts and you’d angrily bite back your tears. you’d wrap your arms around his waist after and tell him it was all nonsense—that he still had you.

that should there come a day the stars will not align, xiao will still have you.

you would never miss the sudden look in his eyes, yet he smiles lightly and nods every time.

when the platform shatters and so does his mask, vanishing slowly as the strength in him dies a little more, xiao finally remembers what you had said to him before he left.

“come back home to me.”

you had been playing with his fingers when you spoke, not once looking up at him—missing the ghost of a smile on his lips. someone like you was too far for xiao to reach but still, he wallowed in your affection and surrendered himself fully.

you who has been blighted by someone like xiao, a demon who has slain thousands—mortals and gods alike. xiao wished back then that he had stayed away, kept to himself on the balcony of wangshu inn and never helped you with your problems.

for someone as awkward as him, xiao learned to breathe and love. love someone so different, someone who is not like him; and will never be like him. he learned to breathe you in as though you and he do not know where the two of you had begun and when you two had become whole.

“okay, i will,” xiao whispered that night. it was a promise to you and him—he’d come back home, safe and sound, to you.

then you looked up at him that time, smiling lightly as your eyes interlocked. you had noticed the fondness in his eyes, hand reaching up to cup his cheek. cute, you thought—but you’d never tell him that.

xiao supposes this would be the only time he has broken a promise to you. of the countless promises he had kept, this would be the only one he would have to break, whether he had a choice or not.

he staggers back, breath heavy and so is his body. they all look at him—yanfei, yelan, the traveler, paimon, and shinobu—with wide eyes as he stands weakly, eyes travelling towards the opening above them.

he would apologize if he could, take you once more into his arms and kiss your nose. he would apologize for everything he couldn’t have done with you and ask for your forgiveness. he knew you’d accept him as you always have.

xiao knows that his time is running out.

the color green engulfs his right hand as he balls it into a fist, knowing this would be his last act. heroic—he thinks, idiotic—you’d say. 

“i like the color green,” you told him once on a stroll.

xiao paused in his steps, turning to look at you with a raised brow. “green?” he repeated.

“yeah, i like it,” you hummed. “everything about you is green—you’re green.”

he didn’t know what it meant during that time, only that he knew you liked it because of him. xiao took every chance to take home every colored green object in sight when he would go out.

he brought a four-leaf clover once, hoping that it would bring you any luck compared to being with him. xiao left it on your hands with a shy smile as you stared at it with a smile.

everything else followed after that. xiao would grab a jade stone should he see one, a beautiful water lily when he passes by the lake, a green flower when it blooms at night.

when the sunset came and you laid your head on his shoulder by a tree trunk, xiao hesitantly asked, “why the color green?”

you didn’t move from your position, instead, you took a look at the setting sun. “i just like it,” you answered. “but, if you really want to know…”

xiao gazed at you, watching the way your lips would move, nose scrunch up when you smiled, and eyebrows moving when you spoke. he then glanced at the sky and the setting sun—it was pink and purple, something you always loved to stare at, even more than you loved the color green, that he knew.

“does that answer your question?” xiao blinked. ah, he didn’t listen.

“it does,” he said, hand slowly reaching towards yours, intertwining it with his. 

though he feels disappointed in himself for never hearing your answer, xiao realized there, you are more beautiful than the sun setting. should the sun itself disappear, xiao would follow you to the ends of the earth just to watch the sunset in your eyes.

this time, however, xiao understands why you like the color green—it symbolizes his protection. the color engulfs his companions, a bright light green that he knew would protect them and bring them to safety, and he knew that it would bring only them.

xiao watches as yelan reaches out to him, yelling something incoherent in his ears, then finally, they disappear and leave him on his own. 

the platform below him cracks and xiao falls.

he wonders what you would have said to him should you know he sacrificed himself for others—only this time, he isn’t coming back. it was his job, his duty—it was bound to happen at one point. it was something you always refused to accept, xiao shouldn’t have to bear the burden of others.

“you first before others,” you said one time. “why should you put your life on the line for them?”

it was in the contract—he would have said. but xiao was bound by no contracts (at least anymore), only his morals and his guilt. his sins were far greater than any living adeptus and he must suffer for all eternity for what he has done.

but you show him that he doesn’t have to bear the burden of others, that like everyone else, xiao is loved. and he is loved deeply and greatly by none other than you.

to others love may be a burning fire of desire, to know all of your deepest secrets, or kissing below the shade of the trees in spring and waiting for the flowers to fall. but for you, you show xiao that love to you is simply him.

and xiao knows that you love him more than you do yourself.

it’s only that xiao knows in himself that you are the epitome of love itself—and he will love you even until death.

“what are you holding?” you came up to him on a cold night by the balcony. the wind blew and howled, you shivered slightly as you make do with your hands rubbing your arms for any source of warmth.

xiao turned to you, holding a crystal-fly in his right hand. “i thought it would suit you,” he murmured, reaching out to tuck the piece in your hair. 

he gazed at you, a light smile on his lips as you touched the crystal-fly on your hair gently. xiao was right whenever it came to you—something he was always proud of, and the only thing he was proud of in himself.

“i love it,” you whispered.

“i love you,” xiao whispered back—barely audible but he knows you hear it, and wants only you to hear it.

[name], when tomorrow starts without me, i hope you feel relieved.

he has seen the mountains fall and the oceans rise, but xiao knows that he has loved only you, and forever will only be you. 

but i hope you know that i will love you even if there are no clouds in the sky and the setting sun has become dull in your eyes.

and as he falls into his doom, xiao remembers your smile, the crinkle of your eyes, the laugh you let out when he takes you too seriously, the warmth of your hugs, and the love that you brought him.

“what’s your favorite flower?” he had asked suddenly.

you thought for a few seconds as you say, “oh, i don’t know.”

xiao frowned.

“but if there was a flower like you, i would choose that one,” is what you said after.

you gave him a bright smile, laughing at your own words—still, they were true. wrapping your arms around his neck, he staggered backwards, holding your waist to steady the both of you. should there be a garden full of flowers, you would choose xiao again and again.

“that’s nonsense,” xiao clicked his tongue.

“huh? hey! i thought it was cute!”

his eyes shoot open.

for once in his life, xiao reaches up towards the small light and wishes it would grab him just as how you pulled him out of his misery.

what would you think?

what would you say?

what would you do when the news comes to you?

as he falls, tears spring to his eyes as he remembers you. the only person in his life who had shown him love. the only person who had cried when he came home with blood on him. the only person who he knows would be devastated when you find out the truth about what had happened to him.

if only xiao had stayed far away from you, it wouldn’t have ended up like this—you would not have to cry for him.

until xiao’s final moments, he thinks about you.

--

“i’m sorry, xiao has died.”

the smile on your face fades, handpicked qingxins now lay by your feet as your hands drop to your sides. verr goldet stands in front of you, a solemn look on her face—you watch her lips move but you could barely hear what she says.

xiao has died.

xiao has died?

you open your mouth to thank her for bearing you the news, but it stays open. there was nothing to say. she watches as you tremble, the gloss in your eyes fading—a look she had first seen on xiao when you had not come for a week.

with a shaky voice, you reply, “okay… thank you.”

you should have seen it coming; that one day, xiao would not return safely in your arms. the longer you stand in front of verr goldet, the heavier your body becomes, dragging you down as if it wishes to bring you with xiao himself. for now, you will weep for your dead lover.

you hope that in xiao’s final moments, he knows that should he and you walk this world once again with no remnants of each other, you will find him again and again.

notes i thought about xiao finally resting but wipee go down with me he worries about leaving you alone so in his last final moments he's desperately trying to cling onto whatever faith he has left in himself to go back to you but <3 he can't tada hehe also i hope the transitions are understandable as you can see the reader isn't with xiao in the chasm, so all you saw are xiao's memories with you just loving him or as i like to call it his life flashing before he dies :p i wrote this in one day i can't believe but i had to edit it a lot because my metaphors didn't seem right, i am not an english major so i am horrible at this

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