#I wrote this before Sumeru dropped

[bluelancelion]

Voltron x Genshin: a thread

(Because I literally have nothing better to do and these two fandoms are gonna be the death of me)

Shiro is an Archon (electro Archon?)

Hunk (geo vision) and Pidge (Dendro) are scholars at the Sumeru Academia. Lance is one too, but he struggles to keep up (+ he senses something is wrong in there).

Keith had the potential to become a student, and he'd be GREAT, but he never tries to because his life had always revolved around being a solo treasure hoarder.

He lived on the streets since he can remember. Sometimes, when he was younger, he would join other treasure hoarders, for him to leave not much time later. Usually this meant the other bandits would seek a fight, to establish who could decide whether he could leave or not (kinda like it happened to Rosaria).

Said fights usually ended up with Keith collecting scratches and the bandits broken bones.

Until the day he gained his pyro vision.

Without the need to rely on others to survive, Keith started his life as a solitary treasure hoarder. He didn't have a home, or a place to return to. He didn't know who his parents were, or where he came from.

All he had was his vision and a single desire.

To see the brightest star.

He doesn't have memories before his childhood, but he has a feeling that someone once told him to follow the britghest star on the sky. Keith vaguely believes he responded that the moon was brighter than any star, why should he follow a random one when the moon existed?

And the other voice answered. "The moon and the stars are the most beautiful thing anyone has ever seen. Brighter than gems, they shine high in the sky. But don't let their beauty deceive you, as a pretty cover often masks an ugly reality. Follow the brightest star, Keith, as its frail light shines real amongst the blinding fakes."

But Keith never understood what that person meant. All the stars looked the same to him, they shined the same, dull brightness. As a child he was mezmerized by them, each one holding a secret Keith wanted to unfold. But now there was nothing to help him distinguish them one from another. Nothing but plain white dots on a dark celestial vault. Even the moon, supposed to be ruling on the night sky and the stars like its empress, looked like a dying version of the one Keith held close in his childhood memories.

At some point in his life, Keith stopped looking for the brightest star in the sky, the one that was supposed to show him the way.

He was tired of keep looking for something that he would never find. Just like a place to belong to. If Keith stopped enough time to look for it, he would only find emptiness and disappointment.

As if he would let decide his fate by a burning rock floating in the air.

The day Keith took the reins of his life was the same day he stopped looking at the sky. He would be fully in control of his life, stay away from people as much as he could, and live his life roaming freely in Teyvat.

Who knows, maybe he would meet that person again and tell him that star didn't exist.

___

OKAY THIS WAS FUCKING UNEXPECTED, BECAUSE I DIDN'T MEAN TO WRITE A CHUNK OF FIC, but only a list of headcanons... BUT I GUESS I HAVE A FIC IN MY HANDS.

So.

Keith and Lance meet under... Weird circumstances. Idk maybe Keith is running away from a danger and Lance helps him cause he thinks he's a traveller.

"You don't look like you're from here. Are you a traveler? Did you come from far away?"

"You could say that" Keith cautiously puts his hand behind his back, retrieving his knife in case the situation calls for it.

"Cool. The only place I've been in beside Fontaine is Sumeru."

Bla bla bla SKIP FORWARD, surprise! Keith is a treasure hoarder and idk HOW but he and Lance end up spending time together and Lance tells him that "When I was younger there was this group of kids that played as treasure hoarders. They even had the wooden knives and everything. I thought they were cool, so I ran to my mother and told her I wanted to become a treasure hoarder when I grow up" he stops to make a dramatic effect.

"Needless to mention that I had to run away from the house to escape my mother's fury and her deadly slipper." they both laughed.

"Running away made her even angrier. Oh my archons, you should have seen her."

"I never understood why she got so angry until some days later. As if the archons pulled a sick joke, that night the house of the kid that played as a treasure hoarder got robbed by real, actual treasure hoarders. Earlier that same day his father had met some on his way back home. They tried to steal his cart but he managed to defend it and himself, wounding one of them on the face."

"How do you know that?" Keith asked curiously.

"Because when he came back he told everyone, narrating it like some sort of epic battle." Lance explains.

"That night they came back to seek revenge. They burned their harvest and killed their cattle. An entire year of hard work burned in one night. Then they broke inside and took anything valuable, destroying everything else."

He fixed his eyes on Keith's. "That's when I understood that treasure hoarders are vile people, selfish in their actions and cruel by any mean. I also later understood why my mother got so angry. I used to think every treasure hoarder was like that."

"And then?"

"And then you showed up."

MORE FAST FORWARD, It's near-ish? The end? Keith and Lance are very close, they are bros being bros, pals being pals lol, and Keith casually mentions the voice that told him about the brightest star (they were eating sandwitches inside a windmill enjoying the breeze idk) when Lance is like "Oh yeah you're talking about Nome" and Keith is like "What?" and Lance "Nome. I'm acrually impressed you know about it, almost no one does. I mean, maybe because it goes against everyone's beliefs and everyone forgot about it, nothing that a 300 years old book can't bring up again."

Keith looked at him like he was speaking geovishaps. "What are you talking about?"

So Lance shows him. He secretly makes Keith break in Sumeru Academia with him, where the brings him to the main telescope. He also brings the book he was talking about

(he even showed him beforehand, because he had to organize when to bring Keith in to avoid rising any suspicions. The book was 300 years old, it was made of lacerated skin and brought together with rope. Some pages were burnt, some ripped out, the writing was sloppy and thick enough that some words looked like a big chunk of black ink. The book was one of old myths and legends, one that was forgotten and abandoned in a cave Lance and his friends found.

"Isn't this book from the Academia ?"

"No, here's the thing, we found it and we meant to bring it to school, but Pidge, my friend says it's a bad idea because out professor are kind of pricks and they either would take the book and never return it to us again or take the crédit."

"Your friend sounds smart."

"Yeah, she wants to inspect the book before we decide what to do with it. This week was Hunk's turn to take it, but I asked if I could borrow it for a day."

"I feel honored"

"Heck yeah you should. He was giving me that look like he didn't believe I wanted to study it."

"Sounds very hard to imagine that"

"Shut up, mullet."

So yeah, the fun thing is that in one of those chapters, its mentioned the sky and the stars. Most of it was damaged though, and not much could be understood beside the star mentioned. It said that once every five hundred years, "truth would reveal itself in form of a peek from above" and then another one "Sharp diamonds shine brighter than polished gems"

"At first me and my friends didn't get it. But then Pidge pointed out that the moon and the stars om Teyvat are round shaped, sorta, and usually sparkles are designed after rhombs which vaguely look like diamonds. Anyway, what I'm saying is that two weeks from now, we believe a new star will appear. But we also have the right to think it'll bring some sort of chaos cause" he pushed the book away to make space for a roll of paper. "Here it says that lies from afar bring chaos where the steadiness of elements lives in equilibrium." basically anything new that has to do with nature is a big deal for Teyvat."

IDK I'M SLEEPY AND. I HAVE TO READ EVERUHGJTING AGAIN BUT ANYWAY LANCE AND KEITH HANG OUT MORE OFTEN and they keep sneaking inside Sumeru or there to spend time together and try to figure out when the star will appear (they actually don't know yet). Hunk and Pidge get sus cause Lance acts weird, until one day Lance sneaks Keith in again and BAM they get catched but jk it's just Pidge and Hunk and they're like "Who's this?"

And Lance is like "This is uhhh my friend-"

"OMG it's that treasure hoarder!"

"WHAT"

Chaos ensues like "LANCE HOW COULD U" "GUYS IT'S FINE HE'S FINE" but their mess draws the attention of a professor and Lance is like SHIT SHIT shit we gotta hide him

So Hunk, Pidge and Lance hide akeith until they're safe to go, and now finally they ask for an explanation

"HA! So that's why you kept asking to borrow the book. We knew there was something more under your weird random 'studying sessions' but we neve thought it would be THIS" they shout pointing at Keith with both hands, who was sitting on the floor cross legged.

Anyway SKIP FORWARD AGAIN, It's the fated day of the brightest star, IDK if anything happens, I don't think so,BUT Keith and Lance watch it together, nothing happens except idk it's fucking stunning and the moment passes and they're just kinda standing there like "Wow. I thought the end of the world would happen or something."

Lance turns over Keith, who kept silent the whole time. "You okay, mullet? I know you're usually quiet but this time it's a different type of quiet."

"It's just... I think I've been waiting my whole life for this moment to happen, and now I don't know how to feel."

"Was it disappointing?"

After giving it a thought, Keith's tone was confident. "No. It was stunning."

(cause when Keith saw that star, he was instantly brought back to when he was a kid. When he loved the shining stars. He vaguely remembered being held in his father's arm, his mother's caresses, and the stranger's voice again. He had never seen something so beautiful, yet so nostalgic. At some point he looked over Lance. He was bathing in starlight, and for a moment Keith thought he was shining brighter than any star in the sky. He was transfixed by him.)

So when the beauty of nature ends, Keith doesn't understand why the brightness of the brightest star didn't fade away, instead it was looking at him with blue sky eyes and smile soft as clouds. Lance stretched his hand. "Wanna go?"

Keith took it.

(they go down, they are fucking in love with each other idk why or how, AND THEN THE FUCKING PROFESSOR CATCHES THEM AND CAPTURES KEITH. TURNS OUT THEY WERE SPYING ON THE TRIO FOR SOME TIME BECAUSE THEY NOTICED THEY FOUND THE BOOK, then waited for the right moment.)

Keith is sent to prison or idk. Lance is like held IN captivity ??? Lol nah idk but either:

1) Lance rescues Keith

2) Keith gets help from a man aka Shiro aka the archon aka the same voice that told him about the star

2) Keith rescues Lance

And THEN they confess their love for each other.

The end.

OH MY GOD WAIT. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIT.

WHAT IF KEITH IS A NORMAL TREASURE HOARDER WITH NO VISION - AND THEN HE OBTAINS IT AFTER SEEING THE STAR IDK, LIKE HE BECOMES PASSIONATE AGAIN, HE FINDS PASSION WITHIN HIMSELF AGAIN IDK IT'S LIKE, it seems such a minuscule, unimportant thing (the bright star a stranger told him about and him giving up on finding it) but Lance brings him to it, he makes this memory resurface and so do his emotions, his passion that he thought he had buried deep within his will to live a different life, a life with a meaning he's been desperately searching for. Because that star was nothing but a star, but for Keith it was more, it was everything. It was hope for a better future, it was a second chance of redemption, if was a purpose in his life, a goal to reach, a place to go to, somewhere he could stay and finally call home.

Stars are just stars, until someone gives them a deeper meaning.

And Lance did that. He didn't let his hate for treasure hoarders blind him and he gave Keith a deeper meaning, one even himself didn't see. Lance saw the truth behind his mask and it wasn't an ugly one.

Lance brought him to his star. Lance

Lance.

Lance was his star.

(AND IDK HOW BUT AT SOME POINT HE GETS HIS VISION RIGHT THERE AND THERE'S LIKE THIS SOFT MOMENT OF AWE AND WOW AND IT'S SO SOFT AND HAPPY and it gets fucking ruined GOD WHY I HATE MYSELF.

There's this délicate and soft atmosphère that settles down, almost giving hope to the reader that once they steadily walk down the stairs, they're gonna get out close together, say each other goodnight and maybe, just maybe, take the other by the arm and *kiss*.

BUT NO THEY DON'T EVEN REACH HALFWAY THE STAIRS THAT THEY GET CAUGHT SGSGHS FUCKING SUMERU DIPISHITS I HATE IT HERE

HOW the fuck does this fic even end tho

[naviavu]

Evergreen

PAIRINGS: yandere!alhaitham x reader

TAGS: mild compared to my other works <3, i guess, >:-), obsession, possessive sex, juicy smut, alhaitham is yandere YANDERE, he just wants reader back home :(, sumeru dream team, abuse of power, childhood friends to lovers, kinda, manipulation

WORDS: 4.4k // crossposted on ao3 // my masterlist

NOTES: hope everyone enjoys this dark twist of alhaitham! it's been so long since i wrote for genshin, and i'm not sure how much the tumblr community has changed. regardless, please don't hesitate to drop by my inbox to comment or request! i genuinely missed writing lol <3

You often think that you’re cursed with your work.

(Y/N) of the Akademiya. Graduated early from Vahumana, traveling all over the seven nations to be a teacher and provide impoverished kids with free education. This is the fourth year of your career, and you’re staying in Fontaine– everything is going great.  

Until one day, a messenger approached you.

“What do you mean the stakeholders are withholding funds indefinitely?” A chalk breaks under your grip, powder falling to your skirt. You glance quickly outside the tent, careful to not let your students hear you. “That doesn’t make any sense– the Yorun investors are literally from Sumeru! They’re wealthy enough to fund fancier Akademiya projects! ”

The messenger– Jesse, a gentle Fontainian girl much younger than you– avoids eye contact and fiddles with her sling bag. “They insisted that the abrupt change in the sages and Lesser Lord Kusanali’s rise to power caused their resources to become… limited.”

“Oh, that’s bullshit!” You shout. Jesse trembles. You sigh and pat her head. “Sorry, kid. I didn’t mean to raise my voice. Get home safe, alright?”

(She only nods and places the letter on your desk. Before leaving, she turns back and says, “I’m really sorry, Ma’am (Y/N). I also wish that you continue your work. You’ve done a great deal educating kids in this neighborhood… including my brother.”

You give her a sad smile.)

There was no choice. The next day, you taught one last lesson to your students (eleven children from the back alleys of Fontaine, all no older than twelve) and bid your final goodbyes. When they ask where you’re going, you tell them that you’re on for another long journey, and you don’t know when you’ll be back. They gather around and embrace you, small hands all over your body. One of the kids (Jules, one brilliant in maths but not so much in literature. You’ll miss his toothy smile the most) tell you that they will pray to Focalors for your safety. You pat Oli’s head one last time, telling him to be good for his sister Jesse. 

A carriage picks you up before sunrise. Your journey to Sumeru was uneventful, and every small bump and thud on the way aggravated you further. You settle for burning holes at the empty seat in front of you.

You enter the city with your head down, walking the familiar steps robotically. You think that you recognize the voices of your old acquaintances and neighbors chattering and laughing, but the haze from your mind (and heart) prevents you from doing the bare minimum of greeting them.

The first step to your wooden porch is a bittersweet homecoming. When you open your front door, the hinges still squeak the same tones before you left. 

Your evergreen shrubs haven't grown an inch, as if someone was maintaining them. (You brush off this strange detail.)

Mindlessly staring inside your unkempt house, you decide that if you want to continue your life’s work, you must continue earning money. 

(You failed to notice that your doorknob was dust-free.)

You sat down on your old desk and wrote a lengthy letter to the higher-ups for the cause of your arrival, the reason for the halt of your travels, and that you’re looking for a job. 

For the rest of the day, you unpack your bags, sweep the floor, and pace restlessly in your living room. It’s been many years since you were in contact with your superiors. The last time you saw them was at your graduation, where everyone expected you to stay in Sumeru and be one of the next candidates for the Sage of Vahumana. 

The grip in your broom tightens when you remember as clear as day your professors’ anger and judgment when you declined their offer. Entitled. Ungrateful.

Will they even accept you back? Will they cast you out?

To your surprise, a reply arrived on your doorstep not even a day later. A clean envelope embroidered with green and silver patterns.

You were offered to fill the vacant position of Scribe. 

You tell yourself that you’ll adjust eventually. 

Seeing the piles of papers and books in front of you, your hand aches a phantom throb. You wonder how your friend Lisa could survive this kind of monotony in Mondstadt. It pays better, sure, and your back and legs won’t hurt as much from traversing landscapes– but it’s still nothing compared to seeing the smile on children’s faces when they finally understand the concepts after a bone-deep, exhausting lesson.

As expected, the stick-thin pen felt too soft on your fingers after a few hours. You were more used to holding chalks or markers. Drafting ordinances and reading through academic policies was never your thing. 

Outside your study, you hear the light footsteps of scholars while noisily prattling about one of their newest inventions. You can’t help but compare the plain white-green palette of your office to the brightness and energetic vibrance of the local districts. 

Putting your hands on your head, you exhale deeply. “Fuck me!” 

“--(Y/N). I hope you’re doing well on your first day.” A voice –not too different from years ago, just deeper– enters the room.

Oh god. “Alhaitham!” The silver-haired man closes the door behind him. You didn’t even hear his footsteps outside your office. “Sorry, my… hand cramped from signing all these papers. You know how it is.” 

He raises his eyebrow. “Still not used to your tasks?” Seeing him out of his Haravatat uniform is a new sight. Even from a distance, his stature is much taller, no doubt towering over you.  

“Well, I can’t really complain,” His lack of greeting and deadpan expression doesn’t bother you. If anything, you’re glad that the Alhaitham you knew four years ago is not too different from Alhaitham now. “It’s better than not having a job. I didn’t expect them to accept me so fast, though. I thought they’d be more hung up with my rejection thing years ago. Old people and their grudges, y’know?”

Alhaitham doesn’t respond, used to your chattering. He meanders to the nearby bookshelf and brushes through. Your lips quirk into a small grin. “Thank the Archons that I have my very cute junior, who’s also the Acting Grand Sage and the previous Scribe, to help me adjust with my new work, huh?”

His fingers stop skimming. He glares over his shoulder. “Power tripping me on your first day? I’m calling human resources.”

Your shoulders shake when you laugh. His own kind of humor never ceases to amuse you. “Sorry. It’ll take some time… but I’ll get used to this. I promise.” 

A familiar and comfortable silence settles in the room. A few papers later, he finally picks the book he’s been looking for and turns to you. “Please do everyone a favor by going to Lambad’s Tavern tonight. Kaveh got into an altercation with another customer, and your presence would help tone down his temper. Tighnari and Cyno are also expecting you. Candace also mentioned that she hasn't gotten back to you since you last wrote to her, and she would love to catch up personally.”

Your lips smile at the mention of your old friends. Stretching your arms, you look out the window. The noise outside from Sumeru City barely hangs in the air with your office located so high up in the building. “News goes around real fast, doesn’t it? I’ve been keeping a low profile since last week and didn’t even tell anyone about my arrival. Not Kaveh. Not Cyno, not Tighnari, not Candace.” Your whisper, eyes downcast.

Alhaitham walks to the other side of your desk and crosses his arms. “The lack of funds for your organization wasn’t your fault, (Y/N). Whether it's because of the shift in power from the sages or not, incidents out of your control inevitably happen.”

You don’t ask why he knows the reason why you’re back here. Alhaitham always knew more than what he let on. “Don’t waste time being disappointed with yourself and focus on what you have now.”

You turn away, flustered from the sincere gaze of his bright virescent eyes. You take a sip of your warm coffee to hide your smile. “Thanks, Haitham. This is why you’re the best Acting Grand Sage.”

He rolls his eyes. The brewing tension disappears. “Make sure that I see you in the tavern no later than 10.”

The door softly closes when he leaves. For the first time in forever, this place starts to feel like home.

The lively, alcohol-drenched atmosphere in Lambad’s Tavern never changed. 

Years ago, you’d go day drinking whenever your assignments were returned for their fifth revision. If your whole class was lucky, most of your group mates and colleagues will be with you, equally drowning in their academic-induced sorrows.

The amber-brown colors of the sheets and the patrons who entered remained the same. Before you even reach the counter, someone already picks you up and spins you around in a hug. “Little one! I’ve heard from some patrons that you were back in town. It’s one of those rumors that I hoped to be true!” 

You giggle and embrace Lambad back, grateful for the older man’s warm welcome. 

“(Y/N)!” You’d recognize the forest ranger’s sweet voice anywhere. Tighnari jogs towards you and pulls you into a hug, tail wagging. You notice that he looks better compared to all those years ago when he was still in the Akademiya. “I’m sorry I couldn’t see you sooner. When Cyno told me there seemed to be an occupant in your house, I didn’t expect it to be you! ” 

Bitterness pangs in your heart. “I didn’t expect to be back either,” You say honestly. “Guess everyone needs a little break somehow.”

“Warn us next time, would you?” Cyno emerges behind his friend. “Be thankful that there was other urgent business to take care of. I was ready to… interrogate whoever was staying inside my friend’s house without their permission.”

“Yeah, yeah, got it, boss,” You shake your head and laugh. Three of you walk to a table near the windows. You’re happy to see everyone. And you’re glad to know that they’re also just as happy to see you. 

After a good hour of catching up, you feel your whole body relax and your jaw tense from laughing too hard at Tighnari’s anecdotes. Your emotions unwind like a fresh flower by the streams. 

“That blockhead doesn’t know what he’s talking about...  Where are they? The tavern is too crowded at this hour!” You turn to your left, looking for him. You wave excitedly when you see a tuft of blonde hair. 

His eyes widened. “(Y/N)?”

“Kaveh.”

“(Y/N)!”

“Kaveh!” The architect ran up and enveloped you in a hug. Since college, yours and Kaveh’s stupidity knew no bounds– it was always laughs and jokes between you. You stay in each other’s arms for a few moments, and the familiarity of his scent brings you relaxation. 

The night goes on as great as it started. 

“I can’t wait until I move out!” Kaveh exclaims. Two people from the other table look in his direction. Your other friends groan, used to his antics. 

You notice redness starting to come up on the blonde’s neck. “You’re being really loud for someone I thought didn’t want people knowing you live with him.” 

Cyno places down a card. Tighnari groans. “Don’t engage him. (Y/N). Or he won’t stop.”

“Yes! Yes,” Kaveh starts. All the other customers are busy with their own shouting and chattering. “Don’t get me wrong, I like the place. Alhaitham is a quiet roommate. I just can’t stand his attitude most of the time! If I wanted a lecture, I would’ve gone to the Akademiya and talked to my old professors.”

The blonde crosses his arms. “What about you, (Y/N)? I’m not going to lie, Alhaitham made a great recommendation of you being the Scribe. That’s the only thing I could commend him for this week, at least.” 

“What?” You weren’t aware of that. Your thumbs fiddle with your skirt. “Uh, yeah. I’ll make sure to thank him later.”

“Oh, sweet (Y/N), you’re to kiiiiiind,” He slurs. “I wish you were my roommate instead.”

Your best friend reaches to twirl your hair. In your drunken stupor, you giggle with a light blush painting your cheeks. 

A bottle clangs on the table. “Another one, please.”

A heavy presence sits beside you. You look, and Alhaitham was already downing a shot, throat bobbing. 

In the background, your friends laugh while Kaveh groans. 

Has Haitham always been this beautiful?

The silver-haired man looks at you. “Enjoying Kaveh’s tales?” 

“It’s always a fun story when you’re involved.” You giggle, flushing under his gaze. “Everything about you is so entertaining, Haitham.”

Your flushed face does something to his chest. He gives you another shot. “That’s why your colleagues used to look at you weird. Whenever Kaveh wasn’t around, you’d hang out with me, even when I clearly wanted to be alone,” He laments. 

“Says the one who used to follow me around like a puppy! We were mismatched weirdos,” You don’t notice the blush creep up on his cheeks. You smile at him earnestly, whispering. “I’m glad you didn’t change– oops!”

The chair creaks and you stumble into his arms. You look up, seeing his face and amber eyes close to yours. Heat emanates from the grip on your waist, and your hands feel hot on his chest. Sparks flew to your core. 

“Get a room! You know what, I’m staying in Cyno’s tonight. He never sleeps anyway,” Kaveh’s shouts break the stupor and you push Alhaitham away. He stumbled, and Cyno was on his side in an instant. “You heard him. Kaveh, it’s time for you to clock out. Tighnari, let’s continue this game next time.” 

The three of them exit the tavern. ‘Make Alhaitham pay the tab! He’s so unfair!’ Kaveh says, and Alhaitham begrudgingly does so when both of you have sobered enough to walk home. 

You don’t know if it’s the leftover alcohol in your system, but the night sky swirls above both of you. “Ah… I never knew… howmuchImissedbeinghere,” 

“Easy there,” He catches you again when you stumble. “Where are we going, Haitham?”

“To your place, of course. You’re exhausted from work. You need to rest.”

“What? But I thought…” Your mind goes blank. Alhaitham looks at you with hope in his eyes, but the light is gone in a split second. 

“You thought what?” When you don’t answer, he stops on his tracks. “You thought what, (Y/N)? Tell me.” 

“Nothing.” He looks away. You face him. “But… I think… my place is too far. Can we go to yours instead?” 

You seal your fate with those words.  

The heat from both of your bodies encapsulated the whole room. 

Alhaitham’s hands slowly grip your curves. Passion and lust melted into two souls that yearned for each other for so long. 

“Haitham…” You breathe out, shivering from his fingers ghosting on your skin. You feel like you’re on fire, and his warmth only served to fan your flames higher. 

“I wanted you for so long… you’re so beautiful…” He gasps, fumbling around your blouse buttons. Despite his rough kisses, he handles you gently– like porcelain glass, a gift getting unwrapped for the first time.  

When you finally undressed, Alhaitham almost couldn’t believe his eyes. 

The one woman he had been obsessed with, laid out before him. His for the taking. 

You shiver at his gaze. You hold out your hand, shaking from the cold. And arousal. “C-Come… Haitham… you can do whatever you want with me…”

And so he does. He climbs to your bed like a predator hunting the prey. You lie in wait as you let him take the lead. Kissing all over your breasts, suckling on your nipples, sending shivers to your core. You try to squeeze your legs for relief, but Haitham stops you by putting his knees in between your legs. 

He clicks his tongue. “You’ll only cum on my mouth, fingers, or cock tonight, baby.” 

You shudder at his words. Down he goes, settling himself between your soft thighs. You flush, your cunt surely eager and wet, aching for his touch. He licks a stripe in your pussy, and you moan. “H-haitham!”

He licks more eagerly, like a man starved. Never in a million years you’d ever thought that you would be this vulnerable and intimate. At the hands of your junior, no less. His face on your thighs and his mouth on your clit, sucking like you were his last meal. 

Your head was in the clouds. Your hands move to his head, tugging roughly. 

He growls. “You wanna play rough? I can play rough.”

You sigh. “Keep–going– Haitham…”

He spits on your cunt. He slurps on your mixed juices. “I-I’m close…” 

He stops and you whine. Your legs are pulled to the end of the couch, and you watch him as he fumbles with his clothes. When he finally emerges stark naked in front of you, you notice his large cock, angrily red at the tip. 

That won’t fit inside you. 

“Wait– Haitham!” He positions himself in front of your legs, rubbing his cock on your entrance. “Yes, baby?” 

“You– You might not fit inside me,” You flush deeper when he laughs. “I’m being serious!”

“We’ll never know if we don’t find out.” He enters you, and you moan. You try to cover your mouth from letting such embarrassing sounds come out, but he pins your arms above you. “I want to hear you.” 

He rocks into you, like two bodies connecting with each other have waited for a long time. 

Alhaitham observes your face, sketches it to his memory. The way your eyes glisten, and your mouth opens in pleasure. The curve of your hips and waist, the slope of your nose, the plush of your lips, and the tears in your eyes. You’ve grown into a fine young woman as he expected, and it was a blessing that you came home so unexpectedly. 

Your pussy is heavenly. All his teenage fantasies culminated to this one night– his childhood crush, sprawled out in his bed and legs open like a slut. He’ll make sure that your skin is marked all over. Let everyone know that you’re his, and no one else’s. 

“Haa… Feels so good…” You were equally drenched in sweat and your tears, pleasure overcoming your senses. You feel him suck your nipples again, sending you more pleasure to your core. 

“You’re so fucking tight– that’s it, baby, suck me in,” He groans, as you feel yourself tumbling over the edge. The coil in your stomach tightens and you moan, and it suddenly snaps– “Ah!” 

Your juices make a mess on his stomach, his thighs, and yours. You heave and gasp your breath, shivering. 

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, I’m here, you’re safe,” Warm arms envelop you, and you close your eyes.

You sleep soundly in Alhaitham’s arms. 

Time goes on, and your passionate meetings with Alhaitham are repeated. 

You gave yourself to him again, and again, and again. At his house, when Kaveh is away with his clients. In his study, when he’s stressed. On his couch, when both of you are drunk and give in to lust before going to the bedroom. For the past month, you can’t count how many times you woke up seeing the lush green of his windows and his warm body curled up around yours. 

His visits became frequent on your own study. He brings you coffee. You spend the whole day drafting and writing, and he reads his book in the corner of your room like a loyal attendant. 

It’s domestic. Sometimes, you often wonder what life will be if you decide to stay. 

(Is there a future with Alhaitham? You ask yourself one afternoon when you see the man sleeping on your mini desk. His silver hair softly flutters in the wind, and on his hand is a document you handed him to put by one of the bookshelves.

It would be good if he could join me in traveling the world. You stamp your last document for the day. 

You walk and place a kiss on his forehead to wake him up. “Work’s done, sweetie.” 

You would miss him terribly.)

One morning, your jolly footsteps alert people in the street. “Haitham!”  You whisper excitedly. The door opens, and you enter before he can even offer for you to come inside. “I got it!” 

He raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure what it is, but I’m proud of you.”

“I’m going back to Fontaine to teach! The stakeholders said there was an error in the calculations; they’re ready to fund my investment again!” You hug him tight. Joy pours out of your body. 

(You don’t notice him freeze.)

“I’m so happy… I honestly thought that this was the end of my life’s purpose…” You trail off. Alhaitham hugs you back. His grip tightens on your waist.

“I can finally come back to the kids in Fontaine…” You trail off when you see him looking far into the distance. 

You frown. You know better than most people that he’s not the most expressive person, but you thought that he would at least crack a smile for you. 

You hastily pull away from your hug. “I’m sorry for bothering you. I just wanted you to know first, since you’re… very special to me,” Your face was red from shame, and from not knowing how to describe your relationship with Alhaitham correctly. “I’ll go tell Tighnari and the others now.”

A beat passes. “(Y/N).” 

You turn around, hand clutching your bag. Alhaitham stands still on the doorway in the same position that you left him. 

Then, he smiles– crooked and ominous, like he was forcing himself.

Perhaps he is. 

A shiver goes down your spine. He speaks, confident and clear– like it wasn’t the most obvious lie. “I’m happy for you.” 

The door closes behind him. This time, your feet fight the urge to get out of this city as soon as possible.

 Your happiness ended as quickly as it came.

The newspaper plastered on the board of Port Ormos sits still despite the rough winds, like it knows how heavy the burden of the message it carries.

Yorun Investors dead on ambush

An Adventurer’s Guild member sighs, discouraged. A businessman– from Sneznhaya, you would assume from his attire– exclaims. “That would mean their investments are also cut off? Drat! Half of my businesses rely on their funding!”

People pile up to see the newsboard, collectively murmuring. You stand still, motionless. Bricks are piled on your hands and your feet. 

You can always find other investors, of course. Just like you did four years ago. 

How long would that take?

You walk home, absentminded. You pass by the Tavern, then the Akademiya. Walking by Alhaitham’s house doesn't even spark excitement inside you. Calling your other friends isn’t a choice, either.

You just want to wake up from this dream. 

When you arrived, Someone was waiting on your doorstep.

“Alhaitham?” Thesman stands up straight. How long was he waiting? “(Y/N), I apologize for how I acted yesterday. I hope you forgive me.” 

When you remain quiet, he continues. “I also heard about what happened. I don’t mean to mock you, (Y/N). I’m truly sorry to hear about it.” 

Tears start falling down your face, which turn into full, ugly sobs. He walks gently, as if you’ll break into pieces if he makes the wrong move. He holds up his arms. 

You bury your face in his chest and cry.

Living with Alhaitham was happier than you’d thought it would be. 

It’s been months since you took his embrace on your front porch. You spent sleepless nights with him, writing letters for every investor or kind soul who’s kind enough to fund your endeavors, even for a penny. 

You were desperate. If the higher ups knew the struggle you’re going through right now, you’re sure that they’re laughing at you. 

(Not that you cared. Alhaitham stayed up writing letters with you, and that’s all the support that you need.)

You waited, waited, and waited. Yet every reply was rejection. Your partner saw you break down, and he’s always there to pick you back up. 

His clothes are strewn all over your house, as if he lives there now. 

“Coffee?” He offers. You nod. A giggle comes out of your mouth when you see a purple hickey on his neck, barely covered by his shirt.

It’s been months since he heard your laugh. He stops stirring the cup he’s prepared for you. Alhaitham looks back, says sincerely, “I’m glad you stayed.” 

An uncomfortable feeling brews once again. You tell yourself that you’ll get used to it. 

You still have hope that one day, your feet will step out again to reach your dreams.

But for now, everything that you need in Sumeru City. The perfect partner, an authentic group of friends, a beautiful community, and a stable (but boring) job.

You’ll never have to venture out again. 

(The evergreen shrubs outside your house starts to grow.)

“She’s settling in well?” 

“Yes, she’s resting,” Alhaitham sits on the makeshift chair. Ghandarva Ville was far, but it’s where less people are around. Besides, no one would dare trespass in Tighnari’s personal home. 

“You owe me a favor,” Cyno crosses his arms. “Finding the investor’s carriage was not difficult. They’re pretty famous. But erasing traces is a piece of work. I’m lucky that no one was within the area. Not that they could catch me, anyway.”

The door opens. Tighnari brushes off dirt from his clothing, having come back from burning the investor’s bloodied clothes. He sees the grey-haired man relaxing by his couch. “Are you smiling? Don’t smile. You look weird. Also everything is done, reduced to ashes. What’s our payment, Acting Grand Sage?”

Alhaitham hums, and everything fades into the background. He thinks of you lounging in your home, watering your plants, and decorating your journal. Just like how it’s supposed to be, in the first place. He even cleaned some parts of your house so that you don’t exhaust yourself too much upon your first day.

Thank the Archons that he has the perfect partner, an authentic group of friends, a beautiful community, and a stable job. 

(Y/N) will never have to venture out again. 

Ever. 

[genshinology]

AN INFLUENTIAL MAN’S COMPANION (OR IS IT MORE?!)

(alternatively, how they are dropping hints left and right that you are more than just a friend.)

— PAIRINGS ; alhaitham, ayato & childe x gn!reader (separate)

— CONTENT ; oblivious!reader, may contain a spoiler from sumeru's story quest on alhaitham's, mentions of childe's real name (ajax), reader is addressed as “little bug” in childe's (please, it's just a poorly written joke, i swear).

— NOTES ; don't care what everyone says but a man that has the power and money is definitely a man that i want. wrote this on a whim so 'm sorry for the horrible writing and the lack of details in this.

☆ — ALHAITHAM

"why are you so dense?" alhaitham's question caught you off guard, considering the fact that you were so immersed with yet another history book of teyvat in the akademiya's house of daena.

his sudden question made you unknowingly gazed at him with annoyance (it wasn't your fault though, not when he actually interrupted your reading of the fourth chapter), and you quickly bookmarked the page you had last read before actually paying full attention to the scribe across you.

"dense is not really a word to describe me. i think i catch on things around me quite fast," you huffed out, exaggeratedly bumping your forehead onto the desk. a silent thud was heard afterwards, not necessarily loud enough for other people to hear, but alhaitham definitely caught on the hint you mentally saying that you were bored and the fact that he took away the only form of your entertainment by taking away the thick book from you made you squinted your eyes at him.

your eyes prying at his action. he was an unpredictable man, so you couldn't question what he did. especially when the question of, "do you know what is the context of this book?" suddenly came out from his mouth.

"uhm.. yes?" you stopped thinking too deep when alhaitham's gaze zeroed straight into you, signalling that you should be answering his question more precisely. "a book about teyvat; the seven nations, the archon war, the history, the irminsul, the heavenly principles, the fatui, the abyss—

"ah yes, sounds like classified information, isn't it?" alhaitham cut you off, showing the old cover page with a knowing look that you couldn't really decipher. "you do realise that this book comes from the restricted repository room?" alhaitham was questioning you, slightly smiled when he saw how the gears in your brains were slowly turning and you finally understood what he was trying to point out.

"wait. you are right. it makes sense now, how incomplete certain details are since the book itself covers forbidden knowledge.." you put your right palm underneath your jaw, still in disbelief at the fact that the book in his hold was a restricted material for general use to the scholars and the public.

"not really the brightest mind," he paused. "that's why i said you are, indeed, a slow-witted person," he shook his head, his own work was slowly forgotten amidst the conversation he accidentally forced you into.

"that is just saying 'stupid' in a more formal manner. i am truly offended," you sighed, noting the way alhaitham seemed taken aback at the last sentence you gave to him.

alhaitham could only put down the book in front of you. "..and i am offended as well. you don't even think that i am using my authority to give you access to this one book you have been super interested in these days, haven't you?"

he turned away after seconds of eye contact, especially when your eyes widened and you felt how your cheeks were hurting due to the shock. "you.. did this for me? not exactly the first thing i would think of, especially if it's from the scribe of the akademiya."

you smiled, way too wide and alhaitham thought he was holding his breath for a moment. "thank you, you're so kind."

'kind' wasn't what he really expected you to say, specifically when he, himself, wasn't filled with kindness and tenderness alike. the you that he knew would be instantly flustered if you ever knew the true meaning of his intention when he first directed you with those questions.

he could only laughed heartlessly at your statement, thinking that you must have never received this much attention from someone, or that you really treated him as a true friend.

"i do not do this for some mere scholars, just so you know that you are exceptional."

☆ — AYATO

"my lord," you bowed down, giving ayato the respectable approach that he deserved. "is there something you would like me to help?"

ayato was a diligent and a busy man, that was the first thing you had noticed when he first took you right under his wing. his smile specifically was something you swore would be your death one day, he was too charming for your own good.

"come here," his bright face made you ten times more nervous than ever. "also, please, drop the formalities. we are hidden from the public view."

the last sentence was way too intimate, but you decided that it must have been his figure of speech.

"yes, my lord—i mean, ayato," you slightly cringed at the way his name rolled off your tongue not-so-eloquently. something about calling him by his name, even without his family name, felt super uncivil to you.

he had done so much for you, so to hear his request of doing what you had been accustomed to was hard.

so you could only stumble forward awkwardly, hands clasping together to stop yourself from shaking a little bit too much. why did he always bring out the nervousness within you in private? did he really had these effects?

"here, sit down," ayato's calligraphy pen halted its movement, and it didn't help to calm you down when he patted the sit beside his chair.

"i'm sorry, my lord," the title accidentally slipped away nonetheless, and you decided to ignore the look in his eyes—as if he was hurting by the fact that you didn't address his name, but he possibly couldn't be that childish, it was the commissioner after all—as he quickly regained his composure. "you need my help to assort these paperworks?"

"it is fine, y/n," oh, the fact that he didn't address your first name made you knew he did feel slightly dejected.

you quickly made up your action by swiftly gliding onto the chair he already pulled out underneath his study. for a moment, you were stunned at the act of a gentleman he usually did to you. he was so kind, and you knew that you were super lucky to have him as your employer.

"i don't want you to do anything today. you can rest up until tomorrow," he said, slightly rummaging some precious items he kept in the drawer. you knew those items in there were far more important to him, especially when it also had his late father's will that was neatly preserved in the sakura-scented letter he and ayaka made a long time ago. it was honestly a cute activity for them now that you reminisced the memory.

"is there any occasion? or you will be away?" you asked him, and you could see his eyes lightened up at the way his hand reached out to yours, and you were left baffled.

his hand was warm, that was the first thing you noted. besides when you felt something smooth in your palm, you questioned the foreign thing in your hand.

it was a necklace, with a lighter hue of blue as its pendant. your intrusive thought won you over as you saw how the pendant resembled ayato's hydro vision to an extent. it was ethereal, at least in your eyes.

by the feel of it, you already knew this necklace's worth had already exceeded your wage.

"ayato?"

"it is for you. i was buying one for ayaka when i was reminded of you, y/n," he warmly explained, his sincere eyes were too much for you as you avoided his eye contact.

your beating heart felt dangerous as ever. his hands were still engulfing yours, as if to keep you from shying away.

"take it. it would mean a lot to me."

"thank you, sir-ayato," you corrected yourself, and ayato thought it was adorable of you to stutter around him.

his heart was content when you thanked him over and over again.

if giving the necklace was a metaphor to his love letter, then he would be overjoyed when he saw you roaming around his estate with the necklace on you the next day.

☆ — CHILDE

"today's a really nice day," childe sighed happily, as he picked you up from the ground, and you repeatedly punched his back, flailing in his arms to put you down.

"ajax!" you gasped, who wouldn't be in shock, when you were literally caught off guard by his attack and then your feet weren't touching the snowy path anymore. "put me down."

"ehem, manners, please," he faked a cough.

you could only kick around, although none of your actions would actually affect him physically. "i am almost going to swear at you, you know?"

"put me down, please," you tried to whisper into his ear, so that he would feel ticklish by the air that escaped from you.

"gross," he commented, and before you knew it, he already let you go from his somewhat soothing hold onto your body. "need to disinfect my ear after this."

you slapped his arm after hearing his bad joke, roughly enough to get his focus onto you. "let me do it with the bug spray i have at home. i hope it'll cleanse your whole soul too."

"touché," childe cracked a smile at hearing you almost choked on your breath. "aren't you my little bug?"

"don't you have a cuter nickname for me? seriously, bug? out of all lovelier things on this world?" at this point, you had already clinging onto childe's side, hyper aware at some people who had been watching the playful fight between you two for some time now.

childe noticed the way you practically glued to him, your hand fisting the sweater he wore, and childe could only thought that your ministration would only bring a misunderstanding, especially that one which people always commented on when they saw both of you.

"look at you two."

childe could only smile at the old lady that passed by him. "couple fights are normal, until the old days. i hope you're having a great time," the old lady patted your back, and when you were about to clear the misunderstanding he had always loved, the old lady left.

"w-what?" you turned to childe whom somehow looked at you fondly, and you could only voiced out your opinion on the cold day. "that old lady is not making any sense."

"—and you, ajax," you continued when you caught childe slacking from paying his full focus attentively to you, as he only shrugged his shoulder. "...are you really going to leave again?"

"hm?" he hummed, and thought to himself that you were so adorable in his spare sweater, fighting against the chilly wind and hesitating to actually say that you would miss him if he went to liyue for his work again.

"of course. it is my duty for the tsaritsa, and no, you won't be going to join me this time. have you forgotten when you almost got hit by the fatui because they were belittling you?" childe quickly cut you off when he saw how your lips twitching at his words, knowing too well that you would suggest the idea of venturing to liyue with him. the last time he accepted your idea, he almost blamed himself fully if one of his subordinates hurt you. he could only thank the archons that nothing too severe happened on you.

"b-but—

"and, our date for today went exceptionally well, wasn't it? you won't miss me like you have always did before," he winked, and you almost threw your fist at his face if you could. "i am going there for a week. i'll be back before you know it."

"right. let's stop now before your teasing goes too far ahead of yourself," you rolled your eyes, and only did you notice that you were still holding him dearly.

you quickly pulled your hand, and childe swore he had already missed the way you stayed close by his side. he was definitely smitten, he knew it.

"thank me later for wasting my money on you," childe laughed at the way you tried to run away from his grasp.

if he could, he would voice out loud that he really didn't care about his money, as long as you were happy with him, and it frustrated him a little bit that you really thanked him for that when all he wanted to say was that he loved you too.

all rights reserved © genshinology 2023 strictly on tumblr only. any form of wrongdoings under the copyright law is strictly prohibited.

[tiramizuloz]

Sweet green adoration.ᐟ ˚˖𓍢ִ໋.⛰️⋆

summary: your crush on alhaitham has been eating you alive. with no hope that he likes you back you make your friend give him your letter of confession before you completly give up on him.

pairing : alhaitham x gn!reader

wc ~650, ''un''requited feelings, a tiny bit of angst , fluff, sumeru gang mentioned!!

The house of Daena was engulfed in comforting silence. warm sun rays streamed through the windows, gently falling on the white tiles. the hushed whispers of a group of students could be heard in the corner of the place. 'Kaveh, are you an idiot?!' you whispered loudly.

'No, look! I did what I could do!' he defended himself, throwing his arms in front of him. 'Telling him the letter was from me was not what I asked you to do!' you sighed and covered your face in embarrassment. 'Even If Kaveh hadn’t told him, he would have guessed it was from you.' Tighnari shook his head and continued reading his book. 

you huffed, knowing that Alhaitham was smart and could easily put two and two together, realizing that the letter was written by you. Your big crush on Alhaitham was obvious to all of your friends, even before you realized it yourself.

when Kaveh found out, he gave you a look that said 'What the hell is wrong with you?' and just sighed. Cyno and Tighnari had warned you beforehand that Alhaitham was not interested in dating or love. 

you already knew that, but you still held onto hope that your feelings could be reciprocated. The letter was your last shred of hope, and you told yourself, 'If he doesn't say anything about the letter, or worse, rejects me, I will just move on.' Looking back, you wished you had just given up and moved on without embarrassing yourself in front of him and your friends.

you still did it because you were captivated by him from the beginning. you could get lost in the way his soft grey hair falls or his features that seem to have been carefully carved by the archons themselves, oh and you love his fervent passion for reading. ever since you started your studies at the Akademiya, you haven't been able to stop thinking about him.

those bittersweet feelings of strong love for the man have begun to overtake you, and you finally pushed yourself to tell him how you feel, even if it was through your handwriting gently sweeping across the old paper you bought from a sweet lady at the Bazaar.

as you were lost in your thoughts, you felt something brushing against your leg. when you looked down, you saw Cyno's leg and he motioned towards something or someone in front of you. you looked up from the table and met Alhaitham’s teal colored eyes. 'Can you come with me? We need to talk,' he said, already walking away and expecting you to follow him.

you made eye contact with Kaveh, who gave you a thumbs up. you followed behind Alhaitham, his steady voice and words reverberating in your head. you could feel drops of sweat appearing on your forehead, your heartbeat beating faster and faster than before. you two were now at the entrance and he stopped and turned to you. 

you swallowed nervously, preparing yourself for the rejection you were sure was coming. he sighed loudly and looked straight into your eyes. you let your gaze wander across his face, because you know that may be the last time you do so. 'I appreciate the letter… as well as your sweet words that you wrote for me. I would be lying if I said I didn't know you looked at me that way,' he said.

you slowly nodded in response to his comments. he then took your hand in his. 'I... I like you too,' he said, surprising you. you tried to speak, but no sound came out. you moved your hands away from his and wrapped your arms around his neck.

his hands hung awkwardly at his sides, but he eventually put them on your waist and pulled you closer to him. a small, content smile spread across your face as you pressed your face against his neck.

all of your months hoping and praying that he becomes yours finally feel worth it.

© tiramizuloz all rights reserved. do not repost, modify, steal, plagiarize, or translate my works on any platform.

[ellalalala]

Lover, be good to me - Il Dottore x Reader

Something small I wrote at the bus station to quell my boredom! Dottore 🫶

Dottore held his breath as your hands moved to his mask. It wasn't something he had ever allowed you to do before - that sort of trust and vulnerability had been lost to him for many, many years - but you were different. You were the closest thing to perfection that he knew of; who was he to continue pushing you away?

His heart hammered against his chest. What would you think of his true face? Dottore's ruby eyes no longer bore the fury of his younger segments, but what of his scars? He had long accepted them - refusing to erase them even when faced with the opportunity. The marred skin on his forehead and the bridge of his nose was hardly something anyone had admired before; Dottore still vividly remembered the contempt with which the lowly scholars of the Akademiya would look at him. Surely, you wouldn't be the same?

Your fingers gently unclasped his beak-shaped mask. When your eyes met his, you smiled softly, and Dottore couldn't fathom it.

How could you? How could you not recognize the monstrosity before you?

He let you cup his jaw, trail his cheekbone with your thumb.

"Charming," you murmured, "your eyes are akin to trishiraite."

The comparison felt a tad ironic, but Dottore hardly cared; not when your eyes glimmered with so much affection.

All for him.

He found it hard to believe - that he could be anything but disgusting to you. You, who's visage easily rivaled that of the gods. Beautiful and delicate you - a Sumeru rose yet to be trampled by the rishboland tiger.

"You're beautiful."

"Hardly," he muttered.

You shook your head, "no, really. I fail to see what you find so terrible about yourself."

Had he been any younger, any more foolish, Dottore would have protested; you were wrong, wholly and entirely wrong, but Dottore could play pretend for a moment.

When would the other shoe drop?

Instead of whatever horrible thing Dottore imagined you would do, you leaned forward to press a chaste kiss to his cheek. Corners of your soft lips tilted upwards, you gazed at him with more love than he could comprehend.

You were careful not to touch his scars, but your gaze lingered anyway. Dottore felt naked - predator turned prey. He wanted to push you away; the urge would never really leave, he reckoned. Centuries spent in solitude had affected him in ways that could never be changed. Though, the tender way in which you brushed his hair from his face made Dottore reconsider.

His eyes closed when you leaned in to kiss his forehead. Your lips found his nose, his cheeks, his jaw - not an inch of his face left untouched. Dottore drew you closer by the waist, lost in the affection you gave him.

"My Zandik," you said softly. "Beautiful Zandik."

Beautiful he could never be, Dottore thought, not when you stood before him. He thought you blinded by your emotions - your words were entirely influenced by your preexisting affection for him. Had he been but a stranger to you now, would you still have seen him as anything more than a monster? Would you have admired him anyway?

Perhaps. After all, you were unlike the others; delicate and pure and sweet, untainted by those around you.

"I prefer you without the mask," you said, "please, wear it less around me."

Dottore hummed, feigning doubt. Deep down, he knew he would abide by your words without a second thought.

"If that is what you want."

With each kiss you bestowed upon him, Dottore could almost believe it - that he really, truly was worthy of your tenderness after all.

[worriedvision]

Forgery (Chapter 1)

Gender neutral reader, Angst. Wriothesley and Neuvillette distrust reader after letters get sent in threatening Sigewinne. Reader gets sent to Sumeru for punishment, the fic goes into more depth. An attempt at a slow burn, let's see how it goes. Sethos is not going to be a love interest - I don't know quite enough about him yet for it!

--

When you started working as an assistant to Sigewinne, Wriothesley did find himself monitoring you closely. He was concerned you would talk down to her, or you'd maybe mock her because she happens to be a melusine. Neuvillette had the same concern, and you found it to be common to be 'escorted' to places by either a guard or sometimes Wriothesley himself. You and Sigewinne laugh at this, making it a plan to slap as many stickers onto the unfortunate person assigned to help find your way around.

After a while, both Wriothesley and Neuvillette trust you - you stop being monitored, and you begin to see Wriothesley is interested in you. He wasn't very discrete in showing this either - going out of his way to keep getting you nice things, setting up "meetings" which land up being tea dates. Sigewinne was approving of this as well, sometimes being your wing person.

It was going too well, you worried, but you kept going. Before you could get too relaxed, you find out Wriothesley begins to not trust you once again. His once kind demeanor gone once again, back to how things were before he trusted you. He doesn't explain what's wrong, and Sigewinne is also in the dark about these things, and you can't pry out anything from Wriothesley.

Neuvillette makes an appearance - never good news - and he demands to speak to you.

Turns out, you had been suspected of writing threatening letters for Sigewinne. Some of these letters are going as far as to threaten her life, or worse. It horrified you when you heard this, and when you state you never wrote anything Neuvillette hears none of it.

"This is your handwriting, yes?" Neuvillette hums out, your face dropping as you see the person's forged your writing. Even copying characteristic smears from your hand contacting ink yet to be dried completely.

"I wouldn't dream of writing this!" You protest.

"This is your handwriting, yes?" Neuvillette repeats, eyes piercing you.

"I-"

"Yes, that matches their writing here." Wriothesley interrupts, huffing at your responses. Your throat closes up, the evidence not supporting you as to scramble to think of a way of defending yourself. You knew these letters were not your own, but what evidence could support you?

"Threatening our only full-time medical person is a crime, and a serious threat against our population." Wriothesley states, Neuvillette nodding.

"I never wrote this! And I wouldn't dare harm-"

"Face the consequences of your actions, _! I honestly expected better of you, but maybe I should have trusted my first instincts." Wriothesley mumbles, you trying and failing to defend yourself.

"I cannot trust you to keep your threats away from Sigewinne, or from these threats remaining hypothetical. Plans will be made for you to be sentenced in Sumeru, a neighbouring region, for punishment." Neuvillette states, Wriothesley nodding in approval before you get escorted out by four guards to a solitary room.

You could hear Sigewinne defending you, getting angry that Neuvillette and Wriothesley honestly thought you had the time to write such aggressive letters and even think up such violent thoughts. She cries out when Wriothesley doesn't even allow her to see you, to go talk to you at all. She stomps her foot, throwing a tantrum, before Neuvillette gently takes her to her room.

You don't get the chance to have a conversation with your friend, heartbroken to not have her to speak to or keep safe. You were scared for her safety - the threats were coming from somewhere within the Fortress, and you didn't know where. You wished to find out, but you were forced to stay in this room because of these threats.

On the day you got told you were to leave for Sumer, you get escorted out with Wriothesley leading the way. You hear familiar footsteps rushing towards you, and you turn your head to see Sigewinne demanding to speak to you before you leave. You reach out, hoping even for a few lines, only for Wriothesley to grab your hand aggressively, stopping you from talking to her as a guard holds her back.

"Quit the act. Everyone knows you hate her." He growls, you shutting up before you turn your head to see a short man waiting for you.

Finally getting to him, Wriothesley practically yanks your hand towards the man. He introduced himself to you as if you were friends, calling himself Sethos, and Wriothesley attempts to keep you out of the conversation as you continue walking to the lift. When Sethos doesn't immediately show hostility towards you, Wriothesley takes it upon himself to escort you all the way to the edge of Fontaine.

Sethos, still not seeming to treat you any differently, reassures Wriothesley he'll ensure you won't do anything suspicious. This seems to please Wriothesley, and for some silly reason you hope he's going to tell you to come back when the situation resolved.

Nope. He doesn't even acknowledge you.

--

Sethos doesn't treat you any differently at all, even during the walk through the desert. You feel like he'll scold you if you need to stop for a short break, and when your legs begin to give out on you, you fail to hide your surprise when he immediately stops to pitch a tent.

"What? Never seen a tent before?" Sethos starts, smiling. "Or maybe you're impressed by my tent making!"

"I...please don't feel like you need to take more time-"

"You're still a human, you'll need breaks. You're barely walking the way it is." Sethos tuts, gesturing for you to take a seat. "I'm escorting you at the request of Cyno, the General Mahamatra. I need to keep you safe."

"...Thank you. How much were you told about the nature of my sentencing for Sumeru?" You ask, Sethos letting out a hum of contemplation as he hands a flask of water to you.

"Writing threats towards Sigewinne." Sethos thinks out loud, shrugging at the idea. "Based on how she acted towards you, however, I really doubt you'd threaten to hurt her. It's not my place to say, but I don't get anything bad from you."

You can't help but laugh at that, a tear rolling down as you finally feel like someone trusts you other than Sigewinne. How ironic the reassurance is coming from a complete stranger.

Before you realise it, however, your eyes shut. You were exhausted from the thing that occurred over a few days - that, the deserts heat and knowing you'd most likely never get back to Fontaine.

"We'll keep going after a good rest, feel free to shut your eyes." Sethos reassures you.

You knew it would be a big headache to get through. You could only hope more people were like Sethos in Sumeru. Realistically, you knew it wasn't likely.

[sttoru]

DON’T STOP.

༄ sypnosis. you ramble about one of your recent adventures while sitting on your boyfriend’s lap as he’s working.

༄ note. small and quick fic i wrote inspired by an arabic poem: “don’t shorten your speech, i love your details.” by zaid al hourani. didn’t re-read it. repost.

༄ tags. al-haitham x female reader. just fluff, bits of angst and comfort.

“so then, i walked up towards the cave and you won’t even guess what i saw..”

you were rambling about your recent adventure out in the deserts of sumeru while sitting on your boyfriend’s lap. al-haitham was at his desk in his study, busy scanning through the stack of papers and scrolls in front of him.

you’d told him earlier that you could just leave him alone if he needed some space to finish his work, however al-haitham insisted that you’d stay with him.

as much as he didn’t want to admit it out loud, he loved having you near him in any type of way. it’s somehow comforting and it takes his mind off of all the stress he’s having about his work as the akademiya’s scribe.

you continue to happily tell your tale while your eyes were focused on al-haitham’s face. however most of the time his eyes wouldn’t look back at yours at all— not even sparing you a quick glance.

al-haitham’s distant gaze was solely focused on the words that were written down on the papers before him.

he was silent and only nodded or hummed ever so slightly while you talked to him. gradually, your boyfriend stopped those small reactions all together.

it left you with a weird, tinge of disappointment in your chest. of course, you hadn’t expected al-haitham to full out react to your story since he was busy. plus, he usually doesn’t give too big of a reaction anyway.

you still felt like a nuisance for sitting on his lap as he worked, even though al-haitham verbally asked you to stay with him earlier.

you hadn’t noticed that your voice was trailing off the more you got lost in thought, yet al-haitham was quick to realise.

it didn’t look like it to you, but your boyfriend had been listening all along. he was skilled at multi-tasking and especially at the moment, where it came to dividing his attention between you and his work.

“keep going, love.” the scribe finally replies with the slightest of a smile as he keeps reading the contents of the document, “i promise, i’m listening.”

one of his hands move to hold onto yours. his thumb rubs over the skin of your palm, fingers slowly massaging the flesh. it was his indirect way of comforting you.

you smile softly at al-haitham’s words and actions before continuing your story. despite it all, you decided to keep the unnecessary details out of the way and focus on finishing your words as soon as possible so al-haitham could complete his duties afterwards.

“my love.”

your boyfriend’s voice interrupts you mid-sentence and you stop talking to look at him with a puzzled expression, “yeah?”

al-haitham sighs softly, putting his pen down and pushing the papers to the side for the time being. your heart felt like it stopped and your stomach dropped; did he want you to stop? does he finally find your rambling too distracting?

“you’re cutting the details.” the scribe says as he gently puts a strand of hair behind your ear.

“huh?” your eyes widen at his words. you didn’t even know how he caught up on such a minor thing.

al-haitham brings your hand up to his lips and places a few delicate kisses on each of your knuckles. his warm breath on your skin and the affectionate glimmer in his eyes as he finally looked back at you were almost too much to bear.

“please, do not shorten your speech, my dearest.” he whispers, moving his lips up to kiss each of your fingertips. “speak your mind. i promise that i will be here to listen to every word you utter.”

it was in that moment that you realised that al-haitham had been paying full attention to your words this entire time. it couldn’t be otherwise since he easily figured out that you were leaving out details.

al-haitham slowly adjusted you on his lap by holding onto your hips and bringing your body closer to his— your back pressed against his chest.

“can you do that for me?” he eventually adds, looking at your eyes and then at your other facial features which he fancies equally.

to say that you were flustered by the sudden attention from your boyfriend was quite an understatement, though either way, you nodded.

“y- yeah, sure. i will.” you manage to get those words out before clearing your throat.

al-haitham smiles softly at this and places a soft kiss on your cheek. “there’s my girl. thank you.”

your boyfriend then continues to pick up his pen again while his other hand stays on your waist. his fingers absentmindedly play with the fabric of the clothes you’re wearing.

you pick up your story from where you had left it at; this time recalling it without any details missing— just how your boyfriend likes it.

[smilingangel582]

The chase

Hi guys, I am madly in love with this character. And guess what, this is Naruto and Sasuke'a VA! In Japanese. I seriously wrote this tk fic as they speak in Japanese. Omg! I love them even more. Ps. We need more lee!kinich... I summon it!

Summary: Paimon is convinced Kinich is scary, but Aether thinks otherwise. It was a quiet day in Natalan until Aether started a bet with Paimon to prove her wrong. New discoveries were made, and unsurprisingly, a certain dragon lord commits betrayal.

Warning: Spoilers for the nataln archon quest and Kinich's quest, tickling, cuteness overload, Aether and Kinich are very close, but mind you, it's a platonic relationship (can't ship them yet)

"So you Paimon is supposed to believe that Kinich is actually... uh... a sweetheart?" Paimon crossed her arms in confusion. Floating around as Aether walked through the city of mountains, the scion of the canopy.

Aether shrugs, giving her a confident smirk "Well... he may appear blank but he's very nice and he doesn't hide it... not like a certain wanderer ..."

Paimon guessed Hat guy from Sumeru might have sneezed by that mention.

"But he's so cold and Paimon can't really see the guy smile..." Paimon huffs now, as if its the biggest worries for her, "its frightening how blank Kinich is..."

"What's frightening about me Paimon?"

A soft voice made Paimon shrill in surprise making her gasp and wheeze. Aether mildly turns back with a less-reactive surprised expression at seeing the saurian hunter.

"Hi Kinich,"

Kinich greets them politely, "Traveler, Paimon how do u do?"

Paimon recovering from her shock, groans, "Jeez Paimon almost got a heart attack! Stop sneaking up on us like that... your quiet anyway unlike your pixel-poop-mouth!"

Ajaw snarls, "Who are you calling poop-mouth, tiny ant?"

"Oh and Paimon's bigger than you!"

They continue bickering making Aether sheepishly give Kinich an apologetic look, "Sorry about that..."

"I should be the one to apologise..." kinich replies solemnly, making Aether like this guy more for his awkward informal side.

"Ajaw, do you want another time out?"

Ajaw turns to kinich, his mouth dropping in anguish. "Grrr! Fine, fine! I won't torment the anaemic ant!"

"Hehe" Paimon smirks. "Know your place little dragon lord!"

Aether rolls his eyes, "Paimon... behave"

Paimon pouts, looking sideways, "awww alright im sorry Kinich... and maybe Ajaw"

"Maybe??"

Ignoring Ajaw's short snap, Kinich shakes his head, a hand to his chest. "Don't be Paimon. You're actually a kind companion to the traveller..." he adds deliberately after casting a look at Ajaw, "It makes me jealous"

"Huh? I'm more powerful ya know! Oi! Kinich!"

Aether hears Paimon floating towards Kinich, "Kinich, you don't smile much, do you?"

Kinich slightly astonished responds, "I beg your pardon? I do..."

"When?" Partly challenging and partly curious.

"Like... right now?"

They all stared. Even Kinich seemed uncertain about what he just said. Paimon huffs, mildly irritated, "OK so... laughing? Ever dont that before..."

Ajaw floats around Kinich, his pixel hands patting his shoulder, "Haa hahaa would love to see that embarassing sight."

Kinich shrugs him off, the bandana making him seem like he's angry but he's just frustrated with Ajaw.

"All the more reason why I should not"

Ajaw being slightly pushed away but regains balance in air comes swirling back to him with a cunning sneer, "Uh oh someone's a little defensive... afraid I'll exploit a weakness?"

Aether sense tension, usually he would've stepped in to stop Kinich's discomfort with Ajaw but knowing the topic he was curious where this was going.

Paimon is no better now - contrast to Ajaw's scheming malice - she steps in to prompt Ajaw's hint, "Oooh does this mean he does laugh?"

Kinich folds his arms, somewhat wary where this was going. Yet he failed to notice where Ajaw just disappeared.

"I do, but not all the time -"

"Yeah, just poke him like this, and he'll go gyaaahaahaa!" Ajaw swiftly pokes Kinich around the waist close to the small of his back, making him spasm in shock, gasping, "Oi!"

Silence. Paimon's eyes widened, and so did Aether's. They all exchanged glances. Now Ajaw proudly danced and shook his tail, as if he got the best victory after 500 years.

"Kinich?" Aether smirks, now barely hiding his excitement, "Are you ticklish?"

The saurian hunter now stared, knowing there's no other way to dodge the question. He swiftly seized Ajaw's tail, now activating his grappling hook. He swings off till he disappeared through the clouds.

His flight instincts kicked in. Paimon stared in bewilderment, but she was the only one until Aether began to take the one-sided challenge.

Somewhere by the top of the mountains in Scion of the canopy, Kinich cautiously looked by the trees, hoping he had escaped. He knew now or never... and his experience in running away has been helpful.

"Baa! You coward..." Ajaw scoffed, now teasing, "Were you that scared?"

"It was not fright... I just don't like the thought of showing the traveller such an absurd state" he sternly added "and you're officially in time out"

Ajaw grumbled now, waving his small pixel arms "Grr... whatever, but you know Kinich"

"What?"

"Running away doesn't always help ya... when there's a good seeker"

He frowns, looking somewhat confused by this indirect analogy. "What do you-?"

"Gotcha!" Aether swings by instantly now tackling (not on purpose) Kinich as they both tumbled to the ground.

"J-jeez traveller be careful" Kinich groan, now sounding concerned. "Don't use that hook, so lightly"

Aether chuckles straddling him. "Thanks your a nice guy... now ever heard of the saying "you can run but you can't hide" Kinich?"

Before he could struggle he already felt nimble fingers attacking his sides.

"O-ohokay w-wahait tihihihime ohohout!"

His giggles are soft and yet very childish. Aether stares in wonder... he had heard many sweet voices but hearing Kinich like this is like a dream in Nahida's world.

"Wow.. you're sensitive, Ajaw wasn't lying"

Ajaw smirks "Hehe that was one of the weaknesses that I'm proud of exploiting in him"

"You mean the only one?" Paimon scoffs.

"Ah! Took you long enough useless ant"

"You! You pixel weirdo!" Paimon stomps her foot on the air angrily and begins bickering with Ajaw.

Kinich and Aether... well they have other better matters to attend to.

"So tell me, is this spot worse than this?" His fingers creeping towards his hips making him buck in surprise, grabbing Aether's wrists which didn't help, "Ah! Aether!"

"You said my name! Nice!" He gets his hips and then back to his waist... slipping the jacket down a little bit to access the skin.

"Ahaharchons juhuhuhust stohohohop a mihihinute plehehehehease!" Kinich curls to the side, suddenly his laughter getting louder when Aether targets his ribs with swift unpredictable speed.

"Uh oh ribs? That's not good... especially since your swinging around..." Aether smirks, now tapping and prodding his ribs as Kinich jerks to his back to protect his sides. His long lashes damp with tears.

"And you won't be able to swing comfortable knowing how vulnerable here..." he pinches the highest set ribs with indication "Oh and perhaps under here?" Slipping his fingers right under his arms making Kinich let an (honest to archon) a squeak.

"You're a sweetheart"

"Ihihihi ahahahahappreciahahahate the cohohohompliment buhuhuhut y-yohohohour kihihilling mehehe!" He giggles now. Trying to cover his worst spots as much as he could.

Aether laughed, now pausing a little, instead keeping his wrists pinned on either side of Kinich's head to keep him in anticipation.

"OK ok! Sorry, I always had to break the serious guys in this world."

Kinich groans, slightly huffs of laughter now calming down at the small break.

"Ajaw said Kinich has a weak neck!"

Paimon's sudden outburst on that fact made Kinich shiver. Aether turns to her first then back at him, a very mischievous smile that made Kinich shake his head a little, somewhat pitiful.

"Tch! The mighty dragon lord knows what a whimp he is but he still refuses to die.. bahahawahaha" Ajaw cackles in a sinister tone "Oh laugh to death Kinich!"

Aether rolls his eyes, "we are not killing him, just playing around... like friends"

Kinich's eyes that used to be blank slightly glistened with brightness, "Friends?"

"Yup and friends... make friends happy!" Aether wiggles his fingers right over his collarbone and throat lightly. Kinich knees kicked up in reflex, but they didn't stop Aether's fiery determination to tickle him.

"Ahaha Aetheheheher hehehee cuhuhuhut ihihit out! Hahaha ok ok y-yohohohou won! You won! Ok! Just mehehehercy! Mercy!

After that implore, Aether stopped tearfully laughing as well, falling next to Kinich, eyes bright golden and with bliss, "ohoho man that was so funny... im glad I saw this side of you..."

Kinich's breath was somewhat heavier as he managed to grab his composure swiftly as an amazing athlete "I-I uh... thank you traveler... I guess it wasn't that bad"

Ajaw growls, "Awwww, come on! I bet if you got his armpits more seriously next, he might not say that! Come on, traveler, I'm begging ya! Tickle this guy to death -g-gaaaaaaah curseeeee youuuu!"

Once more he just got confined into a space suddenly gone. Kinich sighs as he puts Ajaw away easily, resting an arm over his hip as he gets up now tired but somewhat... relaxed?

"Hey Kinich..."

He jolts when Aether poked his armpit that was exposed, making him stare in surprise "That's round two the next time we meet? And don't listen to Ajaw... tickling isn't something bad... its what friends do to have fun"

Kinich silently debated this answer... smiling genuinely. Perhaps Mualani was right... friends are amazing.

"Well come by traveler... its much livelier here with you around" Kinich offers, now giving an awkward smile.

"Aww miss me already?" Aether grins, then nudged him, "or the tickles"

"Just... you" he grunts, but looking sideways, with a timid look that seemed to have never appeared until today.

Aether will cherish that moment forever and also his laugh.

[fremiinetistic]

Might need to hear about the Kaveh and fremi being brothers thing ngl you can't give me that and let me go crazy

I've been waiting for an excuse for this paragraph to move up on the list Here is why I believe Freminet and Kaveh are brothers Kaveh's mother, Faranak visited Fontaine Kaveh enrolled in the Akademiya to help " ease her soul a little" from his fathers death, eventually she was offered a job there which led to her moving there. Sometime after Kaveh's graduation she had a wedding in which he attended "she wrote that she had found someone to whom she could entrust the rest of her life, and as such was going to remarry in Fontaine. It was this news that she would, with great trepidation and expectation, relate to her only relative." "Kaveh wrote back and congratulated her, and would even go to Fontaine to take part in the wedding. It was a simple affair, and only a few guests were present. Seeing his mother smile once more" After the wedding it's said that "his mother would leave all her property in Sumeru to him. Three days later, he would return to Sumeru, and once again felt the terror of the empty home" meaning she decided to move their permanently and after a while he lost contact with her. It doesn't really make sense that she wouldn't contact him again seeing as she cared for Kaveh dearly, its said that in a mistake where Kaveh as a child drew his first blueprint and put it in a pile with hers and she ended up accidentally giving it to a client instead of being mad she taught him how to make a proper one. "She didn't scold me about it in private, though. Instead, she went over all the steps required to draw a good blueprint, and was very patient throughout the whole process. I still remember it like it was yesterday." It does however make sense if you connect Freminet's lore to it Freminet was born to an unnamed mother and an unnamed father in Fleuve Cendre, a region in Fontaine. It is said that his father had a major debt and left his mother sometime after they married to deal with it. "Freminet never met his own father, but he heard from his mother that the man was knee-deep in debt. He had little idea what all these numbers meant, and they were as hard for the little boy to conceive as a dinner in the Palais Mermonia. " The debt lead to Freminet being given away and her being killed when he was a young child. ""Father" told Freminet that his mother hadn't abandoned him, but on the contrary, had acted to protect him...

That year, the debt that his family owed finally reached the point where they would no longer be able to repay it. Those greedy moneylenders had not only forced Freminet's mother to hand over the house that they lived in, but had also demanded that she hand over Freminet as well. But she was his mother — how could she let this happen? In the end, she had no choice but to entrust Freminet to "that orphanage" — somewhere they could never get at him — and then face them alone.

"This was all I found. As for your mother..." As she looked at the young boy in front of her, still gripping the pendant tightly in his hands, "Father" trailed off and left the ensuing silence to speak for her."

It makes sense she would drop contact if she /had/ no choice. It is said his mother "worked from dawn till dusk, day in day out." which left him alone most of the time, and wouldn't give her a lot of time to send a letter to Kaveh. Especially because she ended up dying. A question that someone could ask is "Why wouldn't she tell Kaveh that she was going to be killed?" Well not only did she still work constantly before her eventual death but also she wouldn't want to burden her son with the knowledge that his mother whom he had lost contact with years before had died, ignorance is bliss I suppose. Other things would be "and seeing Freminet's innocent face light up with pure joy, a rare smile broke out on his mother's, too." Kaveh's character story 2 says this about his mom: "after his passing, she would never again smile." They both have robotic companions "..Pers? No, Pers is more like family to me. We grew up together... No, I'm serious. I'm always tinkering with it to add more functionality... " "Page 115: Suitcase design draft. Postscript: "Mehrak is an ancient word, one I have used as the name for this suitcase. It means 'little light.' More than anything, I hope it really can understand what I'm saying.""

Their mother both played an important role in their current job (semi job for Freminet he doesn't really.. get paid its more of his role) "One day, when his mother returned home, she suddenly heard a strange noise that stopped her in her tracks. It was the sound of their clock, which Freminet had unwittingly fixed, ticking away almost as if to celebrate the new lease on life he had given it. She caressed his head and praised him, filling his heart with joy. But when he woke up the following morning, the clock was nowhere to be found. When his mother came home that evening, she brought him two slices of a type of bread he'd never had before. He still remembers the taste to this day. From that day forth, his mother brought back all kinds of different devices for him — everything from clockwork toys to miniature clocks. Freminet liked his new friends a lot, and would spend a long time "waking" them from their slumber, even though they always vanished the following day."

"while his mother had graduated from Kshahrewar, and much as he would become later in life, she too was a famous architect. Influenced by them, Kaveh was interested in architectural design from a young age. They would sit in the living room as he sat at home playing with the block puzzles they had bought for him." " "Oh, and this blueprint... Haha, I made it by copying my mother's sketch, and the aspect ratio was horrendous. It's still technically the first blueprint I made myself, though." " Also they're both known for their engineering/mechanics which is a given because of their jobs/hobbies.

Both their visions are on the same hip

Both of their constellations are birds that represent them

Their descriptions are similar

+ Also similar

they both are considered sensitive

[mists-reading-nook]

Another world.

Part two,yay!

Slight gore warning!

Gone. His entire livelihood is gone. His home is gone. His family,friends,everyone. Everyone but her. Her safety came above his,she had to stay alive at all costs.

Walking through the familiar forest,weaving through the thick foliage. You travel through this quiet world. Not a sound in the air,not even a gust of wind. Darkness lurks in every corner,under every bush and leaf. Finally,you make it to the place where leaves turn to rock,where grass yields to stone.

Turning around one last time,you look at the slowly closing Sumeru. What happened here? Who wrote that warning?

The dark greens and greys and blues and blacks of the forest transfix you,and you can’t look away,even as your feet move backwards. Your stupor is broken by something soft under your shoe.

It’s another notebook. You pick it up,flipping through it. It’s longer this time.

“We’re out now. We are mostly unscathed,but she’s scared now. I admit I was a bit snippy,trying to get her out,but this is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Everyone is gone,nothing is familiar. The akedemyia was no help,as expected. But even they’re gone now.

We’re heading to liyue. It’ll be safe as we try to navigate this new problem. At least,that’s what I can hope. I need help,I can hardly do this on my own. “

There’s another page after that,this time it’s messy and scrawled in handwriting worse than in the first note.

“It’s not safe here either. I don’t know how it spread here but it did and we need to run.

Liyue is not safe.

One of them got me,but she’s safe. As long as she’s safe,I can do this. As long as she’s ok,I’m willing to die.

I’ll be ok,there’s no point in panicking.

[There’s a note at the bottom,in big, hastily scribbled letters.]

This is a warning to any and all sumeru survivors.

Liyue is not safe.

I don’t think anywhere is.”

You drop the unsigned book to the floor, hearing wailing coming from below. Carefully,in fear of what you may find,you climb down the broken,rickety wooden figure. What it had once been,you weren’t sure. The underneath of it was the interest anyway.

There’s a man there. Propped up on some rocks,with his eyes glased over. The wailing comes from his wide open mouth. His jaw was hanging from his face by a bone. His eyes are wide,and they look at you. It feels like he’s looking past you,through your clothes and through your skin. He couldn’t see you. Or at the very least,he didn’t know he was seeing you.

The wailing grows louder.

The body of this man,covered in moss and twirling vines,was worn and red. His arms were covered in scratch marks. Blood pooled from them like a waterfall,falling down the arm and onto the floor below.

What was this?

The wailing grows louder.

Who was this? What was their story,why were they sitting like this? What had happened to them..?

The wailing grows louder.

The wailing grows louder.

The wailing grows louder.

Run.

You need to run.

The wailing grows louder.

Your feet take you far. Far away from the man,away from Sumeru. You didn’t know this place,didn’t know where you were going,but your feet take you there anyway.

When you finally make it out of that stone graveyard,when your feet finally land on soft ground,you look up.

Liyue is not safe.

The wailing grows louder.

[hulhudhonado]

Right Person, Wrong Letter

Synopsis: Cyno and Traveller came across some letters during an expedition and Al Haitham basically annoyed about the contents of it.

CW: Slight Angst, Death of Characters, Mention of suicide

HC: Reader is gender-neutral, Reader does not have a vision, Al Haitham was King Deshret in the past

Characters: Al Haitham, Kaveh, Nahida, King Deshret, Mentions of Goddess of Flowers, Cyno and Traveller.

Note: Does anyone else know about the reincarnation theory? I think it's pretty intriguing and I am definitely going to use that as a plot point to make angst. It's what the people deserve. I decided to change things up a bit and put in a small description of what's to come. There is a lot of reading in this one, like a slow burn kind of feeling because I love putting lore into reader x character stories. Also this is after Nahida's archon and story quest, so there will be some spoilers. Enjoy.

The current feeling Al Haitham was experiencing was irritation and he was certain it was because of the papers that lay orderly on the table in front of him. It was a series of letters, extracted from one of King Deshret's reserves. They were in envelopes completely sealed with only slight discoloration on the paper. Many would think the contents of these letters would be extraordinary, especially since they were so well preserved, but to Al Haitham's disappointment, it was far from a discovery.

They were love letters and minimal ones at that. One requested a walk alongside the desert city and another insisted to go to the festival held by the Goddess of Flowers for Sumeru's Archon. Al Haitham sighed, looking through each letter carefully. At first, he thought maybe it was a secret code that he needed to decipher, but to his dismay, it was not. Just ordinary love letters, which embarrassingly seemed to be written by the King himself.

"Of course, Cyno would be the one to give me something so useless." He mumbled to himself, recounting the time when Cyno and the Traveller had dropped by his house at 3 in the morning just to hand him the letters. They were lucky he was reading at the time, otherwise, they would have been standing on the front porch until sunrise. However, now he regrets it, realizing he wasted hours of his night on this. He shouldn't have stayed up.

Almost mockingly, Kaveh entered the room, yawning as if he was just woken up from the best sleep known to man. The man yelped, seeing Al Haitham awake sitting on the living room sofa with papers laid out everywhere and a fierce look in his eyes. "You know it wouldn't hurt to make some noise when you're working, I thought you were a criminal." Al Haitham huffed, not bothered to retort at the moment. This intrigued Kaveh, who decided to prod more.

"What got you so grumpy on such a lovely day?" He asked, walking towards the papers to take a peak. Al Haitham leaned back in his chair with another huff. "Letters found in of one King Deshret's reserves. I made the mistake of thinking it might be useful." Kaveh picked one up, reading the texts and irking an eyebrow. "And you're certain it's his?"

Al Haitham gave Kaveh an annoyed glare. "Of course, the handwriting matches almost all his other official documents." Kaveh hummed, a confused look on his face, he turned the paper around, trying to look for something. Now it was Al Haitham's turn to raise an eyebrow. "What?"

"Is there no indication as to who it was written for?" Al Haitham sat up a bit. "What?" "Well, the letters had to be written for someone, but looking at it, it seems he never sent out these letters. Not only that, he wrote a bunch of them, no signs they were opened until now." Kaveh wasn't wrong, there was no sign of an address or the recipient addressed onto the letters.

Kaveh put down the letter, stretching himself before making his way to the kitchen. "What a shame, poor guy never got to tell that person how he felt. " The irritated feeling in Al Haitham's chest began to grow and for once his usual poker face was gifted with a frown.

He didn't like not knowing something.

---

Al Haitham didn't know what he was achieving by doing this. Requesting an audience with the archon just to find out about a lost king's love life? It sounded embarrassing even to say. However he needed to scratch the itch that was in his brain, he needed to know why King Deshret had never sent out these letters. Or even if he did send one, where he could find a reply to the letter. Al Haitham didn't like doing useless things, but at the same time, he disliked not knowing something in its entirety.

Nahida had greeted him, to which he responded with a bow. After giving a detailed summary of the situation, he held out the letters to Nahida. She took them, awing at the number of letters. "Wow, that's quite a lot." He nodded. "Yeah, I'm certain he must have at least sent one. Maybe he even got a response. But I cannot find anything else."

"Have you asked the people who gave you the letters in the first place whether there was anymore?" Al Haitham nodded. He requested the Traveller to once more check the ruins for any signs of letters which the Traveller kindly obliged to. However, there was nothing it seemed. Al Haitham didn't like that outcome.

Nahida nodded, also intrigued. "I do not remember anything of that sort, but I can check the Iriminsul tree's records to see if there is anything related to this." She said, gesturing to the overflowing of letters in her hand. "I would appreciate that."

Al Haitham stood to a side waiting with crossed arms. It only took a couple of minutes but Al Haitham could feel his patience wearing out. Why was he so obsessed with finding out? He wasn't sure and somehow that irked him more. He wanted to just get this over with.

"Found something." Al Haitham could feel his entire body react, alerting himself to carefully listen to the results. Nahida displayed a glimpse of a memory, it almost looked like a puppet show. She began to speak as the memory played out. "King Dhesret had sent multiple letters over his lifetime so it was a bit difficult to go through, but there was one particular instance where he went to deliver a letter. This was the only record that stood out to me."

The puppet show depicted King Dhesret, making his way through the desert until he reached a city, extending his hand with a letter in it to an individual. The individual did not have any distinguishing features, and before anything else could happen the memory faded into Nahida's palm. Nahida extended her hand, which Al Haitham accepted.

She placed a little orb in his palm before backing away. "I found records of the location. I put it into that form so it's easier for you to access. You might find the letter there." Al Haitham looked down at his hand, before gripping the orb tightly between his fingers and palm. "I'm thankful for your assistance my archon."

Nahida smiled at him. "I hope you find what you are looking for. Good luck."

---

It was no surprise the location was that of an abandoned city in the desert. Houses were broken down and sand piled inside, the definition of a ghost town. Al Haitham frowned, it would have been annoying if thieves had come around and taken any records here. He just hoped that the letter wasn't valuable enough to be taken.

He followed the instructions displayed by the orb, following into a small brick house, almost the same as any of the other houses. He looked around. It was a pretty humble house, maybe a family of three could have lived here in the past. He was certain the place was given to the ancestors to the individual who received the letter because even when the house was abandoned, it looked like it was lived in pretty well.

Children's drawings were scattered on the walls. There were marble sets and broken game pieces in the sand. Three beds with no mattress and chair pieces were broken and scattered around the place. A hearth in the center of the room was covered in soot due to the number of times it had been used.

However no sign of where a letter could be placed. There were no cupboards or chests around intact. No scrolls or hidden compartments he could see. "This whole trip has been a waste of my time." Al Haitham grumbled to himself. The usual him would have just made his way out, but to his surprise, he began to dig. He dug out corners, near the hearth, beside the games. There must have been something. He didn't want this stupid trip to be a waste.

He finally dug beneath one of the bed frames, which lead to the discovery of a box. A small tin box that was used to hold cookies or treats for children. Al Haitham sat down on the sand, opening the tin to see what was inside.

He found a letter. The name written on the front seemed familiar to him, almost on the tip of his tongue, but it wasn't a name found in any of his research. He took out the letter, gently opening it, trying not to damage the envelope. He could tell the letter was taken care of and he didn't want to deal with any of the scholars lecturing him for damaging historical documents.

The letter inside had seen better days. It was discolored and wrinkled. It was as if someone had crumpled the paper and then tried to straighten it out. The fold between the pages was forming tears and the paper was warped. Al Haitham tried his best to gently open it to read its contents.

---

"My dear friend,

I apologize for the sudden letter, I couldn't bare to tell you this by myself so I hope you will forgive me someday.

I cannot spare you any details of what is going on, but I want to inform you that I will no longer be present in the world by the time you opened and read this letter.

I have done something that caused the lives of my friends and my citizens and I need to make things right.

Thank you for everything you have done for me and I hope you live a happy life with your family.

Your friend,

Deshret."

---

It was a suicide note. Contrasting to any of the letters he had written, this wasn't a love letter. King Dhesret wrote a final letter to this person as a friend, completely hiding away the fact he was ever in love with them.

Al Haitham wondered what he was feeling right now. Rage? Disappointment? He wasn't sure, but either way, he had to drop the letter on the ground before he decided it needed to be ripped apart.

He couldn't believe he had spent almost an entire two days trying to uncover this, only to find out the letter that the king had ever sent was a suicide note to the so-called person he loved. At this point, he decided he was done. Gathering the letter back into its box, he began to make his way back home.

---

The last thing he needed to do was get rid of the letters, meaning give them to the Akademiya Archives for safekeeping. He was satisfied, finally being able to get rid of these letters.

He made his way into the library and saw someone near the desk, head down, reading papers scattered around. You were so distracted with what you were reading you didn't even see him enter and hover over you.

A slight cough made you jolt, making you look up at Al Haitham. He had a poker face on and you could feel your face brighten up. You were not prepared to take off the current acting grand sage. You began to speak, trying not to jumble your words.

"OH! Sir! How can I assist you?" You laugh sheepishly, trying to hide your sudden shyness. He placed the letters on the desk without acknowledging your awkwardness. "We found some records written by King Dhesret. I do not think it's important but the Akademiya would say otherwise." You awe at the letters. You quickly put away the research papers you were reading and began to open the letters one by one, displaying them on your desk.

"Oh my! They are love letters!" You could feel yourself blush, you wondered if King Dhesret might have been rolling in his grave knowing these would be permanently displayed in Sumeru's history after this. "If that is all you need I'll be on my way." Al Haitham began to turn around. "Oh no please wait!" Al Haitham turned back and you felt yourself shrink as he scowled at you.

"I'm sorry but, I will still need you around. Since you're the one who brought these in I will need to ask questions to prepare the article when presenting these in the archives. A description of what they were and what was discovered from them. I'll try my best to make it quick." You wondered if you had spoken so fast ever in your life. However, you knew Al Haitham was not a patient man when he had to do things he deemed unimportant.

Al Haitham on the other end was tired. He had not slept properly in days trying to piece why the letters were irritating him so much. Even after discovering the final letter, he still felt like he had failed a mission. He wanted to get rid of the letters and get over it but instead, he sighed, dragging a chair near to your desk and sitting across from you. He watched your face of worry turned into a smile.

As he sat closer to you, his eyes caught on the nameplate on your desk. Your name matched the name of the person King Dhesret had sent the letter. No wonder he thought it sounded familiar.

"Is something wrong Acting Grand Sage?" You ask. Al Haitham shook his head. "No. Also, don't call me that. Al Haitham is fine." He crossed his arms and you responded with a meek nod, before going back into the letters.

"Right, so let me ask some questions. Any noticeable things you discovered when researching these letters?" Al Haitham shook his head once more, he felt like he would end up doing this the entire talk. "No, only the fact that King Dhesret might have been a coward it seems." You note everything he said down.

As he continued to shake his head and answer your questions, he watched your eyebrows furrow, almost in frustration. He looked amused, wondering if he was pissing you off. You finally broke, when Al Haitham decided to diss the King once more.

"I'm sorry if I might be going out of the line here, but, do you perhaps think this discovery was a waste of time?" Al Haitham scoffed, he usually kept a poker face, barely showing any emotion in his words, but he couldn't keep up appearances when he was this tired. However, it didn't change his honesty. "Yes." "Can you elaborate on why?"

Al Haitham raised an eyebrow. "The letters don't provide much for the history-" You cut him off, which did surprise him a bit. "I beg to differ. The letters themselves don't help the general history of his rule as the King of the desert, but it does give insight into him as a person."

Al Haitham wanted to say something, but you continued to speak and for once, Al Haitham wanted to listen. "For starters, all these letters are considered love letters but the requests he suggests are so, simple, almost as if he was trying not to make it obvious. It's clear to us since he never made requests like this via letter before. He was known for being confident and rebellious. But the person writing these letters was too shy to say it out loud." You point out certain lines in the letters.

"Next, almost everyone was certain he was only enamored by the Goddess of flowers, especially since they ruled together. But then we see the letters, addressing someone who isn't her. Some of the letters even suggest that she might have encouraged him to write it out. Such as the flower petals and their imprints you can see on some of the letters. " Al Haitham watched you trace over the patterns on the letter. He assumed they were just slight discoloration, but closely looking into them he could see the flower petals of a padisarah flower carefully imprinting the letter.

"Finally, how well the letters were preserved. Something must have held him back from sending them, but it seemed that he always planned on sending them at one point. He could have easily thrown or torn these apart, but something about these letters was important to him. It expressed something that he wanted to say so badly but something prevented him from saying it." He watched as you pulled out the letter King Dhesret actually had the courage to send.

He watched as you gently opened it, a slight smile falling on your face. You catch yourself before turning a shade of red. "Sorry, I just noticed how our names matched, it almost felt like King Dhesret sent this letter to me." You giggled and Al Haitham frowned, the thought kind of annoyed him.

You cough, noticing his frown, shifting your eyes away back to the letter. "Anyway, this letter proves why he never sent the rest. The recipient had a family. Maybe he was too late, or maybe they didn't have a choice but to start one. This was during a time forbidden knowledge was affecting the citizens. They both couldn't make time for each other because of it, leading them to live different lives."

Al Haitham watched you look down at the letter, a bittersweet smile on your face. He didn't enjoy how that looked on your face. You began to speak once more. "Are you familiar with the term 'Right person, wrong time'? It's a pretty common trope in romance novels." "I don't read romance novels." You let out a light laugh and Al Haitham had to catch himself from thinking that the laugh suited you more than the sad smile on your face.

"Of course you wouldn't, I am not surprised. However, I think this is a clear example of it. It's very clear that the recipient cared for him to such an extent." Al Haitham cocked his head to a side, a gesture implying 'Why do you think so?'. You continued. "The state of this letter pretty much shows it. First, it was crumpled, probably out of anger. But then it was straightened out carefully and placed into the envelope. You could also see how much it was folded, almost as if they kept it around and opened it constantly over time. The warped paper also indicates that it had got wet, probably from tears."

Al Haitham watched as you carefully point out all of it. He wondered why he felt so jealous of a stupid letter, the way you held it so gently, almost as if the letter was written for you. He hated it.

"They probably felt the same way or something similar. Too bad he never sent the rest. Something could have happened if he did." You sighed, folding the letter gently before placing it back in its envelope.

You finally caught yourself, realizing how much you had been rambling at the time. You felt yourself turn red once more. "But you already knew about all this! I'm so sorry for going on a tangent!" You mumble out, trying to hide your embarrassment.

Al Haitham sighed, making you feel like you were hit in the face by a bat. The grand sage was known for being ruthless and you didn't want to be on his bad side. Imagine your surprise when he finally decided to speak up. "No, it's fine. I suppose I was not thinking thoroughly. I apologize for downplaying this discovery." You blink in shock.

Al Haitham stood up. "I suppose we are done now?" You nod, tongue-tied and unsure how to respond. "Then I'll be on my way. Thank you for taking care of that." He began to turn and make his way to the door. He stopped near the entrance, turning once more to face you, who still haven't taken your eyes off him. "I might come around another time. It seems your insight into certain topics has intrigued me." With that, he made his way out of the door.

---

On the way out, he met Nahida, who set at the railings of the stairs, looking out at the view. He didn't know why, but he made his way toward her.

"Did you find what you needed?" She asked, acknowledging him approaching her. "It seems so."

"Are you satisfied?" He thought about it. "No not really. I still think he was a coward. " Nahida let out a laugh.

"Do you want to change that?" Al Haitham raised an eyebrow, confused about what that could mean. "I'm sorry my archon, I don't seem to understand."

"If perhaps you were King Dhesret, would you want to change how it ended?" She asked, rephrasing her question. Al Haitham still didn't understand what she could be implying but decided to answer anyway. " I would be nothing like him."

Nahida hummed in approval. "I see I see. I wish you good luck then." She looked at him and smiled. She dropped down next to him and waved him goodbye. Al Haitham gave a bow, before watching her enter the Akademiya Archives, where you were currently working.

Maybe it was the sleep deprivation but he thought about how happy you looked when you saw the letter had your name and how much it irritated him. Al Haitham didn't know why, but he felt like writing a letter. He shook his head, making his way back to his house.

He just hoped whatever he did write didn't end up in the archives in the future. Especially since he planned on inviting you out very soon. He picked out some flowers on the way, hoping you would like them. It seems like he wasn't going to get any sleep anytime soon.

[l1nghuarchive]

SHOOT IM SORRY TO THE ANON I LOST YOUR REQUEST :( AAA FRICK OMLL AAA IM SORRY BUT HERE IS THE REQUEST YOU WANTED!! I can't remember what the reader was.. I wrote this during lunch :') IM SO SORRY ANON

★ CHILDE, TIGHNARI, ALHAITHAM X FEM!READER WHO LIKES TO OVER DRESS & GLAMOROUS

CHILDE/AJAX

• The fatui are known to be rather rich, no one knows where they got their mora from after the death of morax of course no regular person would ask.

• Perhaps Childe might keep the fact that he is a harbinger from you, as he didn't want to frighten you off l. Harbingers are known to be fearsome, cruel and heartless yet you somehow fill that void inside his heart.. He doesn't know how to describe it but it felt like a tree just bloomed into his heart.

• When you went on one of your shopping sprees, you may have forgotten your wallet back at home but he came up and paid for all your stuff! You were really surprised because that stuff cost like 100k+ mora but you were really grateful to him!

• Turns out, he wanted to get a present for his siblings but didn't know what to get for his sister, Tonia and he thought you might be an expert since you walked around the liyue district like the back of your hand.

• Sure, even after Childe left Liyue, he always tries writing to you and keep thanking you for helping him pick out a gift.

• After he confesses, he loves you no matter what <3 he'll glare at the person who was judging you while you're looking away not really wanting you to see the harbinger side of him since he doesn't want to scare you off :(

TIGHNARI

• Perhaps Tighnari met you when you were in sumeru city while he was still studying in the akademiya, of course you stood out to him. Not many people in sumeru focus on their appearance as their main focus is always their studies.

• So he went up to interact with you, thinking you might be a foreigner from liyue or fontaine and was surprised to know that you aren't.

• After a few encounters and small talks, he soon realised that his heart kept pounding whenever he sees you perhaps after a few sassy comments he ACTUALLY confesses.

• Tighnari would get ready with you! Perhaps he'll even share tips on how to untame your hair easily since he does groom his tail and ears frequently, maybe he might allow you to put some of your accessories on him! <3

• Of course, if you are overspending your mora he will stop you and teach you spending habits you shld pick up :)

• he doesn't want his girlfriend perhaps future wife to go broke after all, he does love you dearly so please don't take his comments to heart he just really want you to look after yourself :]

ALHAITHAM

• Same as Tighnari's, i think that ppl in sumeru don't really care much about their appearance.

• alhaitham is someone who likes to lay low and not draw attention to himself when in crowds.

• so kaveh was surprised when he heard that alhaitham was dating you.. Or at least dating someone before him like his jaw literally dropped to the ground and Kaveh kept asking if you were brainwashed.

• Kaveh definitely loves you platonically, you and him are best friends who share tips about improving each others appearance of course all alhaitham can do is just sigh at you and his roommates behaviour before going back to his book.

• wanting to keep you safe, alhaitham only shares your relationships with the traveller and kaveh. He has made countless enemies throughout his years in the akademiya, it was only natural if someone were to target you just to get back at him and since you stood out more he doesn't want you to be in danger.

• if you think alhaitham doesn't approve of you liking to standing out, please don't think that way! Alhaitham seems like someone to love his s/o no matter how they act since if he fell love he knows that they are the one after all no one made him feel this way other than you! :)

Im deeply sorry for the anon who requested this idk what i clicked.. 😰

[amsdia]

Since you asked and made me think of it, @asoftspotforangels - this is the scene from the second scrapped draft where I originally wrote about Cyno's taste in light novels

FYI, they are not, in fact, dating at this point eheheh

“Cyno.”

Cyno came awake slowly. His Divine Spirit stretched languidly within him, unbothered by the call. But he wasn’t at home; the sounds of the office filtered in to him slowly, muffled through his closed door. And there was the scent of coffee and ink, filling his nose and soothing him despite the strangeness of waking slowly anywhere other than his home. He curled into soft cloth and hummed in contentment.

There was a hand in his hair. “Cyno,” that familiar voice repeated.

“Hm?” He didn’t open his eyes.

There was a little rumble beneath him. Laughter. Pleased, he tried to burrow closer to the source of that delight.

“You’re exhausted, aren’t you?” Fondness and comfort. “All right. Sleep a little longer.”

That sounded like a wonderful idea. He sank into something soft and warm and strong and lovely, and drifted off to sleep again.

Of course, it was horrendously embarrassing when he actually woke to find himself on Alhaitham’s lap and snuggling up to him. Alhaitham didn’t allow that feeling to linger, though, as he pushed a brown parcel into Cyno’s hands. “Happy birthday,” he murmured, his hands coming around to rest on Cyno’s waist again. He didn’t seem interested in making Cyno move, so Cyno promptly discarded that notion and cautiously relaxed into his hold.

Yes – that made Alhaitham smile and his grip tighten for a moment before also relaxing. His thumb swept small arcs over Cyno’s hip.

“Is it my birthday already?” Cyno asked, examining the parcel.

“It is.”

Cyno sighed and leaned sideways against Alhaitham. “I lost track of the date. I’ll have to send out those packages later.”

“Do you have them prepared? I can send them out for you if you’d like.”

“Yes, they’re on my table at home,” Cyno said. He felt along the sides of the parcel. A box? It felt like two separate items, wrapped together. Books, perhaps? “I’ll give you my keys so you can grab them – they’re all addressed, so you can just drop them off at the post office. Lumine tagged you into her teapot, didn’t she?”

“She did.”

“You can leave the parcel there for her and Paimon, then.” Cyno looked at Alhaitham. “If you really don’t mind helping me run errands.”

“I don’t,” Alhaitham said with a half-smile. “I don’t have anything else to do, anyway.”

Cyno relaxed. “Thank you. Is it okay if I open this now?”

Alhaitham chuckled. “I’ll have to insist.”

He’d been right when he’d guessed books. The first was titled The Language of Love, written by Danesh Falkner. There was a tiny blurb about the author on the inside sleeve; it was a pseudonym and he liked to keep to himself, apparently. He had written the book to share his interests with those who would be unfamiliar with the field. Despite its title, it was apparently a book on linguistics and philosophy.

“I know it’s not in your usual wheelhouse,” Alhaitham said. “But it has personal significance to me, so I hope you’ll like it nonetheless.”

“Printed in Sumeru,” Cyno noted. “I thought you said you were getting it delivered from Inazuma?”

“That’s the other one,” Alhaitham said blandly.

Cyno looked down at the other book, and promptly dropped the one he was holding. It bounced off the cover of The Reborn Villainess Breaks Free! and both books very nearly went tumbling to the floor before he managed to catch them. “Oh, no,” he said.

Alhaitham’s whole body trembled ever so slightly.

“Stop laughing at me,” Cyno demanded, smacking Alhaitham in the arm with his new books. “How did you even know.”

Alhaitham’s eyes were glittering with mirth. “That’s a secret,” he said. “Really, there’s no need to be embarrassed – it’s quite good.”

Cyno groaned. “You read it?”

“Of course. I was curious as to why you like this sort of genre. It’s the catharsis and escapism, isn’t it?”

Cyno spun and buried his face in Alhaitham’s shoulder. “Shut up,” he grumbled. “I’m not explaining my reading choices. And don’t tell anyone!”

“As you wish.” A soothing hand ran over Cyno’s back, and he relaxed a touch. “I hope I’m not too far off the mark with a suitable present.”

“Something I like, and something you want to share with me,” Cyno said after a moment. “I think you’re right on target, actually.”

A pleased hum. Alhaitham leaned back on the couch, bringing Cyno with him and tucking him closer. “Work seems to be treating you poorly. Why are you so tired?”

“It’s that case you brought me,” Cyno grumbled. “We got everyone you pointed out, but I feel like we’re missing the real ringleader. I’m digging around but we’ve got nothing so far.”

“Hm.” There was a small pause. “I hadn’t bothered trying because I knew that would take a while more, and I thought you should start sooner rather than later. But shall I help you take a look?”

“I don’t want you in his path,” Cyno said.

“If I was going to be found out, I would already have been,” Alhaitham said pragmatically. “Any further work I do shall be out of your office, and no one need know what my contributions to this case are. Will that assuage your worry?”

Cyno sighed. “No, but you’re going to do it anyway, aren’t you?”

Alhaitham reached out and touched Cyno’s cheek, gently thumbing the skin just under his eye. Cyno froze under that clear concern. “It’s only been a couple of weeks, and you’ve already run yourself ragged. I know it’s a massive case. I’d like to help.”

“At this rate,” Cyno murmured. “Pretty soon, I’m not going to know how to function without you.”

Alhaitham’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “With regards to work, you will be as efficient and trustworthy as ever, whether you allow some occasional assistance or not. With regards to your personal life…”

Cyno waited, but Alhaitham didn’t complete the sentence. Alhaitham’s satisfaction at the thought was telling enough – as was the fact that rather than being embarrassed, Cyno felt a flush of pleasure at the possibility. Even his Divine Spirit seemed welcoming.

“I want to nap for a bit longer,” he said, and leaned back in, putting his head down on Alhaitham’s shoulder. “Wake me in half an hour. We can get to work after that.”

“Of course. Sleep well.”

[sleepy-aletheas]

I'm t h i s close to losing my mind over Teyvat's history, origin story, and cycles of eras, and it's the fault of the world's architecture and Simulanka's Narration Footnotes quest of all things. Tonight I've been running around for 3 hours just through Mondstadt, Liyue, Underground Chasm, Enkanomiya, Seirai and Tsurumi Island, and already I'm ready to gnaw at a brick.

Genshin never hid the notion that there were different eras of population in places. It's explained away easily enough - time changes, people change, the rise and fall of civilizations is inevitable, especially with the history the characters personally touch upon. But when we got more elaboration through the Narzissenkreuz questline about the cycles Teyvat is going through, it expanded upon the little exclamation point at the back of my silly head, because it made me scrutinize all the places that made me pause with a confused "huh" for a long time now.

(Wolfy is also at fault. Or better said, all the recent quests and events are heavily dropping future points and the lore of the past in very flowery metaphors and allegories that would be easily brushed away if they didn't point it out over and over and ov-)

The thing with the design of the world is, that it's very deliberate. I mean, sure, we could chalk most of it up as reusing assets and retroactively giving them meaning, but the architecture follows a pretty consistent logic that we can map out physically (digitally?) in-game by walking from place to place.

And because of this logic, I've been losing my mind for months now, because I couldn't put my finger on what was really bothering me, cause whenever it sparked in my mind, I never wrote it down and then promptly forgot because something else caught my attention. Now I don't have that problem, cause I write stuff down in a journal, so I can brainrot through all of it to my heart's content (and to the chagrin of my eternal migraine).

Anyway. Teyvat's history timeline is a mess. It makes sense if you skim it or take it at face value in the moment, but the more one tries to think about it, before the Archon War, it's nonexistent, really. Paimon herself was in shock that there was anything before the gods that walk the earth (that was through the conversation with Enjou at the end of Enkanomiya's main quest where we got Before Sun and Moon and found out about the Dragon Sovereigns and Primordial One).

The book was held at a high esteem, because in-game logic dictated for a good while, that the book (or anything from Enkanomiya, really) cannot be tampered with from outside forces, and that because a scribe wrote down what Istaroth herself told him, it must be 100% true. But, because this is Unreliable Narrator: The Video Game, I wanna hold it with a grain of salt for a bit, cause if Sumeru's desert quests have taught me anything, it's that no one is outside the realm of getting things wrong through misunderstandings, assumptions, or outright lies (and that counts for Gods and Sovereigns too btw).

The thing is, the game deliberately tosses clues and leads around across the spectrum from obvious to throwaway lines or visuals. The foreshadowing is being put into place all along, and it's not just "oh, what will happen next patch?" or "this is the new area, right?" specific things either. There are quests and books and characters that are mirroring something that happened once upon a time (or in the present), but a person has to deliberately listen for this to catch, otherwise it just becomes a fun tidbit that maybe connects sooner than later, or it just completely slips the mind and comes back seemingly as new information.

Okay, back to the point of Teyvat's architecture in connection with civilizations and cycles of eras shenanigans.

There is this one specific architecture that keeps popping out across every single nation, you know the one. It has triquetra and intertwined lines (would braided be a better word for it? plaited?), with the stones big and smooth, the edges blunted. It truly is everywhere one tries to look, but it's interesting where it lays and where the region-specific architecture intertwine or avoid each other.

We could assume that that was the United Civilization, the first before it got split apart, laying across Teyvat in unison. That should be the original style. But then we got the Underground Chasm and Enkanomiya, and it throws a wrench into the whole neat fact, it makes one question what is going on.

Enkanomiya was thrown away from surface Teyvat, cut off from any connection to any divinity or other people, stuck with vishaps in the dark. And yet it's the same architecture as the Chasm, they even have the same glowing stones inside their square pillars, their walls have wavy lines carved out, it's all very angular and the stone also is more white than grey. And then there is Clymene (a shade in Enkanomiya, the ward of the Sunchildren) that says something along the lines of "I haven't seen someone dressed like you in a long time" which raises so many questions, and we never got back to it (shaking my fist at the sky, this lives in my head for years now). And on a lesser note, both reside underground, where you can see the cave arch high above and reaching deep beneath the areas. (And on another sidenote, it's interesting how similar Enkanomiya, Chasm, and Remuria have their architecture, lots of massive white stone and gold)

Old Mondstadt had actually a wider reach than expected. It wasn't limited only to the hollowed place that is now Stormterror Lair with high cliffs all around, but we can see the ruin leftovers stretching to Cecilia's Garden and all the way to Dawn Winery. Old Mondstadt had a combination of rose stems with thorns, moline crosses (or that's the closest I could compare it to), what looks like lily of the valley, domed roofs, and again the big smoothed out stones. The biggest mystery that stand out to me are the two smooth pillars in by Cecilia's garden that don't fit anywhere (it doesn't even fit the ones around the Thousand Winds Temple, where they're carved again with wavy criss-crossing lines).

Speaking of Thousand Winds Temple, that one's also coming up around in different places across the places I looked at. It's obviously across the east of Mondstadt, the secret forgotten island where the other sundial rests (and there are interesting symbols too, like the stylized infinity swirling around, the pedestal before the sundial reminiscent of the light realm sigil associated with Tokoyo Ookami, and a knot in the middle). If anything, there are other symbols that resemble the triquetra close enough to be chalked up as the same thing, but they're differently depicted that I can't unsee. Then there is the pavement, and oh my god, that haunts me. Because it can be found on the forgotten island, Thousand Winds Temple, but it's also in the underground ruins on Seirai Island (Amakumo Peak, where you first have to solve puzzles to drain the water levels), and around Tsurumi Island in general (the buried architecture reminds me of Vinagnir, I wonder if they're from the same time or not, the wall drawings would fit on their own). Istaroth had to have a direct hand in many places, because she just keeps popping up.

And Liyue has a pretty clear distinction between what Morax ruled and where he laid Guili Plains (pretty square structures with distinct symbols) and what was probably before. Bishui Plain pretty much is connected through the large grey stones, triquetra, and wavy lines, with a distinct detail of a lattice symbolism in the salt carrying pillars in Sal Terrae, or the dragon statues situated across Wuwang Hill and Qingce Village. In Jueyun Karst, where we have to drain the water to reach Tiashan Mansion, there is a similar mechanism as in Old Mondstadt (just a fun detail). It's also a fun thing to note, that in Guyun Stone Forest, the space where the geo hypostasis rests, the ground has again a resemblance to the light realm sigil, so that's fun to look around for later. All that to say, it makes me personally curious when did Morax and Guizhong become allies, because it had to be during the Archon War to make any lick of sense.

All of this to say: I completely lost the plot. I'm so sleepy, I stayed up the whole night again. I digress.

It's obvious that there is some time shenanigans going on, where there are crashes of architecture and history. The conflicting ideas of who came first - dragon or human (probably both, cause everything most likely is a dream (which i get is annoying for many people, but i think the game is trying to not use it as a copout to drop all meaning out the window once it's over like all the bad dream based stories did; they're really hammering in that even if something is just a dream or a fantasy, it's still an experience lived through and its meaning has equal value as reality)), and what the changes of cycles look like or work like. Like we know they exist, and technically one can go from one cycle into the next one (like golden bee Sybila (later known as Phobos)), but otherwise we don't know what happens at the end of one, or how the transition works or looks.

Next time I have any grain of energy left, I need to crawl through the rest of Teyvat to sate this need to know stuff. But that's for later.

I should stop talking, nothing is making sense to me anyway and I'm not rereading any of this (will i still toss this out here? apparently yes. there is no restraint when i can barely keep my eyes open, and i choose to not care).

[fireflysymphony]

Dance of the Lotus and Wandering Dandelion

Nilou x fem! traveler! Reader

A/N: I wrote this for a friend a few months ago, and I think there needs to be some more Nilou love in the world. If you’re a Nilou fan, ily and have the best day! <3

Word count: 1.4k

Content: pure fluff, can be read as platonic or romantic, not proofread.

The lush greenery of Sumeru shimmered with a fresh layer of dew as the chirping of birds broke the early morning silence, welcoming the sun and rest of the world with song. Some believed daybreak to be a mystical time of day, not only is it a gateway between dark and light, but it also blurred the line between sleep and awareness— or dream and reality.

Nilou was accustomed to dreams, her nights were usually full of them, but ever since the Sabzeruz Festival. Not even her pre-sleep relaxation methods were working! She couldn’t remember much from that day. The memories were fuzzy. Was it the worry that got to her and blocked it out? And she thought she was doing good at controlling her stress levels too!

All she could remember clearly was her dance. It was magical! No, no she wasn’t trying to be arrogant, but her performance that day captured all the emotions she wished to convey— her love, devotion, and passion all on display for her audience. Everyone stopped to watch her, not a soul could take their eyes off her! It wasn’t the attention or fame she craved, but the knowledge that she conveyed her message through that dance caused a flutter in her chest.

This pleasant flutter kept her going even when nights were rot with lack of sleep or when she woke up in a cold sweat. No gloomy days could stop her as long as she had dance and her passion for it! She would stay positive, active, and not waste time thinking about sleepless nights.

Which is what led to the frizzy haired, barefoot girl being out here at sunrise, a blanket under one arm and a basket of goods in her other one. She hummed a silent tune, letting the dew covered grass soak into her feet. Her eyes widened slightly when no bloom cores sprung under her. She expected it at this point despite her nonexistent activation of her vision, and the grass wasn’t infused with dendro either. Her recent relentless training gave her these insistent fears.

Surprisingly, dance and fighting weren’t so different, especially since Nilou could never see herself dawning armor and being the center of a fight. If she could, she’d rather appease her opponents with her dances, but from the stories her friend told her, that wasn’t an option when it came to actual fighting, so when her days were full of practices and dances, she filled her sleepless, empty nights wielding the power of hydro, trying to make it bend to her will.

“You’re here!” Nilou gasped, her face breaking out into a large grin. She dropped her basket and blanket, quick to throw her arms around the girl standing alone on the hillside, basking in the rays of the sun. “I didn’t think you would. It’s so early.”

She pulled away, taking her hands between her own and pulling her along to the spot for the picnic. She sat now and patted the spot next to her with a weary smile. “You’ve probably seen all kinds.of views like this, haven’t you? It’s not much, but I like coming here.”

(Name) shook her head, accepting Nilou’s offering of pudding with a grateful smile: “The views in Sumeru are my favorite. I like this place.” She glanced around before meeting Nilou’s gaze again.

“Really? Any view with you would be a nice one though. No matter what!” Nilou smiled, stretching her limbs out on the picnic blanket. The clouds covered the sun and then parted, Celestia’s glow warming Nilou’s skin as if in soft encouragement. This picnic wasn’t just a sweet gesture. Well, it was, but Nilou wanted this opportunity to speak alone with the girl.

“Speaking of, I heard you’re leaving Sumeru soon.” She whispered, breaking the contented silence which had fallen over them. She didn’t break eye contact, fidgeting with her shaking hands. No amount of training could stop her when she began shaking like this, not even her optimism could even though it compelled her to hope this would go well. “You’re going to Fontaine and then Natlan, both sound like scary places…”

She trailed off, and (Name) nodded, glancing away too: “I am. I love it here. Sumeru feels like my home, but I need to continue my journey to meet the seven Archons.”

(Name) wouldn’t dare ask for Nilou to join her as much as she had grown to love the dancer. Despite their bond, (Name) knew Nilou had duties to Zubayr Theatre and making sure the Akademiya couldn’t touch it. Likewise, she had duties too. Their fates couldn’t mix, and what kind of person would she be if she tried to redirect Nilou’s future?

Nilou was having a similar debate. What if (Name) didn’t need her? What if she’d only be a hindrance on her journey? Nilou knew she’d never be the strongest, never be the perfect partner in face of danger, but what would she be if she let all her hard work and training go to waste? She couldn’t live with regrets, not this one anyway.

“I want to go with you.”

She winced, but she couldn’t look away, her eyes burnt with passion and longing as she looked at (Name)’s shocked face, trying to pour all her emotions in one single look. In her shock, (Name) lost hold of her padisarah pudding which Nilou caught.

“Excuse me?”

That reply wasn’t what Nilou was expecting. She flinched away, taking on the facial expression of a kicked puppy. She played with the rim of the pudding bowl, trying not to let her disappointment be too obvious. She knew the answer would probably be a “no,” but that confused tone and exasperated wording wasn’t what she wanted. “My apologies, I was too forward, wasn’t-“

“No, I was just surprised. What about the theatre? Your dancing? Would you really leave it?” She gestured towards the city of Sumeru as if to make her point more clear. “I don’t want you to leave that all behind, not for me.”

“It won't be forever; I'll come back, but I’ll have dancing forever. I don’t know how long I’ll have you.” Nilou’s heart sounded like drums in her ears, the fear of rejection eating away at her. “Will it be a year before you leave Teyvat? Two? Five? How many more times will you have the opportunity to visit Sumeru before you go beyond Celestia again? How many of those times will you get to see me? I’ll be dancing for years to come, but I won’t have you for nearly the same amount of time. Will I?”

(Name) stayed silent, picking at the grass around the picnic blanket. She wanted to assure Nilou that she’d be back, but she just couldn’t know for sure. Sumeru was her home away from home, and all the people she met were so special to her in various different ways. Would she ever get to say goodbye to any of them when that faithful departure day came?

“I even learned how to fight.” Nilou added, her cheeks getting rosy from the admission. “I’m not as good as you, and the foes you’ve faced would make quick work of me. But with your connection to Dendro and my hydro vision, I think we’d make a good team, don’t you?”

She couldn’t help but smile at that, her face breaking out into a wide grin before nodding. “Okay! If you’re sure, I want you to join me.”

Nilou’s face became a mirror of (Name)’s as she let out an excited cheer, wrapping her in a tight hug and nearly popping her neck off. “Really? Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” The stress, the excitement, the sleepless night all combined and collectly faded as the relief set in. Nilou yawned, falling away from her.

“Thank you.” Nilou mumbled, a content smile on her face. Her eyes fluttered shut, long lashes brushing her cheeks and her hair sprawled out around her. “I think my sleep can be peaceful now since I have you around.”

The last part of her sentence came out mumbled, quiet snores racking her body. It was as if she was a doll instead of a person. Her sleeping form held a sense of elegance her dances could never capture, the grace of stillness only found in someone who is constantly moving.

Request are open and welcomed!! <3

[thinkingotherwise]

Viktor x Mondstadt! Kind! reader

It's been a while - almost two years, from the first part, but part 2 is here. All because I'm not sure when he's gonna move again xD

Nah.. but seriously.

The summer is here, so hot Sumeru time 🫠

Also, I changed the name from Victor to Viktor.

part 1

It was difficult at first, moving from daily meetings with Viktor to not seeing him at all. Thankfully, he did as he promised and replied to your letters. Of course, not as often as you sent them to him but he did sometimes send you some wooden figures, that you got to know from one of the letters he started carving. You collected both the letters and figures keeping them safely at your home, appreciating each one of them.

After some months of hard work, you collected enough money to be able to travel to Summeru, where he was posted. You decided to stay there during your holidays, packing everything you needed, together with the small gift Lily wanted to give him.

Of course, you wrote to him to make sure he was free during that time but you didn't mention you were going to come, just wrote that it would be nice to meet in the near future. You wanted for this to be a surprise but you also knew that he might as well be busy with his Fatui work. You just hoped he could spare some days or even evenings to meet with you.

The journey to the Summeru City was long but the thought of finally seeing him kept you in your happy mood. The new landscape caught your eye as soon as you left the ship that brought you here. The forest between the port and the main city was so much different than what you had in Mondstadt. Your eyes moved all over the strange plants, admiring each of them. And finally, when the city built around the Divine Tree appeared before you, your mouth opened in amazement.

Not being able to wait any longer you checked into your hotel and went out to the city looking for your Fatuus. You asked some of the people you passed if they knew about the blond man and where he was stationed. Looking around the lower part of the city you noticed him standing near one of the houses and carving a figure that seemed to look like a tiger.

"Viktor!" Your voice called joyfully behind him and you ran up to him. The blond turned surprised at someone calling him and then he saw you. He couldn't believe his eyes but as you came closer the wooden figure dropped down to the ground to catch you as you jumped into his arms. Your arms tightened around his neck, your chuckles echoing against his ear. When it finally came to him that it was really you and that you were in the Summeru CIty his arms embraced you and pushed closer to him. His head moved to your shoulder and he relaxed in your hug.

It was so nice to see each other again after all these days and you'd love to stay even longer like that. Unfortunately, the knife he used for carving was still in his hand, and when one of the Corpse of Thirty members patrolling the city noticed it he immediately came forward and pushed Viktor away from you.

"Keep away from them Fatui and drop the knife." The man said firmly and stood between you. You gasped shocked grabbing at the mercenary's shoulder. "Excuse me, mister, but Viktor is my friend." You told him but he just looked at you with raised eyebrows. "I gave him a surprised hug while he was carving some figures. I can guarantee he wasn't trying to hurt or kidnap me." I added squatting down to pick up the tiger and moving it in front of his face. I moved to the Fatui and nudged him to say something. Viktor sighed loudly before putting his hands up. "What (Y/n) say." His input was short and you rolled your eyes at him looking at him expectantly. The mercenary looked from you to the Fatui and then stepped back and bowed lightly. "Then I apologize and wish you a nice day."

You observed as the man left before turning to your dear friend and smacking his arm. He smirked at that moving back to his place next to the house. He spun the knife around his fingers once and extended his other hand to you.

Confused you placed yours in his making his eyes wide and he blushed, the red on his face matching the one of his uniform. Your heart skipped a beat feeling the warmth of his skin, even though he wore gloves. Your eyes focused on your connected palms and his followed. His fingers itched to close his hand on yours but he coughed once catching your attention. "The wood piece." He muttered turning away from you to hide his red face. Your gaze moved to the hand at your side that gripped the figurine he was carving. You gasped pulling your arm away from his in embarrassment before replacing it with the wooden animal.

"Right, so.." You started and your foot shuffled with a rock. Viktor hid the piece and knife inside his little bag, turned to you and corrected the mask around his eyes. "So you have some work cut out for you in here or what?" He asked his voice a little strained from the intimate interaction from before. "No. Actually, I came here to spend some time with you." You answered smiling at him unsurely.

You watched as he furrowed his brows at your words a thousand thoughts running through his mind which made his cheeks flush once again. He tried to hide it with his hand that once again came to his mask and played with it and scratched his cheek. "You did?" "Yes, if you have some time we could spend it together." You proposed raising your head to look at him, ready to convince him if needed. "Umm.. yeah, sure." His reply was immediate but then he turned away from you and scratched at his neck before correcting himself in a little less enthusiastic voice. "I mean I could probably take some time off." You smiled brightly at that, happy to hear his agreement to show you the Summeru. And he did the next few days you were together most of the time as he guided you around the town, forest, and even the city by the desert.

After all that traveling and visiting new places, you asked him to spend the next day a little lazily. It was pretty hot and with his proposition, you found yourself on the side of the town near the river as soon as afternoon came. You could see the waterfall nearby and a couple of big lotus leaves which created an amazing view and you happily set up your blanket on the grass to sit there with Viktor.

You spent most of the time in the water that he called Yazadaha Pool. The place where you splashed was far enough from the waterfall to safely play in there. And while you tried to cool yourself down, Viktor observed you from the blanket still in all of his Fatui clothes even in this humid weather.

You turned in the water with your wet clothes and came closer to where he sat. You could feel his gaze stuck on you as he took in the fabric that clung to your body showing off your figure. The moment you stopped before him his eyes fell to the floor and a deep sigh left his mouth as he tried to control his emotions. His heart grew fond that after a long time of being away, he could finally see and talk with you face to face. He hoped the next few days you had together wouldn't pass too quickly and would allow you to enjoy yourselves.

Being in front of him you squatted down and grabbed his hands from his sides. "Come on, join me." You tugged on his arms playfully. His gaze raised to meet you once again, the water dripping from your clothes was almost hypnotizing and he could see the little droplets still clinging to your face after you splashed around. A little tug on your hands made you fall into him making his clothes wet as well and he huffed keeping you steady. "Fine, fine. Just let me get the coat off, it's hard to dry." He muttered before pushing the black coat off his shoulders and lying it on the grass. Viktor followed after you to the water and was immediately greeted with you jumping into him making both of you crash deeper into the sea.

You spent the next hour or so playing around until the sun slowly started setting. The smile on your face and the orange sky behind you made you look divine and Viktor felt his heart tightening with the recently named feeling.

"...that you're here." He muttered quietly and you raised your brow in question. "I couldn't hear, what was it?" You said looking to the side. He stepped closer to you grabbing your waist and turning you fully to him. "I'm happy you're here." His voice was a little louder just enough so that you heard everything. You smiled brightly and shivered feeling his hands on you. "I'm also happy, I have so much fun with you." His masked eyes stared at yours before they moved visibly down to stop at your glistening lips. You gulped, your tongue licking slowly over your bottom lip waiting for his next move. "Can I?" He asked quietly that you almost didn't hear him. His palm moved to your cheek and brought you a little closer to him and when you nodded against it he leaned over and pressed his lips into yours.

The hand on your waist moved to your back and pushed you closer through the water to press your chest against his. Your lips moved first slowly and timidly but as he pulled away to look at you he cursed in his mother tongue before diving back.

This next kiss was firmer and he tilted his head to deepen it moving his mouth more easily. The feeling of his soft lips was everything and more that you hoped and dreamed about. Your hands grabbed at his wet shirt, trying to keep up with his intense-growing kiss. You slowly got lost in it wanting to keep going on and on. So when he started to move back your fingers went to his hair and the back of his head pulling him back into you and kissing him again. He gasped against your lips but soon smirked knowing that you wanted this as much as he did.

Knowing that the evening was coming and the water would become cooler, Viktor grabbed your thighs easily picking you up in the water and you curled your legs around his waist. He started leading you back to the grass, his mouth leaving kisses along your jawline and you shivered, from excitement, cold - maybe both.

You felt as he slowly kneeled down on the grass before your back touched it. He hovered over you pushing on his arms as you continued kissing, your hands holding his cheeks and mouths smashing against each other. Your heart beat rapidly and you were sure he could hear it with how close the two of you were.

The heated kisses soon turned into a full make-out session with your wet clothes against each other and your body shivering. His hands moved along your body grabbing at the wet clothes and pulling them to show more of your skin which he then could touch and squeeze. His palms left a warm trail on your body as he caressed it. Your hand stayed in his hair pulling at it occasionally while the other moved down his chest sneaking around his waist to his back under his shirt.

Your body continued to shiver from time to time and he felt it. At first, he thought you were just as excited as he was about finally being able to share the passionate kisses but then you quickly pulled away and turned sideways sneezing loudly. He looked down at you unimpressed and rolled from over you to sit down. "You need to change into something dry before you get sick." His voice was calm but Viktor was pretty worried about you. He stood up extending his hand to help you up. Then he took his coat and placed it on his forearm while his other arm sneaked to your back and softly pushed you in the direction of your hotel.

On your way back, you hugged yourself when the cold air of the evening finally got to you. Viktor seeing that placed his coat around you putting the fluffy hood over your head to make sure you wouldn't catch cold.

----

Capitano gonna make me broke af 🥹💰 hopefully, my hoard of primos will be enough