Breaking Up, Breaking Down

breaking up, breaking down

pairing/s: albedo, childe, diluc, kazuha, scaramouche, xiao, venti, zhongli x gn!reader

summary: if there’s anything you can expect to be consistent in life, it’s that everything has an end. or — genshin men and how they are after you break up with them.

note: angsty in everyone’s part, but it got too lighthearted in childe’s bc i simply cannot take that ginger seriously (affectionate)

ALBEDO

There aren’t any notable changes to his routine. He’d still go about his day, working on his experiments and scribbling down notes, occasionally taking a break to sketch a pretty flower he saw or the wing pattern of a passing butterfly.

And then he finds himself drawing the outline of an eye, then a nose, then lips. Until he suddenly stops in the middle of drawing a strand of your hair blowing in the wind, your face frozen in a smile staring back at him through the canvas of his sketchbook.

It hits him then, the realization, the heart-wrenching clarity of what happened that leaves him sitting in his chair, staring at your face in paper and wondering where he went wrong.

He tries to distract himself by continuing his research, but his mind has a hard time focusing on what needs to be done. It’s agonizing, he doesn’t think he’s felt this way before, never even thought he’d ever feel such pain. In a way, he’s glad his master isn’t here to make a study of what emotional pain means to an artificial human like him.

He sees you two weeks after you broke up with him, laughing as you tried to haggle with a merchant for their wares, unaware of the charm you exude that draws people in like moths to a flame. But then your gaze moves, searching through the crowd—and Albedo should really leave now, avoid barging into your life because there simply isn’t a place for him there anymore—but he does none of that.

Your eyes meet. He doesn’t think he was imagining it when he saw yours dim for the briefest moment. (His heart hurts. Why are you looking at him like that?)

You make your way through the busy street to reach him. He tells himself he should leave, but for the first time in his life, he does what contradicts his logic and stays.

“You look good,” you tell him, something melancholic in the tone of your voice. Oh, if only you knew.

“You as well.” He wants to say more, wants to say how radiant you looked under the sun, the light hitting you in just the right way that has him itching to grab a pencil and immortalize the image in paper—but he holds his tongue. “I need to go.”

Your face falls. He wishes he wasn’t the cause of it. “Ah, right. You must be busy, as usual.” There isn’t a hint of bitterness to your voice, just resignation.

He leaves after bidding you goodbye, feeling the heat of your gaze at his back as he walked away.

CHILDE

He wants you and he will do everything in his power to have you back.

In the early days after you broke up, you won’t hear a word from him. Not a peep. You only hear passing news that dead monsters and hilichurl camps near the vicinity of your home have been utterly eradicated. Passing travelers claim how the areas were ‘strangely flooded’ even though it hasn’t rained in weeks.

Then come the gifts. From flowers to clothes to accessories to different delicacies that are all worth more than your entire life’s paycheck. And when that doesn’t work, Childe sets to work on his recruits.

You suddenly find yourself constantly being approached by a startling amount of Fatui recruits ranging from normal lackies to gunners to cicin mages, and even that one memorable time when a mirror maiden approached you in the middle of buying groceries and proceeded to buy everything in the store, saying all of it was for you.

The Fatui recruits had one thing in common: they all had nothing but praises to say for the Eleventh Fatui Harbinger.

“Master Childe defeated all the recruits in under ten seconds!” “Have you heard how Lord Harbinger killed twenty geovishaps and came out without a single scratch?” “I saw him buying that exact same shirt yesterday, it cost one million mora! He’s so rich!” “Lord Tartaglia has been so down lately. He keeps saying how much he misses his beloved.”

“Did you know? Even Lady Signora wept after she heard that you and Master Childe broke up.” That one, you’re certain never actually happened, and you made sure to tell that with an unimpressed look to the pyro agent who told you. As if Signora would ever cry, she’d probably throw a party for you for finally leaving Childe.

In the end, after cycling through so many recruits, he had no choice but to come to you directly.

…Which is how you woke up at six in the morning to the ground shaking and the sound of an eerily familiar laugh right outside your house.

You open your window to find Childe fighting a lawachurl right in front of your house, a ring of Fatuus surrounding and cheering him on. His smile brightens to an almost comical degree once he sees you and your bedhead squinting out from a window.

“You look so stunning today, beloved!” He steps back from an earth-shattering punch by the lawachurl. “I’ve brought you the biggest lawachurl I could find so I can show you how worthy I am of you!”

He then proceeds to—and you have to blink a few times to see if you’re not hallucinating—fist fight the lawachurl. And he’s actually winning. No vision, no weapon. Just his bare fists.

When the commotion wakes up your entire neighborhood, you have to go down there and yell at him to stop or take this fight somewhere that isn’t right in front of your house! He complies with a grin and a promise saying he’ll meet you later.

There’s something fond curling in your chest that you try and fail to smother. With an exasperated tone, you tell him that yes, you’ll find time in your busy schedule to meet him. He lights up like you just agreed to marry him and yells out rapid orders in Snezhnayan to his recruits.

“I’ll see you later!” He blows a kiss in your direction that you ignore. You turn away and walk back into your house, trying (and failing) to fight the growing smile on your face.

DILUC

It’s not evident to anyone who doesn’t know him well, but Diluc takes it close to heart and buries it among countless other regrets that have accumulated in his life. The turbulent feelings that threaten to overcome his mind at any hour of the day manifests itself in him becoming more withdrawn.

He’s gloomy, more brooding than usual, and the reason becomes apparent once the other patrons notice the lack of a certain person who usually sits by the bar during his shifts. Your usual laugh accompanied by teasing grins and playful swats at his long hair when you think no one is looking are nowhere to be seen.

One particularly drunk person had come up to him as he was wiping down the counters and asked why you weren’t there. Anyone who had been there to see the sight would tell you that he didn’t say anything, hadn’t been able to say anything. He just… stood there, hands frozen mid-motion and eyes drawn somewhere, lost in thought.

He slips up sometimes. Asks the maids to prepare a dinner for two only to stop in the middle of talking as he realizes what he just said. At breakfast, he pauses in the middle of reading his daily papers to turn his head to the right, a question on the tip of his tongue that dies when he sees the empty spot you usually occupied. It’s the pitying gazes that follow when he slips up that he hates the most.

He makes your favorite drink sometimes, on the days when he’s on shift and feeling particularly self-destructive. It stays hidden under the bar counter, hoping against hope that you’ll walk through the door and greet him with an upbeat ‘good evening!’ that makes his day all the more better. You never do.

It’s on a bright, sunny morning when he’s out overseeing the delivery of wine to the tavern that he sees you again. His heart soars for all but a second before it comes crashing down, because Diluc Ragnvindr does not deserve nice things.

You’re holding the hand of some nondescript man, grinning and laughing and emitting such a great sense of contentment that he can almost feel it from where he’s standing meters away from you.

You’re happy. It’s been months and he’s still wallowing in old hurts. You’re happy.

Did you ever smile like that when you were with him? He likes to think so, but the realistic, pessimistic thought is that you’re probably better off not being with him. You’re happy. Happier now than you were when you were with him.

Everything he’s ever loved has been hurt directly and indirectly by his hands. He turns away from the sight of you and pretends to be preoccupied with his task. Maybe it’s for the best that you left before it could happen.

KAZUHA

He tries not to take it to heart. He understands why you left, knows it before you even made the decision to leave. And in the aftermath, much like a leaf adrift in the wind, he roams about aimlessly, lost in thought.

Grief is not an emotion he’s unfamiliar with. As he sits by the cliffs overlooking the endless ocean, grief burrows its way to his chest like an old, unwelcome friend. He doesn’t fight it. He’s learned the hard way that fighting it is a losing battle, like picking at a scab, hoping that doing so will make it heal faster, yet only succeeding in worsening the wound.

Kazuha isn’t a stranger to loneliness, of letting the wind kiss his tears away as they dried on his cheeks. He is, however, unfamiliar with this new kind of ache in his chest. And only after much rumination does he conclude what it might be.

The loss of his family, the loss of his heritage, the loss of his friend, and now, the loss of his lover. A master of loss, he could almost call himself. His old friend would certainly find such a title amusing.

He finds himself writing letters to you, even with the knowledge that he’ll never be able to send them to you. It’s the thought that comforts him, the pretense that he still has someone to tell of his travels, someone to simply come home to, even when he knows he isn’t welcome anymore.

In his weakest moment, when he had too much to drink and too little self-restraint, he sends one of the letters to you. He’s forgotten whether it’s the one where he laments the loss of your presence, the one where he begs you to have him back, or the one where only three words are written, a small blot in the ink where a stray tear had fallen.

He waits, and waits, and waits a little more, staying for a whole month in the small village he’d addressed the letter from for the small, improbable event that you may have written back. He learns later on that the letter never made it to your hands. The ship it had been on had lost all its cargo to the sea, including his letter. When he heard the news, he hadn’t known whether to be relieved or lament on what could have been.

It isn’t unpleasant to see you again. Kazuha has had time to let go of his hurt, but still, the image of your nostalgia-inducing eyes leave in him a sense of loss he thought he had already settled. Your mirage smiles, “Kazuha.” Had he been a weaker man, he would have folded and swept you up in his arms.

Nobody asks why his eyes have a slight sheen to it after he forces himself to walk away from you. He stands atop the beach and lets the waves wash over his bare feet, closing his eyes and imagining what could have been had he let himself succumb to the desire of holding you one last time, even if you were merely a mirage from the past.

Truly, the golden apple archipelago is a place where dreams are made into reality.

SCARAMOUCHE

He tries to act above it all, feigning indifference as if the entire thing is just a mild inconvenience to him.

Oh, you’re leaving him? That’s fine, he doesn’t care. Do you know how many people would kill to share his bed? You were tolerable, a way to pass time. Don’t think you were anything special. You, a normal person? Don’t make him laugh. You were nothing more than a pet he kept because you entertained him. It’s good that you’re leaving, actually. It saves him the trouble of having to get rid of you.

He’s… not very kind about it all. Defensive and on guard, hackles raising with every word that comes out of his mouth. He hates every second of it, but he can’t stop because stopping is to admit defeat, it means having to acknowledge that you meant something to him after hundreds of years of loneliness. He let you in his carefully guarded walls, and now—now you’re leaving him? Abandoning him after he bared himself open to you?

You are just like her.

Scaramouche stops before he can say those last words. The red that had been threatening to overcome his vision slowly recedes, leaving a numbing sort of clarity that washes over him like the rising tides of Inazuma’s beaches. His mouth feels dry, throat closing up.

There are tears streaming down your face.

He wishes you’d do something. Hit him, yell at him, curse his name. Anything. Just… anything but this silence that hangs heavy in the air, cloying in it’s thickness and threatening to drown him with words that can never be taken back.

He doesn’t apologize, won’t ever apologize. He is a god, and not even you would make him say those damnable words. He sees the way your eyes dim in understanding as you realize the same thing, and that, perhaps, is why you turn your back to him and walk away.

He wishes he could say that he called out for you, that he grabbed your arm and made you stay, that he just… held you. Instead, he watches you leave him, face blank and a phantom ache resonating in his hollow chest. The silence after you leave feels like the night before his creator abandoned him.

He tells himself it’s fine, that you’ll come back. You always do. This is just one of many arguments that always get resolved after a day or so—except. Except, he doesn’t let himself think of any other possibility. You’ll come back. (You have to.)

The months following your absence is a blur, spikes of irritation mixed with hateful words and barbed insults directed towards anyone who so much as breathed the wrong way. His subordinates are half-contemplating desertion just to escape his wrath. They all wonder where you’ve gone. You’re usually the one who soothes the Balladeer when he’s in one of his moods, like the godsend that you are. Though none of them are brave enough to mention your name after what he did to the foolish recruit who asked of your whereabouts.

Years pass. You never did come back.

He still gets the occasional reports about you and your general wellbeing, still sends out his best soldiers to clear out any monsters who’ve settled near your home. You never find anyone else after him. It brings a strange sense of relief in him when his monthly reports on you end up without a hint of a new lover.

He tries to forget you, but even with a new heart and the ascendance to godhood, there is still a lingering sense of loss and past regrets.

XIAO

He lets you go without argument. He’s used to people leaving him, but this is… different.

The thought of you there, physically within reach yet unable to to cross the distance that separates you from him. It’s a different kind of agony from the ones that have afflicted him for millennia.

He sometimes finds himself standing by the balcony of Wangshu Inn, eyes roaming over the vast landscape of Dihua Marsh, looking for the slightest hint of your silhouette. The sound of footsteps coming up the stairs always attracts his attention, anticipating your signature greeting and the smell of whatever mortal sustenance you’ve deigned to make for him to, as you once put it, let him experience the delicacies that this world has to offer.

You can’t call yourself ‘having lived a long life’ if you haven’t tried all the tasty food, Xiao!

…He misses you, though he will never admit it, perhaps not even to Rex Lapis himself.

His time—which once consisted of you, killing monsters, you again, roaming the lands for the remains of old gods, tasting whatever you cooked for him, and accompanying you so you can get home safely—is now comprised of nothing but endless slaughter. He tells himself it’s not a distraction, but it’s a thinly veiled excuse, weak even to his own ears. How low he has fallen to create such feeble excuses to justify the hurt that spreads from his chest to the tips of his fingers.

He used to pick up small things and trinkets in his time scouring the land for evil. A shiny pebble that reminded him of your eyes, a particularly large sweetflower that you would gape comically at once he showed you, qingxin flowers he plucked from the highest mountains just so he can see the way your face lights up in a smile. He still does all these things, only now, the objects are stored in a realm made in the likeness of your home, placing each one in a shelf or table that he thinks you would have arranged them in.

One time, he panics when he sees the flowers start to wilt, and in the heat of the moment, he placed adeptal power in them to ensure they will never die. To this day, he isn’t sure why he did so, only that he imagined at the time how upset you would be that they died in his care, even though he knows how unlikely it is that you will ever discover his hobby of collecting flowers and storing them in his realm.

Perhaps he hopes you’ll come back to him, so that when you do, he can see the way your eyes brighten up once he shows you everything he got for you while you were away.

It’s unlikely, he knows, but it’s nice to dream of it. He thinks his siblings would be proud to see him finally have a little hope for something.

VENTI

He spends the rest of the week in the tavern drinking as much as he can. For once, Diluc doesn’t try to reproach him for drinking what he can’t pay for.

He doesn’t exactly get drunk—can’t get drunk, more like. To a god like him, drinking a hundred barrels of Mondstadt’s finest wines won’t even be enough to get him tipsy. He is the god of freedom (and wine, he’d like to add), he can outdrink every single one of the archons and still have enough semblance to go to war. And yet…

You appear on the seventh day like a salvation, face contorted in worry when you see him slumped on the counter and one inch away from falling off the stool. It isn’t difficult to act the part of a drunken bard, pretending to sway on his feet and donning a fake intoxicated grin as he asked Charles for another glass.

The wind tells him of your arrival, but he ignores it just as he ignores the way his heart soars when the wind brings him the barest hint of your scent. He wishes you didn’t come here. He wishes he didn’t act so drunkenly. He wishes you were more heartless and ignored whoever must have tattled on him drinking Angel’s Share into bankruptcy.

You call his name. He pretends he’s asleep just so he doesn’t have to face his problems. Ha. How ironic. Will he wake up to Mondstadt destroyed by the remains of Khaenri’ah this time? He nearly did once.

He hears you sigh before he feels you bring his arm across your shoulders. You help him get off the stool, an arm around his waist to help keep him steady. The weight of Diluc’s disapproving gaze for deceiving you about his drunkenness is heavy, but he tells himself it’s alright. He just… wants to be selfish for once. If he has to act drunk to feel your arms around him again, he’ll suffer this humiliation as many times as he can.

“Venti,” you start as you walk him in the direction of your home. “I was worried, you know. Aether told me how much you’d been drinking since…” You trail off. He feels you shaking your head before continuing, “Just… don’t be so reckless with your health.” You laugh, mildly sardonic that’s directed more towards yourself than him. “Ah, what am I saying… you won’t even have any recollection of this tomorrow anyway.”

He wants to say something, but saying something means breaking this moment between you, it means revealing that he doesn’t actually need your help because once he starts speaking, the dam will break and everything will come spilling out. I’m sorry, I miss you, I love you.

The front door to your house opens. He’s gently placed down your couch, a blanket thrown over him as you thoughtfully take his shoes off for him. He feels you linger by his side, can practically hear the conflict in you.

He’s unprepared for the feeling of your warm breath on his skin, your lips hovering over his face before placing a chaste kiss on his forehead. “Goodnight, Venti.”

He leaves before the sun rises.

ZHONGLI

He only smiles, small and understanding with a hint of sorrow at the corner of his eyes.

He tells you he’ll respect your decision, but should you change your mind, he will always be here. You say it’s doubtful, he would’ve probably found someone else by then. Zhongli doesn’t correct you, only leans in and places his lips on the top of your head, as gentle as he’s always been with you, somehow managing to convey with a single gesture how high he holds you in regard.

And for the barest, infinitesimal moment, you half-contemplate the idea of staying. It’s a wishful thought. You end up leaving before you can change your mind.

He’s still as grounded as ever, but there’s a fragility to it, a certain brittleness that threatens to crumble from within him. He is the Lord of Geo, and yet he is so easily undone by you. The pain is temporary, he knows from past losses, but it doesn’t lessen the ache that resonates in his chest.

For the first time in his long life, he curses his golden memory that makes him incapable of forgetting, though that which he curses is also something he is grateful for. He can’t bear having to suffer losing the memories of your time together.

Your relationship is amiable, like that of old, awkward friends you had fallen out of touch with rather than that of old lovers. It’s what you wanted after all, this sense of normalcy. He has become such a vital part of your daily life that you simply couldn’t cut him off of your life entirely.

He doesn’t know which is worse; having to act as a mere friend when he wants nothing more than to wrap you in his arms and never let go, or to have no contact with you at all.

Morax is not one to ask for things, not one to plead his case to anyone. He was a selfish and proud god, a necessity that was shaped from him by the war. To love a mortal enough to leave his throne and fake his death would have been unthinkable. But that is why he is no longer Morax. He is Zhongli.

And Zhongli? He wants you. Desperately. Enough that he is willing to beg should you ask it of him.

His deceased enemies would laugh in mockery at what has become of the fearsome Morax. How low he has fallen—but it is a burden he is willing to bear. He will suffer as many humiliations as it takes to have you back.

The only issue is that you don’t want him anymore. But he is a man who finds gold where others would see stone. If he has to build his way up from friendship all over again, then it is a task he will do so gladly. As many times as it takes for you to want him back.

꒰ა 𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐆𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐒, 𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐑𝐒! ໒꒱

∴ multi-character x gn!reader: diluc, xiao, scaramouche, gorou, zhongli  ∴ genre: fluff, hints of modern!au ∴ warnings: alcohol consumption, pet names, xiao isn't really drunk but the theme fits, not proofread ∴ summary: genshin men + alcohol = ?

𝐀 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐄 ∴ feat. diluc

diluc was an enigma of carefully hidden truths and igniting flames. even as his lover, you knew very little about him. 

you knew that he enjoyed the occasional game of chess and that he hated wine with a passion. his favorite flowers were small lamp grass and he absolutely despised waking up early in the mornings.

but you didn't know why diluc disappeared at night, only to come back to you with bloodstained clothes and an apologetic smile. you knew better than to question him, choosing to silently bandage his wounds and gently work through the tangles in his hair. you ignored the letters scattered throughout the mansion and the carefully polished seashell sitting on his bedside table.

your boyfriend was stoic; a mystery that chose to hide behind an unfeeling mask. so it came as a surprise when diluc let himself go and indulged in one too many drinks one day.

"did i ever tell you," diluc slurred, emphasizing the last word by poking your arm, "that i love you a lot?"

you let out a laugh at the odd display of affection, turning onto your side to face him. "you tell me every morning when we wake up and before we go to bed," you smiled. "is that not enough for you, my dear?"

"'s not enough," he mumbled, shaking his head. he bashfully gazed at you, and your heart stuttered at how much love he held in those scarlet eyes. diluc inched closer to you, bedsheets rustling, before grabbing your face in his hands.

"i love you," he vowed before peppering kisses all over your face. "i love you i love you i love—"

"okay i love you too!" you yelped, a wide smile splitting your face. that seemed to satisfy diluc, who laid back down and snuggled into the blankets.

a moment passed, the cries of the barn owls and the chirping crickets outside filling the silence in the room. you closed your eyes, drowsy from having wrestled your boyfriend into bed earlier. 

a warm breath on your neck startled you awake, your eyes snapping open to see diluc peering at you.

"did i ever tell you that i love—"

you slapped a hand over his mouth, glowering at him. "diluc, ask me again and i'll tell kaeya about this!" 

diluc quickly stopped talking.

𝐒𝐘𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐌.𝐎𝐔𝐓.𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐓("𝐈 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔") ∴ feat. xiao

you adored your affectionate, alcoholic roommate, but venti's weekly parties always left you trapped in your room with a migraine.

your nails clacked against your keyboard as you furiously typed your one hundred and fifty-seventh line of code for a programming assignment. soft lofi played through your speakers, contrasting the pounding music downstairs, as you compiled your program and prayed it would work.

you slammed your head onto your desk as "SYNTAX ERROR" flashed in bright red letters on your screen. "fucking hell," you swore, cursing yourself for choosing a complicated major and cursing venti for hosting yet another stupid party.

your grumbling was interrupted by the creaking of your door opening and a quiet "oh shit" uttered behind you. you swiveled around in your chair to see a dark figure peering into your room.

a muffled apology came from the doorway but you waved them in. "it's alright, come on in."

the shadow moved towards you. a bare arm emerged, decorated with green markings; a pair of alluring golden eyes followed. 

xiao. he was one of venti's closest friends, and a fellow computer science major at your university. the two of you frequently had classes together, but weren't well-acquainted. he was aware of the fact that you were venti's roommate; what he didn't know, however, was that you had the fattest crush on him.

"i'm so sorry," he apologized again. "i was looking for a quiet spot but all the other rooms were locked."

"venti started locking the doors after he found some strangers in his bed," you explained with a smile. "you can stay in here until you leave." you turned back to your laptop, eyeing the error message. 

"need help with that?" xiao's voice came from directly behind you. turning, you came face-to-face with his very attractive chest as he leaned down to peer at your screen.

"yes please," you stammered, the close proximity making your heart race. you stood up, turning your chair towards him. "be my guest."

you plopped onto your bed, wrapping yourself in your blanket to hide your rex lapis pajama pants as xiao took your place at your desk. a comfortable silence settled in your room, although you could still hear the faint sound of the music playing downstairs. 

propping yourself up on one elbow, you turned onto your side to face him. "i didn't take you as a party person," you commented, absentmindedly picking the dust off of your comforter.

"i'm not." gold eyes briefly glanced at you before returning their attention to your laptop. "venti begged me to come, and i'm here to keep an eye on some friends."

"ah the designated driver," you sighed. "sounds like fun." 

xiao hummed in agreement, and your room was silent again.

you quietly admired xiao's profile as he sifted through your program. he was clad in a black sleeveless turtleneck and ripped jeans, his tattoos on full display for your ogling. his hair was messy, like he had been running his hands through it, and his silver rings—rings!—matched the piercings on his ears. you almost couldn't believe that a man this attractive was sitting in your room.

your gaze moved up from his hands to examine his face—to your surprise, xiao was looking at you expectantly.

"sorry, could you repeat that?" you asked sheepishly, feeling your cheeks warm with embarrassment. 

he gestured to your laptop, pointing at your screen. "line fifty-six," he replied, hovering the cursor over a part of your program. "you're missing a semi-colon."

you scrambled out of bed to sit at your desk, slamming a finger down on a key before compiling your program. to your (and xiao's) utter relief, the semi-colon was the fix.

"it works!" you exclaimed, kicking your feet in excitement. "oh my archons i could kiss you right now—" 

you clapped a hand over your mouth, staring at xiao in horror. he stared back, eyes wide with shock.

"i didn't mean that literally," you stuttered, rubbing the back of your neck awkwardly. 

to your surprise, xiao let out a laugh. "it's alright," he chuckled, amusement written all over his face. he opened his mouth to say more, but a sharp ring cut him off. he turned his attention to the phone in his hand, glaring at the screen.

xiao grimaced, pocketing his phone. "heizou and gorou are fighting again, i gotta go." he grabbed a pen from your desk and tore a page out of a notebook, scribbling something onto the paper. 

"here, if you need help with a program in the future, just shoot me a text." he slid the page over to you, and with a small wave, he was gone.

the scent of his cologne lingered, a reminder that the past ten minutes had really happened. you glance down at the note in your hand.

Xiao 000-000-0000 I like your pajamas btw.

𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐘 𝐁𝐀𝐁𝐘! ∴ feat. scaramouche

"scara!" you shrieked, stumbling through the front door. "take your shoes off first!"

your stubborn boyfriend scowled from the end of the hallway, muddy shoes trailing dirt into your shared home. "no," he slurred, crossing his arms. "only drunk people take their shoes off, and i'm not drunk."

"babe, you are most definitely drunk," you gawked at him in disbelief.  "please, can you take your shoes off so i don't have to wipe the floors again?"

your pleas fell on deaf—and drunk—ears as scara raised an eyebrow and dragged his feet across the floor. desperately, you dove down and clung to his legs, hoping to save your carpet from being subjected to any further damage.

"scara please," you begged. "i'll do the dishes for a week and buy you dango milk—just take your shoes off." you reached for his shoelaces, frantically untying a knot before he clumsily shook you off.

"call me that again and i'll listen to you." scara hiccupped once. 

you studied him carefully, a smile creeping onto your face. "call you what?" you teased.

scara hiccupped again, looking away from you bashfully. "don't make me say it again," he grumbled.

you reached up to grasp his hand. "babe," you sang. "scara, baby, can you take your shoes off now?"

you heard scara's breath stutter before a sudden flush of red spread across his cheeks. he fumbled with his shoes before kicking them off, a laugh bubbling in your chest as he tugged you off of the floor and dragged you towards your bedroom. you rarely saw scara look so cute; it was easy to forget that your brat of a boyfriend had a soft side, a side that only you were able to see. 

perhaps getting him drunk more often wasn't a bad idea.

𝐎𝐅𝐅 𝐋𝐈𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐒 (𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏) ∴ feat. gorou

"it's so odd to see the general of the watatsumi army like this," yoimiya observed.

you softly laughed at her comment, gazing down at the man curled up in your lap. gorou had dozed off after a few cups of sake, his head falling into your lap as he burrowed into his tail.

"he's a little tired," you smiled, gently stroking the fluff on his ears. "thoma tried to teach him how to make sweaters for the dogs in konda village—although i don't think it went well."

you told yoimiya about the scraps of yarn that gorou had dejectedly brought home, drawing peals of laughter out of your friend. as conversation flowed easily between the two of you, your hand slowly stopped stroking the pair of ears in your lap.

you were intensely recounting the latest neighborhood gossip when a sudden whine interrupted you, drawing your attention to the forgotten general in your lap. still asleep, your disgruntled lover yanked your hands back down to his head; as you tangled your fingers in his hair again, his tail began to wag, thumping against the aralia wood floors.

"oh—that's quite cute," yoimiya squealed, amusement evident in her voice. "he's just like taroumaru! do you mind if I take a picture?"

a few weeks later, rumor had it that the watatsumi army general hugged his tail while sleeping. when gorou interrogated you about the gossip, you feigned innocence.

𝐀𝐍 𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐋𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒? ∴ feat. zhongli

you wandered into the kitchen, looking to clear your head with a cold glass of water—only to find your boyfriend rummaging through the fridge. 

"zhongli?" you gaped at him. "what are you doing?"

he swiftly turned, revealing a jar of peanut butter in one hand and an apple in the other. "oh," zhongli uttered. "hello, dear. did you know peanut butter with xylitol is harmful to dogs?" he lightly swayed in place, his eyes unfocused and hazy. 

"archons, how much did you have to drink?" you questioned, grabbing his arm to support his teetering frame. 

"i'm not that drunk," he claimed loudly. clambering towards the kitchen counter, he began clumsily digging through the drawers. "could you find me a knife, dear? i want this apple." 

you tugged him away from the counter and shoved him to sit on the floor. "stay," you commanded, pointing at the ground. you managed to find a knife and crouched down next to your pouting boyfriend, cutting into the apple.

you offered zhongli a piece and he took it, munching on the fruit. "did you know it takes thirty-six apples to make a gallon of apple cider?" he chattered. "and about four hundred grapes to make a bottle of wine. i wonder how diluc does it all? speaking of diluc, he—"

before he could go off on a tangent about diluc's winery, you shoved the rest of the apple in his mouth. 

"zhongli, i love you but i refuse to listen to the entire history of dawn winery tonight!"

a/n ∴ i would have added tighnari but i think he'd do shrooms instead. as usual reblogs and feedback are highly welcomed

I Love You 'til The End of The Line; childe

childe x gn!reader

a/n: THIS EITHER SOUNDS INTERESTING OR REALLY STUPID BUT HEAR ME OUT 🧍‍♂️ (also Happy Birthday loml Ajax 🥳)

Angst! Hanahaki disease AU!

You've heard of it, never thought of it to be true until you, yourself were spitting out bloody flowers. But how could this happen? You're in a relationship.

part 2

word count: 3,105

warnings: throwing up, lotta hugging, emotional cheating

Loving Ajax hurt, but you don't regret it one bit.

Working for the Tsaritsa has made his schedule hectic, barely having any time for anything else. Despite his work schedule, you two made it work. The few weeks he'd be in town, you two would be glued to the hip. Almost always within each other's presence that no one could see one of you without seeing the other. You'd be at his house, playing with him and his younger siblings until they fell asleep and you could relax with Ajax, wrapped in blankets by the fireplace. Then the next few months, letters would be sent back and forth until the day you could hold Ajax in your arms again.

After making more than 4 years together, you and Ajax have gotten used to your long distance relationship. The excitement of being able to see each other again after way too long never faded, but now it felt...soft? Like when he's about to leave, you know you're gonna see him again. Goodbyes are replaced with an 'I'll see you soon' and when you finally hold each other again, he gives you that warm smile that says ‘I'm finally home.’ 

It was a gentle type of love. Sweet & Simple.

Maybe that's why it happened. It got boring.

With the limited time you have with your partner in Snezhnaya, you suggested visiting him while he's in Liyue. He, of course, was overjoyed with the suggestion and immediately started planning the trip, the places he'd take you, the time of year you should go, etc. 

Now came the time you were set to board the boat bound for Liyue's port. 

At first, you thought it was just some sea sickness when you first found yourself feeling dizzy and wanting to throw up, but the closer and closer you got to Liyue, it became clearer and clearer. 

Your eyes widened as you stared at the yellow tulip covered in blood you coughed up. Hanahaki disease? Impossible. You were loved back by the one you love the most. He even helped set up your whole stay in Liyue so you could see him. This revelation only made your trip worse as it made you question your relationship as flower after flower escaped your lips. How could your 4, almost 5, year long relationship end like this?

By the time you got to the port of Liyue, you started to feel pain in your lungs after every cough. You still couldn't believe it. The very thought of dying by this awful disease- heck, you don't even understand how you got it in the first place.

But you were about to find out really soon.

Ajax's open arms greeted you as you walked down the ramp from the boat, a small smile adorning his face. For a moment, you forgot about the pain in your chest and jogged into his arms. After brief greetings and a long-awaited kiss, Ajax grabs your bags and leads you through the city, explaining how Liyue Harbor is preparing for this year's Lantern Rite Festival.

As you walk hand-in-hand through the city, examining the different buildings and decorations set up, his eyes land on something. But before you could look at what he was looking at, he was already dragging you there. When he finally stopped, you found yourself in the presence of someone. 

Dressed in clothes you've never seen before, with blond hair and golden eyes, they stand before you. You've heard stories of the traveler mostly from Ajax, but stories about them have already been floating around Snezhnaya since the day they saved Mondstadt. Word travels fast, and with the addition of your partner's first-hand experience with them, you're quite overwhelmed to be standing there knowing what the traveler has been up against. And now, as Ajax introduces you to each other, his words fade into the background. They hold out their hand to you for a handshake and you freeze for a moment, before hesitantly shaking their hand. 

This doesn't go unnoticed by your partner, quickly putting his hands on your shoulders and giving them a light squeeze. "I've told them about you," he explained to the traveler before turning to you. "You don't have to be nervous. They're a great warrior, but once you get to know them, they're really down to earth. You'll get along just fine," he whispered.

And get along you did. They were very nice and you've come to learn how they're going around Teyvat to look for their sibling. And their swordsmanship- wow did they know how to handle a blade. 

When Ajax invited you to watch them spar, you noticed their abilities and strategies in trying to push the other into a corner. Despite being young, Ajax had the strength and power that really proved he deserved a spot among the Fatui Harbingers. On the other hand, the traveler was able to hold their own and push your partner back even without wielding a vision.

You noticed the thrill and admiration in the Harbinger's eyes as he continuously battles the traveler. But even after the fight, his eyes still display that same admiration for them. You had suspicions at first, especially since you've been coughing out flowers despite being with your partner, but now those suspicions are being confirmed.

The excited tone he uses when he talks about being in battle with them, inviting them when you and him were out, even asking them to meet his family in Snezhnaya. The more you noticed it, the worse your condition grew. Up to the point both of them have started to notice how easily you get tired and how often you clutch your chest when you feel your heart burn.

They've asked about it a few times but you always reassured them that it was nothing and quickly switched to a topic you all can discuss. To get their full attention away from your state, you always change the topic to something relating to fighting. As skillful fighters, both of them had a lot to say. Even Paimon joins in on the conversation, usually to brag about the traveler's greatest battles and make remarks here and there.

You'd try to get in on the conversation too, but compared to what the harbinger and the esteemed traveler had been up against, was there really something you can brag about? That thought had kept you from saying much until you were in your own bubble and they were starting to forget you were there.

Unfortunately, this happened often during your stay in Liyue which only confirmed your suspicions even more.

When Childe had some free time, he'd take you out on a date. But most of the time, it wouldn't just be you two together. If spotted by him, he'd invite the traveler with you. 

"Hey traveler! Paimon! Come join us!" or "Is that the traveler and Paimon over there? Why don't we invite them to go to Luhua Pool with us tomorrow?"

On the occasions that it was indeed you two alone, he somehow always found something that reminded him of them and never forgets to mention it to you. 

"When Teucer came to Liyue out of the blue, he and the traveler followed me out here while I was baptizing the batch of new recruits. You should've seen their confused faces when I started talking about toys!" and "The traveler keeps giving me these starconches for some reason. If I were to count them all, they've given me over a hundred of these shells!"

He's mentioned many times before that he and the traveler are friends, even working together if Childe had some work to do that the traveler could help with. But after everything that's happened so far, it doesn't take a scholar to figure out he's begun falling for someone else.

The final nail on the coffin was during Lantern Rite. He promised to take you out to watch the fireworks together. For a while you were sitting by the staircase, watching the crowd and trying to find Childe amongst them but he was nowhere to be found. He said he'd be there by sundown so you can explore the festivities before the firework show began, but it's been almost an hour since the sun had set and he was still nowhere to be found. Maybe this was a bad idea - coming out here while you're sick. You felt another yellow tulip rising in your throat and quickly went somewhere private to cough it out. 

Looking at the bloody flower petals, you realize it, indeed, was a mistake to go out and you should’ve stayed at the hotel instead. So you made it out of the area and started to head back to your hotel.

"There you are!" A familiar voice calls. Your body was frozen as he and the traveler came up to you. "Sorry we’re late. We’ve been investigating a domain and we got lost track of time while we were examining the place. At least we’re here now, where have you been? I thought we were meeting by the docks?" He puts his arm around your shoulder as you laughed it off and hurriedly made an excuse.

Much to your dismay, they lead you back to the docks where multiple stalls were lined up. You were just following to wherever stall they'd head to next and accept the items Childe bought for you. He would offer to buy the same things for the traveler but sometimes they'd refuse and he'd give it to you, even if he bought you one already. He calls it 'an extra'.

Nothing had really caught your attention and you continued to just follow them as they walked and talked until your eyes landed on an interesting stall. You were about to point it out to your companions, until you saw how deep in conversation they were.

They seem to be in their own little world, talking about anything and everything, while you are lagging behind and watching the whole scene play out. 

And all you could think was how happy he looked being with them. Talking with them, probably about the many, many things he and the traveler had in common.

He just looks… happy. With that sparkle in his eye and his smile that never seems to disappear tonight.

He is happy. You know it.

He was killing you, and he didn't even know it.

Finally, you stopped walking and watched until you lost sight of them. The tightening feeling in your chest made you feel worse, but right now, you couldn't care less. At this point, it wouldn't matter if you joined them or not, it all felt the same. Instead of catching up to them, you  explored the rest of the festival, making some souvenir purchases and taking photos even if all of it was useless. Once you felt the tightening of your chest worsen, you knew it was time to head back to your hotel, quickly.

On the final night of your stay in Liyue, you were packing up the final items in your bags. The thought of staying crossed your mind multiple times. Maybe it was pointless to pack up, seeing as your condition has taken a turn for the worst and you might not even get back home to Morepesok alive. At that point, breathing made your lungs hurt and your chest burn. Maybe you should stay and spend the rest of your nights with Childe, if you should even tell him while knowing what he'd do if you did. But you decided against it, because everything he'd do would be out of guilt. He'd deny that he's fallen out of love and would take care of you 24/7 trying to convince himself that he still loves you, only to fail.

You lost your train of thought when the sound of knocking reached your ears. Opening the door revealed Childe with a cheeky smile. "What are you doing here?" you asked. "Well, it's your last night and I wanna go on a lil' walk with you." He stepped aside and put his arm out, gesturing for you to walk out with him. You thought about it and hesitantly stepped out of your room, quickly locking it behind you before following Childe out to the streets of Liyue.

The night was cold and there were only a handful of people who were also out. Most of which were taking down the decorations of the Festival. For the most part, you both were just silently admiring the quiet streets, bumping knuckles while walking. You were too busy taking one last look at the buildings around you to see the slight smirk on Childe's face as he grabbed your pinky with his own before fully holding your hands as if you two were teenagers first discovering your love for each other.

You felt your heartbeat quicken and subconsciously take a deep breath when your cold hand was in his warm one.

He took you around the city one last time before stopping with you on the bridge atop feiyun slope. He looks out to the many boats docked at the port until his eyes land on a certain one. Curious, you peek at what he's staring at too and your eyes land on a large passenger ship, probably the one you would be taking the next morning.

He sighs before looking at you. "I wish you could stay a little longer." He pouts just a little bit and pulls you in a hug. "But that's okay. My assignment here is almost finished so I'll be back home with you, and Anton, Tonia, and Teucer--" He doesn't know, "--You said there was a new restaurant, right? We could go--" He doesn't know, "--Just a little bit longer and I'll be home again very soon--" He doesn't know. In fact, does he even realize his feelings for you are fading?

"I-I should head back." The sudden volume of your voice stops him from saying anything further and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion at your statement. You were quick to notice this and even quicker to explain. "I'm not quite done packing yet and I have a long trip tomorrow and the boat leaves early. You should head to your quarters now too. Now that I have a sense of how busy you are, you need your rest."

He was still confused, but he let you go for the night. "I'll come get you in the morning, okay?" You nodded your head and tightly wrapped your arm around him, to which he was surprised but still hugs back before you let go and head back to your room.

You couldn't sleep the whole night. Time being used up by packing, thinking about your relationship with Childe, whether you should stay and tell him, and throwing up more yellow tulips. Before you knew it, it was time to board the boat and head home.

You walked out of the hotel with your head hung low and your bags in your arms, practically dragging them because it felt heavier, until someone picks them up for you.

You both talk a bit during the journey to the port, discussing whatever topic comes up. When you get there, your names are called out by Paimon who flies up to you both with the traveler trailing behind. "We just wanted to see you before you go," Paimon said.

"Paimon just gets emotional and will get upset if you leave without saying goodbye." The traveler adds, making everyone chuckle while Paimon gets embarrassed. 

"Thank you." You gave them a soft smile, at least it calms you down knowing Childe is gonna be taken care of well by the traveler. 

The traveler leaves you and Childe alone, which should relieve you a little bit; however, it only makes you dread the next and probably final moments you have with him.

You both avoid each other's gazes for a little bit before he finally speaks up and glances at you, "Take care of yourself until I get there, okay?" You only give him a curt nod, still not bothering to look him in his sapphire eyes. Afraid that if he even spared a glance into them, he'd notice how scared you are.

You grabbed your bags from his hands and were about to walk away, but you stopped yourself. Screw it. You dropped your bags and pulled him in a tight hug for the last time. He hugged you back, but not as tight because he doesn't know and now, he never will.

"I-" You started but the quiver in your lip and the tears starting to blur your vision made it difficult to speak. He doesn't speak, waiting for you to do so. He probably knows that you were about to shed tears, and for that he didn't say a word. But he did pull away from the hug to hold your face in his hands and wipe some of the tears away. 

"You mean everything to me, Childe," You started, "I don't ever regret loving you." You held on to his hands that were cupping your face, pulling them away and kissing his palms. "I'm gonna miss you. A lot." You try to give him a soft smile despite your red and teary eyes.

"I'm gonna miss you too." He responds. He was about to add something further but you needed to let him know first. "I love you. Way too much."

The call for the passengers to board the ship stopped you both from continuing the conversion and now, it was time to let go. You pull his hands from your face and let them go to pick up the bags you dropped on the ground. "Have a safe trip," He says while your hands tighten their grip on your luggage. 

"Take care of yourself, Childe." You gave him one last smile and turned to painfully walk away from him and toward the boat bound for Snezhnaya.

You don't look at him the rest of the way. Once on the boat, you set your bags and find a place to settle down. Once the boat departed from the port, you completely avoid looking at Liyue Harbor. For you were too afraid.

Loving Ajax hurt, but you don't regret it one bit.

His love lies with someone else now. Although that realization and its consequences hurt you, not once did you regret making memories with him. You love him with your whole heart and you will continue to do so until your last breath.

part 2

ajsdhfjashdfjshdf idk what this was 🥴

work by milk-breadx. DO NOT COPY/REPOST/MODIFY WORKS WITHOUT PERMISSION

𝐀𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐘𝐨𝐮 — 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭

◊ ft. kaeya, kazuha, albedo, gn!reader

◊ genre. fluff, slight comfort (albedo) genshin men admiring you :)

— 𝐊𝐚𝐞𝐲𝐚 𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡

“Something on my face?” Kaeya asked. There was a sort of curious glimmer in his visible eye. You hummed in quiet acknowledgement. He gave you a mischievous grin. The one that you loved ever so much. He leaned into your touch, pecking the inside of your palm.

“Now what are you on about?” You murmured, shifting a bit to your right so that he could readjust his legs properly next to you.

“Well nothing I suppose. You just seemed so focused on my lips. Was I perhaps wrong?” Kaeya was fond of the way you glanced away from his prying question. You two both knew better. It was almost inevitable that this would happen.

“Maybe you were, maybe you weren’t,” you countered, causing him to give you a faux pout.

“You’re a very cruel person, aren’t you, Dove?” he murmured rather fondly. There was an odd look in his eye. The kind that made someone want to melt right then and there. The warmth of his hand brushed against your cheek and you smiled at the sincerity in his expression.

“You’re beautiful.”

— 𝐊𝐚𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐊𝐚𝐳𝐮𝐡𝐚

“Are you fond of nature?” You asked, looking up at the fading autumnal leaves in the thinning branches of the trees. Kazuha’s eyes were trained on them for a moment before his gaze switched back to yours.

“I find warmth in nature,” he explained, “When the leaves turn red or back to green, I gather that it’s a beautiful experience… However, I find the best visage is the twinkle in your eyes when you admire the stars gleaming in the night sky, or the flowers blooming in spring.”

He smiled innocently when you appear surprised by his comment. The way he scattered the words into the wind had your mind in a love-dazed spin. “You… are so odd, honestly,” you mumbled averting your gaze once more.

Kazuha’s grin remained still even after you had attempted to leave his embrace. But he chuckled, brushing against your cheek to gaze at you. His eyes were kind. They had always been. But the way he looked at you was so much more wondrous than anything you’d seen before.

“Do you think I’m wrong, my Love?” He whispered. His breath grazed against your ear and you could feel his smile against your skin. “Because I could continue for the rest of the evening if you so wish. There’s so much I’m willing to say.”

— 𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐨

Albedo didn’t miss the odd look in your eyes when you returned from town. Your journey up the mountains of Dragonspine must have had a block in the road somewhere as you set the supplies on the table beside him and stumbled towards the bookshelf.

He frowned, going over the actions one would take when their significant other was having a rough day. He found that it was much more difficult in practice. But he slowly inched over to you, gently resting a hand upon your shoulder.

“Anything wrong?” He murmured, feeling you tense under his touch.

You seemed to think for a moment and he allowed you the time to do so.

“Just feeling a little insecure today,” you finally admitted.

Albedo’s frown deepened. You? You felt insecure? “I do not quite comprehend this…” he said softly, “You’re so captivating.” And perhaps he didn’t much else but the sincerity in his eyes and the way he practically whispered the words with such purity, you could feel your heart pound louder in your chest.

“Do you disagree?”

You stood there, taking in the incoming chill from outside the warmth of the camp. At your silence, Albedo smiled softly, cupping your face in his hands. “Because if you do, I do not mind writing up a report arguing against it.”

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stop what if

Heizou probably has a habit of accidentally flirting with everyone. Probably you got so fed up with it, you ended up breaking up with him.

Thoma feeling bad that he accidentally spent way more time with Ayaka than he spent time with you.

Childe accidentally hurting you by his excruciatingly big ego, he misunderstands “i’m worried about you” by “you’re not strong”.

Dottore accidentally screaming at you because you disturbed him in an important experiment. Little did he know he forgot you were more important.

Scaramouche keeps denying your love to him after his dark past, people leaving him. You said you weren’t leaving and he doubted it. But now you actually did leave him, all because of him. He regretted it.

Gorou’s loyalty to Her Excellency seemed more important than his love for you, or your love for him. He probably didn’t even notice you left until Kokomi mentioned it.

Diluc gets upset everytime you mentioned about him getting along with Kaeya. He ended up breaking up with you, but he was the dumb one now. It was just a request. Why was he so overdramatic?

Zhongli probably only used you as a coping mechanism, as if you were Guizhong. After you left, he fell inlove with you far too late.

Sometimes Ayato gets overworked. Asking him to rest is difficult. He found you annoying. You left. He misses your annoying personality.

Alhaitham’s suspicious activities.. always trying to find information about the Canned Knowledge Capsule seems to be more prioritized than your well-being to him. Were you just for display?

You hate how Kaeya spends his night in the Tavern than spending time with you. As if he was cheating on you with the Tavern. Ridiculous.

Itto’s personality.. could be a little hard to understand. He never takes things seriously and probably has the biggest ego. He would never take serious discussions.. well.. seriously.

you guys seem to really like this, so here’s a longer version for Scaramouche, Zhongli and Thoma! HERE

[ 𝟑:𝟐𝟕 𝐀𝐌 ] 𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐔𝐆𝐔𝐑𝐔.

geto supposes this is a bit odd—he doesn’t usually race to apartments and knock on doors incessantly at three am, he doesn’t usually show up in a wrinkled t-shirt and mismatched socks, and he doesn’t usually have his hair in a low bun that’s threatening to fall out any second.

but then again, he’s not usually staying up late at night and thinking about how the dude you called cute in your philosophy class is planning to ask you out tomorrow.

“suguru, what are you—”

“i love you,” he interrupts, a rushed and panted out statement, making your eyes widen. you stare at him, blinking as the light from the hallway stings your sleep hazed eyes.

“what are you—”

“i really fucking love you, and i think you should date me.”

and he does. geto suguru has been in love with you since the day you move next door to his childhood home. he’s been in love with you since the day you step foot on his lawn and tell him he needs a haircut. he’s been in love with you since the moment you worm your way into his life and bring your unwarranted opinions and know-it-all attitude, and he thinks that he’s the only one who deserves to love you at all.

the guy from philosophy (whatever his name is) doesn’t deserve your playful banter and witty remarks. he doesn’t deserve your random fun facts and ceaseless rambles. he doesn’t deserve your late night texts and whispered facetimes, and he doesn’t deserve you. not like geto does, at least, and geto suguru is not letting a mere schoolgirl crush come in the way of his carefully nurtured love.

“suguru, it’s three am,” you say in disbelief, rubbing the sleep from out of your eyes as you decide to acknowledge his (rather bold) statement after your brain starts functioning.

“that’s okay. i still love you at three am,” he shrugs, pouting to himself. he eyes your appearance, tries not to stare too hard at the way your shirt is a little low at the neckline, tries to avoid glancing at the plumpness of your lips for too long as you process his words with a soft frown.

“oh, really? you should know i’m rather grouchy when i’m sleepy,” you warn him, and then he cracks a smile—because that’s all he needs to hear to know you feel the same.

and he supposes it’s not hard to figure out that you do. it’s not hard to see that there’s love in the way you flick his forehead and tell him to piss off, or the way you curse him out as he steals your food with a scowl, or even the way you promptly leave him on read after every petty argument you have over text.

because there’s fondness in the way you fight back a smile as you roll your eyes, and there’s fondness in the way you slightly push your plate closer begrudgingly, and there’s fondness in the way you text him first the next day and ask if he’s ready to admit he’s wrong because you miss him.

and it’s an odd mix, the two of you, but your sun soaked fingertips against his moonlit skin feels as right as the sound of his name dancing off your lips, and he thinks you were made for him in every regard. so if he has to stand before you at three am and risk your wrath for waking you up, then he’ll gladly do that—so long as no asshole from philosophy is scoring a date with you tomorrow after class.

“yeah, i know,” he snorts, “you’re kind of grouchy all the time,” he adds, hand outstretched and carefully pressing against the curve of your cheek. you lean into his palm, let the roughness of his skin soothe over the longing in your heart.

“and you still want to date me?” you raise a brow.

“of course,” he says instantly, “so say you want to date me too. or i’ll resort to plan b.”

“what’s plan b?”

“killing the dude from philosophy that wants to ask you out,” he hums, “and everyone else that follows until i’m the only choice left.”

“i guess i have to say yes to avoid a lot of bloodshed then, don’t i?” you ask playfully.

but then your fingers smooth back loose strands of dark hair behind his ear, and your hand rests behind his head and pulls him closer—and he thinks maybe you’d have been inclined to say yes either way.

“oh definitely,” he grins, youth brimming over his features as your lips brush over his and seal the deal. and geto suguru has been in love with you since the day you move in next to his home, and he thinks he’ll love you just as much the day you move in next to his spot in bed too, arms circling around his waist and lips mapping his skin.

“in that case, lucky for them, i love you too.”

this is painfully cheesy but i want a soft childhood friends to lovers / boy next door trope with suguru so bad SOBS