cannedkale

[cannedkale]

★Happy Birthday Traveler: Part 1 (Citlali/Reader)

Part one in a series of short one shots with different Genshin Impact characters celebrating your birthday! Some are romantic, others are platonic. Posted on both Ao3 and here.

Reader is Traveler, Gender Neutral Reader, Pov: Second Person

You awake to a soft knock on the door of your temporary home in Natlan. You slowly open your eyes, giving them a moment to adjust to the sunlight coming in through your window before shutting them again. You roll over trying to get comfortable, not wanting to get out of bed. There’s a moment of silence before another, much louder, knock. You groan, yanking the covers off of yourself, and getting up. You slide into your slippers and make your way over to the door. You peek through the peephole, it’s Citlali!

Rushing over to your mirror, you try to tame your wild bedhead. There’s another, even louder knock on the door, it’s clear Citlali is losing her patience. “Traveler! I know you’re in there, open the door”! “Just a minute!” you shout back. You straighten out your pajamas, take a deep breath, and finally open the door.

“Finally!” Citlali whines before looking you up and down, “Did you just wake up?” She raises an eyebrow. You let out a nervous laugh, “Perhaps”. She sighs. “You really shouldn’t sleep the day away, y’know? It’s nearly noon”. “I know, I know…” you chuckle, “did you need something”? Citlali roughly presses a small gift box to your chest. It was short in height, white, and had a baby pink ribbon tied around it. “I heard your birthday was coming up” she averted her eyes, her face turning a bit red, “I wanted to give this to you before you left Natlan. You can open it now or wait for your actual birthday, I don’t care either way.” She turned to leave but you grabbed her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks.

“Wait!” you said, “I’d like to open it now”. Citlali scoffed, “Impatient as always I see… well? Open it”! You undid the bow and removed the box's lid, inside there was a black book with the title engraved in silver. “It’s one of my favorites.” Citlali said, still refusing to make eye contact. “I thought you might enjoy it… something to read while you travel”. You smiled, giving her a tight hug. Her face felt hotter than the Great Volcano of Tollan. “Thank you!” you said. “D- don’t mention it.” she stuttered in response.

After a brief conversation, Citlali left, and you decided to read the book’s description. It said something about an immortal falling in love for the first time in centuries. You wondered what about it she might’ve liked so much?