#HOOOLY SHIIIIIT YESSSSSAA

[plwasehelpme]

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C/W: gn!reader; angst; angst to fluff; worried tighnari; a brief mention of the words "borderline kill yourself" is a thing but it's just tighnari being scared :(; likely ooc, actually; i've never written for this sassy fox mushroom nerd before; no beta we die like signora; could be read as platonic but you gotta be blind as fuck my guy; hc that rukkashava mushrooms are toxic as fuck bc yk; they look it;

END C/W.

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A/N: yeah i made this ig. i fell in love w/ tighnari at first sight and just ":]]]]" every time he went on screen. i didn't mean to make it angsty. i swear i didn't. anyways ty to this post for giving me ideas. you're to blame for this dumpster fire, buddy. 👍

So without further adieu ....

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Tighnari's Guide To Why You Should Not Eat Sentient Fungi (Or, Why You Should!)

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"Are you doing this on purpose?"

"Doing what?"

You try to convince Tighnari that you have no idea what he's talking about, but judging by his reaction, it really doesn't seem to work.

It doesn't help that this is your third sweetwater mushroom this month.

"I have explained to you countless times what the effects of sweetwater mushrooms are. I've also explained the effects of raw rukkashava mushrooms, the large glowing mushrooms in the mushroom forest, and even the sentient fungi that riddle the forest grounds."

Tighnari opens his mouth before just sighing. You shrug. "I'm a bit forgetful?" It's a silly and sheepish response, but you're not very good at making up excuses. You'd think by the fourth or fifth scolding you would be.

Tighnari stammers for a bit, at a loss for words. That didn't work.

"You ate a sentient fungus. That is not forgetfulness that is- I don't even- what could possibly motivate you to eat a breathing, floating fungus?! Do you have a death wish?! We didn't even have a filled reaserch paper on what would happen if you tried to eat those because anyone who tried was a known idiot!  I can't even fathom an explanation as to why in the entirety of Teyvat-"

"Yep, I get it. I'm really stupid for doing a really dumb thing. Yeah, yeah. Anyways, would you mind readressing the toxic mushrooms again? Juuuust in case i do a stupid thing all over again? Please?" You give him your most convincing puppy eyes. They probably didn't work but he agrees anyways. You know he'd never miss a chance to rant about mushrooms.

You've always found his enthusiam about them endearing.

"... I don't exactly appreciate being interrupted, but it certainly couldn't hurt."

Tighnari clears his throat.

"The first and most important thing to note about Sumeru's fungi is that while some are edible, that's certainly not the case with all of them. Some fungi, like the sweetwater mushroom cause smaller adverse effects like halucinations, while others - rukkashava mushrooms, for instance - are potentially fatal. Distinguishing the difference between these mushrooms is extremely important ..."

You listen to him ramble on about the difference between edible and sweetwater mushrooms for the first half before moving on to rukkashavae fungi. He then explains the effects of the evolved fungi around Sumeru - emphasising that it's for your sake - and you wink at him. He glares at you before going back to what he was saying as you chuckle to yourself.

You haven't been a forest ranger for too long; you graduated under Tighnari pretty recently in fact. You had applied to be forest ranger trainee, and you were luckily accepted. Immediately, you saw Tighnari and if you didn't believe in love at first sight, you certainly did now.

When he introduced himself as your instructor, you mentally fist-pumped as he started to tell you about one of the most important lessons you'd ever learn as a trainee. The difference between fatal, poisonous, and harmless fungi.

Even though you did try to listen, you wouldn't stop staring at his ears. His big, tall, fluffy, ears that looked oh so soft. He seemed to notice evident by his mildly annoyed questioning of 'is something troubling you?' to which you practically begged to touch his ears. Much to your dismay, he replied with a very adamant 'no.' before continuing on. You giggled and just stared at him the whole way through.

After a while - and a lot of poisonous mushrooms - you two started to get closer. Tighnari may seem stern at first, but the way he tends to people shows that at the root of it all he does care; even while scolding it's in their best interests. You realized that when you two started joking around and having fun.

You didn't want to brag, but you felt a lot closer to Tighnari than the rest of the other trainees.

When you did finally graduate, you were happy. I mean, you were an official forest ranger now, how great is that? Tighnari even conrgatulated you for it personally. It made you feel great, but when you were put on a mission with someone other than Tighnari you started to feel a bit lonely.

It was sad, really. You and Tighnari were practically never paired together, and you couldn't really tell if you missed what you had or if you just missed Tighnari. It hurt, and so you tried to replace it.

You would joke around with your other partners. Play around, have some fun on missions the same way you used to with Tighnari.

It wasn't the same though.

Nobody would scold you while doing something stupid, yelling more as your giggles turn to laughter because they're so worked up.

Nobody would see a new plant or animal and immediately try to get your attention, this normally cold forest ranger going starry-eyed as you smile endearingly at him while he goes on and on about the local wildlife in this particular section of the forest.

Nobody would help you get out of the forest when you got lost, gesturing to follow him as he tells you he knows exactly where you are, occasionally gripping your wrist because 'you aren't paying attention' as you just giggle and tease him.

You'd tease him about little things, small things like how despite his aversion to touch, he'd still grip your wrist. How he'd change the subject as his ears and tail twitch - presumably from the storm, though you liked to think you were flustering him. You'd joke to him about it, saying that maybe it was just his excuse to touch you, but every time he touched your hand ever so slightly you felt fishes swimming circles around your stomach, usually accompanied by a cottonny feeling under your skin. Soft and fluffy, warm like your own personal blanket even as the cold, wet drops of  rain and dew hit your face from high-up leaves.

You remember thinking you were the only person who's wrist he's touched in a while, even if it is just to guide you out.

You remember how he never truly denied your claims.

At the end of it all, it was evident that you missed all those moments simply because it was Tighnari. You missed the fun because Tighnari was the only person you knew who could provide to you all those moments and more.

Moments that could of been.

Moments that should have been.

But, then you had an idea.

Tighnari's information abput mushrooms had always stood out to you, but you could never figure out why. You always remembered looking at various mushrooms and trying to figure out exactly why you found them so peculiar.

At least, until you accidentally ate a rukkashava mushroom.

Forgetting that they were inedible, nigh-deadly, and required immediate medical attention as soon as they were eaten, you decided to cook one as you couldn't find much food anywhere else. It looked alright, so it couldn't have been too bad, anyways.

Until you started getting dizzy, when your partner at the time asked if you were alright you responded with an obvious 'yes' obviously. I mean, so what? Maybe you were a little dizzy but it couldn't have been that bad. Sure, you walked into a tree twice, got them lost at least 4 times in the span of a few minutes, but everything was a-okay!

You passed out shortly after.

Only to wake up to a 'tsk' from a familiar voice.

Opening your eyes showed a small blur of green, white and black, with some very tall almost triangular appendages on top.

Tighnari?

He seemed to be tending to you, getting some sort of medicine as your head lay on his lap. Noticing you opened your eyes, he sighed, before asking why you had eaten an extremely rare, and more importantly extremely dangerous type of mushroom.

You explained that you had forgotten at the time and that you were hungry, because, well, you were, and you had. As Tighnari glared at you, seemingly looking for a more satisfactory answer. After not getting it, he just sighed, and told you not to do it again.

Huh?

Why didn't he ... ?

When you asked why Tighnari didn't scold you, he simply explained that he knows your potential and your mind. He knows that sometimes, you slip up and do something a little stupid. He understood that, and explained that it's fine to do that,

occasionally, nobody's perfect, afterall. Tighnari knew that with you and your experience, it was definitely the most likely out of all the possibilities to be just a silly little mistake, but asked for the next mistake not to be eating a potentially fatal mushroom. You giggled, and said it wouldn't.

Not by accident, anyway.

Suddenly, you had an idea.

Due to never being on the same missions with Tighnari, you never got to see him. If you had eaten a potentially poisonous mushroom, you were taken to see Tighnari.

After that little visit, and after you fully recovered, you decided on a way to be able to spend more time with your beloved little fox boy. A way that wouldn't really interfere with his work schedule, and a way that you could blame on just 'another messy slip-up.'

...

"... s'cuse me! Excuse me. Hello?"

Tighnari snapped his fingers in front of your face.

"Huh- what-?" You look around. That's right, you're facing the consequences of your actions.

Seems you spaced out for a bit.

"Oh. Hi, Tighnari!" You say, a cheerful tone dipped in honey. Excitement and a kind warmness swirl together and flood your prescence all over again before you freeze. Tighnari's arms are crossed and he's frowning. Usually, this would mean he's ready to scold you, but this is different.

It's an expression you've never seen before on him.

Was he mad? Agitated? No, he's scolded you hundreds of times, you'd know when he glares sharp, piercing daggers that bypass your eyes and into your soul. But, this time it's soft; instead of that light but familiar stabbing, you feel cold. Chilly, an icy feeling like lying under a waterfall, and as the water drops on your face, you start to look back with the same sorrowed expression.

Pity. No, worry.

He was worried about you.

" ... Are you alright?"

"Yeah, of course. I'm fine."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah, I'm okay, Tighnari. I promise."

Tighnari pauses.

"... Why are you doing this?"

" ... Doing what?"

This time, you didn't understand what he meant.

Tighnari touches your shoulder. He stares into you.

"I know what you're capable of. I've seen it firsthand. I've seen that even if if you make a mistake, you always learn and try never to do it again. I know you know well enough, so ..."

Tighnari pauses and looks away.

"Why do you keep trying to borderline kill yourself?"

You sit there, stunned. Somewhere down deep, you understood that maybe he was worried. Somewhere down deep, you may have even felt a little guilty for it.

But, none of that compares to how it all felt now.

As Tighnari got up, you wished now that you had realized how much you'd scared him. You wish now that he'd spoken up sooner and you wish now thay you had never missed him as much as you truly did.

That you had never been as selfish as you truly were.

The room falls silent, the only sound being the pattering of rain and the occasional crash of thunder. Neither you nor Tighnari dared look at eachother, in fear of seeing something you wouldn't like, despite your own glances. A particular loud crash of thunder and Tighnari brought his hand up to his ear, presumably to lessen the blow to his eardrums. He didn't remark about it, instead he wordlessly turned away from you to get an oral medication.

You were the first to break the silence.

" ... I missed you."

Tighnari's ear twitched as he stopped in his tracks. He seemed like he wanted to say something, yet he remained silent. He tilted his ear to you.

"I ... I wanted to spend time with you. I missed the times we had while I was in training. I missed your enthusiasium when you'd find an aspect of the wildlife and explain to me what it is, or how it works. I missed listening your voice even when you'd scold me for doing something dumb, like eating a sentient fungus, for intstance." You chuckled at the last sentance, almost sadly, still not daring to look up.

"I missed ... I missed you, Tighnari."

He was still silent, still standing in place. Still frozen on his way to find your medicine. You were looking down, almost scared to look up out of shame. Shame that such a small, personal issue, something so insignificant escalated to something that could make even the cold, stone-faced Tighnari lose his composure for the worst.

It was dumb. It was something you should have dealt with on your own.

Something you shouldn't have gotten him involved in.

Footsteps resumed as Tighnari quickly grabbed a bowl of your medicine. They got a little louder as Tighnari got closer before coming to a stop once more as you see his knees on the ground in your peripheral vision.

" ... Look at me."

It's gentle, yet you can't find it in yourself to look up. You look towards what you can see of him but you don't dare raise your head.

"Look at me."

He says it more sternly this time. You take a steady breath and look upward towards his face. He wears an indecipherable expression.

"Open up."

He brings a spoonful of liquid to your mouth. As you open your mouth, as the cold, bitter liquid slides down, Tighnari looks away. You both avoid eye contact as he puts the bowl down and you turn your head away. Then Tighnari just sighs.

"You didn't need to eat a poisonous mushroom to spend time with me, you know."

You look back at Tighnari, his expression still unsolvable.

"I understand that I am busy most days, whether it be my work or something else i happen to be preoccupied with."

His ears tilt down a bit, his tail curls into himself as he turns to face to you as well.

" ... But, if I do happen to be free one day."

He pauses again, avoiding eye contact.

" ... I've always felt that the best way to progress a relationship with someone is to, well, spend time with them."

He looks up at you again. You look back at him.

" ... If you wanted to."

You stare into eachother's eyes as each confession processes in the other's mind. The words swirl around with the returning fishes, minds and heartbeats racing between the two of you.

"I'd ... "

You look down, but not out of shame this time.

" ... I'd like that."

You smile as the words come out and your eyes trail back up to Tighari's face, dusted a barely noticable pink. Yours as well, probably, but you decide not to comment on it. At least, not at this moment.

" ... I would too."

Tighnari seemed to release a breath he didn't know he was holding, standing up and gesturing his hand out for you to grab. Ears perking up and tail uncoiling as you slide your hand into his own and get up. Both of you glance into eachother's eyes as that same warm, cottony blanket carressed you both once again.

"Just one thing."

You were broken out of your trance as Tighnari gave you a mildly agitated expression once again. You tilted your head, puzzled as Tighnari pinched his nose bridge.

"Don't ... Don't eat any more toxic mushrooms. Please."

Tighnari sighs exasperatedly as you give a cheeky smirk his way. The second he looks your way he crosses his arms and glares at you, a small pout apparent on his bottom lip. You laugh.

"Okay, okay! I won't, I won't."

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