Genshin Impact Wanderer X Reader - Tumblr Posts

Afternoon Tranquility

Genshin Impact

One afternoon, during your usual study session together, you fall asleep.

Word Count: 991 Words ✯ AO3 Version

Character(s): Wanderer x Reader

Tags: Gender Neutral Reader, Reader is an Akademiya student, Nameless Wanderer, Plotless Fluff, Unedited

You weren’t truly sure when your friendship began with the elusive young man that everyone in the Akademiya referred to as ‘Hat Guy.’ Was it after he’d been volunteered to give you a tour of the city by your professor during your first week of classes? Or maybe it was after the first paper you’d worked on together, when you first got a glimpse into the kindhearted person he was behind that antisocial demeanor of his? Whenever it was, the turning point in your relationship with him truly came on the day after you’d begun your newest semester at the Akademiya.

Now one semester into living in Sumeru City, with no shared classes, there was no real reason for the two of you to see each other again. You’d enjoyed his company, but didn’t know him well enough to know if he’d even be interested in continuing a friendship with you now that you no longer shared any classes together. It had felt weird to walk to your classes and not see him around, but it was something you’d have to get used to. Your professors expected more of you this semester, now that you were settled into life here, and all the class introductions you had just sat through were almost too much to keep track of. You were busy juggling all the different syllabi and lecture notes from your second day of classes when a voice calling out to you had you turning around. He didn’t really do smiling, unless it was to smirk derisively at something, yet you could’ve sworn you saw a ghost of a smile on his lips as he waved you over.

He’d asked you if you’d be up for studying together that afternoon, if your schedule was free. Neither of you shared classes together anymore, and yet…

It’s been a year since that day.

Today, the two of you were spending the afternoon together, as you usually did when your schedules aligned for a study session. It had become a routine the two of you shared, to seek out the other in the House of Daena after classes to find a table to work at together, or to walk outside to seek out a pavilion in the shade of the great tree to work together when the weather was fair.

It was business as usual for you, looking forward to getting ahead on your project while in his company.

But for him…he’d come to a realization recently, as sudden as a clap of thunder during a rainstorm.

Sometime during the past year, in between the motions of his everyday life of attending classes, studying with you, and running tasks for Nahida…he’d somehow gone from ‘not minding’ your company to being…fond of it.

Sitting side by side in companionable silence as you two worked on your respective assignments during your study sessions was something he’d…begun to look forward to, even.

Of course, today was the same. The day was pleasantly warm, not a single cloud in the sky - so the two of you found yourselves in the shade of a pavilion as always when the day was this beautiful. It was perfect for getting work done, the breeze pleasant enough to keep cool but not so obnoxious that it risked being a nuisance to your work materials. He’d made great headway on his essay, but you, it seemed, had been lulled right to sleep instead. He couldn’t help the smile that slipped through as he watched you from the corner of his eye, chuckling at how at peace you were. You truly don’t know what you did to him, resting blissfully unaware on his shoulder as if it were your personal pillow.

Huffing softly to himself, his smile turned wry.

Would you laugh at him if you were to hear every sappy thought in his head? If he exposed his inner heart to you, would you treasure it? Or would you become his fourth betrayal? Would you find it weird that he’d been so focused on mapping out the details of your face, trying to commit every inch of it to memory, for the day he’d inevitably outlive? Would you be put off by how he’d been so distracted by you, that he’d stopped working on his essay entirely the moment he’d noticed your weight settle onto his shoulder?

Clicking his tongue in self-admonishment, he forced himself to clear his mind to return to work, eyes going back to his paper, when the feeling of you moving gave him pause. He glanced back at you, mouth opening with full intent to tease you for falling asleep, when the sensation of your arms wrapping around him left him frozen. He stared in disbelief, mouth snapping shut when you grumbled and shifted against him in an attempt to get comfortable.

And you were still asleep, too!

The audacity, too, for a human who’d happened to walk into his life on that day Kaveh volunteered him to give you a tour of the city. How, exactly, did he arrive here at this moment with you…? Slowly, the slowest he could ever remember moving, he wraps an arm around your waist and pulls you closer. Adjusts your head so it tucks into his neck, so your own head wasn’t so awkwardly stretched in what must’ve been such a comfortable position, not for any other reason. He looked you over for a moment, his other arm awkwardly hovering with his essay still in it.

“…”

Putting his essay down, he wrapped both arms around you now, tucking you under his chin. The content smile on your face as you cuddled into him with a sleepy mumble had him squeezing his eyes shut, utterly overwhelmed. If he had any actual need for air, he’s sure he’d be breathless.

Just…just when…

“Just how…did I get so lucky…?”

And if you heard him or not…well, that was a conversation to be had another day.

(A/N): This was basically born from my friend asking me, "How do you think Wanderer would react if I hugged him in my sleep?" Instant inspiration right there! Funnily enough, my first genshin fic is of Wanderer instead of Thoma lol.

Whether this is romantic or platonic is up to your personal interpretation! I also left Wanderer nameless, since the game lets you as the player decide what his name is.

I hope you enjoyed! Likes and reblogs are always appreciated and loved. <3