#I think the most messed up thing you can say to me is that kaveh would hate me atp cause I’ve seen it all 😞

[kavehayati]

I think everyone is trying to take shots at who can say the most messed up things to me

[tartagliad]

hey!! thanku sooo much for doing my request i love it!!! i have a thing for angst so i will request another one!. so can you make part two gn!reader who gets the urge to hurt themselves whenever they got stressed or (in my case) got anxiety attacks? with al'haitham (who has some difficults to deal with since it doesn't happen often), ayato, kaveh, and childe!

aww.. tysm!! I'm so happy that you loved it 🥺.. alright! your request is accepted, I hope you also liked this one ^^ hehe. have a great day, and thank you for the request (✿◠‿◠)

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Comfort and Stress

Summary: the title says it all, a part two to this

Fandom: Genshin Impact

Characters: Alhaitham, Ayato, Kaveh, & Childe

G/N reader!

Warnings: mentions of self harm, hurt, if uncomfortable DNI

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Alhaitham

Honestly, he knows things like these could happened but he never faces it

Until he met you

You're one of those people who usually keep their tasks on hand but at the same time, can be clumsy.

One day, things get a little stirred around your work and it stresses you out

Like literally. Papers here and there and sudden tasks are flowing nonstop

When Alhaitham entered your room, he could see most of the papers aren't organised and you yourself is a mess

He walked to you and checked on you

"y/n." he said with his usual tone, but with a slight hint of concern etch on it

You looked up, and saw him

He can see some scratches on your wrist

Without giving any words, he pulled you closer and comfort you

Honestly.. he didn't know what to do since he spends most of his times alone

But you only told him to hug you and he did that

Just holding you close, and rest your head on his chest

Alhaitham rubbed your back and let you cry or rest on him

You can always rely on him, always

He never judges people, although he can be rather cold

Especially with you, he always accepted for who you are

So, if you need any help, do call him :)

"it's alright.. let it out.. I'm here if you need anything"

Kaveh

Is probably the most understandable and quite experienced (?)

From his lore, we can tell that he's been through a lot

even know he's a renown architect, problems can come and go in his life

So, when you're in the same situation where it's getting too much, you can always tell it to Kaveh

When you're breaking down and have these thoughts, he would hold you close

His soft hands would held yours and rubbing gentle circles on your palm while whispering soft things into your ear

You're so fragile in his arms, your tears were making his clothes slightly wet from it, but he didn't mind.. it's you after all

The last thing he wanted you to do is not tell him and harm yourself

Trust me, he would be damned if you did hurt yourself

even when he first noticed it, Kaveh felt like it was his fault since he didn't kept a close eye on you

So.. don't make him worry, he loves you dearly

"Everything's gonna be okay.. you have me here.. just come to me whether you want a talk or just a hug.."

Ayato

In my head, he is also quite inexperienced (?)

I know he works around people, but his subjects are mostly paperworks and politics

So obviously, feelings rarely come in hand when working on a daily basis

It took him quite a while to know that you're struggling with your life

It's quite on both, you hid it well and he's too busy to notice it

Ayato noticed finally when you two were getting ready for bed

When you changed, he saw a few scratch marks on your wrist

he wanted to think you scratched by something, but the looks like its been done by a bit force

he then noticed how down you look

You're eyes seem a little dimmed than it used to

He then come over to you and wrapped his arms around you

You looked at him in confusion, but he only said, "seems like you need it."

Since he don't have any idea about what to do, he would just let you take the lead and wait for you to tell him something

He's just afraid that he might say the wrong thing to you, so it's best to give you some hugs for now until you're ready

"It's okay.. I'll be here until you get better.. no pressure, dear.."

Childe

Like Kaveh, he knows and understands about it

Well.. childhood trauma from the Abyss..

You can say he has ways of dealing it, either fighting or fishing

Or just have a stroll (like he did in Fontaine)

You were glad that he knows about it and knew how to take care of someone who's like that

It's a heart-wrenching sight for Childe to see you like that

Scars from battles are alright although he prefers to get it on him and not you

But from self harming.. it's the most thing that he loathes

Seeing his loved ones struggled and attempt that can torn him into pieces

He would do anything to make you feel better, even if it's just hugging you while you breaking down

Making your favourite food while telling you about soft things

Or if you want to talk to him, he'll hear your hearts out

Also, he would cut your nails so you couldn't scratch it. Of course that also applies that he would stay around for the next few days until you're completely okay

Just.. don't hurt yourself like that again

Hurting yourself = hurting him (in his mindset)

"now now.. there's no need to do that, princess.. you can always come to me whenever you're sad.."

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[peonysgreenhouse]

presentable. (kaveh x reader)

summary: you help kaveh do his hair after he oversleeps.

tags: kaveh x gn!reader, just fluff!

You find him fast asleep at his architect's desk, neck craned at such an uncomfortable angle you wonder how long he had been awake before drifting off.

"Kaveh." You call, quietly, as not to startle him awake. When he doesn't stir, you creep closer, putting a hand on his shoulder and gently shaking him. "Kaveh, you have a meeting soon, you need to wake up."

When he wakes, he does so slowly, the middle of his sketch paper sticking to his cheek as he raises his head from the desk. He groans, blinking slowly against the light from the window, then tilts his head towards you.

Kaveh's face scrunches up when he does so, and it seems he notices two things at once. One, that his choice of nap location has smudged his precious work, and two that he now has a horrible pain in his neck. He groans once again and stands up, huffing.

"I can't believe I fell asleep like this!" He throws up his arms and starts rifling through his clothing chest. "I don't even remember being tired, it's like I finished the working drawings and then I passed out."

You look down at the top sheet and see what looks to be a floor plan, with lots of text in the margins and mathematic symbols you don't quite understand. It gives you a headache just looking at it.

"This is for the lighthouse renovations, right?"

"Right." He answers, shucking off his old shirt and putting a new one on. He shakes out his hair, and then turns to you. "Do you know what time it is? It's not past midday, is it?"

You figure you shouldn't mention how some of the graphite from his paper had imprinted on his cheek. "Ah, well, it's just a little past twelve."

Kaveh curses, striding angrily across the room into the bathroom, angrily muttering to himself. He curses again when he sees his reflection, and starts scrubbing at his face.

"I can do your hair, if you want." You offer, trying to keep him from catastrophizing further. Kaveh continues scrubbing until the pencil markings rub off onto his hands, then leans against the sink.

"...That would be nice." He says, quietly. "I'm already going to be late, might as well be presentable."

You laugh to yourself; you think that sleep-ruffled Kaveh was still more handsome than anyone else in Teyvat. You grab his wrist and tug him back to his architect desk so he could sit, and work on taking out the feathers, the hairpins, the braids in his hair.

Kaveh looks over his working drawings one last time, content to let you brush out his hair with your fingers. He tries not to shiver when you scratch lightly against his scalp.

"Do you want me to style it like you usually do?" You ask, starting to separate the strands for a braid.

Kaveh shrugs. "Whatever looks best. I trust you."

"So I can put it up?"

"Of course." Kaveh takes your hand and brings it up to his lips, kissing your knuckles softly. "Like I said, I trust you."

Your heart flutters at his honesty; you feel you might never get used to it. You braid the small section you had started on and gather his hair into a ponytail. His hair had gotten long since you last messed with it.

You tie it off with a hairband, and move around him to brush his bangs out of his eyes. His cheeks pink at the contact.

"Handsome, as always." You say, content, as you stick his feather behind his ear. "You ready to go now?"

"I've decided that I need to change one little thing." He leans back in his chair, tilting his head back to look at you. Kaveh winces as it pulls the strain from earlier.

"Kaveh, you're already late." You playfully chide.

"I know, I know." He leans forward, grabbing a pencil and tapping it to his lips. "But I'm telling you this is going to be worth the extra minutes. If my employer is passionate about this project, they'll understand."

You sigh. You know in your heart that his employer would most likely not understand, but you couldn't tell him that. You can't help but admire his never-ending optimism for hoping that one day, he'd meet an employer who cared for the art of architecture as much as he did.

"I'll come and drag you out in fifteen, then, alright?"

Kaveh is already so engrossed in his work that you're sure he doesn't hear you. You shake your head, laughing, placing a quick kiss to his hair before leaving him to his work.

You said fifteen, but you'd give him twenty. Art can't be rushed but sometimes it needs to be nudged gently towards the finish line.

[literallyjustchi]

Akademiya Chronicles

Chapter 1

Hi! My name is Chi, and I am a seasoned writer. :3 I've written a full novel, 20 chapters, and 44k+ words. I'm here to give you quality writing (fanfics and not) that you don't often see here on Tumblr... without all the grammatical errors and simple typos. I hope you enjoy my first chapter ever posted *here!*

tumblr keeps messing up my formatting and IDK WHY, SEND HELP!!!!!

(MC is female, and characters may or may not be OOC. I tried to keep them as in character as I could.)

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Kaveh burst through the Akademiya’s library doors dramatically and collapsed at the nearest table, which coincidentally happened to be mine. My fellow classmates gave him a dirty look but went along with their work, most likely used to–or tired of–Kaveh’s antics.

As for me, I was too busy studying for one of the many upcoming exams. It annoyed me how Alhaitham was at the top of the class without studying or trying, and I wanted to be better than him. I knew I was smarter… I just had to put in the work. Ultimately, it would all pay off, and I would get bragging rights.

Kaveh groaned. “I should just drop out. This whole Kshahrewar thing is hard.”

I rolled my eyes, flipping a page in my book. “Keep going. You’ve already spent so much money getting where you are.”

“Easy for you to say, miss perfect grades. At least you aren’t as dreadful as Alhaitham.”

“Please stop enunciating your words. It’s very annoying.”

He sighed. “I mean, how can someone be as ignorant and… dumb as him? I never knew someone could be as dense and arrogant as him until I met him!”

“Keep your voice down. We’re in a library.” Alhaitham was anything but dumb, but I didn’t feel like arguing.

Kaveh moped. “Nobody understands my woes.”

“I understand, Kaveh.” I just don’t care. Ouch. Is that a little harsh? I closed my book with a defeated sigh. “You wanna go get something to eat for lunch?”

“Together?” He gasped, earning another sharp glare from the others. “Of course! You’re paying, though. Right?”

I put my book into my tote bag and stood up. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

______________________________________________________________

To my luck, Cyno and Tighnari were both at Puspa Café, with Cyno animatedly over-explaining the inner workings of Genius Invokation TCG even though Tighnari already knew all the nitty-gritty details.

Kaveh beamed. “Look, Cy and Ti are here! Let’s go talk to them.”

“I think I’ll pass.” If Alhaitham had one thing right, it would be that socializing was draining. I already finished my quota with the few words I exchanged with Kaveh.

Kaveh linked his arm with mine and dragged me to their table in the far corner next to a window, the sunlight filtering through. “Too bad. You need to get out more–have fun, y’know? Don’t want you to end up like Alhaitham, all moody and gloomy.”

Tighnari set down one of his cards and waved to us. “Look who decided to show up. My second favorite pair.”

“Who’s your first?” Kaveh asked.

Tighnari lowered his voice, “Cyno and Sethos, but you can’t tell them,” he said teasingly.

Cyno grimaced. “Gross. Sethos.”

I stifled a laugh. Cyno, though he’d never admit it, even if you put a musket to his head, had a soft spot for Sethos. It was mildly adorable.

Kaveh plopped on the bench, sitting next to Cyno. I, more gracefully and less rambunctiously, sat next to Tignhari with a small nod of acknowledgment.

Cyno shoved a stack of cards at Kaveh. “You’re playing. Here’s your deck. You know how to play?”

Kaveh took the deck and examined it. “Uh, sorta.”

“Good. Tighnari isn’t that good, so I hope you’re better.”

Tighnari rolled his eyes and slid an iced coffee my way. “I had a feeling you were coming.”

I took the coffee into my hands. I almost always came to the café to de-stress or as a break from my never-ending studies, so it was nice that Tighnari remembered, even though he didn’t often come to this side of Sumeru. Maybe it wasn’t a bad idea to agree to come with Kaveh.

The boys played a few rounds of TCG, with Kaveh losing to both of them. Tighnari had no idea what he was doing, but he was doing it better than Kaveh. It was funny to watch Cyno oneshot all of Kaveh’s active characters in one fell swoop, and Tighnari accidentally wiping out Kaveh’s supports and draining him of dice.

Tighnari leaned over to me and whispered while the others were too focused on their game to pay attention, “Don’t make this obvious, but Alhaitham just walked in.”

I nonchalantly looked toward the direction of the entrance. There he was, in all his glory. And sweat? Archons, save me.

It got much, much worse because Sethos was with him. Of course, Sethos was with him. He just had to be. This day couldn’t possibly get any better.

I winced, whispering back, “You didn’t tell him you and Cyno were here?”

“I didn’t know Kaveh was coming. Just you,” he replied.

“Well, what do we do?” “Reap what we sow, I guess. What is there to even do?”

“Prepare your shield of indifference and act like you saw or heard nothing.”

“Acting oblivious has never worked…”

“Today it will. Hopefully. Just act normal.”

Sethos was the first to spot us, his gigantic, shining smile vanishing like a smoldered flame once he saw Cyno. I averted my gaze and pretended I saw nothing.

My plan didn’t work because he and Alhaitham immediately made his way towards our table. Cyno and Sethos’s eyes locked in a fierce gaze, and I could’ve sworn that the pair wouldn’t pounce at each other like rishboland tigers if it weren’t for the fact that they had a crowd. I didn’t dare to look at Alhaitham, but I could see Kaveh scowl from the corner of my eye as I looked down at my lap.

After a long, awkward pause of silence, Tighnari spoke, “Hey, guys. Would you like to join us?” Kaveh and Cyno both muttered a “no,” while Alhaitham and Sethos said “sure.” It was almost comedic.

Sadly, Alhaitham was a freaking sadist because he sat next to me, leaving the only spot left for Sethos with Cyno and Kaveh. There was not a single doubt in my mind that he did that on purpose. The benches were supposed to only seat two people, but they could take three. It was a little cramped as Alhaitham’s thigh brushed against mine, and his hand would’ve done the same if it wasn’t wrapped around my coffee cup.

Definitely on purpose. And I hated that he pretended like nothing was happening.

Cyno pushed a deck into Sethos’s hands. “Join us.”

Sethos took the deck, looking at it like a challenge. Because it was.

Then, Cyno gave another to Alhaitham. “You can join, too, if you want. I think you’re a good player.”

Yeah, he was a good player.

Alhaitham took the deck. “Thanks. I’ll play.”

Cyno looked at me. I shook my head, and he shrugged. “You play really well, too. You could probably beat Al if you tried.”

I narrowed my eyes. He was definitely trying to egg me on, and I wasn’t going to take the bait. It was obvious bait–only an idiot would fall for it.

Alhaitham scoffed. “She couldn’t beat me if she tried.”

I snatched the spare deck from Cyno’s hands. “I’m in.”

Tighnari shook his head. “Here we go again…”

[caspersickfanfics]

Okay okay I've been thinking really hard about something wrong with Nari just, In general and it keeps bringing me back to that HC about Cyno and the Bimarstan. And Like. Oh man. Oh I really love it??? I think he'd have to be really desperate to take Nari there, if he really has that kind of history with them but he was Definitely demand to stay beside him as much as possible and def would work himself up into a mess even if a well hidden one and if you have more thoughts I'd love to hear!-Aery

Agh yes!!! The Bimarstan HC is one of my faves.

I imagine that usually, if Tighnari is sick, he'll treat himself, instruct Collei or Cyno in treating him, or (if he knows he'll need the Bimarstan) he'll take himself there without telling Cyno until after the fact. Save him the worry, and there's the easy excuse of Cyno being away with work most of the time anyway. I doubt Tighnari trusts the Bimarstan much either, but he probably has a few contacts there that he knows will do a decent job, and he brings a friend with him when he can, just in case.

But if Tighnari's too feverish to think straight or passing out or in pain to the point that he can hardly speak. That's a different story. And at that stage Nari's having such a rough time that he isn't aware of what's going on let alone able to calm Cyno down, but other people notice because Cyno is Not Doing Well. Not sleeping, not showering, not eating, barely talking. Alhaitham tries to get Cyno to come back to work, with the best of intentions, but he doesn't take that well. Kaveh is a lot more sensitive about it and brings Cyno food that he hardly touches, with a great deal of persuasion. He tries and fails to get Cyno to play cards with him. If it goes on long enough, Kaveh gets Lisa to come out and she's able to get Cyno to sleep, but he wakes up panicked from a nightmare not long after and then he's mad about it and just shuts them all out. The only person who brings him comfort is Collei, who similarly distrusts doctors, but is more knowledgeable about medicine and able to verify to a certain degree that Tighnari is being treated well. Cyno tries really hard to act normal around Collei especially because he doesn't want to worry her more, so she doesn't see the full extent of how bad things are, but she knows him well enough to recognize he's on edge. Mostly she helps with distractions, because Cyno will play cards with her and he'll eat with her and he'll read with her for Collei's sake, not realizing that she's doing all of this for him. Also, maybe she or Kaveh gets Cyrus to come, very much against Cyno's will, and Cyno has a bit of a breakdown then.

I'm rambling a lot but yes I love the idea of Cyno being so stressed to his wits end about being around so many doctors all the time, about Tighnari's health, and about Tighnari's vulnerability. When Tighnari is finally lucid enough to be reassuring, Cyno is like, weird/awkward at first - he's trying to make sure Tighnari's comfortable and he's still so stressed and just not thinking straight. Probably doesn't help if Tighnari tries to play things down. But eventually he's reassured that everything actually is alright and Nari gets soft and says something like "thank you for taking care of me so well" and Cyno just crumbles, and Nari is holding him and saying "I'm so proud of you." 😭

[lycorisbloomed]

There's a reason why, to me, Kaveh tends to find himself around people who he 'wants to fix'. You could joke that he thinks 'he can fix them' but it's really not far from the truth. He genuinely thinks he can because no one has bothered to tell him he can't. And in the same vein, no one has bothered to tell him either that things happening around him aren't his fault.

Yes, trauma can do weird things to the brain. Kaveh only knew a fully put together family until the death of his father, which was an extreme and sudden loss. Suddenly his mother was inconsolable and he was forced at a young age to try and "fix" what happened. And you can absolutely say that Faranak did her best with her situation but also say that Faranak could have handled it better when she decided to get remarried with her "do over family" and left Kaveh alone. His father was abruptly gone and his situation had conditioned him to "be okay" with his mother leaving and going somewhere new in order to not cause her anymore pain, as he saw that as his way to "fix" what he had "done".

And it wasn't like anyone exactly told Kaveh that he was faultless in this. His family abandoned him and his mother, and when Faranak left, it left Kaveh to pick up whatever pieces were left and try his hardest to connect them into some idea of a picture.

Kaveh deals with abandonment issues and anxiety, as well as PTSD and severe depression, all stemming from his own experiences and mental health. He's incredibly smart and bright, and so much more than just the "ditzy bottom bitch blond." He was top of his class. In Alhaitham's character story, "Alhaitham acknowledges Kaveh's exceptional brilliance and portrays him as a genius and an excellent mirror of himself." And despite everything he has been through, he gives so much of himself again and again and again. Alhaitham even mentions that Kaveh was scammed into buying bracelets to help sick children in a place where "healthcare is free". He's not stupid, he's incredibly empathetic.

I don't agree with fanon interpretation of Kaveh, because he's so much more than what fanon portrays him as.

Kaveh is from a broken family. And yes, Faranak is allowed to have her healing and allowed to remarry, but what child has to give PERMISSION for their mother to remarry? He feels such extreme guilt about the death of his father, that wasn’t even his fault! And while faranak is allowed to have mental health issues and allowed to grieve and remarry, she fucking *left* and essentially left kaveh alone and went to be with her “start over” family. Because that’s what it is: a start over family, and leaving her grown son in the dust, which only makes his pain more extreme.

He blames himself for his father’s death, and Faranak, while trying her best to provide for him the best she could, certainly did not help that with him.

when it comes to H.SR Kaveh-

When it comes to ELATION, Kaveh feels he’s only now understanding what it means for him as he’s not a Masked Fool or a Mourning Actor. The fools “don’t think he’s all that fun” and the Mourning Actors “don’t agree with his view on elation, and he accepts Aha too well.” I joke that he’s “Aha’s Squeaky Toy” but it’s not far from the truth. As a Pathstrider of Elation with no organization to fall under, he is a curious plaything. His elation, coming from revival but also from his own terrible fate. Aha periodically messes with him to see how he comes out, periodically giving and taking away for their amusement. Kaveh feels his path is the one that makes the most sense, though he isn’t fond of how his Aeon currently messes with him.

Kaveh Ahmadi, a long life species, aka The Urchin of the Artisanship aka the Flame of the Luofu (He hates this nickname especially)

Was once offered furnace master, but declined as he felt he did not meet the qualifications.

His mother was from the Zhuming, and moved to the Luofu when she met his father.

His father was a member of the Luofu, a starskiff pilot who dreamed of being on the Astral Express.

His father passed away in a freak starskiff accident when he was a teenager, leaving him and his mother to grieve.

Kaveh shouldered the guilt from his father's passing in order to help his mother, in his mind. Once he was a young adult, Faranak left the Luofu to be with her surviving family on the Zhuming and work under the Flaming Heart once more.

Kaveh's mother followed Erudition, his father followed the hunt, though he had dreams of being a nameless.

Kaveh officially is a follower of Elation. However, he does not have a faction that he subscribes to (aka The Fools or The Mourning Actors)

He considers that he currently has a lot of discovery to do, but he does know that The Laughter has set their intentions on him, though not their gaze.

Specializes in architecture and mechanical engineering, especially biomechanical engineering.

He created his assistant, Mehrak, out of wetware and biomechanic engineering. Some elements of Mehrak seem more ancient. Kaveh doesn't exactly tell where they're from or how he got a hold of ancient tech.

He left the Luofu after the stellaron incident when the nameless came. He became a nameless and went with the others to help Penacony and then back to the Luofu for the Wardance. He still plans to stay on the train (though verse dependent)

Kaveh often works on the engine of the express as his "faire".

He considers himself closest on the express to Pompom and March, Though he has a soft spot for Dan Heng and the Trailblazer.

He is incredibly clever, but also stubborn.

[ticklystuff]

Alhaitham, Nahida, Raiden, Zhongli? 👀

no longer accepting teams, thanks!

omg rip venti lmao but hope you enjoy uwu

---

who’s the most ticklish character

Probably Nahida because she's been locked in prison and literally untouched for 500 years and her skin is probably amazing (or crusty bc no easy access to skincare but I choose to believe the former)

who’s the character that most people would assume isn't ticklish, but actually is

This whole team basically lmao for starters, it's 3/4 archons and are divine beings even ticklish? I guess you can make a case that people wouldn't know Zhongli is a former archon and just assume he's a regular guy, but would he strike you as someone that's ticklish? Probably not. Also, I'm assuming Ei and Nahida have the ability to shapeshift like Zhongli, so it's like if they have control of their own bodies like that, why even make yourself ticklish? But ya they're all still ticklish even the gods aren't exempt hehe As for Alhaitham, it's not even a case of "is he ticklish?" anymore because it's more like "is he even capable of laughing?" because most people don't see him laugh outside of a condescending chuckle But ya, I don't think he's one to hide it and if you asked him he'd probably say something like "Yes, and what gives you the impression I'd deviate from the norm in that regard?" and it's like oh oki a simple yes would've been fine

who’s the character that everyone gangs up on and tickles

This question is hard because I feel like they're all above this kinda shit lol but part of me wants to say Nahida because she has probably never been tickled before (they go easy on her) or Alhaitham because the only non-archon lmao get wrecked sir Oki so Nahida probably gets tickled a lot, but imagine her being curious as to how a normal human reacts when tickled. She knows that humans are ticklish, but she's never experienced actually tickling one and she enlists Ei and Zhongli's help and poor Alhaitham just gets bullied for this one "experiment" ssdlkfjsadklfj

who’s the character that somehow knows everyone else’s tickle spots and reveals them to others

Zhongli knows everyone's tickle spots because he is just that good at reading people nowadays and he might share them with Nahida if she asks!

who’s the character with one specific tickle spot that only one other person knows about

Not a specific tickle spot but Nahida is the only one that knows how the puppet works and how it's connected to Ei. I like to headcanon that if someone tries to tickle the puppet, the puppet itself won't react, but Ei will be laughing in her Plane of Euthymia and only Nahida knows about this. She might give a passing poke every once in a while just to mess with Ei, even if she can't visibly see it

who’s the most likely to win gang tickle wars

The puppet because the puppet itself is not ticklish and will take on all three while being tickled, which is horrifying to Ei because she can definitely feel the tickles but the puppet is acting independently and she can't get it to stop, even when she wants it tap out

which character has a kink for tickling

No one!

which character didn’t even know they were ticklish until another character tickled them

The obvious answer here is Nahida because she's been on home arrest for so long that she probably wondered if she was ticklish or not. Ei got plenty of tickles from Miko, Venti tickled and Zhongli all the time in the past, and Kaveh likes to annoy Alhaitham with tickles

which two characters have tickle fights all the time

I can see all three of them letting Nahida tickle them! Zhongli is probably fine with it, while Alhaitham and Ei are a little more reluctant but still let her anyway. Ei and Zhongli are a little more willing to tickle her back, but Alhaitham is just sitting there and is like "grin and bare it and I can probably leave faster." Maybe he'll wonder as to whether a god can experience the same thing, but I don't think it's something he'd be curious to act on. More like a passing thought

[flamechasr]

✉️ kaveh + alhaitham

i mean, is there anything to say? you know me like my own mind, maybe even better... you were there at my lowest, you saw me at my worst, and you put up with me anyway. the most i can say is "thank you" because i couldn't ever repay you in a lifetime, and you don't like when i talk about repayments anyway. we have our moments but i really think we can try to be better, together. like i think you could really work on your emotional intelligence and consider having a filter but i know there are some things i could improve on too. we're both just trying to get better you know? you're always patient with me for all my hotheadedness and breakdowns and being a mess so i should start trying to do better for you too. anyway, sorry that i can't do much, and i'm still relying on you a lot. i know you don't like it when i apologize too much either but... you were there when no one else was, and to be honest, i'll never really be rid of you, nor will you be rid of me. thanks. i don't say it enough, but i really appreciate you and everything you do. i hope we stay together a long time. and that's real embarrassing to say.

[genshinluvr]

Little Moments with You

Pairings: Various Genshin Men x Isekai'd!Reader

Summary: You and the men cherish every moment with each other; while going on with your day after coming home from the Akademiya, the things that you do and say make a few men in the estate think about the little moments with you.

Note: This fic is somewhat of an example of what the mini-fics will look like when I type them out and have them posted on Tumblr and AO3. Speaking of AO3, all of my fics are officially locked aka only registered AO3 users can read my fanfics because there's, apparently, an AI scraping all of the AO3 fanfics, and I don't want my current and future works to be plagiarized by AIs and humans in general. So, if you're an unregistered AO3 reader, you're going to need to make an account to view my fanfics and other fanfics that are locked. Finals week is approaching for me, it's next week and I'm hoping I do well so I can start on a new series for you all soon :> ❤️ Anyway, I don't post anywhere else but on Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and on AO3 (Aaliah_exo).

Warnings: There's a pinch of angst in Kaveh and Al Haitham's part of the story, but it's not a major angst. It's a smidge of angst, but everything's okay! This story is 99.9% fluff and 00.1% angst.

Word Count: 9.2k

You let out a sigh after walking through the estate. It’s been a long day at the Akademiya, and all you want to do is take a shower, change into your pajamas, and sleep for who knows how long. You take your shoes off and place them on the shoe rack, taking your beret off and place your backpack down on the ground where the shoe rack is. You massage your aching shoulders and rub the back of your neck, letting out another sigh.

“You’re home!” Childe exclaims, bursting into the living room of the estate, breathing heavily. Childe looks like a mess; he is sweaty, his hair is messy, and his clothes are disheveled. Childe, in general, looks like he got into a fight with a hilichurl. 

You give Childe a look. “Yes, I am home! And you look like a mess,” you said, raising your eyebrows at Childe. Childe ignores your comment and walks to you, throwing his arms around your shoulders and burying his face into your hair, tangling his fingers into the strands of your hair. You smile and wrap your arms around his waist, rubbing his back as he sways the both of you from side to side without letting you go. 

Aether runs into the room and stops in his tracks when he sees you with Childe. You raise your eyebrows at Aether, who has a sword in his right hand. Aether follows your gaze and gives you a sheepish smile. “Childe and I were sparring. As you can see, I’m kicking his ass!” Aether smirks, letting his sword disappear in thin air before strolling toward you and Childe. 

“And what interrupted the little spar between you two?” You ask, running your fingers through Childe’s soft, sweaty hair. Your face pinches up with disgust before slowly taking your hands out from his hair, wiping your fingers on Childe’s back— which you now realize is even sweatier than his ginger hair.

Kaeya leans against the door, a small smirk on his face. “You did. Well, technically, I did because I announced that you’re finally home from school, and Childe decided to drop everything in the middle of their spar just to greet you,” Kaeya says.

You look up at Childe, who is looking down at you with the cutest (and most dramatic) pout on his face. You chuckle and pinch his cheeks. “You’re so cute!  Are you charmed by little ol’ me?” You coo, giving his hand a squeeze. Childe doesn’t answer you; instead, he brings you into a hug and buries his face into your neck. 

“Welcome home, [Y/N]. How was school today?” Dainsleif asks, walking up to you while ignoring Childe’s clingy self. 

You give Dainsleif a smile and release Childe from your hug, but he doesn’t let go of you. “Hello, Dainsleif! School is the same as usual; exhausting and makes my head hurt,” you reply. “I’m glad that I’m finally home with all of you,” You said softly, patting Childe’s back.

Diluc walks up to you and places a hand on your shoulder, giving your shoulder a comforting squeeze. “And we’re glad that you’re home from school. Why don’t you go upstairs and change out of your uniform? We can prepare something for you to eat if you’re hungry,” Diluc says.

Thoma pops up from behind Diluc’s shoulders and holds his hand up. “And by someone, he means me,” Thoma deadpans, shooting a glare at Diluc, who ignored the glare that Thoma threw his way.

Zhongli grabs Childe by the back of his shirt and yanks the tall ginger from you. “I understand that you miss [Y/N] dearly, but please let them settle in first before hounding them like an electro cicin,” Zhongli sighs, shaking his head.

You mouthed a “thank you” to Zhongli before making your way up the stairs to change out of your uniform, take a shower and change into your pajamas. You end up taking a thirty-minute shower to make sure you have scrubbed down every part and crevice of your body. You refuse to walk out of your bathroom with a speck of dirt and dust on your body, mainly when you dealt with plants and fertilizer in your botany class not too long ago. After successfully shampooing, conditioning your hair, scrubbing your body down in the shower, and changing into one of your most comfortable pajamas, you grab onto the door handle of the bathroom and walk out of the bathroom— only to walk into someone’s chest. 

“Oof!” You stumble back and look up at the person, rubbing your nose. “Itto! Care to explain why you’re standing in front of my bathroom door?” You ask, continuing to rub your nose.

Itto smiles at you and rubs the back of his neck. “Well, I wanted to be the first person you see after your shower! I was pretty disappointed when I heard that Childe was the first one to greet you when you got home from school. He’s been stealing my thunder!” Itto pouts, crossing his arms over his chest like a petulant child. 

You sigh and toss your towel into the laundry basket inside your closet. “Would cuddling with me cheer you up?” You ask, looking over at Itto. 

Itto stares at you with a pout on his face and arms still crossed over his chest. You raise your eyebrow at Itto and grab onto his hands, giving his hand a squeeze. Itto lets out a silent sigh and nods his head glumly. You nod your head and pull the oni out of your bedroom and down the stairs towards the living room. Itto plops down on the couch across from Childe, who raises his eyebrows at the oni.

You pat Itto’s head and let him pull you onto his lap, making the two of you lay on the couch. You’re the small spoon, and Itto is the big spoon. Itto wraps his arms around your waist and rests his head between your neck and shoulders, sticking his tongue out at Childe before proceeding to cuddle with you.

“Oh? I didn’t know there was a cuddling session going on,” Ayato says, entering the room with Venti and Heizou following behind. 

“Ooh! Can I join in on the cuddle session? I’ll cuddle with [Y/N] from the front!” Venti says, getting ready to approach you and Itto when Heizou lurches forward and grabs Venti by his cape. Venti looks at Heizou quizzically while Heizou shakes his head, pulling Venti back by his side.

Heizou crosses his arms over his chest. “While I’m not against you cuddling [Y/N] with Itto, judging by the look on Itto’s face, I think it’s best for you to cuddle with [Y/N] when Itto isn’t cuddling them,” Heizou whispers to Venti.

You let Itto cling to you like you’re his lifeline and the only thing that’s keeping him alive and breathing (you kind of are, technically). Gorou looks at you and Itto with amusement; the way Itto holds onto you reminds Gorou of how a child would carry a kitten and a puppy. It’s cute and also a little bit worrying.

Baizhu walks up and stares at you and Itto with his eyebrows raised up at what he’s seeing in front of him. “Is it just me, or is Itto being just as clingy as that ginger-haired Harbinger?” Baizhu asks, looking over at the men that stand beside him.

Gorou shrugs his shoulders, letting out a long sigh. “It’s Itto being Itto. He’s only this way because he was disappointed when Childe beat him at greeting [Y/N] when they got home from school,” Gorou explains to Baizhu.

With the men being clingy with you, you couldn’t help but think back to the times when you had these sweet moments with each of them. The little moments you had with them made you feel warm and squishy on the inside, your cheeks heating up to the point where you can feel them start to throb, and thinking back to these moments makes your heart race. You lay there in Itto’s arms, reminiscing on these moments. Little did you know, the men around you are doing the same thing as you are.

The one time when you and Scaramouche lay in the hammock, your back pressing up against his chest as the two of you swayed from the breeze. Your head rests on his shoulders, and your eyes are closed, basking in Scaramouche’s presence. You feel Scaramouche shift beneath you, causing you to stir and open your eyes to look up at the indigo-haired man. 

Scaramouche pauses his movement and stares back at you like a fox that would freeze up and scurry away when it spots a human. “Did I wake you up?” Scaramouche asks.

You give Scaramouche a small smile and shake your head. “No, you didn’t wake me up. I was awake the entire time,” you said, turning onto your stomach and resting your head on his chest, wrapping your arms around his slim waist.

Scaramouche hums softly and lays his head back on the pillow that is connected to the hammock. Scaramouche closes his eyes and rubs your back gently. Scaramouche feels you shift in his arms; he’s about to open his eyes when he feels you press your lips against his eyelids. Scaramouche slowly opens his eyes and looks up at you questionably. 

You smile down at him innocently before sitting on his lap, cupping his face in your hands before peppering kisses on his cute face that you love so much. Scaramouche doesn’t object to your affections. Instead, he wraps his arms around your waist and pulls you closer to him as he sits up in the hammock. 

“You’re pretty. Did you know that?” You ask softly, smiling down at Scaramouche.

Scaramouche raises his eyebrows at you. “I don’t think my beauty can be compared to yours; I believe that you’re more beautiful,” Scaramouche murmurs, smiling up at you. 

You pucker your lips and plant a big kiss on his forehead. “You’re cheesy, but I love it,” you murmur, burying your face into his neck and snuggling up against him. You crack your eyes open, and your gaze falls upon his hat on the ground, an idea popping up in your mind. You slowly lift your head from Scaramouche’s shoulders and look at Scaramouche, pointing at the hat on the floor. “Is it okay if I try it on?” You ask shyly.

Scaramouche chuckles softly and nods his head. “Go ahead,” he murmurs. A small smile appears on his face when a big smile appears on your face before you lean over to the side to grab his hat from the ground. You slowly back away from Scaramouche and put on his hat, tilting your head side to side to feel its weight on your head.

You look at Scaramouche. “How do I look?” You ask, striking a pose with the hat.

“Beautiful, as always,” Scaramouche says, grabbing onto your hand and placing a kiss on your knuckles. You grin at Scaramouche and scoot close to him, cupping his face in your hands before pressing your lips against his.

Scaramouche blinks and is brought back to reality when he hears Itto let out a loud sneeze and you groaning and whining about Itto sneezing in your face. Scaramouche looks over and sees you getting up from the couch, face scrunching up in disgust as you walk to the wooden table in the middle of the living room to grab a tissue to wipe your face. Scaramouche presses his lips into a thin line and looks away, trying his best to hold in the laughter that is making its way up his throat. 

“I’m going to have to redo my skincare routine all over again,” you whine, trotting up the stairs to your bedroom.

Kazuha chuckles and rests his head back on the loveseat, and stares up at the ceiling. Kazuha remembers a time when you dragged him and Xiao to your bedroom to do skincare with you. Xiao shakes his head at the horror that is skincare; he’s an Adeptus; he didn’t need to worry about something like skincare. But you somehow managed to convince him and Kazuha to do skincare with you. You kick your bedroom door open with a big smile on your face. 

“Xiao! I brought some company with me!” You sing happily, pulling Kazuha into your bedroom with you. On your head, pushing your baby hairs away from your face is a cloth bunny headband.

Xiao looks up from the face mask instruction and stares at Kazuha, who smiles and waves at the Adeptus. “As long as I’m not the only one that is dealing with your shenanigans,” Xiao jokes, cracking a smile when he sees you look at him with your mouth agape. You huff and pull Kazuha toward your bed, where Xiao is sitting. You make Kazuha sit down before walking over to your vanity and throwing the fuzzy cloth headband at Kazuha.

“Put this on your head so it can prevent your hair from sticking onto the masks,” you said. 

Kazuha looks over at Xiao as he puts on the headband, pushing his hair away from his face. “How long were you sitting here for?” Kazuha asks, tilting his head as he gazes at the Adeptus curiously. 

Xiao sighs and shakes his head. “Way too long, but they told me that it would make them happy if I joined in on their skincare routine,” Xiao says softly, looking over at you as you walk to the bathroom to grab skincare products from your bathroom.

You walk back into your room with a bottle and small packages, holding them up to show the two anemo users in front of you. “Which one of you wants a peel-off mask, and which one of you wants to try on a sheet mask?” You ask, holding the products out in front of the two men.

Kazuha eyed the products for a moment before looking over at Xiao, who was staring at the products cluelessly. “How about you choose for us? After all, you are the expert,” Kazuha says, smiling up at you.

You hum and think for a moment. “Peel off masks can be a little bit painful….” you trail off, ignoring the looks the two men shot in your direction. “You two will be trying sheet masks instead! They’re quite hydrating, and I think you two will like the sheet masks!” You conclude, nodding your head.

You place the products down on the bed and pause for a moment. “You two should wash your face before starting the sheet masks,” you said. The two raise their eyebrows at you as you grab their wrists and pull them to your bathroom. “Don’t worry; I’ll show you two how to do it,” you reassure Kazuha and Xiao with a smile.

Teaching Xiao and Kazuha how to cleanse their face was amusing but fun! They watch you closely as you instruct them on how to wash their face with face wash. Xiao and Kazuha soon followed suit, washing their face like how you had shown them. Xiao ended up getting cleanser in his eyes, making him curse under his breath while rapidly rinsing the cleanser off with water and wiping his face on the face towel that you handed to him.

After both Kazuha and Xiao finish washing their faces, you drag them back out into your bedroom and have the two of them sit at the end of your bed. You rip the first sheet mask packaging open and point between Xiao and Kazuha.

“Which one of you wants to go first?” You ask, pulling the wet face mask out from its packaging. 

Xiao points at Kazuha without saying a word while Kazuha holds his hand up with a small smile on his face. You smile at Kazuha and stand in front of him, tilting his head back slightly with your index and middle finger. You can see Kazuha’s cheeks gradually turning pink from your actions, but he tries to remain stoic so you wouldn’t mess up the placement of the sheet mask. 

When you place the sheet mask over Kazuha’s face, you see him wince from the sudden cold feeling that falls over his face. You giggle and make sure the mask aligns perfectly on his face without it being crooked or out of place. 

“I should’ve warned you about the mask being cold; that’s on me,” you said softly, patting Kazuha’s cheeks to let him know that you’re finished putting the sheet mask on his face.

Kazuha looks over at you curiously as you step in front of Xiao with another sheet mask packaging in your hands, tearing the top part of it off. “How long do I have to keep this mask on? Is there a specific time?” Kazuha asks, laying back on your bed and looking up at the ceiling of your bedroom. 

“It depends on what mask you have on! Let me check and see,” you said, turning to the side and grabbing the sheet mask package discarded on your bed. “Fifteen to twenty minutes! If you want to take it off immediately at the fifteen-minute mark, you can. If you want to leave it on a little bit longer, you can do that as well,” you reply.

You walk over to your trash bin and toss the package into the trash can. You walk back to Xiao and tilt his head back; Xiao stares at your face intently as you pull the soaking sheet mask out from the packaging and begin to unfold it. Xiao watches the way the serum drips down your fingers. Xiao is brought out of his thoughts when he feels the cold sheet mask touches his face. Xiao flinches back and grabs onto your wrists.

“Is the mask supposed to be this cold?” Xiao asks, narrowing his eyes at the mask that is hovering above his face. 

You nod your head. “Sheet masks are usually cold, but it’s okay! You’ll adjust to it,” you reassure him with a tiny smile. Xiao sighs and releases your wrists, letting you continue with what you’re doing. You place the sheet mask over Xiao’s face and make sure that it fits his face entirely without being crooked or out of place. “There! Now, yours is the same as Kazuha’s face mask. You can take it off after fifteen minutes or twenty minutes! It’s all up to you,” you said, walking over to the trash can and throwing the packaging away.

You walk to the bathroom and grab your silicone brush, and plop down at the vanity, popping the squeeze tube of the peel-off mask open. You begin applying the peel-off mask with an even layer, making sure that you don’t get any hairs stuck onto the peel-off mask. After successfully applying the peel-off mask, you get up from the small vanity chair and walk to the bathroom to wash your silicone brush.

You trot back into the room and smile down at both Kazuha and Xiao. “Thank you for tolerating me and my skincare routines! And for volunteering to try it out,” You said, lying down between Xiao and Kazuha. Kazuha and Xiao look over at one another over your head, knowing that they’ll do anything to make you happy— even if it means putting wet cotton sheets on their faces.

Xiao and Kazuha snap out of their daydream when they hear you stomping down the stairs, your cheek red from scrubbing your face really hard with a towel. You grumble to yourself, complaining about Itto sneezing in your face and how his spit and snot stuck to your face afterward. You stumble on the last three steps and almost fall flat on your face. Zhongli and Childe grab you by your arms to steady you while you groan and rub your ankle. Even though you didn’t twist your ankle, you did land on it, and now it’s starting to hurt. You give Childe and Zhongli’s arms a squeeze.

“Thank you for catching me. I’m okay; I just didn’t watch where I was going, and it caused me to stumble! My ankle does hurt, but it’s not to the point where I have to visit the infirmary to get it checked on,” you said, giving Childe and Zhongli a smile. “Today’s been a long day; I just got home from school, Itto sneezed in my face, and I almost broke my ankle going down the stairs! I need a good nap,” you sigh, rubbing your neck.

Albedo hums and nods his head. “Perhaps you should get some rest! I’m sure Childe and Zhongli will be happy to assist you to your bedroom so you can take a nap,” Albedo says, looking over at the Snezhnayan man and the Liyuen man. 

Childe and Zhongli look over at each other with knowing looks. It wasn’t the first time the two of them had to drag you to bed in order for you to get some sleep. The last time you slept beside them was when you drowsily dragged them to Zhongli’s room, not knowing that you were going the complete opposite of where your bedroom is located. Their favorite memory was when you woke up from your sleep, clueless as to where you were and how you ended up in Zhongli’s bedroom.

You crack your eyes open and look around the room with bleary eyes. You slowly close your eyes again and wrap your arms tighter around your body pillow. When you realize that your body pillow feels denser than it usually does, you open your eyes and look at what’s in front of you. Your arms are wrapped around someone, and your head is resting on someone’s chest; you can hear their steady heartbeat beating against their chest. You slowly look up to see amber eyes gazing down at you; the owner of the beautiful amber eyes is gently rubbing your back.

“Ah, it looks like you’re now awake, dearest. How was your sleep?” Zhongli asks softly. 

You feel heat rush to your cheeks at the sound of Zhongli’s morning voice. You cleared your throat and hugged him tighter, smushing your left cheek against his chest while snuggling up against his warmth. “I slept okay,” you said softly, yawning and rubbing your face into his side. “How did I end up in your bedroom?” You ask, lifting your head up to look around Zhongli’s bedroom.

“You dragged Childe and me to my bedroom after we discovered you in the library, passed out asleep on your textbook at two in the morning,” Zhongli answers, wrapping his arms around you and squeezing you gently.

You stare at the wall and look up at Zhongli. “That would explain a lot. Although I would assume that I was going to my bedroom, seeing my current situation, I am going to assume that I was too tired to realize that my bedroom is actually your bedroom?” You said in a questioning tone.

“That’s right, snookums!” Childe says, popping up from behind you, startling you. 

You didn’t even notice that Childe was lying behind you this entire time. Childe props himself up and looks down at you with a pout on his face. Oh, no. You know that pout on his face. Childe usually has that pout on his face when you’re not giving him enough attention as you are with the other men. You slowly release Zhongli and lay on your back, looking between Childe and Zhongli tiredly. You rub your eyes and stretch your arms and legs while remaining in bed, letting out a small groan when the stretch hits the spot. 

You yawn and poke Childe’s cheeks with your pointer finger. “Why are you so pouty at this time in the morning? It’s too early to be pouty and needy,” you tease Childe, lightly pinching his cheeks while Zhongli turns on his side to wrap both of his arms around your waist, face pressing up the side of your head. 

Childe grabs onto your fingers and laces his fingers with yours, gently squeezing your hands. “I don’t like it when you give other men more attention than me! I deserve just as much attention as they do!” Childe huffs, his cheeks puffing out, reminding you of a puffer fish. 

You pat his cheeks lightly with your free hand and smile at him sleepily. “I know you do, you big baby. I woke up not too long ago, and you already want my attention,” you coo. Childe grumbles and rolls over on his side, burying his face into your neck while trying to swat Zhongli’s arms away from you, only to be unsuccessful. “You two are so clingy, but I’m not complaining,” you murmur, feeling them tighten their grasp around you.

Zhongli and Childe manage to sandwich you between their bodies, leaving little to no space between the three of you. Childe has his arms wrapped around your shoulders, while Zhongli’s arms are wrapped around your waist. Childe’s face is buried where your neck and shoulder meet, and Zhongli has his chin resting on your head. The three of you lay there in silence; a thought suddenly appears in your mind.

“Who knew that little ol’ me magically made the Geo archon and Fatui Harbinger weak in the knees,” you giggle. You feel Childe clamp his teeth down on your collarbone, making you groan and swat at his head for biting you. “No biting, Childe!” You mumble. Childe reluctantly pulls his mouth away from your collarbone and rests his head on your chest, listening to the sound of your heart beating steadily against your chest.

Childe and Zhongli snap out of their thoughts when you suddenly shoot your arm up in the air and wave it around. Childe and Zhongli look over at each other with confusion over why you’re raising your hand in the air and waving it around. You bounce in your spot and raise your hands with a big smile on your face.

“Can I help, Thoma!? I really want to learn how to cook some dishes! It’s been way too long since I’ve cooked something because of how busy I was with school,” you said.

Thoma nods his head with a smile on his face and motions for you to follow him into the kitchen. You silently cheer to yourself before following behind the blond pyro vision user. Ayato pushes himself off the wall and follows after you and Thoma, shaking his head as he prepares for what is to come.  When Ayato steps into the kitchen and sees you putting on the apron with the help of Thoma, you smile and wave at Ayato as he walks over to you and Thoma, resting his elbow on the kitchen counter. 

After getting your apron on, you walk over to the pantry and pull out a few ingredients to cook something for you and everyone to eat. Seeing you waddle around in the kitchen wearing an apron sparks something in Ayato and Thoma. You place the ingredients down on the counter and begin searching for measuring tools. 

“Oh, I found them!” You exclaim, pulling out the cat and dog-shaped measuring spoons with a big smile on your face. Ah, the measuring tools that you have bought at a marketplace in Inazuma. The very same market where you almost got scammed by a merchant right in front of Ayato and Thoma. 

You, Thoma, and Ayato stand in front of a small marketplace in Inazuma City. Your eyes scan the small trinkets in awe. The items are cute, but it wasn’t something you’re trying to find. You turn to look at Thoma and Ayato, who is standing right behind you, looking at the smallest things that are being sold at the stands. You poke both Ayato and Thoma and point to the inside of the stand.

“I’m going to look at more things to find if anything catches my eye if that’s okay with you two,” you said. 

Thoma and Ayato nod their heads, letting you know that you can go in as you please while they stand around and survey their surroundings. You walk further into the small marketplace, searching for a few items to buy and bring back to the abode. You stop in front of the kitchen supplies section of the store, and on the rack, a small cat and dog-shaped measuring tools catch your eyes.

You gasp silently, and you grab the measuring spoons, analyzing the small details that make the tool too cute to resist. You’re a sucker for cute items, even if they’re kitchen supplies. You try to search for the price, but much to your disappointment, you can’t find anything that matches the item in your hands.

“Find anything you like?” Thoma asks, walking up to you with Ayato in tow.

You nod your head and hold up the measuring spoons. “These are cute! I want to buy them just in case I cook again,” you said.

“A measuring tool for cooking,” Ayato says slowly, raising his eyebrows at you with amusement. 

You nod your head again with a smile on your face. “Yes! Plus, they’re cute! Look at them!” You said, holding the measuring spoons up to Ayato and Thoma’s faces for them to get a better look at the cooking tool in your hands.

While Ayato and Thoma are staring at the cat and dog-shaped measuring tools in your hand, you wave over at the merchant. The merchant walks over to you, Thoma, and Ayato with a perk in his step. The man looks strangely lively for some reason, but you brush that off to the side and give him a polite smile when he stops in front of you three. 

“Hello! What can I do for you three?” The merchant asks, crossing his arms over his chest as he rocks back and forth on the balls of his feet.

You show the merchant the measuring tools in your hands. “This cat and dog-shaped measuring spoons caught my eye, and I was hoping to buy it! I couldn’t find the price of the measuring spoons and was wondering if you could tell me what the price is,” You said.

“Ah, I see!” The merchant says, grabbing the measuring spoons from your hands and beginning to analyze them closely. “This would cost you about one thousand five hundred mora,” said the merchant, handing back the measuring spoon to you.

You give him a look and point at the item in your hand. “These two measuring spoons are fifteen hundred mora?!” You ask, giving the man an incredulous look. 

The merchant nods his head. “That is correct! I know it sounds preposterous, but look at the design of the measuring spoons! They are decorated differently and are not your typical measuring spoon shapes,” the Inazuman man says. 

You slowly turn to Ayato and Thoma, mouth agape and pointing down at the measuring spoons in your hands, speechless. Ayato and Thoma trade glances with each other before grabbing the item from your hand without saying a word. Thoma walks off and begins to look around the small shop without saying a word while Ayato stands next to you.

Ayato hands the item back to you and crosses his arms over his chest. “I have a hard time believing that two sets of measuring spoons would cost that much mora,” Ayato huffs, glaring at the merchant in front of you two.

The merchant lets out a huff of breath. “Well, I’m not lying at all! This is my shop, and I remember every single price of each item in my shop,” the merchant says, glaring at Ayato while crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Is that so?” You mutter, looking down at the cat and dog-shaped measuring spoons in your hands. “This item feels like it would cost around one hundred fifty mora, perhaps three hundred mora altogether,” you said to yourself. 

“And you’re correct, [Y/N], because I found the tag for the dog and cat-shaped measuring spoons,” Thoma speaks up, walking up to you, Ayato, and the merchant with a small tag in his hands.

You grab the tag from Thoma’s hands and examine the label. “It’s one hundred fifty mora each,” you said, looking up at the merchant with your eyebrows raised. 

The merchant began to stutter out excuses, his face turning bright red with embarrassment and shame. Ayato and Thoma cross their arms over their chests, glaring at the merchant while the merchant continues to sputter out apologies after getting caught red-handed. The merchant ends up giving you, Thoma, and Ayato a discount on the item after the incident, and the three of you have never come back to the store since then.

“Ow, fuck! My eyes!” Thoma and Ayato snap out of their thoughts when they hear you groan. Ayato and Thoma look over to where you’re standing, only to see you chop onions with tears running down your face. You release the onions and wipe your tears with your shirt, making sure that you don’t touch your eyes with your hands.

Tighnari peeks his head into the kitchen after hearing your groans. “While cutting onions isn’t a medical emergency, let’s take you elsewhere. After all, you’re almost done cooking. I think Thoma and Ayato can handle the rest,” Tighnari says, gesturing for you to walk to him. 

You sigh and nod your head. You look over at Ayato and Thoma; the two ruffle your hair with small, reassuring smiles on their face, letting you know that it’s okay to leave while they take care of the last step. You take your apron off with the help of Ayato before leaving the kitchen to follow Tighnari to the infirmary where Baizhu, Albedo, and Dottore are at. 

“Oh? Why’s my little butterfly crying?” Dottore asks, walking up to you and Tighnari.

You sigh and wipe the remaining tears from your cheeks. “I wasn’t crying. I was cutting onions, and the gas stung my eyes, causing me to tear up,” you said, closing your eyes and letting Tighnari and Baizhu guide you over to the examination bed.

Baizhu sighs softly, helping you up on the examination bed. “Remember how you were a frequent visitor to the infirmary?” Baizhu asks. 

You lay down on the examination bed and rub your eyes. “Don’t remind me. Not my finest moments, and you all know that,” you mumble.

“Hey, don’t rub your eyes,” Tighnari lightly bats at your hands.

You crack your eyes open and give Tighnari a weak smile. “Sorry, Tighnari, can’t help it,” you said. Albedo walks over to you and places two cool cucumbers over your eyes to ease the swelling of your eyes.

“Every time you visit the infirmary, I always assumed that something had happened. I’m glad that this visit is because you were cutting onions, and it made you tear up,” Albedo chuckles, rubbing your head while you press the cool sliced cucumbers on your eyelids. 

“We might as well wrap you up in bubble wrap to prevent you from getting injured,” Baizhu chuckles, stroking your hair.

You snort. “I would love that, but I don’t think it’ll work. Remember how you all tried that last time, and I fell down the stairs?” You ask, lifting up one cucumber to look at one of the men. 

Tighnari’s ears droop at the memory. “Don’t remind us,” Tighnari frowns, resting his head on his hands while his elbows are propped up on the table in the infirmary.

“We should’ve thought that plan out more, but we failed to do so, and you got injured because of us,” Albedo says. 

You sit up on the examination bed, the cucumber slices falling off your face and landing in your lap, bouncing to the ground. “Don’t blame yourselves! Things happen, and it’s okay! Plus, the bubble wrap broke most of my fall, and the only “injury” I sustained from my fall was a giant bump on my head,” you said. 

Dottore chuckles and shakes his head. “As if your comment is any reassuring,” Dottore snorts. “They wouldn’t stop beating themselves over that incident,” Dottore says.

You get off the examination table and pick the cucumbers off the ground before tossing them into the trash and walk over to the sink in the infirmary to wash your hands. “Well, don’t let the guilt eat you guys up! I’m fine, and I’m not mad at any of you,” you said, patting each of their heads after washing and drying your hands. 

The four of you hear a knock at the door. Pantalone stands at the entrance with a small smile on his face, his arms crossed over his abdomen. “Food is ready,” Pantalone says. His eyes land on you, and his eyes form into crescents when his smile grows. “I see that you’re doing well now,” Pantalone tilts his head to the side, “you had me worried when I saw you get escorted to the infirmary by Tighnari,” Pantalone’s smile slips off.

You wave Pantalone’s comment off. “Don’t worry about me! I was just being dramatic, and my eyes stung a lot from that damn onion,” You said, scratching your chin. “Anyway! Let’s go get something to eat now because I’m getting hungry,” you said, gesturing for the men to follow you.

“Absolutely not,” Diluc says firmly.

You stop in your tracks and look at Diluc, then at Kaeya and Venti. It’s like the three men are having some kind of a showdown in the living and dining area of the estate. Diluc looks like he’s about to burst with anger while Venti is pouting at the wine tycoon, and Kaeya has an amused look on his face. 

“Oh, come on, brother. Don’t be a killjoy now,” Kaeya chuckles, sitting down on the armrest of the couch.

Diluc raises his eyebrows at Kaeya. “I’m being a killjoy for not wanting [Y/N] to join in on your little drinking game with that bard?” Diluc asks.

“We’re going to be cautious this time, Master Diluc! You can trust us, right?” Venti asks, throwing his arm over Kaeya’s shoulder with a smile on his face. Diluc stares at Venti and Kaeya, not saying a word.

Capitano speaks up, “The last time you three had a drinking game, [Y/N] nearly passed out from how much alcohol they’ve ingested,” 

“Like what Venti has said earlier, we’ll be careful this time and not go over the limit,” Kaeya trails off. “Plus, isn’t it cute to see [Y/N] drunk?” Kaeya smiles.

You laugh nervously and scratch the back of your head, a new habit that you’re starting to form. “As much as I would love to join in on your drinking game, I think I’m going to pass this time. I had an awful hangover the next day and could barely get out of bed,” you mumble, feeling your face heat up at your lack of alcohol tolerance. 

“Maybe it’s best for you not to drink alcohol at all. While you’re old enough to drink alcohol legally, we know you don’t like to drink alcohol compared to those two drunkards,” Pierro says, approaching you from behind.

Dainsleif quickly grabs you by your wrist and gives you a small smile. He looks up at Pierro and gives him a tiny glare before pulling you to the dining room. “You should eat something,” Dainsleif says softly, pulling the chair out for you to sit. “You did have a long day at school, and I can hear your stomach rumbling just by standing next to you,” Dainsleif cracks a smile.

“Oh!” Your eyes widen. “You can hear it!?” You ask, placing both of your hands over your stomach while looking at Dainsleif with wide eyes. Dainsleif nods his head and tucks a stray hair behind your ears.

“Dainsleif’s not wrong. Tighnari and I can hear it as well,” Gorou says, sitting down beside you. “But that’s also because Tighnari and I have good hearing,” He points to his ears.

Kaveh plops down on the seat across from you. “While it’s good to keep the little abyss mage fed, I don’t think we should feed the abyss mage after midnight,” Kaveh says, smirking at you.

You stare at Kaveh with your mouth agape. “You’re going to continue to call me an abyss mage?” You ask, crossing your arms over your chest.

Kaveh nods his head. “That is correct!” Kaveh smiled proudly and quickly thanked Thoma when Thoma placed the plate of food in front of him.

You look over at Al Haitham and point at Kaveh. “He just called me an abyss mage again, Al Haitham!” You frown, lightly tapping your feet on the ground. “He could’ve given me a cuter nickname, but he calls me an abyss mage instead!” You grumble, letting your hand fall onto your lap.

“Yeah! Give [Y/N] a cuter nickname, Kaveh!” Itto exclaims, sitting down next to Dainsleif and grabbing the side dishes to eat with his rice. “I call [Y/N] my onikabuto booboo bear. It’s cuter compared to whatever you came up with,” Itto says, beginning to stuff his face with rice and cooked unagi meat.

Kaveh chuckles and shakes his head. “I think the nickname abyss mage fits [Y/N]. Sometimes I have dreams of their head on an abyss mage’s body,” Kaveh snickers.

You suddenly get up from your seat and march over to where Kaveh is sitting before you begin to hit him lightly. “How dare you!” You exclaim, smacking him lightly while Kaveh is trying to dodge your sad attempts to hit him.

“I think it’s funny how it was Al Haitham and I that were the ones to bicker with each other daily, but now it’s Kaveh and [Y/N],” Cyno says, shaking his head with a faint smile on his face. 

Al Haitham sighs and glares at Kaveh and Cyno before pulling you away from Kaveh. “Kaveh annoys me as much as he annoys you, [Y/N]. Your feelings are valid,” Al Haitham says, stroking your hair. You grumble and latch yourself to Al Haitham’s side, peeking from Al Haitham’s massive biceps to stick your tongue out at Kaveh.

“Is that how Kaveh shows that he loves and cares about [Y/N]? By annoying them?” Heizou murmurs to Aether.

Aether shrugs his shoulders. “Maybe! But it’s a strange way to show that you care about someone by calling them an abyss mage, but to each their own,” Aether sighs. He sits down at the table and grabs a small plate of butter chicken.

“What do you call someone with no body and no nose?” Cyno asks, looking up from his tahchin.

Pierro raises his eyebrows. “No clue. What is the answer, Cyno?” Pierro asks, taking a sip of his drink. 

A smile appears on Cyno’s face. “Nobody knows,” Cyno replies, earning groans from the other men around him. 

Capitano leans back in his seat. “That has got to be the worst joke you have ever told us all,” Capitano comments. “But your jokes are nothing but torture for the other men, so I’ll excuse it for now,” Capitano says, rolling his sleeves up to his elbows.

Venti laughs and takes a bite out of his food. “Torture? I like Cyno’s jokes! He’s hilarious and a genius when it comes to his jokes!” Venti says, giving Cyno a big smile. 

Cyno clears his throat and gives Venti a smile, muttering a shy “thank you” to the anemo archon. Finally! Someone appreciates his jokes! Other than Nahida actually finding Cyno’s jokes funny and Tighnari tolerating Cyno’s jokes.

“Hey, remember how we lost [Y/N] in Inazuma when we first started hanging out with them without their other boyfriends tagging along?” Heizou asks, poking the dumplings in front of him with his chopsticks before devouring them.

Aether laughs nervously, ignoring the raised eyebrows the men from Sumeru are giving him. “We don’t talk about that! That’s how those Harbingers end up staying at the abode, and it took us a while to regain [Y/N]’s other boyfriends’ trust!” Aether whispers loudly to Heizou, nudging the young Tenryou detective with his elbow.

Al Haitham leans back in his seat and adjusts you on his lap. “You two will need to explain to me how you lost [Y/N] in Sumeru later,” Al Haitham says, narrowing his eyes at Aether and Heizou, who gulped and nodded their heads nervously. “Now, to answer your question about Kaveh and [Y/N]....” Al Haitham trails off, looking over at Kaveh.

“Oh? So he does show that he cares about [Y/N]?” Childe asks, his eyebrows shooting to his hairline as he sits back with his leg crossed.

Pierro lets out an amused huff of breath. “This should be interesting,” Pierro says, taking a sip of his drink while ignoring the glare that Kaveh shot in his direction.

Al Haitham and Kaveh remembered a few weeks ago, they stumbled across you leaving a classroom, looking very tense. Al Haitham and Kaveh had stopped their bickering when they saw how distraught you looked, and your hands were shaking at your side. The two men began to approach you as you were pacing back and forth, deep in your thoughts, your eyebrows knitted together with worry.

“[Y/N]?” Al Haitham speaks up, stopping in front of you.

You look up and see Al Haitham and Kaveh standing before you, gazing at you curiously. “Oh! Al Haitham and Kaveh, it’s nice to see you two here!” You said unenthusiastically. You looked out of it; something was bothering you on a deep level.

“Did something happen?” Kaveh asks, his eyes trailing over to where a familiar student walks out of the same room you previously exited from. It was Ali. Kaveh narrowed his eyes when the both of them made eye contact. Ali froze in his tracks before scurrying off, his head down and eyes focusing on the ground. How strange. Usually, when Ali sees you, he approaches you and disregards the men’s presence. For some reason, he was avoiding you and looked terrified when he and Kaveh made locked gazes. 

You give them a fake smile and shake your head. “No, nothing happened,” you lie, clearing your throat.

Al Haitham crosses his arms. “Are you sure? It doesn’t look like it was nothing,” Al Haitham says, raising an eyebrow at you.

You sigh softly and swallow the forming lump in your throat. “So, you know the research I was working tirelessly on for weeks? The one with flora and fauna of Sumeru?” You ask softly, your gaze falling to the ground.

Kaveh tilts his head to the side. “The one where you conduct research on how well the plants and flowers survive and thrive on another region’s soil?” Kaveh asks. You nod your head at Kaveh’s question. 

“I… submitted in my research report a few days ago and….” You trailed off, pressing your lips together, and clench your hands into tight fists. “I found out just now that someone had plagiarized my research report,” you choked. Al Haitham’s story time ends up being interrupted by everyone at the dining table with their loud exclamations. 

“What?!” Itto exclaims, breaking you out of your thoughts.

Tighnari’s eyes widen, “Someone plagiarized your report?!”

Cyno sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Those two took it right out of my mouth, but continue your story, please,” Cyno says. Al Haitham clears his throat before continuing where he had left off. 

“Do you know who it is?” Al Haitham demands, his eyebrows pinching up with anger.

You slowly nod your head. “Professor Safar told me that my report is eerily similar to Ali’s research report. Which I found strange because his report was supposedly about combining plants of different regions to make a hybrid plant of some sort,” you explained. You took your beret off and began scratching at your scalp with frustration and anger.

“That motherfucker,” Kaveh whispers, his head whipping around to search for the academic twerp that had the audacity to plagiarize the report you had worked so hard on. 

“And because there’s no way for me to prove that I wasn’t the one that plagiarized, I’m at a really high risk of getting kicked out of the Akademiya all because someone copied my report word for word and claimed it as theirs,” You whisper. Tears pooled around your eyes before cascading down your cheeks, your body trembling with cries.

“We’ll prove your innocence,” Al Haitham says, pulling you into his arms as you cry into his chest, grabbing his shirt tightly. “Let me speak to your professor, and we’ll conduct an investigation and interrogate Ali. We know you’re not the one that plagiarized; Ali is in the wrong, and he’s the one that should be at risk of getting kicked out of the Akademiya, not you,” Al Haitham says, wiping your tears away.

“All of my hard work went down the drain,” you cried, burying your face into Al Haitham’s chest. “I put so much time and effort into my research, only for someone like Ali to steal every piece of my research and slap his name on it.”

Kaveh places a hand on your shoulder and turns you around to face him, wiping your tears away with his thumb. “We won’t let him get away with it. You have plenty of people to prove your innocence, unlike Ali. At the end of the day, it’s him that will be expelled from the Akademiya for plagiarism, not you,” Kaveh reassures you. You stare up at Kaveh with tears blurring your vision, slowly making their way down your cheeks. Kaveh sighs softly and pulls you into his arms, letting you bury your face into his chest, wetting his chest and his white open-chest shirt.

Al Haitham ends up excusing himself to speak with your professor while Kaveh pulls you outside of the building to distract you from your situation. Kaveh sits you down on a chair and holds his hands out in front of him. You slowly hand him your beret. Kaveh fixes your disheveled hair before placing the beret on your head, adjusting it so it wouldn’t look strange or slip off your head if the wind blows. 

“You’ll be okay, alright? Al Haitham and I will make sure that you won’t get kicked out of the Akademiya over false plagiarism claims,” Kaveh murmurs, sitting down beside you. You nod your head and rest your head on Kaveh’s shoulders, looping your left arm over his right arm. Kaveh grabs your hand and interlocks your finger with his, pressing a gentle kiss on your head while whispering comforting words into your ears. 

“This is news to us.” Dainsleif’s voice brought Al Haitham and Kaveh out of their thoughts. You look over at Dainsleif, who has his arms over his chest.

Aether nods his head. “Yeah! Why didn’t you three tell us about that situation!? We could’ve gotten it handled in no time,” Aether says, frowning at you, Al Haitham, and Kaveh. 

Heizou shrugs his shoulders. “They probably had it solved and didn’t need to tell us about it after,” Heizou says, reaching for his teacup.

“You didn’t get expelled, did you?” Zhongli asks, looking at you worriedly.

You shake your head. “I didn’t get expelled, thanks to Al Haitham and Kaveh. They were able to provide solid evidence to prove my innocence, and Ali got expelled from the Akademiya for academic dishonesty,” you answer. 

Diluc sighs and nods his head, both of his hands cupping the mug in his hands. “That’s a relief,” Diluc says softly, bringing the cup up to his lips and taking a sip from it.

“I’m confused. Did Ali frame you or falsely accuse you of plagiarism?” Xiao asks, looking at you quizzically, leaning back in his seat with his arms over his chest.

You shake your head. “He didn’t falsely accuse me of plagiarism. What he did was turn “his” report in before I did. The only reason Al Haitham and Kaveh could prove my innocence was by providing photographic evidence of me doing my research. They even had to dig into the trash bin in the estate’s library to find the previous drafts that I threw away,” you said.

“Wow, so that brooding blond does care about you,” Scaramouche comments, staring at Kaveh with a blank look on his face. 

Kaveh scoffs and rolls his eyes. “I do care about them. Just because I call them an abyss mage and we bicker from time to time doesn’t make me care less about them,” Kaveh says. 

You smile shyly and reach over to Kaveh’s face, lightly squeezing his cheek. Kaveh sighs and lets you continue to pinch his cheeks while he sulks beside Al Haitham. You get off of Al Haitham’s lap and go back to where you previously sat to finish your food. After everyone finished dinner, everyone went to the living room and sat on the couches, loveseats, and sofas, letting their food digest. You’re snuggled up between Zhongli and Venti, head on Zhongli’s chest and legs sprawled over Venti’s legs; you’re on the verge of falling asleep.

“Are you falling asleep?” Venti whispers, lightly poking your tummy. 

You nod your head and bury your face into Zhongli’s chest before you rub your eyes with your fist. “I am; I think the day is finally catching on to me,” you mumble, slowly sitting up and stretching your arms in the air with a groan. 

“If you’re tired, we can take you to your room,” Capitano offers.

Dottore looks over at Capitano with a surprised look on his face. “Oh? The Captian is being nice? What a shocker!” Dottore gasps, earning a smack on the back of his head from Capitano. 

You shake your head. “No, no, it’s okay! I don’t want it to end up like last time where I trapped you and Pierro in my bed, mistaking both of you for my body pillows,” you said.

Pierro chuckles. “It’s not like it bothered us,” Pierro says, ignoring the looks that Scaramouche and Childe were giving him.

“You should get some rest if you’re tired, butterfly,” Pantalone says softly. 

You plop back down on Zhongli’s chest and snuggle up against him. “If I take a nap now, I won’t be able to sleep tonight!” You protest, wrapping your arms around Zhongli’s waist and rubbing your face into his chest, fighting back a yawn while Zhongli rubs your back.

“If you are tired, you should take a nap. We’ll wake you up after two hours; how about that?” Thoma asks, tilting his head to the side as he gazes at you curiously.

“I’ll be okay; I think I can nap here. Plus, Zhongli is really comfortable, and Venti is giving me a leg massage, and it’s making me not want to get up at all,” you mumble, your eyelids getting heavier and heavier. 

Kazuha chuckles and shakes his head, watching you slowly drift off to sleep on Zhongli’s chest, your mouth slightly agape. With all the time in Teyvat these men have with you, it’s the little moments that they’ll cherish the most. Whether it’s cooking food with you, doing the smallest things to see your eyes light up, or watching you fall asleep in their presence, every moment spent with you is a precious memory to reminisce every day.

Note: This week is my finals week and I am hoping that goes smoothly because your girl needs to do well this quarter because according to my university, whatever grade/GPA I get at the end of my first quarter at the university, determines how the rest of my two years there will go! Anyway, I do have a new series coming out soon and I'm pretty excited for it because it's still Isekai'd!Reader, but it's a chaptered story instead of a one-shot like this current series. I hope you all will like it because I'm pretty excited about it! Idk how chaptered stories will perform, but I hope it'll be decent 🥹 Anyway! To my new or returning readers, I ONLY post on my Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and my AO3 (Aaliah_exo)! Nowhere else except Tumblr and AO3!

Taglist for "Various Genshin Men x Isekai'd!Reader" and my overall taglist: @xxkatsusjinsux, @huboi, @crazyrichdaughter, @sucker-for-angst-and-fluff, @patata52, @honeybedo, @thedivinepriestress, @pencil-of-ashes, @samarill, @bakuhve, @yukima, @chaosinanutshell, @emperatris-rinaka, @neilify, @ksjjkthpjm, @jaisithebird, @mouchie, @emerald-smile, @jixlem, @the-blob-fish, @jiminscarmex, @bananazzzen, @thelost-in-time, @kryloxen, @ayolk, @tomansimp, @lordbugs, @c-camellias, @chihawari, @lilliansstuff, @zhongloml, @sweethcnvy, @wolf-chan2134, @simp4-fictional-men, @dai-tsukki-desu, @trash-queen-af, @tamayakii, @stellaris999, @hispasian-otaku, @stygianoir, @crispynutduck (if you have not been tagged, it's because you have your settings turned off for people to tag you in posts)

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[ymilksh]

➫ A SCHOLAR'S LOVE (2)

♡theme/warnings: cyno/reader, fluff, slight jealousy

♡summary: cyno is terribly smitten by you. absolutely head over heels. thinks everything about you is great- but has no confidence to actually say it to you. you've picked up on his antics and so has your friend group... so will he stay love-sick, or tell you the truth?

"kaveh, those balloons don't go there." you stated, pointing to a bunch of coloured balloons stuck behind your couch. "i know you're into interior design, but..." you put a finger to your chin, squinting your eye at his choice of decoration. "it really looks like a clown threw up behind our couch."

kaveh raises a brow at you, setting down the last group of balloons with a weight attached to their strings. "oh really now? since when did you spend years researching the ideal grouping of indoor decorations, miss decorator?"

"since it was my birthday, mister."

kaveh groans, moving the balloons back to their original position. "thank you, kaveh~" you sing, walking into the kitchen of your small dwelling. as students of the akademiya, you were given homes to share with each other for the duration of your schooling. you and kaveh shared a house along with al haitham, and cyno and tighnari shared a house with one of their acquaintances.

earlier that day, kaveh had helped you prepare some desserts and appetizers for your birthday party. it was lucky your birthday came on a saturday, leaving you some much needed space from your studies and some time to relax on your special day. some friends and family would be over to celebrate soon, and the after-party would consist of you and your buddies having a sleepover.

everything was perfect, until you realized after looking at what kaveh had made for you; you didn't have a birthday cake.

"kaveh? y-you never made a cake, did you?" you shouted from the kitchen, a little panicked at this discovery.

kaveh walked into the kitchen, analyzing the food on the counter. "shoot. i- sorry, y/n. i must have forgotten… the grand bazaar might have a few stalls with some ingredients- but al haitham said most of them were shut down for a performance." kaveh explained with a hint of regret. he had previously made a list of things to make for the day ahead- yet threw it out thinking he could rely on his memory to finish everything.

"this is because of you getting cocky again, isn't it? listen, i told you to stop being so competitive with al haitham! you can clearly plan a party better than him, i know that, there's no need to prove that to me." you scolded him, putting away the other food you inspected.

"really, y/n, it's nothing like that! i honestly forgot about that stone-faced al haitham today, he's been out all day since the morning doing who-knows-what. i just impulsively threw away the list of food i was supposed to make." he shook his head with his palm on his forehead, disappointed with himself.

"okay, kaveh. i forgive you. we'll just...have to go without one. i'm sure i can whip up some small tart or find a pie stall-"

a knock on the front door cuts your sentence short, some muttering outside catching your attention. kaveh stays in the kitchen, panicking at the leftover mess he forgot to clean up as well.

opening the door, your eyes light up when you see cyno next to tighnari, cyno's hands full with presents and an oddly large square box. "cyno, tighnari! you're here early! come on in." you smile, opening the door fully. cyno says hello and blushes after walking in, tighnari throwing you a wink as a greeting.

having your friends’ company was just the type of pick-me-up you needed after hearing your party wouldn’t be having a birthday cake. it was an integral part of the celebration, after all! kaveh definitely owed you one. after getting everyone situated in the living room, you helped cyno place the presents onto the coffee table.

“oh, ah, y/n. that one-“ he points to the large box, “it needs to be refrigerated.” tighnari quirks a brow at him, wondering what the box’s contents are. “sorry if it’s any trouble, i know it’s quite large.” he deadpans, making you chuckle.

“no, not at all. here, come bring it to the kitchen, we can put it in the fridge. just what is it, exactly?” you inquire, your brain brimming with curiosity. maybe a fruit platter? no… he would have let that stay in plain sight. a new type of mechanical device? nah, he knows you better than that.

“it’s…nothing too special, i’ll let you know when you can look inside.” cyno sounds unsure as he tells you, following you to the kitchen.

kaveh greets him immediately, jumping at your entrance. “ah, cyno’s here! and i’m guessing tighnari tagged along with you?” kaveh nervously asks, tucking his dirty cloth behind him. you roll your eyes, snatching the cloth from him and tossing it into the sink.

“don’t mind him, cy-cy. he’s just embarrassed he managed to make this much of a mess yet didn’t bake me a birthday cake like i asked.” you informed him, throwing a light fist bump to kaveh’s shoulder.

cyno’s eyes lit up at your nickname for him- did he hear you correctly? cy-cy? he could feel his heart begin to swell with joy, a small cough erupting from him out of shock.

“ah- cyno, are you feeling okay? that cough sounded a little dry. anything you wanna drink?” he shook his head, refusing the offer. “okay. just let me know.” you smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder. he shuddered at the action; when did you get so friendly towards him? were you always so attentive like this… ?

at this moment, cyno realized tighnari was right. his worries had definitely caused some clouded judgement.

at around 4:30pm, al haitham returned home with a bouquet of flowers and a couple bottles of wine to mark the occasion. closing the door behind him, he met with you all in the living room and set down his items on the coffee table, discussing everyone’s day so far.

after talking for some time, it was now around 5pm; the sun painting the sky a beautiful shade of blue with streaks of orange dawning the horizon. everyone gave their greetings to you, wishing you a happy birthday and all the best ahead. you beamed at the energy in the room, it was overwhelmingly positive.

cyno however, was lost in thought, imagining a million different ways this evening could go. would you enjoy your gifts? was what he prepared… too bold? tighnari had told him to make a passionate and sincere gift for you; explaining that when you don’t have the words, sometimes a handmade gift can communicate a message a lot easier. of course he would still have to clarify what his intentions were, but tighnari was sure you would love whatever cyno made. even if it wasn’t the prettiest.

still, the dark haired student had no idea what cyno ended up doing for you. he was just as confused as you when you saw the box, almost second-guessing his advice when he saw how large it was. but remembering how carefully cyno treated his interactions with you; in his heart, he had faith in his friend to make the right decision- to really put his heart into this gift. whatever it may be, tighnari trusted cyno’s judgement.

eventually, people started to filter in and out of the party, parents and grandparents parting a little earlier due to their older age. some presents were opened and others were left to be opened later, as you had gotten pretty tired from all the dancing you did and all the food you consumed. despite kaveh’s oversight of the cake, you would say your party went just as planned!

after all the excitement died down and the sun had finally set for the night, al haitham noticed you had fallen asleep on the couch, laying a blanket over your body. it was just the five of you once more; everyone taking a separate position in the house. cyno was sitting on the other sofa opposite you, head buried in a book al haitham had left on the side table. al haitham was checking to see if you had drank too much- kaveh was cleaning up the decorations strewn across the living room, and tighnari was packaging the leftover food.

as he put some containers of food away, tighnari noticed the box cyno had brought sitting in the middle of the fridge, a pang of guilt hitting his stomach as he forgot to remind cyno to take it out. “ah, dear me. he’s probably got his legs between his tail over this being left behind.” tighnari sat the leftovers down, grabbed the box and brung it to the living room.

“cyno, i think there’s something you forgot to give to miss y/n.” he smiles, setting the box down to poke you awake. you stir in your sleep, making a cute whimper sound that cyno can’t help but squeeze his eyes shut at. you were just… way too cute. it felt out of character for him to be so affected by your actions… but he nonetheless welcomed this warm feeling inside of him whenever he looked at you.

“hwaaa~ hey eweone, whad did i miss?” you yawned, your distorted voice causing kaveh to laugh at you. “don’t laugh, your words are barely comprehendable when you’re awake!” you retort, half smiling at him.

“well, cyno still hasn’t given you your present, you know.” al haitham explains, curious as to what this will lead to. his friends had clearly been planning something behind his back… and it seems behind yours and kaveh’s as well.

“ah, that box! well, come sit everyone. i’ll open it right now.” you smiled, tearing into the wrapping paper. cyno watched with anxiety, nervous about your reaction. tighnari just smiled at him, a silent plea for him to calm his nerves. you can do it, cyno. trust yourself with this.

“wow- oh my goodness, c-cyno, did you really make this…for me?” inside the box was a decorated cake with two layers, the words ‘happy birthday y/n’ written in cursive draped along the top. adorning the rest of the cake were stick figures made of pretzels and frosting, flowers and animals beside them representing you and your friends. “it’s so lovely, when did you have the time to make this?”

cyno’s face was now fully tinted with red, watching you examine each of his dressed pretzel figures with such precision and care as if they were real. “i took the time to study the preparations of a birthday cake a few days before the party. i wanted to make you a gift… that sent a message to you, one that symbolized your importance to me. to us.” he explained, holding your hand as you listened to him, teary-eyed.

“but that isn’t the only part of my gift. i wanted to take you somewhere to show you something. is…that alright?” he asked. tighnari was ecstatic at cyno’s response to his advice- he even planned something extra? it was quite the coincidence that he could make your dreams of having a birthday cake come true- but this was just the icing on top.

“yes, of course. do you guys mind at all? i’m sure it won’t take long.” you asked your friends, hearing no objections. al haitham smirked at the situation before him, of course it was like this, how could he have missed it? kaveh was thinking the same, both of them shooting a glance at each other.

“okay, we’ll be off then. i promise it won’t be long.” cyno smiled, nervously taking your hand in his to guide you outside. there was a small patch of land near the neighbourhood you lived in, clear enough to see the skies and all the stars that wandered across it. he laid next to you on the grass, turning to face you.

“y/n, i have something to tell you that i’ve been thinking of for a while.” he takes a deep breath, reciting his thoughts in his head. “the only reason i chose to say this today was because of tighnari- well, you know how he is. when he sees a flower beginning to bloom, he can’t keep his mouth shut about it.” he chuckled, looking off to the side.

you stared at him dreamily, wondering what his next words would be. the fact you were alone together enjoying the starry sky surely was a gift in itself, but was the flower… meant to represent you two?

“and, my pretty padisarah, you are who i’ve been wanting in my g-garden.” he stutters, making you giggle.

“oh archons, tighnari definitely said that to you as an example of what to say, didn’t he?” you continued to giggle, your contagious laughter spreading to him as well. resting the back of your hand against cyno’s cheek, you tucked a strand of his pearl coloured hair behind his ear, leaning a little closer to him.

“i want you in my garden, too, cyno.”

smiling, he leans further in as well, unsure about his next move until you press your lips to his. the kiss you share is sweet and pure, eliciting sparks in your chests at having your feelings reciprocated.

as you pull away, cyno lies flat on his back, and you copy him. “i’m relieved you feel the same, y/n. i’m sorry if i offended you with my staring lately, i couldn’t figure out how to tell you i liked you.”

you sigh happily, wrapping your arm around cyno’s waist. “oh, don’t worry, part of me felt it was something like this… i just wanted to see if it was really true. truth be told, i wouldn’t have known how to go about it either. i’m glad our friend did the heavy lifting, hehe.”

“yeah, me too.” cyno agrees, staring up at the sky with you. two constellations have become visible now, intertwined with each other as they float across the atmosphere.

[cerisetial]

making cookies with my love, i stir and mix! ft. xiao, albedo and kaveh!!

gn! reader

note :: not danganronpa or mystic messenger related but, genshin related (cause i'm ar59 who loves this game so much but is too scared to write for it)

alright. i'm very much in love with xiao, albedo and kaveh so this'll be about them!! also i literally JUST made chocolate chip cookies (i'll put a picture in a bit, they don't look TOO good though so don't get your hopes up 😭)

warnings! :: none, i think? oh right, might be ooc (most likely ooc but i'm doing my best TvT)

albedo

baking is a bit similar to his experiments

you mix certain compounds together and then the results can change depending on what exactly it is you've mixed together

so he kind of has a basic gist of baking. it's similar to what he does but just edible

would gladly assist you in baking if ever you are and he has time

you can trust him with measurements and he's quite precise about them, not a single gram over or under everything is perfectly measured out

says that even a small miss up could alter the whole thing

you two are making a cake :D

he'll let you handle frosting whilst he can handle the batter! as for the design, both of you are in charge of that

you two get to work and things go by very smoothly, hence why you're not really surprised when the cake comes out smelling and looking really tasty from the oven

you both leave it to cool for a while before getting yo work on the exterior features

albedo is an artist, so that combined with having you there giving him a good amount of inspiration and motivation makes the cake turn out super well

he's a sweet tooth confirmed. he'd cut a slice out for you and feed it to you, happy to see the sparkly look in your eyes accompanied with a "this tastes great, bedo!"

would share some with the knights, and leave some for you guys to eat together

10/10 baking partner, very helpful and is just so!! skilled!!!

"i'm glad that you like it. i was a bit worried that i might have messed up somewhere. oh? you'd... like to feed me? well, i don't see a reason to refuse"

kaveh

he's... not the worst in the kitchen. he can cook a few meals, not a lot of great ones, but good enough ones. however cooking and baking are two different things, and is he good at baking? yeahhhh— no. nuh uh.

he is a wreck in the kitchen when baking. the place is messy, everything's all over the place, did he put sugar, or salt in the batter? oh great, start over. anddd there's an angry alhaitham complaining about the mess

so when it comes to baking, whether you're good at it or not (but for the sake of these headcanons you'll be a good baker), you'll have to take charge

gotta give him some credit though, he's a very enthusiastic helper! if you're handling the heavy lifting, aka actually doing the baking, he'll handle the clean up like washing the dishes, wiping the tables and equipment as well as putting things back in their places

he'll enjoy watching you whilst you work, looking at you with that sickeningly sweet lovestruck look in his eyes

he'll wrap his arms around your waist as you move all over the place, talking about anything that comes to mind or anything about what you're baking

you're making sugar cookies with royal icing btw just cause i said so

now he may not have been a huge help with the actual baking process, but he can lend assistance with the designing! he's quite careful with his handiwork (he's an architect) so you'll have no problems about him producing anything terrible

he'll look very focused when he starts icing the cookies, his tongue poking out between his lips as he carefully coats each cookie with an adequate amount of icing and starts styling

in the end you two have a plate of gorgeous sugar cookies that kaveh begrudgingly shares with alhaitham (cause you made him share)

would ask you how it tastes and use the same old "you have some icing on your lip" excuse to give you a kiss and then ask you again how it tastes

overall, wreck in the kitchen but does his best to help <3 cutie, i want him c6 c'mon hoyoverse give me a chance please

"mhmm mhm! these taste great, you did so well, love! huh? share these with him? could i not? ... fine."

xiao

he would have no clue what baking is

nor would he know how to bake

all he really eats is almond tofu so, it makes sense why he wouldn't really be interested in baking

until he spots you in the kitchen of wangshu inn making— mixing??

usually he'd just leave you alone but, even adepti can be curious every now and then right? so he carefully approaches you as to not disturb you

he sees batter, and you mixing it, before putting it down and turning around to see him

kind of embarrassed you saw him but he makes no move of leaving and only asks what you're up to, to which you reply you're baking :D

you'll need to explain to him what exactly baking is before anything else though cause he has no idea what that is

but once he knows he volunteers to help, albeit he has 0 idea what to do so he'll just let you tell him what it is you need him to do for you!

needs a bit (a lot) of guidance but in the end things go by rather smoothly

you guys made regular chocolate chip cookies cause those always taste yummy :)

as mentioned earlier, the only food he ever really eats is almond tofu, so it might take a bit of convincing to get him to try out the cookies you made together

but when he does try them after a lot of convincing, he's pleasantly surprised! it tastes really airy and chewy, has a light crisp on the outside, the chocolate is sweet but the salt balances it out to make not be unbearably sweet

overall he really likes the experience. baking with you feels quite domestic, and he may not know what exactly to do but with just the right amount of guidance he's a great partner in the kitchen

"this... tastes quite good. hm? would i consider eating more of this if you ever made more? ... perhaps"

will i ever write for genshin again? i honestly don't know, but i'm willing to give it a try depending on how well this post will do sooo! likes and reblogs will be a THOUSAND percent appreciated <3! also i have like 5 drafts and i should really start on them soon hahaha

stay safe and healthy always, my stars!

— cerise

[mulletzombie]

My thoughts on Truth of the Divine

Usually I’m more of a lurker and reblogger of things on this here tumblr dot com but this book has me feeling like I just need to throw my thoughts out into the aether. Before I get into the nitty gritty stream of consciousness I wanna say that I absolutely loved the first book, Axiom’s End. Love Ambersand, love Cora, love the story.

This book? My thoughts are a little less positive. Warning for potential spoilers ahead.

Hoooo boy this book got me feeling all mixed up and not in the nicest of ways. I read the content warning in the beginning and thought ‘Oh, okay. We’re gonna be dealing with trauma. Things are gonna hurt but we’ll be working towards the light at the end of the tunnel.’ And well, I guess I was half right.

The whole book felt like a long slog of pain and hopelessness with no end in sight. There were multiple times while reading this I thought to myself, ‘Why am I still reading?’ Just misery without end. Now I don’t need everything I read to be happy happy joy joy unicorns farting rainbows but reading for me is an escape from the awfulness of reality. Sure, hurt me, but give me hope that things will get better at least, even if its unrealistic. I suppose I should commend Lindsay Ellis for the gut wrenching accuracy with which she wrote trauma.

Now for Kaveh. Ooooh how I really want to like you. You’re a funny, charming, caring dude but whenever I think of you all I can see is an older man fucking a much younger, deeply traumatized, woman. Kept thinking to myself ‘Please don’t fuck please don’t fuck’ but ya know of course they do. A guy and a girl can’t just be friends without fucking, that’d be crazy. I suppose what bothers me the most about it is how deeply messed up and vulnerable Cora is during this ‘romance’. Every good thing, every interesting interaction he had was just colored by that one gross thing for me. His death didn’t help his case in either direction, just left me feeling more hollow.

Just a book of pain and hopelessness with an equally hopeless ending that leaves me feeling cold towards the next book coming in the series. I suppose I’ll wait for reviews when it comes out before I consider buying it.

Anywho that’s my thoughts on that. Thanks for reading the mess that is thoughts lol

[transitverse]

Eggshells: Chapter 3

WORDS: 3024 CHAPTERS: 3/9 CHARACTERS: Aubrey, Kaveh

Soundtrack: It Follows - Nervus

You end up visiting Aubrey every day. The doctors pose no further problems for the rest of her stay, thank God. It’s still obvious that she hates being there, but you don’t see any more of the sheer panic that overtook her at the prospect of an extended stay. Despite her disdain for the situation, she doesn't ask anything of you beyond your company, even when you offer to pick up food or drinks or things for her to keep her mind occupied. There’s the TV in her room, and her cyberdeck, so you guess that’s enough, but it can’t be pleasant for her, being shut away inside her own head all day.

Unsurprisingly, she's itching to go, the day she's discharged. When you arrive, she's already packed up and waiting, dressed back in the casual wear from her locker. She looks like she wants to take off at top speed down the corridor to the exit, but she doesn't, and definitely couldn't, even if she tried.

"Can I have my ammo back?" she asks the secretary at the desk, as she’s in the midst of signing one of the numerous forms she’s having to swipe through on a screen in front of her.

"Your...?"

"My ammo. The magazines for my guns. They're cybernetic. They took them out when I was anaesthetised. They told me I'd get them back when I was discharged."

"Right. One second." The secretary stands and disappears through a door in the wall behind her. A minute later, she re-emerges and presents Aubrey with two large magazines, which Aubrey takes and quickly slots back into place in her arms via panels that open on the undersides. You didn't realise before how beefy those guns were. They look so unassuming when all you can see are the tips of the barrels in her palms. What would she need something like those for?

You don't have long to ponder the question. The second the last form is signed, Aubrey drops the pen and turns to leave.

Once outside, you lead her to your car and help her into the passenger side before hopping into the driver's seat. She plugs her address into the GPS while you manoeuvre out of the parking lot, and once you’re out onto the main road, leans her head against the window and stares out absently as the world rushes by.

The more time you spend with Aubrey, the more questions you have, and answers are scarce. You didn't learn much about her during her hospital stay; only that she spent most of  her life on bad terms with her family, and that she’s prone to troubled sleep. Everything else you've pieced together from the implications of telling comments, or the process of elimination. You know one thing for certain: at nineteen, she's been through more hardship than some people experience in decades. If this girl needs anything, it's a friendly shoulder to lean on. The least you can do is try to give her that.

“Do you want to stop for anything on the way?” you ask, trying to jumpstart any kind of conversation to break the stifling near-silence filling the car over the quiet hum of the radio.

“...No, I’m good. Thanks.” Aubrey turns to look at you, just for long enough to shake her head, then fixes her attention back on the outside world. There’s a long pause, and then: “Are you sure you can’t just leave me when we get to my place?”

“No,” you answer firmly. “I know you don’t like this, and I know you want to be at home, but that’s not an option right now. I’m sorry.”

Aubrey falls silent again, and remains so for the rest of the ride.

The tower block the GPS leads you to is bland and unassuming, sitting among a row of several identical buildings in an equally bland and unassuming area of town. You ride an elevator that’s seen better days to Aubrey's floor and she jams a card key into the slot to unlock her door.

The tiny studio apartment inside is... a mess. The mattress on the floor with a collection of pillows and blankets heaped on top of it looks more like a nest than a bed. The kitchen is the cleanest part of the room, but judging by what you usually see her eating, you can safely assume that it's because she never actually uses it. There's a coffee table, stacked with empty drink bottles and plastic food packaging. A TV screen sits propped precariously against the wall beside what you assume is the bathroom door. While you’re taking it all in, Aubrey heads for the mountain of junk in the far corner, but you catch her wincing as she kneels to begin rummaging through it.

“Hey. Let me take care of that.” She looks up at you as you stride into the room and stares at you for a moment, then concedes without argument, dragging a battered duffel bag into sight and sitting back.

“Go ahead. But I don’t know where anything is.” She pulls one hand through hair greasy from a lack of washing, and grimaces as she teases out a loose knot. “I don’t even know if I have any clean clothes.” Everything she owns--which doesn't appear to be much--is heaped haphazardly around the room, so confirming or denying that is… well, you’re inclined to assume the negative.

"It’s fine. We can do some laundry when we get to my place." She visibly perks up, like it’s a privilege she’d never even considered, and immediately starts pointing you towards various indistinct piles of clothing.

Under her instruction, you manage to pack what looks like most of her figurative wardrobe into the bag before she decides she's done and ready to head back out. The drive back to your building is quiet and uneventful. You stop at the laundromat next door to get her clothes in the wash, then carry on up to your apartment.

"The bed's already good to go, if you want to make yourself comfortable," you tell her, as she slings her drawstring bag off her shoulder and hangs it on a coat hook; you leave the duffel by the door for later. 

She patters into the hallway and peers around the door into the living room, where you've unfolded the futon and made it as inviting as you can, with a generous pile of pillows and the comfiest blanket you could find. She gingerly takes a seat, then lies back against the pillows, unzipping her hoodie and throwing it off now that you're out of the early-spring chill outside. For the first time since… actually, maybe since you’ve known her, she actually looks relaxed.

"Do you want anything?" you ask, sticking your head in the doorway. "Something to eat? Drink?"

"A drink would be nice."

"Sure. What do you want? Water? I've got OJ, or I can make tea, or coffee…"

"...Water is fine. Thanks."

"Gotcha." You're out to the kitchen and back again in a few short moments, handing off the glass to her. “Is there anything I should know about before I make a start on dinner later? I’m flexible, if there’s things you can’t eat or don’t like.”

Aubrey bites her lip, and takes a slow sip from her water before she speaks.

"I don't… eat a lot of food. The textures gross me out, and I can’t taste any of it, anyway.”

“Wait, what?”

“I don’t taste anything. At all.” You feel like you should have known this by now, even though it’s perfectly reasonable that you didn’t.

“How come?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugs. “I just don’t.”

“Huh. Well, that… sucks.” Is that the right response? God, you hope that’s the right response. “I guess that explains why you’re always eating the same things all the time.”

“Can I just eat what I normally eat?”

“If that’s what you’re comfortable with, sure. Ping me a list of what you like, and I’ll grab something from the store later. The offer’s always on the table, though. Literally, I guess. I don’t mind cooking for the both of us if you want a proper meal. How's your side doing?"

The smile that had been forming on her face fades, and she pauses and stares down into her water before answering.

"It hurts."

"Did you take anything for it?" She shakes her head. "Did they give you anything?" She nods. "Yeah? Where is it?"

"In my bag, on the hook. There’s two bottles. Antibiotics and painkillers." You turn and hone in on the grey bag hanging from one of the pegs in the hallway. There's not much in there. The pill bottles are the first things your hand finds. You skim over the labels as you return to the living room, then pop open the painkillers and shake a couple out into your palm.

"Here you go." You offer them out to Aubrey and set both bottles down on the end table beside the couch. "Is it worse than it was the other day?" She shakes her head as she swallows the pills down with a gulp of water.

"It hurt then, too."

"You told the doctor it didn’t."

“I know.”

“How come?”

That question might have been a bit much. She says nothing.

"You don't have to answer that, if you don't want to."

"Yeah. I don't want to."

"Okay. Do you want anything else?" She shrugs. So, that's a yes. "What are you thinking about?"

"I don't know," she says. And then: "Can we put the radio on? Or the TV? It's all wireless, right?"

"Of course.” You realise what she might be implying half a second later. “Oh, you--you want access. Right." With a few taps at the commlink on your wrist, her deck has access to control the handful of devices around the apartment you deem appropriate, and the TV flares to life almost immediately. This might take some getting used to. You'd be lying if you said it wasn't a bit unsettling.

Aubrey seems satisfied and burrows down into the pillows and under the sheets, setting aside her water. You've seen her training tapes, and you've seen her temper, and they both stand in stark contrast with how placid she looks now, wrapped up in blankets on your couch, of all places. She looks so... small. You're reminded again of just how much she's endured despite her youth. At least she's comfortable now. You feel better, knowing she's not stressed just by being where she is, and knowing nobody else is around to mistreat her in your absence.

"I have some things I need to do," you tell her, deciding it’s time you left her be. She might be comfortable, but she still looks wiped out. "If you need anything, just yell, okay?" Aubrey, now settled on her back, hands on her stomach, and looking more than a little drowsy, gives you a tiny nod in response. Perhaps she'll sleep better here. You can only hope. She deserves some real rest.

(Your comm buzzes once, before she drifts off: it’s her shopping list, and it’s short. You tack it onto the day’s to-do list.)

***

You're busy in the kitchen when Aubrey finally emerges from her nest on the couch, bleary-eyed and bundled up in a blanket.

"Hey." You glance up from chopping vegetables and shoot her a little smile. "How're you feeling?"

"Fine," she answers, padding across the room and peering over your shoulder. "What are you making?"

"Stir fry. Do you want some?" You can feel her hovering behind you, eyeing the pan.

"...No, I’m good. Thanks." She backs away, leaves and re-enters. "Can I refill my water?"

"Sure. First button on the fridge there, if you want it ice cold." You hear her top up, and in your peripheral vision you can see her take a seat at the table, still sporting her blanket. "Oh, your clothes are done, by the way. I went down and ran them through the dryer for you. Everything’s back in your bag."

"Thanks," she mumbles, metal hands clinking against the glass as she takes a drink. "Can I use your shower later? I didn’t get around to it while I was on the med bay."

"Of course, as long as it’s okay for your wound.”

"It's fine. I know how to look after it. I’ve dealt with worse." You pause with your knife mid-chop for a second, and… now that you think about it, yeah, she must have done. You saw the brutal scarring around her shoulders, earlier, where her cybernetics meet what scant little is left of the flesh of her shoulders. It makes the cleanly-stitched bullet wound pale in comparison.

“I picked up your stuff, too,” you continue, resuming your chopping and glad to be able to steer the conversation away from the uncomfortable off-road it was veering towards. “Like, the Soylent and everything. It’s up on the counter, there, if you want to help yourself.”

“Oh. Thanks.” She abandons her blanket and joins you at the countertop, picking through the packets of powder and nutrition bars. “You-- Am I supposed to pay for this?”

“No, no. Don’t worry about it.”

“No, I’ll--I can cover it.”

“You really don’t have to.” You glance up at her. “You have enough to worry about right now.”

“I want to cover it.”

“If you’re sure...”

“I’m sure.” Even as she’s ripping open one of the packets of powder and measuring water out into the beaker you left out for her, the commlink on your wrist lights up, notifying you of the money transfer. It’s almost dead on what you paid. She knows her stuff. The off-white drink she takes back to the table a minute later looks a lot less appetising than the pan full of vegetables you’re dumping a packet of noodles into, but she seems content enough with it.

“So,” you chime in, once you’re sat down and a couple of minutes into what had been an otherwise-silent dinner. “I’m back at work tomorrow, which means you’ll have the place to yourself for most of the day. I’ll… leave a note or something about where the important stuff is, in case you need it, but you’re all set for food, and you’re welcome to pretty much anything in the bathroom, if you want to freshen up.” She just nods. “How’s your side doing?”

“Fine.”

“Still sore?”

She hesitates, making brief eye contact with you, then nods again, slowly, as she stares into the cup she’s drinking from.

“Hey,” you murmur gently. “You don’t have to act all tough. If it hurts, it hurts. Better that you tell someone so we can pick up on it if something’s not right.”

“It’s fine,” she says, again, louder this time, sighing and rubbing at the side of her face. “It hurts, but… it’s fine. It’s not as bad as it was. I can take some more painkillers after I shower.”

“Okay. That’s all I want to know.” Satisfied, you can comfortably resume eating. “I just don’t want you popping a stitch or getting an infection or something.”

“I won’t. Or, I’ll know if something’s really wrong. I’ve had things go wrong before.” You raise an eyebrow. There’s a story--stor ies --behind that comment. It’s too tempting.

“What kinds of things?” You take the plunge and end up regretting it, as she turns her gaze up towards you and stares. Hard. It’s unsettling. You feel like you’re getting a taste of your own medicine; you’re the willowy little nurse being loomed over by a 6’4” security guard, except Aubrey doesn't need the height advantage when she's got guns in her arms.

“I’ve been hurt before. I’ve had surgery.”

“Right. Things go wrong. I get it.” You are suddenly very, very eager to move on from the subject. “Well, just--you know. If you feel off, let me know.”

Aubrey is quiet for the remainder of dinner and disappears into the bathroom once she’s done with her drink and rinsed the cup out. Later, after taking a shower yourself, you walk into the kitchen to find her at the sink, scrubbing away at the dishes.

"What are you doing?"

She locks up and whips her head around to look at you.

"I just thought I'd help, while you're-- I thought--"

"Hey, hey, don't worry about it. This isn't your mess to clean up, especially not right now. Leave the dishes. You deserve a break."

"I've been on a break. I haven't done anything in six days."

"Being on a medical bay for a gunshot wound doesn't count as taking a break," you tell her gently, picking up and offering out a towel for her to dry her hands off. "Don't worry about stuff like this. I've got it. We don't even need to do most of this by hand, anyway. The dishwasher can clean most of it."

Aubrey looks at you, then at the towel, then slowly takes it from you and rubs it over her hands.

"Okay. Sorry."

"Don't be. I appreciate that you want to help out." You give her a little smile. "But you're here to rest, not do chores. You can relax." She looks at you with uncertainty on her face, but it eventually breaks into a smile.

"Thanks."

"Hey, you're welcome. Go on, let me deal with all this." You nudge her back towards the living room, and thankfully, she doesn't flinch at the contact. When you're done tidying up and you go to check in on her, she's already fast asleep. You quietly take up occupation on the other side of the couch, and for a while, the two of you just sit there like that; your attention trained on the TV, her drifting in and out of consciousness. Surprisingly, it's not at all uncomfortable. It's the most at ease you've ever felt with her. That feels like progress.

You call it a night, eventually, leaving Aubrey to put herself to bed when she's ready. You're going to rest easier tonight knowing that she's safe in the room next door.