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sparrow-stunned · 2 years

Text

soft winter rain | yan childe x reader (x yan zhongli)

content warning: yandere, brief not sfw (suggestive), slight dubcon, possessive behaviour, references to stalking, unequal power dynamics, unhealthy relationship, etc. etc. reader discretion is advised.

notes: suddenly wanted a mafia au, and here we are. somehow zhongli snuck in at the last moment... he knew the entire time what was happening, so of course he'd sneak in here. don't know if i should continue, but it's an interesting au, so we'll see. (also, shameless plug that my comms are open, so if you wanna see something specific written by yours truly, my dms are open)

word count: 2.0k

There's this one customer at your tailor shop. He introduces himself as a businessman and calls himself Childe—a moniker, you're sure, because what kind of person would be named after a title so archaic? At first, you didn't care too much about the mysteries surrounding the man; being such a high-end store, having the occasional eccentric customer was nothing new. When one has enough money, anyone would let it get to their head a little.

But the requests he makes are just a little too… specific for you to not notice. If could make this material dark enough to hide blood, he'd request, or I'd like an extra pocket here, big enough to hide some daggers or a pistol. Childe was rich enough to hire a bodyguard—no, an entire legion of bodyguards—so the requests didn't make any sense for a mere businessman.

And he would always make these requests in person, as if to gauge your reactions for any winces or shudders, fear or apprehension.

Well, you haven't stayed in the business being a coward, and the man pays good money for his special requests, so you bite your tongue and smile placidly, following up his requests with questions of your own, suggestions of colour and design—never to ask his purposes for the clothes. Never to pry.

Childe must appreciate your silence on the matter though, because he makes sure to tip your services very well, sometimes even more than his actual bill. So when he begins to get more friendly with you, asking personal questions that you could never ask him, you indulge him.

What did it matter if he knew your age, your favourite colour, your favourite food, your favourite genre of books? It’s not as if he’s going to use it for anything nefarious, other than to bring the occasional gifts, his voice proclaiming every time, Guess what I’ve brought for my favourite little tailor, some way too over-the-top luxurious chocolate or watch or phone. You try to reject his offers, trying to maintain your professional boundaries with this pushy client, but it would always be easier to just accept on account of how annoying he gets with the pestering.

You don't take notice of how much closer the distance would become with each and every visit, how the gap between the two of you would shrink every time he dipped his head to speak into your ear, voice low and crooning. You’ve pushed back on his closeness many times, scolding him about personal space, sir, but he would always laugh. Hold up his hand and say, Okay, okay, I understand, even though he would do it again and again, to the point where you’ve gotten too used to it to even think about reprimanding him.

Now, when he gets too close, you sigh and resign yourself to the occasional wandering hands that brush up against you—never quite in places that were inappropriate but close enough to send the back of your hair up in warning, like your hands, the small of your back, the exposed nape of your neck, followed by some excuse of you had something there, lint maybe? even though you were a tailor shop. When would you ever allow something as unbecoming as lint in your presence? Still, you tolerate it, because even though you had rich clientele, there were none that were as friendly or free with their money as Childe was, his funds always seeming limitless no matter what you quoted.

You’ve also learned to disregard that sly gleam in his eyes every time you reveal let details that were a bit too personal slip from your tongue, such as where you were born, who was in your family, monotony loosening your tongue while you hum and take down his measurements, all the while trying to make casual conversation with him.

Strangely enough, he begins showing up near you outside of work too, accidental meetings in your favourite coffee shop or in that cake shop you love to frequent on the weekends. You’d be checking your phone and he would tap you on the shoulder, making you jump from how silently he’d moved behind you. He’d chuckle in response. Always some kind of offhanded excuse, a common denominator of I didn’t know you shopped here too! What a coincidence, comrade. But since we’re already here, may I join you?

And after these instances, the questions would turn even stranger, even more intimate than they usually were, about whether you had any lovers, any enemies, any desires, any annoyances. You demur, trying even more to keep your personal divided from work, but with enough insistence, you eventually cave. Money didn’t rain from the sky, after all, and for some reason, business had been a little slow as of late. Even the long-time clients you usually had, when you’d phone them regarding their scheduled orders, would sound clipped and a little uneasy, as if you’d been stalking them or threatening them, which was just ridiculous.

So when Childe asks you, Do you have any significant person in your life, little tailor? I’m just curious, you know. Can’t have other people poaching you from me now. You only sigh and say, No, sir. Can you tell me which patterned tie you’d prefer with this suit now?

And when he asks you if there was anyone you hated, any annoyances you’d like to be rid of, you would offhandedly mention some schoolyard bullies from your teenage years, or that one neighbour of yours who would always party too loudly at 4AM in the morning. That strange gleam would be back in Childe’s eyes as he nods and sympathizes with your little pet peeves, a stray murmur of It’d be a pity if something wasn’t done, wouldn’t it? If only there was someone who was trained in these matters… Hm? Why are you looking at me like that? I was only joking, comrade! Do I really look so dangerous to you?

Not to you, but you’ve seen the way he acts around others. Cold, haughty, and just the slightest bit too arrogant. But it’s not as if you can control what he says, so you just shrug it off. Strangely enough though, the names that you’d drop with your complaints would all vanish within the week that you bring it up. Always with a phone call before, of a hurried voice saying, I’m sorry for bothering you! I’ll never do it again, or talk to you again, or see you again! So please, don’t—!

You set down your phone afterward, stare at the ceiling, wondering why your life was falling apart and yet somehow going so well, after meeting this stranger of a client who wants more closeness than you knew how to give.

His gifts too, turn a little too intimate. Combs and earring and necklace adorned with jewels. Sometimes the same shade as his blue-grey eyes, sometimes the same shade as the red earring in his own ear, and when you put them away, say, They’re beautiful, but I can’t take it, he would then just leave it behind with his departure, you left staring at the glimmering translucent gems sitting at your countertop.

And what could you do?

You couldn’t displease him; he was quickly becoming your most valuable customer, one of the only ones left behind from the mass exodus that has happened to your customer base. Your shop was rarely ever visited now, left alone busy, and the only time words are ever spoken within its four walls is when his leather boots stride past your opened glass doors. It was as if your name, your shop, had been stamped onto some secret book, forever blacklisted by anyone who knew anything of the underground. But you didn’t know that, did you? You were just a simple tailor, trying to make due with a budget that increasingly depended on just one man.

So you sigh. Pick up the earring. Hold it up to your ear, comparing it to the simple gold studs you're wearing right now. They’re fancier, but they’re not you. But you still take out your simple earring, hook on the crimson earring in your right ear, because he wears his on the left, and resist the urge to flinch at how it looks, dangling next to your neck like a miniature ruby blade.

The next time Childe sees you, he breaks out into a smile and pats your head. "So you put it on after all," he says. "Should I take that as an acceptance then?"

And this time, his fingers strays down from your head to the curve of your back and then pivots to your hips. His head dips down, other gloved hand trailing against the curve of your jaw, lips about to meet yours, an invasion of new territory that leaves you stiff, even more helpless than usual. You don’t stop him as he nips at exposed flesh, don’t stop him as he breathes against your skin, don’t stop him as he holds you in his arms like a puppet. Even though it’s broad daylight, in the middle of your sunlit shop, you don’t say anything even as you feel something hard grinding against your clothed thigh, a soft grunt from his lips as he slips his hand up your shirt, a slow roll of his hips against you—

The bell at your door rings. Your gaze flies to the entrance, and Childe’s does too.

There’s a man. Amber eyes, brown spiked hair that tapers off into a ponytail, gloved hands and an extremely well-designed suit—vicuna, your experienced eyes knew with just one glance—and he’s looking at you. Not Childe, but you. Curiosity in its orange-flecked depths, and a slightest hint of something you’ve also seen in Childe’s eyes.

“Zhongli-xiansheng,” Childe says, half a complaint and half a threat. “Did you have to come at such an inconvenient time?”

“I’ve let you run wild around these parts for so long, the least you could do is greet me properly,” the man named Zhongli says, smooth and baritone voice sending a shiver up your spine.

Childe notices the movement—when does he not notice anything about you—and pulls you even closer to him. Rests his chin on your head and says, “This person is important to me, xiansheng. Find your own.”

“I’ve not come to take your toy, Tartaglia,” Zhongli says easily. His gaze flickers to you, and you shrivel back. Childe clenches his hands around the span of your hips, almost hard enough to bruise. “I know how protective you are of what’s yours. But you haven’t been answering your phone. As your… business partner,” Zhongli decides on, after a moment of consideration, “I had become concerned. There had been a missive sent from our Inauzman operatives. We will need to address it promptly. You may have a new assignment.”

Childe makes a noise of disgust at the back of his throat that rumbles through you. “Do we have to do it right this moment, xiansheng? Can’t it wait…” He shoots you a glance of longing, blown pupils with a ring of blue, and you resist the urge to look away. Smile weakly in response. “...Just an hour later,” Childe purrs. And then adds on, “Or two. Best to give us three, just in case. Whatever unsavory things I’ll have to dirty my hands with can’t be that urgent, can it?”

Zhongli chuckles, a meaningful flicker of his eyes from Childe to you. “Not now,” he says finally as he turns around to leave. “You’ll have all the time in the world—but only after this meeting. So stop behaving like a dog in the midst of mating season. Come.”

"Hey! I resent that," Childe says, pouting as he drags himself off of you. Gives you a look of promise, intermingling of lust and possessiveness in his darkened eyes as he winks and presses a kiss to your cold cheeks. You blink, and he smooths out your hair before curling his thumb below your chin. “Wait for me, little tailor, hm? We wouldn’t want you to be running off, now,” he murmurs.

“Yes,” you say, and even to your ears, your voice is weak, faltering.

“Well, even if you run…” Childe laughs and follows after Zhongli, but not before tossing out, “I’d find you right away. You know that right? So, I'll be seeing you soon, little tailor. I promise.”

You remain in the sunlight until fading sunset, heart hammering at your ribs. Frozen in place, stuck waiting for a customer who'd return to you with bloodstained gloves and crimson-smeared jaw. But you didn't know that. You only knew that you were asked to wait. You had to wait.

So you do.

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